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Developer Blog: Creating the Bounty Hunter - New SWTOR update
DeaconX
Member UncommonPosts: 3,062
Boba Fett, Dengar, Zuckuss, IG-88, Bossk, 4-LOM. This was the lineup that started it all. Darth Vader wanted something done and his own people werent up to the task. So he called in specialists. Seeing this motley group of outlandish characters on the bridge rankled Vaders officers and told us these guys were the real deal. When Vader felt it necessary to specifically look at Boba Fett when he mentioned he didnt want anyone disintegrated, we understood this was a man with a reputation. When Boba Fett objected to Han Solo being frozen on the grounds that the Bounty Hunter needed Solo alive, Vader didnt intimidate Fett -- as he did poor Lando -- or choke him senseless. He listened and reassured him in a businesslike manner. He was talking to a professional whose work he respected.
As this is the first blog weve done on classes, its important to give a little background on how classes work and the decisions weve made along the way to guide those decisions. When Star Wars: The Old Republic was still just a twinkling in our eye, James Ohlen (Creative Director and Lead Designer of Baldurs Gate 1 & 2, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age) and I were both working on Dragon Age and were delighted at how personal, heroic and rewarding the origin stories made the experience. We talked numerous times about what it would mean to try to do that level of individualized story for an entire game but both knew that the time, expense and effort involved would have to have a big payoffa game the average person might play through once and then set aside wasnt going to do it. When we moved down to form the Austin studio and create BioWares first massively multiplayer RPG, we had the opportunity we were looking for.
There were a few decisions we made early on. First of all, there would be two distinct factions. This was Star Wars, not Star Neutral Guys Adventure. When there is a war that spans an entire galaxy, nobody can stand on the sidelines. Sure Han is unaffiliated for about six minutes of the movies, but that doesnt last long, and even if hes not with the good guys he sure doesnt like the Empire. The war affects everyone, even if theyd rather it didnt.
Second, no story content would ever cross factions. Star Wars is a story about good and evil -- it simply doesnt make sense to have Jedi and Sith doing the same quests, answering the same calls to adventure, etc. Creating one batch of content for all Players would have been half the cost, taken half the time and solved any number of organizational headaches but it was simply the wrong choice from a storytelling perspective. Unique content for both sides was the only way to goif a Player went all the way through the game playing a Jedi and then playing a Sith, he wouldnt experience even one repeated piece of story content.
Which leads me to the third decision we made: No class would exist in both factions at least at first. Each class gets its own story; no story content exists on both sides. If we did Bounty Hunters on both sides of the fence wed have to write two different Bounty Hunter stories at the expense of a different class that was more iconic to the Republic. Was the idea of a Republic Bounty Hunter cool? Absolutely. But far less iconic than the Imperial aligned one and we had other Republic classes we wanted to get in there instead. At least for now
Speaking of movie moments, lets take a second to review BioWares approach to Star Wars that started with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. We create a world familiar to the Star Wars fan who only watched the movies -- and didnt memorize them -- introduce the best parts of the Expanded Universe and then add something new to help grow that universe. This approach gives us clear guidelines on what we do and do not focus on as the core of the game. As a random example, I happen to dig the idea of Morgukai, but most Star Wars fans wont have the foggiest idea what they are. So while there are Morgukai in our game, they arent going to have a class, a dominating role in our universe, or be referred to or introduced without first being explained.
With those guidelines in mind, it was pretty clear the Bounty Hunter story wasnt going to start with the Bounty Hunter being a Mandalorian. The Mandalorians have a huge Expanded Universe following, were a key part of KOTORs story and history and are near and dear to my own heartthey do not, however, define what it means to be a Bounty Hunter in Star Wars and are alien to fans who only know the movies. Look at that first lineup of Bounty Hunters, how many are Mandalorians? Now would you even know that much if youd never read any back story?
With Mandalorians off the table as the Bounty Hunters centerpiece (although clearly their presence will be felt and I still want to become one someday ) we had to sit down and outline the fantasy fulfillment of being a Bounty Hunter. So what defines the Star Wars Bounty Hunter? Well, they work for the bad guys, but theyre not necessarily bad guys themselves. You get the distinct feeling theyre doing a job. Are some of them cruel lowlifes who enjoy hurting people? Sure, probably. Some of them are also remnants of warrior cultures who no longer have a place to practice their ancient arts, thrill-seekers out for the galaxys next challenge or just people with a knack for weaponry trying to make the most out of the gifts they were given in life. Whatever their story, they specialize in the hunt, the small scale assault, the personal touch. You dont call the Bounty Hunter when you need to take out an army; you call the Bounty Hunter when there is a very particular person whose death or capture could mean the difference between large scale victory and defeat.
At the heart of the Bounty Hunter story is the hunt itself. Smugglers, Jedi, Sith, rebel leaders, rogue droids, assassins, entire gangs or embezzling underlings, the Bounty Hunter takes them all down. Each hunt has its own flavor and each hunt brings with it a unique set of challenges and choices. Do you follow the jobs description to the letter and kill the wayward daughter of a powerful officer or do you bring her in alive and force the man to do his own dirty work? Will you take a bribe to fake a kill you didnt makewill you switch sides when its clear the person youre hunting has more honor and justification for his actions than the one who sent you? Does your honor come from getting the job done or being a good person? Is your loyalty to your crew, your conscience or your credits?
Core to the entire Bounty Hunter fantasy is this sense of independence. As a Bounty Hunter you are, and always will be, your own person. You start with nothing and work your way up, make a name for yourself and eventually travel in circles with Darths and Moffs, intelligence officers and governors, but you never become one of them. You work for your reasons, do things your way and can become a force of pure vengeance and destruction if crossed. Along the way you build a crew to support your ambitions, make friends or rivals out of the other great names in your field and tend to draw enemies like flies.
But first things first. Youve got a blaster, a few credits and a contact who thinks you have promise. Your move, Bounty Hunter.
Daniel Erickson
Principal Lead Writer
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
Comments
O_O
Well, if they are not purely Mandelorian, which is fine with me, I do hope the class gets different racial options. That would be awesome, tbh.
My brand new bloggity blog.
Both Bounty Hunters and Mandalorians aren't racially restricive at all. Any race can be a BH and can become a Mandalorian warrior. From the sounds of it, it seems people will be able to become Mandalorians through some sort of stroy, should they choose to follow that path but will still start off as Bounty Hunters who have to pretty much 'earn' their way in... that's my take on it.
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
this
sucks?
kinda
Both Bounty Hunters and Mandalorians aren't racially restricive at all. Any race can be a BH and can become a Mandalorian warrior. From the sounds of it, it seems people will be able to become Mandalorians through some sort of stroy, should they choose to follow that path but will still start off as Bounty Hunters who have to pretty much 'earn' their way in... that's my take on it.
Ah, thanks. I should read up on Mandelorian culture then. I was aware that BH's come from all walks of life though.
My brand new bloggity blog.
First Friday of every month is a BLOG update. Personally I don't think it sucks at all because there was some great info and insight in the blog. I personally love Daniel Erickson [Bromance/props] kind of way cuz the guy truly UNDERSTANDS and KNOWS Star Wasr. Him being the lead writer fills me with a lot of hope for just how authentic and awesome a Star Wars 'fantasy' they're building with SW TOR. It's going to be truly special and incredible.
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
First Friday of every month is a BLOG update. Personally I don't think it sucks at all because there was some great info and insight in the blog. I personally love Daniel Erickson [Bromance/props] kind of way cuz the guy truly UNDERSTANDS and KNOWS Star Wasr. Him being the lead writer fills me with a lot of hope for just how authentic and awesome a Star Wars 'fantasy' they're building with SW TOR. It's going to be truly special and incredible.
I know the update pattern, and I understand (and the more I've thought about it, the more I agree with the decision) what Bioware was trying to do, but personally, I -strongly- dislike limiting classes to factions. I totally agree with the rest of your points :]
But I can't help but feel that this will... I dunno, limit roleplaying options a bit within the game. Dunno...
First Friday of every month is a BLOG update. Personally I don't think it sucks at all because there was some great info and insight in the blog. I personally love Daniel Erickson [Bromance/props] kind of way cuz the guy truly UNDERSTANDS and KNOWS Star Wasr. Him being the lead writer fills me with a lot of hope for just how authentic and awesome a Star Wars 'fantasy' they're building with SW TOR. It's going to be truly special and incredible.
I know the update pattern, and I understand (and the more I've thought about it, the more I agree with the decision) what Bioware was trying to do, but personally, I -strongly- dislike limiting classes to factions. I totally agree with the rest of your points :]
But I can't help but feel that this will... I dunno, limit roleplaying options a bit within the game. Dunno...
Yups ... I agree. Though there might be an option to change sides in the conflict I am really curious what class they will pitch against it on the light side. It better be an appealing one. Since this approach could lead to some nasty pop balances on servers.
My brand new bloggity blog.
My guess is SMUGGLER will be the next class reveal. They've dropped the hints all over the place, blatantly as well. That or something like the republic's special forces... though I doubt that because wouldn't it make sense that BOTH the Republic and Sith Empire have a 'Soldier' class?
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
Felt greatly, the darksides' influence is.
Those who remember, fear have they.
Undoubtedly, you speak of when SWG went from its many classes to the 'ICONIC' classes and took a plunge down the stinker... Thankfully I have more faith in BioWare. Much more.
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
Felt greatly, the darksides' influence is.
Those who remember, fear have they.
Undoubtedly, you speak of when SWG went from its many classes to the 'ICONIC' classes and took a plunge down the stinker... Thankfully I have more faith in BioWare. Much more.
Much faith in LA, you have?
Smuggler already announced/confirmed?
Translated
I want an engineer class or pilot class or something like a merchant
Well, at the rate they seem to be going, they'll basically have all of the "iconic" classes from SWG, so I guess you're covered.
I totally agree... and not a 'scout', a ROGUE. THEN I want some prestige classes for each class so you can have a ROGUE - Smuggler etc. But in the end, what they CALL the class is far from the biggest concern.
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.