UPDATE 31st December 2010: Cinematic Design

Playing director in the Star Wars™ universe is one of the coolest jobs anyone could wish for. As a lifelong Star Wars fan, being able to visualize scenes with Bounty Hunters, Smugglers and Jedi harkens back to my days as a kid creating Star Wars films with a home video camera and a bin full of action figures. This passion for Star Wars filmmaking has come full circle – as I completed cinematic design work on Mass Effect 2, I was asked if I had an interest in working on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to be a part of the team!

So, what is Cinematic Design?

This is a question I get asked a lot. To put it simply, Cinematic Design is using cinematic presentation to facilitate narrative and gameplay, and heighten emotional involvement. By the use of a directed camera, we’re able to make the story real to the player, allowing them to get involved with the characters and make meaningful choices.



The inclusion of Cinematic Design is what sets The Old Republic apart from other MMO games. Rather than being led by a disjointed, text-driven narrative, the Player is part of a dynamic plot in The Old Republic. In conversations, we can show those subtle moments where characters interact with and affect one another; where choices matter. Do we kill the Sith acolyte? Do we spare him? Will he show up later in our character’s path to be dealt with? Or will he fight alongside us, supporting us in the most crucial of times? These choices are gameplay, presented in cinematic form. Sure, they could be made through the use of simple point-and-click, text-only interface, but the reward of our choices would be passed over and the player would never fully experience the impact of those decisions.

Other BioWare games have proven how rewarding interaction in conversations can be. In The Old Republic, we extend this approach to the group level – every player in the party has their say in which direction the conversation will go. A young exile takes an adversarial tone with the group, and challenges them to a duel. Your Sith Inquisitor grows impatient with him and chooses to detonate some nearby explosives – but will it be overruled by another who votes to fight him? Beyond advancing your story, this system extends the gameplay experience into conversations, allowing the vote roll to factor into how the narrative plays out.