MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh was at this past weekend's Penny Arcade Expo and submits this report on Bioware Austin's Star Wars: The Old Republic, which was on display at the event.

LucasArts and Bioware showed a live demo of Star Wars: The Old Republic at Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle both Saturday and Sunday, with slight variations on their demonstration each day. They showed cinematic trailers, some in-game footage as well as a live-demo of the game play. All four classes revealed thus far were shown to fans, including a demo of the female Bounty Hunter's voice effects.

They pulled a joke on Saturday, announcing a big reveal then flashing up "Darth Binks" to stunned silence and a smattering of laughter. "I think we failed on humor," said Bioware Producer, Jake Neri. "Wait, what did you think?" asked Lucas Arts Public Relations Manager, Adam Kahn. Well, I was laughing so hard, I forgot to take a picture of the "reveal." Darth Binks was not shown again on Sunday, but from my reaction and the bits of laughter they had heard from the crowd, they thought the joke a success. Yes, with this many dedicated Star Wars fans, canon humor is a little tough.

Read the PAX Reveal

Just hope the city is seamless and there isn't tons of loading screens like AoC or EQ2.

Will we get to see the Darth Binks pic?

Wow Coruscant! I love that! :D

The line that gets me is trying to make sure all the classes are balanced against one another. The problem is as soon as that happens the game isn't true to the lore of Star Wars. If you're a Jedi or a Sith and you get taken down by a smuggler or bounty hunter, well you are the worst Jedi/Sith to ever have lived. Both the Jedis and Siths have skills far beyond the normal people that it just doesn't make any sense for them to be balanced against one another.

That sums up the major flaw in the design of this whole game. "We're going to let people play Jedis and Siths." Oh that's cool are there going to be other choices "Yes there will be many other classes that can be played." Oh well why wouldn't everyone just play Jedi and Sith, they're the most interesting and by far the most powerful. "Well we're going to make all the class types balanced against one another so that they can stand toe to toe." Um what?

Yes Hans Solo is an interesting character and fun to think about, but in case you missed it he got abused by every type of character in Star Wars. He didn't win fights he had to run from fights and use his smuggling abilities to get away, hide, and stay alive. He didn't go up to Darth Vadar and pistol whip him.

People can either sit and watch the canon movies, or they can bend a little and play the game. When something is taken from one medium and introduced into another, things will have to conform to the new medium's requirements and limitations. One can either accept that bit of reality, or one can go cry under his/her bed. Either way, the reality of those limits and requirements is not going to change anytime soon.

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

The line that gets me is trying to make sure all the classes are balanced against one another. The problem is as soon as that happens the game isn't true to the lore of Star Wars. If you're a Jedi or a Sith and you get taken down by a smuggler or bounty hunter, well you are the worst Jedi/Sith to ever have lived. Both the Jedis and Siths have skills far beyond the normal people that it just doesn't make any sense for them to be balanced against one another.

 

That sums up the major flaw in the design of this whole game. "We're going to let people play Jedis and Siths." Oh that's cool are there going to be other choices "Yes there will be many other classes that can be played." Oh well why wouldn't everyone just play Jedi and Sith, they're the most interesting and by far the most powerful. "Well we're going to make all the class types balanced against one another so that they can stand toe to toe." Um what?

 

Yes Hans Solo is an interesting character and fun to think about, but in case you missed it he got abused by every type of character in Star Wars. He didn't win fights he had to run from fights and use his smuggling abilities to get away, hide, and stay alive. He didn't go up to Darth Vadar and pistol whip him.

True but if you remember most if not all Jedis were executed by clone troopers in the third movie. Yes I didn't like the first 3 movies very much either

Originally posted by SynEater

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

The line that gets me is trying to make sure all the classes are balanced against one another. The problem is as soon as that happens the game isn't true to the lore of Star Wars. If you're a Jedi or a Sith and you get taken down by a smuggler or bounty hunter, well you are the worst Jedi/Sith to ever have lived. Both the Jedis and Siths have skills far beyond the normal people that it just doesn't make any sense for them to be balanced against one another.

 

That sums up the major flaw in the design of this whole game. "We're going to let people play Jedis and Siths." Oh that's cool are there going to be other choices "Yes there will be many other classes that can be played." Oh well why wouldn't everyone just play Jedi and Sith, they're the most interesting and by far the most powerful. "Well we're going to make all the class types balanced against one another so that they can stand toe to toe." Um what?

 

Yes Hans Solo is an interesting character and fun to think about, but in case you missed it he got abused by every type of character in Star Wars. He didn't win fights he had to run from fights and use his smuggling abilities to get away, hide, and stay alive. He didn't go up to Darth Vadar and pistol whip him.

 

True but if you remember most if not all Jedis were executed by clone troopers in the third movie. Yes I didn't like the first 3 movies very much either

  Yes but not one on one, it was huge ratios of probably 50+ to 1. Even 3-4 troopers to 1 Jedi would have no chance of defeating the Jedi. And the problem becomes they want this game to be balanced where every class can stand toe to toe. Really when it's 1 on 1 the only class that has the chance of defeating a Jedi or a Sith is the opposite of one another.

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

Originally posted by SynEater

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

The line that gets me is trying to make sure all the classes are balanced against one another. The problem is as soon as that happens the game isn't true to the lore of Star Wars. If you're a Jedi or a Sith and you get taken down by a smuggler or bounty hunter, well you are the worst Jedi/Sith to ever have lived. Both the Jedis and Siths have skills far beyond the normal people that it just doesn't make any sense for them to be balanced against one another.

 

That sums up the major flaw in the design of this whole game. "We're going to let people play Jedis and Siths." Oh that's cool are there going to be other choices "Yes there will be many other classes that can be played." Oh well why wouldn't everyone just play Jedi and Sith, they're the most interesting and by far the most powerful. "Well we're going to make all the class types balanced against one another so that they can stand toe to toe." Um what?

 

Yes Hans Solo is an interesting character and fun to think about, but in case you missed it he got abused by every type of character in Star Wars. He didn't win fights he had to run from fights and use his smuggling abilities to get away, hide, and stay alive. He didn't go up to Darth Vadar and pistol whip him.

 

True but if you remember most if not all Jedis were executed by clone troopers in the third movie. Yes I didn't like the first 3 movies very much either

 
 

  Yes but not one on one, it was huge ratios of probably 50+ to 1. Even 3-4 troopers to 1 Jedi would have no chance of defeating the Jedi. And the problem becomes they want this game to be balanced where every class can stand toe to toe. Really when it's 1 on 1 the only class that has the chance of defeating a Jedi or a Sith is the opposite of one another.

I understand your point. I think the way they are trying to make the game is that of heroes vs heroes. When a player makes a new character, they aren't(for example) just any bounty hunter, but Jango Fett. Look how much trouble Jango gave to Obi Wan. It was a long drawn out fight with two tough opponents. I think this is what they will capture. Now, as for NPCs, all of the players should get that feel of being heroic - especially the trash mobs. 

Honestly, it's the only way, IMHO, they can accomplish a Star Wars MMO. The only other way that worked was Pre-NGE/CU SWG. Unfortunately, that had it's own issues(though it was fun).

So, in summary, PC's are uber heroes, and NPCs(outside of named/bosses) should be weaker and help one feel like a tough guy.  That's what I got from it all thus far.

edit* as far as Han Solo goes, mind you the books/movies were scripted in such a way as to not allow for the untimely demise of it's characters.  Even Darth Vader could have been hypothetically shot in the back by Han while he was fighting Obi wan. It's not like his back was blaster proof. Therefore, I'd expect smugglers and other such classes to, well, fight dirty like smugglers do! :D

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

Originally posted by SynEater

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

The line that gets me is trying to make sure all the classes are balanced against one another. The problem is as soon as that happens the game isn't true to the lore of Star Wars. If you're a Jedi or a Sith and you get taken down by a smuggler or bounty hunter, well you are the worst Jedi/Sith to ever have lived. Both the Jedis and Siths have skills far beyond the normal people that it just doesn't make any sense for them to be balanced against one another.

 

That sums up the major flaw in the design of this whole game. "We're going to let people play Jedis and Siths." Oh that's cool are there going to be other choices "Yes there will be many other classes that can be played." Oh well why wouldn't everyone just play Jedi and Sith, they're the most interesting and by far the most powerful. "Well we're going to make all the class types balanced against one another so that they can stand toe to toe." Um what?

 

Yes Hans Solo is an interesting character and fun to think about, but in case you missed it he got abused by every type of character in Star Wars. He didn't win fights he had to run from fights and use his smuggling abilities to get away, hide, and stay alive. He didn't go up to Darth Vadar and pistol whip him.

 

True but if you remember most if not all Jedis were executed by clone troopers in the third movie. Yes I didn't like the first 3 movies very much either

 
 

  Yes but not one on one, it was huge ratios of probably 50+ to 1. Even 3-4 troopers to 1 Jedi would have no chance of defeating the Jedi. And the problem becomes they want this game to be balanced where every class can stand toe to toe. Really when it's 1 on 1 the only class that has the chance of defeating a Jedi or a Sith is the opposite of one another.

This IMO is where people get way to critical about a game. I understand in the lore and/or movies that the jedi and sith are very powerful. But to do the same in an mmo would make anyone who did NOT play a sith or a jedi feel as if there of no use or pointless in being that class, we all mite as well play jedi and sith. To make games Aspecially MMO's...and in the starwars UNi your going to have to stretch/bend things a tad. Honestly if they get the flavor and the feel of the star wars uni down  I could care less about the jedi or sith technically being the more powerful. The whole point is being able to play in the SW Uni that we know and love.

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

The line that gets me is trying to make sure all the classes are balanced against one another. The problem is as soon as that happens the game isn't true to the lore of Star Wars. If you're a Jedi or a Sith and you get taken down by a smuggler or bounty hunter, well you are the worst Jedi/Sith to ever have lived. Both the Jedis and Siths have skills far beyond the normal people that it just doesn't make any sense for them to be balanced against one another.

 

That sums up the major flaw in the design of this whole game. "We're going to let people play Jedis and Siths." Oh that's cool are there going to be other choices "Yes there will be many other classes that can be played." Oh well why wouldn't everyone just play Jedi and Sith, they're the most interesting and by far the most powerful. "Well we're going to make all the class types balanced against one another so that they can stand toe to toe." Um what?

 

Yes Hans Solo is an interesting character and fun to think about, but in case you missed it he got abused by every type of character in Star Wars. He didn't win fights he had to run from fights and use his smuggling abilities to get away, hide, and stay alive. He didn't go up to Darth Vadar and pistol whip him.

You should stick with movies and avoid discussing video games as you have a major lack of understanding of the latter.

First off, in any MMO the class/skill line with the most power instantly becomes the fotm choice of the multitudes.  This game will have enough problems with too many players choosing jedi's to start with let alone making them more powerful than the other classes.

I hope Bioware chooses the Blizzard path and takes their time with this game.   If they do it could actually give Blizzard a run for their money.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

The line that gets me is trying to make sure all the classes are balanced against one another. The problem is as soon as that happens the game isn't true to the lore of Star Wars. If you're a Jedi or a Sith and you get taken down by a smuggler or bounty hunter, well you are the worst Jedi/Sith to ever have lived. Both the Jedis and Siths have skills far beyond the normal people that it just doesn't make any sense for them to be balanced against one another.

 

That sums up the major flaw in the design of this whole game. "We're going to let people play Jedis and Siths." Oh that's cool are there going to be other choices "Yes there will be many other classes that can be played." Oh well why wouldn't everyone just play Jedi and Sith, they're the most interesting and by far the most powerful. "Well we're going to make all the class types balanced against one another so that they can stand toe to toe." Um what?

 

Yes Hans Solo is an interesting character and fun to think about, but in case you missed it he got abused by every type of character in Star Wars. He didn't win fights he had to run from fights and use his smuggling abilities to get away, hide, and stay alive. He didn't go up to Darth Vadar and pistol whip him.

You should stick with movies and avoid discussing video games as you have a major lack of understanding of the latter.

First off, in any MMO the class/skill line with the most power instantly becomes the fotm choice of the multitudes.  This game will have enough problems with too many players choosing jedi's to start with let alone making them more powerful than the other classes.

I hope Bioware chooses the Blizzard path and takes their time with this game.   If they do it could actually give Blizzard a run for their money.

 You sir should stick with school until you can get a grasp on reading comprehension.

My point is that they went into this with a major design flaw. Instead of going into it with trying to figure out how to make a balanced product they said "People love Jedis and Siths lets do that!!!" And then as the process went along it finally dawned on their thick skulls that clearly everyone would just play a Jedi or a Sith. So now they are destroying the lore in order to balance other random classes to make them useful.

Yes every game needs balanced classes. These guys completly ignored that going into it and are now going to do ridiculous things to make what could never be balanced, balanced. It shouldn't of come to this, they should of thought it out in the first place.

It would be like taking one of the super hero games and saying "Hey people like Superman because as long as there isn't one extremely rare object around he is completly unstoppable and can't be hurt at all, let's allow players to be invulnerable and the strongest thing in the game." They don't allow that because it is unbalanced. And they certainly don't add it in and then try to make all other classes able to stand toe to toe with that build. It would be stupid.

The way they are doing this is the only way that it can work while being fair and competitive for everyone. SWG proved that an alpha class does not work and in fact has no place in an MMORPG. As soon as you have one class that dominates all others, everyone will try to become that class and those who fail will feel as though they cannot compete and will quit shortly after.

While this concept might be a bit of a departure from Star Wars lore, I think people tend to forget that the Jedi/Sith were not the only heroes/villains in the movies and books. There were lots of other powerful characters that could at least give the force users a challenge. One need only remember the epic battle between Jango Fett and Obi Wan to know that Jedis don't always win. If memory serves, Obi Wan barely survived while Jango flew away. I think that means he won the fight...

www.youtube.com/watch

From my friend's cell phone:

Darth Binks for your viewing pleasure.

Cheers!

Carolyn

"They pulled a joke on Saturday, announcing a big reveal then flashing up "Darth Binks" to stunned silence and a smattering of laughter. "I think we failed on humor," said Bioware Producer, Jake Neri. "Wait, what did you think?" asked Lucas Arts Public Relations Manager, Adam Kahn. Well, I was laughing so hard, I forgot to take a picture of the "reveal." Darth Binks was not shown again on Sunday, but from my reaction and the bits of laughter they had heard from the crowd, they thought the joke a success. Yes, with this many dedicated Star Wars fans, canon humor is a little tough."

I don't think that canon humor is tough at all. There was a time that I would have laughed at such a thing. Considering what MMO game companies do today that makes most people say or think "WTF" and that Bioware is known for not revealing much if any information about their games, it doesn't surprise me at all that the vast majority of that audience was silent. They thought it was a serious revel and obviously didn't approve.

If Bioware maintains to skimp on information releases (which is their modus operandi), giving a good feel for what is actual information, then they should probably back off trying such humor. By such humor I mean grabbing polarizing figures such as Jar Jar and making such a joke. I doubt much of the audience for this game likes Jar Jar, which would give base to the reaction they experienced.

"There will not be too much focus on non-combat classes, but there will be enough secondary game play, such as crafting and trading, to round out the content."

Well, that's disheartening to hear. Not surprising, though.

"Participate on their forums. They do want feedback."

I can't imagine on what or why. It sounds like they've nailed the voice-over thing and the story elements. Any talk about the "secondary" game-play  is no doubt met by a flood of flame posts decrying the person as wanting "SWG2" if they suggest something with any element of depth. Crafting and housing are prime examples, and as Bioware isn't talking about them, well. *shrug*

Originally posted by Anubisan

The way they are doing this is the only way that it can work while being fair and competitive for everyone. SWG proved that an alpha class does not work and in fact has no place in an MMORPG. As soon as you have one class that dominates all others, everyone will try to become that class and those who fail will feel as though they cannot compete and will quit shortly after.

While this concept might be a bit of a departure from Star Wars lore, I think people tend to forget that the Jedi/Sith were not the only heroes/villains in the movies and books. There were lots of other powerful characters that could at least give the force users a challenge. One need only remember the epic battle between Jango Fett and Obi Wan to know that Jedis don't always win. If memory serves, Obi Wan barely survived while Jango flew away. I think that means he won the fight...

www.youtube.com/watch

 

This is exactly correct, and what the developers are using as a basis of balance.   As most of the movies follow the jedi as being the main focus of the stories you see very little in knowing exactly how capable the best of the best of the other "classes" can perform.

Jango is a good example.  As the developers said the best bounty hunter could take on a jedi and defeat one.  The same could probably be said about the best of any class.   And if balance is done correctly, when in combat 1 on 1 with a bounty hunter, if you don't know how to play your jedi very well.. then you shouldn't win that battle either ... should you?

---

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf
Yes but not one on one, it was huge ratios of probably 50+ to 1. Even 3-4 troopers to 1 Jedi would have no chance of defeating the Jedi. And the problem becomes they want this game to be balanced where every class can stand toe to toe. Really when it's 1 on 1 the only class that has the chance of defeating a Jedi or a Sith is the opposite of one another.

---

So lore is quite useless as an argument as to why Jedi and Bounty Hunters should not be equal in a video game.

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

My point is that they went into this with a major design flaw. Instead of going into it with trying to figure out how to make a balanced product they said "People love Jedis and Siths lets do that!!!" And then as the process went along it finally dawned on their thick skulls that clearly everyone would just play a Jedi or a Sith. So now they are destroying the lore in order to balance other random classes to make them useful.

 Yes every game needs balanced classes. These guys completly ignored that going into it and are now going to do ridiculous things to make what could never be balanced, balanced. It shouldn't of come to this, they should of thought it out in the first place.

"Destroying the lore"?

My understanding is that the Old Republic is set back in time far enough from the "official canon" as to allow Bioware to create lore without disrupting the canon.

"To balance random classes"?

And as others have pointed out, the Jedi and Sith highlighted in the movies and books and such are the cream of the crop -- it's very conceivable and plausable that not all Jedi and Sith are automatically master-level-able-to-beat-down-an-experienced-trooper/warrior-with-a-withering-look. And why wouldn't a master Jedi have a tough time against a highly experienced bounty hunter? Not every Jedi or Sith is going to be the end-all-be-all in power or ability.

Originally posted by sobelius

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

My point is that they went into this with a major design flaw. Instead of going into it with trying to figure out how to make a balanced product they said "People love Jedis and Siths lets do that!!!" And then as the process went along it finally dawned on their thick skulls that clearly everyone would just play a Jedi or a Sith. So now they are destroying the lore in order to balance other random classes to make them useful.

 Yes every game needs balanced classes. These guys completly ignored that going into it and are now going to do ridiculous things to make what could never be balanced, balanced. It shouldn't of come to this, they should of thought it out in the first place.

 

"Destroying the lore"?

My understanding is that the Old Republic is set back in time far enough from the "official canon" as to allow Bioware to create lore without disrupting the canon.

"To balance random classes"?

And as others have pointed out, the Jedi and Sith highlighted in the movies and books and such are the cream of the crop -- it's very conceivable and plausable that not all Jedi and Sith are automatically master-level-able-to-beat-down-an-experienced-trooper/warrior-with-a-withering-look. And why wouldn't a master Jedi have a tough time against a highly experienced bounty hunter? Not every Jedi or Sith is going to be the end-all-be-all in power or ability.

 

 

 It's simple really, the Jedi and Sith have powers that others can't compete with. Such as being able to see into the future, which allows them to know where the enemy is going to shoot or move.
 

I would bet DC universe isn't going to allow people to be invulnerable like Superman. Because the balance issue would be ridiculous and result it stupid things being done.

If you made a game of angels vs demons you wouldn't say "Hey people want to be god and the devil let's let them, oh wait everyone would be god and the devil, let's just balance up the angels and demons to be able to stand toe to toe with god and the devil." Because that would be stupid.

It's the reason why Star Wars MMOs have always been a dumb idea. Because the iconic parts of Star Wars that everyone wants to be are also the most unbalancing for an MMO. For a single player it's great, the guy is an up and coming Jedi or Sith and so he destroys increasingly difficult mobs with his cool powers. But in an MMO it is a bad idea. Everyone played SWG with the same goal, become the uber powerful Jedi. And once it was made easier, everyone was running around as a Jedi.

It's the reason why players in LotRO aren't allowed to make Gandalf like characters, it would be too unbalancing for the players and then everyone would want that power.

The only real thing to do is have everyone be a Jedi/Sith or have no one be one and they are features in the story line.

But to each their own opinion and I'm sure there will be some who enjoy this game.

Originally posted by sobelius

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

My point is that they went into this with a major design flaw. Instead of going into it with trying to figure out how to make a balanced product they said "People love Jedis and Siths lets do that!!!" And then as the process went along it finally dawned on their thick skulls that clearly everyone would just play a Jedi or a Sith. So now they are destroying the lore in order to balance other random classes to make them useful.

 Yes every game needs balanced classes. These guys completly ignored that going into it and are now going to do ridiculous things to make what could never be balanced, balanced. It shouldn't of come to this, they should of thought it out in the first place.

 

"Destroying the lore"?

My understanding is that the Old Republic is set back in time far enough from the "official canon" as to allow Bioware to create lore without disrupting the canon.

"To balance random classes"?

And as others have pointed out, the Jedi and Sith highlighted in the movies and books and such are the cream of the crop -- it's very conceivable and plausable that not all Jedi and Sith are automatically master-level-able-to-beat-down-an-experienced-trooper/warrior-with-a-withering-look. And why wouldn't a master Jedi have a tough time against a highly experienced bounty hunter? Not every Jedi or Sith is going to be the end-all-be-all in power or ability.

 

 

In episode 2 I believe, many jedi fell in the stadium scene before the republic showed up to bail them out with the clone troopers. Those jedi didn't look that tough. They were dying left and right by federation robot troopers.  Luke or Obi Wan could have wiped the floor versus 3 of these guys. In fact Jango would have eaten one of them alive.  Clearly the iconic top tiered jedi/masters were the exception, not the rule.

if your worried about Trooper vs Jedi i only have 2 things to say. One was mention in hero vs hero (obi wan vs Boba/Jengo Fett)

The other is level.

If a experience (read lvl 20) Trooper were to face a novice (read lvl 5) Jedi who do you think would win?

Originally posted by Khalathwyr

"They pulled a joke on Saturday, announcing a big reveal then flashing up "Darth Binks" to stunned silence and a smattering of laughter. "I think we failed on humor," said Bioware Producer, Jake Neri. "Wait, what did you think?" asked Lucas Arts Public Relations Manager, Adam Kahn. Well, I was laughing so hard, I forgot to take a picture of the "reveal." Darth Binks was not shown again on Sunday, but from my reaction and the bits of laughter they had heard from the crowd, they thought the joke a success. Yes, with this many dedicated Star Wars fans, canon humor is a little tough."

I don't think that canon humor is tough at all. There was a time that I would have laughed at such a thing. Considering what MMO game companies do today that makes most people say or think "WTF" and that Bioware is known for not revealing much if any information about their games, it doesn't surprise me at all that the vast majority of that audience was silent. They thought it was a serious revel and obviously didn't approve.

If Bioware maintains to skimp on information releases (which is their modus operandi), giving a good feel for what is actual information, then they should probably back off trying such humor. By such humor I mean grabbing polarizing figures such as Jar Jar and making such a joke. I doubt much of the audience for this game likes Jar Jar, which would give base to the reaction they experienced.

Keen observation Khal, and it shows exactly the fact that BioWare/LEC don't really know their audience. I mean C'mon, this was PAX. It's a Con. It's a place for hard cores to gather. These are the people who know about the NGE have seen these kind of blunders in other MMOs that would make them believe that maybe yes, perhaps LEC/BioWare have actually put a Gungan Sith Lord in the game because frankly, stuff like this doesn't surprise people anymore (SWG Cupid Ewoks anyone?). They don't TRUST LucasArts. For LEC not to be sensitive to that is not really surprising, but shows bad judgement on their part.

True enough, the average SW fan (non-Con going, Cosplay wearing) might think this is funny, as they are perhaps a bit more trusting of the IP holder.

Originally posted by Bob_Blawblaw

Originally posted by Khalathwyr

"They pulled a joke on Saturday, announcing a big reveal then flashing up "Darth Binks" to stunned silence and a smattering of laughter. "I think we failed on humor," said Bioware Producer, Jake Neri. "Wait, what did you think?" asked Lucas Arts Public Relations Manager, Adam Kahn. Well, I was laughing so hard, I forgot to take a picture of the "reveal." Darth Binks was not shown again on Sunday, but from my reaction and the bits of laughter they had heard from the crowd, they thought the joke a success. Yes, with this many dedicated Star Wars fans, canon humor is a little tough."

I don't think that canon humor is tough at all. There was a time that I would have laughed at such a thing. Considering what MMO game companies do today that makes most people say or think "WTF" and that Bioware is known for not revealing much if any information about their games, it doesn't surprise me at all that the vast majority of that audience was silent. They thought it was a serious revel and obviously didn't approve.

If Bioware maintains to skimp on information releases (which is their modus operandi), giving a good feel for what is actual information, then they should probably back off trying such humor. By such humor I mean grabbing polarizing figures such as Jar Jar and making such a joke. I doubt much of the audience for this game likes Jar Jar, which would give base to the reaction they experienced.

 

Keen observation Khal, and it shows exactly the fact that BioWare/LEC don't really know their audience. I mean C'mon, this was PAX. It's a Con. It's a place for hard cores to gather. These are the people who know about the NGE have seen these kind of blunders in other MMOs that would make them believe that maybe yes, perhaps LEC/BioWare have actually put a Gungan Sith Lord in the game because frankly, stuff like this doesn't surprise people anymore (SWG Cupid Ewoks anyone?). They don't TRUST LucasArts. For LEC not to be sensitive to that is not really surprising, but shows bad judgement on their part.

True enough, the average SW fan (non-Con going, Cosplay wearing) might think this is funny, as they are perhaps a bit more trusting of the IP holder.

To be fair i TOTALLY want to play Gungan Sith Lord (and a Gorn Federation MEdical Officier in ST:O)

Originally posted by nekollx

Originally posted by Bob_Blawblaw

Originally posted by Khalathwyr

"They pulled a joke on Saturday, announcing a big reveal then flashing up "Darth Binks" to stunned silence and a smattering of laughter. "I think we failed on humor," said Bioware Producer, Jake Neri. "Wait, what did you think?" asked Lucas Arts Public Relations Manager, Adam Kahn. Well, I was laughing so hard, I forgot to take a picture of the "reveal." Darth Binks was not shown again on Sunday, but from my reaction and the bits of laughter they had heard from the crowd, they thought the joke a success. Yes, with this many dedicated Star Wars fans, canon humor is a little tough."

I don't think that canon humor is tough at all. There was a time that I would have laughed at such a thing. Considering what MMO game companies do today that makes most people say or think "WTF" and that Bioware is known for not revealing much if any information about their games, it doesn't surprise me at all that the vast majority of that audience was silent. They thought it was a serious revel and obviously didn't approve.

If Bioware maintains to skimp on information releases (which is their modus operandi), giving a good feel for what is actual information, then they should probably back off trying such humor. By such humor I mean grabbing polarizing figures such as Jar Jar and making such a joke. I doubt much of the audience for this game likes Jar Jar, which would give base to the reaction they experienced.

 

Keen observation Khal, and it shows exactly the fact that BioWare/LEC don't really know their audience. I mean C'mon, this was PAX. It's a Con. It's a place for hard cores to gather. These are the people who know about the NGE have seen these kind of blunders in other MMOs that would make them believe that maybe yes, perhaps LEC/BioWare have actually put a Gungan Sith Lord in the game because frankly, stuff like this doesn't surprise people anymore (SWG Cupid Ewoks anyone?). They don't TRUST LucasArts. For LEC not to be sensitive to that is not really surprising, but shows bad judgement on their part.

True enough, the average SW fan (non-Con going, Cosplay wearing) might think this is funny, as they are perhaps a bit more trusting of the IP holder.

To be fair i TOTALLY want to play Gungan Sith Lord (and a Gorn Federation MEdical Officier in ST:O)

Off Topic but I can't resist...  - What about Ferenghi Science Officer in ST:O?  :P

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

If you made a game of angels vs demons you wouldn't say "Hey people want to be god and the devil let's let them, oh wait everyone would be god and the devil, let's just balance up the angels and demons to be able to stand toe to toe with god and the devil." Because that would be stupid.

Really should have stuck with the Superman analogy since the devil was actually an angel of God before he believed his power was just as great as Gods.  Then what about guardian angels or warrior angels like Gabriel and Micheal.  They posses the same powers the devil had and he thought he could give God a run for his money so in game balance why couldn't they?  Also the origional demons are the 1/3 of the angels that sided with the devil so they too would have similar powers.  Sorry couldn't resist a little theology today.  I'd try out your angels vs demons MMO.