Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Boss Fight Books #20

by Alex Kane

Set an even longer time ago in a galaxy far, far away, BioWare's 2003 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic wowed players with its compelling characters, lightsaber customization, complex morality choices, and one of the greatest plot twists in both video game and Star Wars history. But even for veteran studios like LucasArts and BioWare, the responsibility of making both a great game and a lasting contribution to the Star Wars canon was no easy task.

Featuring extensive new interviews with a host of KotOR's producers, writers, designers, and actors, journalist Alex Kane weaves together an epic oral history of this classic game, from its roots in tabletop role-playing and comic books, to its continued influence on big-screen Star Wars films. Whether you align with the light or the dark side, you're invited to dive into this in-depth journey through one of the most beloved Star Wars titles of all time.

Genres: Video Games, Nonfiction, Star Wars, Games, Gaming, Technology, History

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 9, 2019

Reviews

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Knights of the Old Republic” is arguably the game that made me fall forever in love with video games. So obviously, a book on its development and interviews with the team who made it—over a decade since the game first launched—is something I’m going to love.

And I did! Kane’s writing is strong, his structure solid, and he had a tremendous amount of quotes and anecdotes from the developers and fans of the game that help illustrate why it’s such an important and enduring classic. But it’s also *very* short, and doesn’t add anything new to the narrative of the game. It ends just when it should’ve dug deeper, and I was hoping the book would shed light on all aspects of the game’s development: the good, the bad, and the ugly. And this book doesn’t do that.

What it does do is provide a brief, but exciting, recap of why KotOR is so beloved to this day. It’s written with care, and I definitely finished it wanting to replay the game yet another time.

[Milos Milosevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved the game, you will enjoy this book tremendously.

[Caleb Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

(click the image below to watch the video review)

I’m reviewing all of the Boss Fight Books releases, so subscribe to my YouTube channel to be sure you don’t miss future reviews.

Anytime I talk about Star Wars, I feel like I have to qualify everything with the statement “I’ve never seen a Star Wars movie.” The fandom is simply so passionate, that it’s important to acknowledge my distance to the material for fear of saying something wrong or, more often in real life conversations, the person on the other end will immediately jump into discussions of lore and character arcs assuming they’re talking with someone equally passionate. So, when I have to cut them off at the fourth mention of a planet with a name that sounds like a sneeze to let them know they are mistaken, they feel, rightfully so, lied to. After all, why engage in a conversation at all about something you know little about and have no passion for?

The passionate fandom is further evidenced in Alex Kane’s book, which documents the development and reception of the BioWare game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. As I’ve stated in previous reviews, Boss Fight Books fall into two general groups: memoir/personal connection stories and documentary style histories. This one is definitely more of a documentary style, but it dabbles with personal connection. But what’s interesting here is that the personal connection comes by way not of the author, as it the case with most other Boss Fight Books that dabble in the memoir/personal connection style, but by way of the game’s development staff, who are very passionate fans of the source material.

The book’s text is, I’d estimate, 80% interview quotes, and those interviews convey BioWare’s equal measures of excitement and intimidation for getting to work on such a cultural integral IP. Most of the book is a bunch of geeks geeking out. This is the book’s strength and its weakness. By focusing entirely on staff interviews, the book doesn’t take time to fish out a narrative thru-line, which makes the overall read less interesting for people like me who have no connection to the source material. But believe me, I fully understand I’m in the minority here. Most people who read this book will be fans of Star Wars. And those fans will likely be happy for having access to the minds behind the game. 100% pure excitement is all they need. The tension and conflict of a narrative won’t matter to the fans.

This is a very quick read, coming in at just around 100 pages. And even for people like me, who don’t care about Star Wars, the read is still very much worth it as long as you are a fan of video game development behind-the-scenes fodder. I love reading about what goes on in a game development studio. The level of coordination it must take to ensure such a creative endeavor comes together on budget and on time is truly beyond my comprehension. But books like Alex Kane’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic get me a little bit closer to grasping that insanity.

[Ignacio · Rating 2 out of 5]

El primer Baldur's Gate es con toda seguridad, fuera de los 8 bits, el videojuego que más veces he recorrido de principio a fin. Sin embargo, ni siquiera la primera vez que lo jugué me pegó tan fuerte como el KotOR. Recuerdo levantarme varios días entre semana a eso de las 6 de la mañana para continuar la partida que habría dejado a media noche, antes de ir al trabajo. Recorría cada esquina del mapa buscando cualquier cosa en tiempos en los que las misiones secundarias eran tan escasas que casi se podían considerar como principales. Y lo exprimía hasta asegurarme que nada quedaba atrás, atrapado por ese personaje en busca de su propia identidad en un contexto que entendía la filosofía de las historias de Star Wars como pocas veces se había visto en el universo expandido. Esta pasión compartida por los que lo jugamos en la XBox y PC es lo que le falta a este librito de Alex Kane. Más próximo al trabajo fin de máster de periodismo de videojuegos por cumplir, con abundantes declaraciones de las personas importantes en su desarrollo recordando su participación en el proceso, algunas anécdotas potentes (cómo llegó Ed Asner a interpretar uno de los personajes), pero sin esa visión personal que da aliento y vuelo a un texto de este tipo.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex Kane's KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC is a fascinating oral history that recounts the making of the game of the same name, and a project with everything riding on it. It came about during a time when BioWare was known for making hit PC games, but really, only two. A single dud could have tanked its reputation, and perhaps the studio.

Every page of Kane's book of the same name drives home Knights of the Old Republic's importance to BioWare and LucasArts. I most enjoyed Bioware's journey to a corner of the world's most famous galaxy from far, far away that wasn't populated with known commodities, giving them the freedom to leave footprints in George Lucas's sandbox. The book drives home the impact of the game's development on creators from both studios. That impact is felt as keenly as the game's critical and commercial success, as well as its influence on RPGs and the lofty standards it set for games set in the Star Wars universe, which had been hit or miss (mostly miss) up to that point.

I loved every second of this book, and I'm only a casual Star Wars fan. (Yes, they do exist.) If you know the make and model of every lightsaber in that famous galaxy, you'll enjoy it even more.

[Ponappa Somayanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic look into what went into the creation of one of the greatest games ever made. Very inspirational and insightful.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I wanted a much longer book, as well as one that actually explained some more about the ludonarrative elements of the game, this was still a fun "behind the scenes" look at the environment and culture KotOR was made in.

[Charlie Snedden · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine. If you're looking for a truly in-depth look at the creation of the game, you won't find it here. I'm not the fastest reader, but I completed the whole thing in one sitting that was under two hours. Honestly, there's only slightly more information than you'd find in your average episode of 'Did You Know Gaming?'
What's there is good, but I wanted much more.

[Graham Bing · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book isn't great.

I love Star Wars. I love KotOR. I have read and enjoyed many oral histories of other videogames. And so I was primed to like this. But I found it very boring. Also the writing is clunky and the structure is baffling.

There are some interesting anecdotes but not nearly enough to make up for having to read through the rest of it.

I want to call out a few passages in particular.

There's this riveting description of gameplay:

Combat in KotOR begins, generally, as soon as an enemy spots the player’s traveling party. Whether the player is using an Xbox controller or keyboard-and-mouse setup, they can pause and unpause the action with a single button press, issue strings of commands for each of up to three hero characters, and then watch as the battle plays out in a series of rounds. If the player doesn’t issue specific commands, the combatants fight it out automatically using their default mode of attack. Characters remain more or less stationary, but they react to what enemy combatants are doing, lightsabers clashing and flaring the way filmgoers have seen them do on the big screen. As an added bonus, LucasArts supplied the authentic sound effects Ben Burtt had designed for the original movies decades earlier.

This summary of the first 20 minutes of Revenge of the Sith:

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have just slain the Sith Lord Count Dooku and rescued Chancellor Palpatine (yet another Sith, unbeknownst to them). The galaxy-spanning conflict known as the Clone Wars is coming to an end, and all that’s left is to bring the Jedi-hunting cyborg General Grievous to justice. The warship they’re on, the Invisible Hand, is in freefall above the planet Coruscant. Its droid crew have either abandoned ship or been destroyed. A barrage of turbolaser fire has breached the ship’s hull, and gravity’s beginning to pull the Separatist flagship apart.
“Can you fly a cruiser like this?” Kenobi asks.
Anakin says, “You mean, ‘Do I know how to land what’s left of this thing?’”
Reentry rattles the vessel as they burn their way through the atmosphere, leaving a trail of scattered fragments in their wake. Like the Titanic, the ship splits crosswise, and its aft section breaks loose completely.
“Not to worry,” Kenobi says. “We are still flying half a ship.”
Game development’s a lot like that scene ...

It's not all bad. There's some interesting stuff about the voice acting. You can read it in full at Kotaku as a promotional preview of the book. And it's fun reading about how much John Gallagher (concept art lead) hated Malak's design:

“I gave James shit about [the Malak design],” Gallagher admits. “Because I thought it looked like Mort from Bazooka Joe and His Gang. I was like, ‘What the hell is that? You should just have a turtleneck [covering his mouth]. He got his mandible cut off?’ I was like, ‘For fuck’s sake, James. Really?’ “I was outvoted, obviously,” Gallagher remembers. “And I didn’t go away and sulk or anything. I said, ‘I’m not gonna design Malak because I think it’s a terrible idea.’ I was designing other elements for the game, and there was a shit-ton of stuff to do, so I was just like: ‘Derek probably has a good handle on this.’ And we ended up with the Malak concept. It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t insult me. I just don’t think it’s a very well-realized design.”

[Lawrence Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it says on the back: a fun and informative look at the development of one of the greatest Star Wars experiences (not just games in my opinion) of all time. It's certainly a dated experience now, but back in the 00s, it was cutting edge game design. The reason it has survived as a culturally relevant videogame to now is that it has a magnificent story, and it was very interesting to get a view into BioWare just as they entered their golden age. It was also fun to hear the game devs passionately reminisce about the genuine hard work they put into the game and the love and respect they had for the brand of Star Wars. That kind of respect for art is, unfortunately, rather hard to come by in the videogame industry these days.

A recommend from me to anyone who enjoyed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. And if you haven't tried the game, I genuinely implore you to give it a shot. It'll be one of the best Star Wars stories you'll ever experience. Then come and read this book because it has spoilers for the game.

[Christian Tautua · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you are a fan of something, often times you want to savor the enjoyment of that thing by diving into how it is made, its history, and its impact on the genre and public. The history covered in the book, how it impacted Star Wars canon, and launched Bioware’s legacy showcases how groundbreaking the game truly was. Going through each phase of development is also interesting because it shows the games impact on multiple departments – art, voice acting, and overall development.

It is a short read, which is both a benefit and a drawback. While the collab between LucasArts and Bioware was an interesting dynamic to detail, there are insights that feel missing, especially since most details are pulled from very accessible forms and formats (online articles and interviews).

Overall, it was definitely a great way to savor such a groundbreaking piece of work and art. 7/10

[Alex LaMotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved loved loved the game, and although this book gives some great insight on the making of the game and how it has affected the canon of Stat Wars today by perhaps providing a narrative parallel of morality from Darth Raven and Darth Malek to today's Rey and Kylo Ren (while also creating a neat starship that apparently appears in Rogue One). The interesting stories of the development were few and far between but rather the book most often said a little with a lot of voices all essentially saying the same thing for pages at a time. Learning that this game helped paved the way for light-saber color choice in both future games and the future films such as the Clone Wars was a treat.

Albeit a worthwhile experience for those who were profoundly impacted by the game.

[Javier Alemán · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quizá el libro más arquetípico de los que he leído de Boss Fight, sin que eso sea necesariamente malo. Se centra puramente en el desarrollo del juego y está repleto de información y entrevistas que muestran claramente cómo llegó a convertirse en clásico y patrón oro del RPG de los dosmiles. Se echa un poco el falta una visión algo más personal pero compensa con el dibujo que hace de toda la concepción de la obra.

[Tyler Wolanin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this book had had a lot more in it. Full review (and recap of the game that you probably don't need) here: https://tylerwolanin.com/2020/5/28/wh...

[Christine Craft · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved KOTOR growing up, so I figured this would be my first Boss Fight book.

It was a quick and interesting read into the development of the game, but sadly didn’t explore any other aspects related to it.

[Arthur Augustyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful bite sized feature writing on one of the best games ever made. Original reporting with direct interviews from big players. I only wish it was longer and more in-depth. Love what little there was.

[John-Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting and well written. But didn’t have as much depth as some of the others in the series. I think author tried to get information but the interview subjects didn’t have much to offer up.

[David Macpherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

a nice little interview over view of the creation of the video game. I found it informative and entertaining. It wasn't the strongest example of this book, but it was pretty good

[Matthew Juffs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into the development of one of the greatest games ever. Longer than an essay/article, but short enough to read in a few short bursts.

[Tim Acton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look into the creation of one of my favourite video games. Provides insight into the trials around working with such a well known IP.

[Rob Leane · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, consider this epic making-of book your sacred Jedi text.

[Bob Makin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good making of game book

[Travis Webber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more of a straightforward history of the game than other Boss Fight books, and thereby not quite as interesting.

[Declan MacGinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little history of the development of a beloved game. Well researched and interesting the book raises questions of what is it is to work on something that both is, and isn't your own.

[Gav451 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this type of book more that those books that relate the game to the personal life of the writer. There were loads of interesting little details about the care that went into making this game and it made for a fascinating read. All the details about the voice acting and the hours put into finishing the game.

Reading the book wants me to return to the game and try to finish it this time.

[Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories about the making of one of my favorite games.