Jediphile Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 A eulogy to KotOR: "We are gathered here to lay to rest the immersive, epic player experience named Knights of the Old Republic, or simply 'KotOR', as we "Kotorians" have affectionately come to call it." "But I shall not begin this eulogy by speaking perfection about our beloved and departed KotOR. Like all things in existence, KotOR had its flaws and challenges. Its first incarnation was a work a beauty, highly polished and enticing, and in that it made up for its lack of originality, since it was derivative of its origins, the original Star Wars movie trilogy and earlier plots by Bioware. The second incarnation was the exact opposite - it was a highly original plot with intense and deep characters, but was scarred by the unpolished and incomplete consequence of a rushed and premature birth, with left a mark on it that is seen until this day." "But in spite of their flaws, or perhaps because of them, we loved KotOR. Perhaps because the flaws left us in the hopeful for the future. For if a third KotOR could have the original plot of the second as well as the polish and finish of the first, would it not be a marvel and beauty of perfection for us all to see and enjoy? We thought so. We hoped. We dared to dream." "Alas, it was not to be. On thusday 21. october 2008, KotOR lost its struggle with persistent MMORPG rumors, as previously suggested in july by Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, after he declared the experience dead in an interview with portfolio.com, which can be seen here. Gone is the epic experience, the rich characters, the deep background, the strong storytelling. All put down too soon before its time had come. Farewell KotOR. We shall miss you." "Where now shall we find the richness of your plots, the depth of your storytelling, the uniqueness of your single-player experience? It is all lost now, like tears in the rain. We would cry if we had but tears left to shed. Our sorrow seems to know no depth, our loss seemingly unbearable and knowing no boundaries, and it is only through forced logic and words of comfort that we can look to the future in the vain hope that a new day will dawn, where we can believe that the despair of this tragedy will not threaten to engulf us. Only by remembering the words of Kreia that you spoke to us can we remember that apathy is death, for surely that is the feeling that overpowers us now, as the dark side beckons to us with the promise of release from our torment. For you alone, KotOR, shall we resist, since that is what you would have wanted. That is your legacy to us, which we shall now forever endeavour to be worthy of." "We shall overcome. We shall be triumphant in the knowledge that one day, we shall learn to endure your loss. But we shall not forget. We shall remember you always and look to the day when your legacy will again inspire our lives with the hope of new experiences worthy of your legacy. It may be a long time, and by then many who embrace the experience of powerful storytelling and immersive single-player depth may not even know who you ever were. Those of us Kotorians who remain by then shall tell them, for the triumph of that day shall undoubtedly be yours. So be at peace, KotOR. You may rest certain in the knowledge, that we shall neither forget you, nor keep your discs far from our machines or, indeed, our hearts." Knights of the Old Republic. 2003-2008. Taken from us too young and too soon. You shall be remembered. You shall be missed "In conclusion, I shall acknowledge that the moderators restrict all discussion of KotOR to the specific topic. Consequently this topic will likely be closed shortly. It is fitting that it thus dies with KotOR. There is nothing more..." Visit my KotOR blog at Deadly Forums.
Jediphile Posted October 28, 2008 Author Posted October 28, 2008 Addendum: I shall hasten to acknowlege before irate MMO fans chase me with figurative torches and pitchforks (if they have not already) that the above is not necessarily an objective opinion about KotOR on my part. There are reasons why each paragraph of the eulogy is written entirely in quotation marks. Suffice it to say that the relevance can be taken to the KotOR or MMORPG topics. This topic is an expression of my sorrow that there will not be a direct sequel to KotOR. As such it is neither logical or objective, nor is it meant to be. And naturally my points above can in no meaningful way be taken seriously. Sorrow and emotions cannot be argued rationally, so please don't demand that they do. If you do not wish to offer your condolances, then that is fine, but please show respect for the dead and for the sorrow some of us might feel. Visit my KotOR blog at Deadly Forums.
Guest The Architect Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 Perfectly put, my friend. RIP KotOR.
Deadly_Nightshade Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 Rest in Peace. "Geez. It's like we lost some sort of bet and ended up saddled with a bunch of terrible new posters on this forum." -Hurlshot
DeathScepter Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 Thank you Jediphile for this Eulogy for it is beautiful.
Markus Ramikin Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 The book of Kotor is not closed until TSLRP comes out. Then, we will be able to use the philosophy of the knife (see Fremen): "Now it is complete because it ends here".
Dark_Raven Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 Bye, bye Kotor. Damn you LA and Bioware. Hades was the life of the party. RIP You'll be missed.
kjradio Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 I add my condolences and curse all the parties involved in bringing about this day. Good...Evil... I have the gun.
Pidesco Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 Shame on the publishers for taking from you a franchise that was never yours, and was designed with the specific purpose of taking away your cash. Also, it was very cunning of them to achieve this by promising that the franchise will be continued and made available in stores for many years to come. It's just evil! Where now shall we find the richness of your plots, the depth of your storytelling, the uniqueness of your single-player experience? Unless Bioware completely stops making games I think your precious generic gameplay experience is safe. "My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian tourist I am Dan Quayle of the Romans. I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands. Heja Sverige!! Everyone should cuffawkle more. The wrench is your friend.
Markus Ramikin Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 What about my specific, Avellone-written gameplay experience?
Pidesco Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 Let me check.... Yep, Avellone still writes and designs games. I think you're safe. "My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian tourist I am Dan Quayle of the Romans. I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands. Heja Sverige!! Everyone should cuffawkle more. The wrench is your friend.
Markus Ramikin Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) Kotor games, that is? 'cause I think that's what this eulogy idea is about, in case you missed that little fact. Edited October 29, 2008 by Markus Ramikin
Pidesco Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 So you're complaining that the Kotor game which was specifically written by Chris Avellone is dead? I hate to break it to you, but I don't think it's dead, it's just finished. The point is, that instead of begging for sequel after sequel of the same stuff, perhaps it would be a good idea to ask developers to make new, innovative games. Games that take risks, do different things, and don't retread the same plot lines and settings. "My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian tourist I am Dan Quayle of the Romans. I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands. Heja Sverige!! Everyone should cuffawkle more. The wrench is your friend.
Markus Ramikin Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) *Shrug* I would very much like to see my favorite gamewriter handle the True Sith that Revan was after, there are enough loose ends to tie left from Kotor 2 that I think wishing for an Obsidian-made Kotor 3 is only natural. The fact that we're not getting it marks the end of an interesting, maybe I could even say promising, storyline (and while Bioware may end up with something worthwhile - *cough* may - it will not be the same). I'm not sure why I'm not supposed to feel that way. If I were a suspicious man, which fortunately I am not, I'd suspect you of butting into this thread for no other reason than to troll. Edited October 29, 2008 by Markus Ramikin
Trenitay Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 Sad, sad day. Hey now, my mother is huge and don't you forget it. The drunk can't even get off the couch to make herself a vodka drenched sandwich. Octopus suck.
babydol Posted October 30, 2008 Posted October 30, 2008 *sniffle* Jediphile, that was beautiful. I feel the same. I'm still holding out for TSLRP, but, yeah, I agree. And it's sad, really. I'm not going to lie and say that I won't TRY the MMO. But even if it breaks all of my preconceived notions, it will never make its way into the obsessive place that KOTOR 2 has in my heart. Check out my KOTOR fan vids on YouTube. And no, they're not of legos.
Daaave Posted October 30, 2008 Posted October 30, 2008 This thread terrifies me in so many ways =/. Mentalists the lot of you; apart from Pidesco over there, he knows what it's all about. Listen to him and improve your life by 72%. Guaranteed or your money back. Just because you're a bit thinner than your even fatter mum it doesn't mean you're in excellent physical shape, if you could fit through the door and view the normal people you'd notice that cheeseburger boy. Squid suck.
Markus Ramikin Posted October 30, 2008 Posted October 30, 2008 What Pidesco says is just about as useful, and makes about as much sense, as telling a Dune fan that it doesn't matter that Frank Herbert died and never finished the series, after all there are other authors out there who write books too!
Marcus Posted October 30, 2008 Posted October 30, 2008 (edited) LucasArts has the right to do whatever they want. Yes, this is a sad day for Knights of the Old Republic. Maybe the number of subscriptions will be down for The Old Republic, and it may get BioWare and LucasArts to rethink the singleplayer idea. *Keep dreaming Marcus, keep dreaming.* According to BioWare executives and such, The Old Republic is going to take place of parts 3-10. Yes, this does mean the end to the current running KotOR storyline, but it does not mean it is the end of a singleplayer KotOR experience. I have only played two other MMOS, and I have come to think that they are only a massive 3D chatroom. Star Wars: Gallaxies is a massive online chatroom with a 3D environment, which is filled with absolute garbage and nonesense. BioWare may prove everyone wrong, or they will end up in the wastelands of MMOs. Its not my money they are wasting, so I'm not worried about them failing. If you don't like to play MMOs, I suggest you should skip this one game. Edited October 30, 2008 by Marcus
Daaave Posted October 30, 2008 Posted October 30, 2008 What Pidesco says is just about as useful, and makes about as much sense, as telling a Dune fan that it doesn't matter that Frank Herbert died and never finished the series, after all there are other authors out there who write books too! Ignoring the fact that the story and series is being continued by the original developers here are we? Just because you're a bit thinner than your even fatter mum it doesn't mean you're in excellent physical shape, if you could fit through the door and view the normal people you'd notice that cheeseburger boy. Squid suck.
Jediphile Posted October 31, 2008 Author Posted October 31, 2008 What Pidesco says is just about as useful, and makes about as much sense, as telling a Dune fan that it doesn't matter that Frank Herbert died and never finished the series, after all there are other authors out there who write books too! Ignoring the fact that the story and series is being continued by the original developers here are we? The story has grown beyond what Bioware did in K1. And while everybody obviously does not agree with me on this, I believe TSL was far more original and strong in plot than K1, which basically was highly derived from the original movie trilogy with Bioware's "your hero was a villain" subplot thrown in. It was good, but I'd hardly call it original, and I would probably have enjoyed it a lot less if I had played many Bioware games before it. TSL was the opposite - strong and original plot, but suffering from cut content hurting the plot and a very unpolished feel due to the rushed deadline. So Bioware, who IMHO wrote a far less original plot, taking the series back AND putting it in an MMO does not inspire much confidence with me. On the contrary. Visit my KotOR blog at Deadly Forums.
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