Should we, as potential Star Wars: The Old Republic players, be reading the recently-released Deceived novel and web comic, Blood of the Empire, in order to understand exactly what is going on lore-wise in the upcoming MMO? A forum poster by the name of OBOneKenobe (hmmm, sounds vaguely familiar) asked:
“I think 3 books are out now Deceived (I know is one) I am just wondering if we need to read these books to fully understand the story?”
The Blood of the Empire? Gotta be filled with billions of angry little midi-chlorians. Am I right? Haha! This thing on?
SWTOR Lead Writer Daniel Erickson graciously answered:
“You most definitely don’t need to read all the books and comics to enjoy the story in The Old Republic. Everything that your character would need to learn about the galaxy will be there for you in the world and class quests.
If you’re really someone that wants the full picture, however, some classes know more than other classes about certain subjects, and not everyone who tells you things in the world is right or truthful. So seeing different classes, the books, the comics and all the fun website pieces can give a more complete view of the entire galaxy. Both Blood of the Empire and Deceived, for example, really delve into unexplored areas of Sith social politics and what it’s like to live in the Empire. Hope that helps!”
There you have it folks. No out-of-game reading required. However, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by digging deeper into Blood of the Empire and Deceived. Think of it as “Extra Credit” – you goodie goodies!
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It would be a little screwy to make the novels and comics required reading, they’re more for the EU and lore buffs who love that sort of thing.
Releasing books before launch does show how seriously they’re taking it as a Star Wars product though, as direct tie-ins are usually reserved for the TV show and the movies.
Historically, BioWare have been pretty good about this. You pick up on a few little bits and pieces if you read the extra material (novels, comics, etc.) but none of it’s even close to essential.
Offhand, the only BioWare-related tie-in product I’ve read that I can think of was the Mass Effect comic dealing with Liara. There were a couple of nods to it in the game, but that was about it.
Knights of the Old Republic did a bang-up job of this, too. I daresay that even those who’d never heard of Star Wars could’ve got to grips with the setting and plot fairly quickly.
[...] that I mind but it does feel like the game is giving me homework. David Moore (<3) brought up this same point over at TORWars yesterday as did forum poster OBOneKenobe (not to be confused with OBTwoKenobe, sorry man had to do [...]