Mailbag: Star Wars Galaxies

We Can't Ignore The Continuous Spill Of E-mails From Galaxies Players

(CBS) 
For the next 2 years I played a game that was built for a true Star Wars fan, a complete, immersive, virtual Star Wars universe, with seemingly endless possibilities. The fact that I could be and do almost anything with very few barriers was amazing. Although many programming “bugs” existed in the game, more content needed to be added, and some professions needed to be worked on, SWG was a great game that had a lot of potential. The game was on the road to becoming a huge success from a game play aspect with the well-timed release of fun expansions such as Jump to Lightspeed and Rage of the Wookiees, added content, and some great ideas to enhance some of the current professions (Squad Leader, Creature Handler) SWG continued to be a pinnacle of MMORPG achievement. All that ended on November 15, 2005.

Everything that so many people have worked hard on is now shredded to pieces and thrown away with the introduction of the New Game Enhancement (NGE). Whether it was because of unrealistic financial expectations or a flawed business model, the game that many people grew to depend on as our Star Wars experience, our own personal Star Wars story, has been destroyed. No longer is the game an immersive virtual world. No longer can you choose your path and find your purpose in the Star Wars galaxy. The 34 well thought out fun professions have been replace with 9 “iconic” professions to “simplify” the game. Some professions have been removed completely (Creature Handler and Bioengineer), Creature Handler being one of the most popular professions (and in my opinion, a true groundbreaking profession model in the MMORPG realm). Crafters, are now called traders, and are all but useless in the game. The once revered economic system is collapsing before our eyes. The combat system, a turned based system that is a staple of all MMORPGs, that allows for interaction during combat and allowed disabled players to enjoy being apart of the fun has been removed for the “fun” “fast action” twitched based combat seen in FPS style games. The game we knew and loved has been pulled away from under us. The depth and immersion is diluted to appeal to a much larger audience. This is no longer the game I enjoy playing. After a few weeks of trying I, along with tens of thousands of others have quit.

In an interview with the New York Times, Nancy MacIntyre, senior director for SWG at LucasArts states, “We wanted more instant gratification: kill, get treasure, repeat. We needed to give people more of an opportunity to be a part of what they have seen in the movies rather than something they had created themselves." It is unbelievable that detail, quality, and depth have been sacrificed in favor of “instant gratification”. However it stands to reason. Several communications from John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment, and Julio Torres, Producer of SWG at Lucas Arts, point to focus groups conducted with present and former players. And the design changes were a direct reflection of the feedback they were given. It is also well known that the focus groups consisted of only males 18-25.

It is clear to me that the original Star Wars Galaxies game was destroyed without any consideration of the existing player base. Furthermore, it was destroyed because we, the “original” Star Wars fans (35years old and up), are no longer the target market for the gaming business. What was once an immersive, engaging, and complex virtual Star Wars world, has been oversimplified to market to teenagers and preteens in an effort to maximize profitability.