Nobody has tried to deliver this amount of immersion in a video game so far.
- Jake Neri, LucasArts Producer

I think the quote above really sums up this week's installment of BioWare's web update to Star Wars: The Old Republic very well. The BioWare/LucasArts folks bring us a video to really drive home the point of something they've been talking about for weeks now. The voice acting in the game is huge. Its immersive. It could just be a game changer, having Hollywood executives really worried about a game that could be more entertaining than most movies they've put out in the last 10 years. By all indications in this latest video, I have every reason to believe they will pull it off. Before I go any further, check out the clip below titled The Voice of the Old Republic:

I find it extremely hard to contain my childlike excitement for this game. Yet the adult in me is trying to reign it in, cause I've been here before with other games...only to be left flat. Still, I anticipate this like no other game I've looked forward to before and every week BioWare gives us gamers something to get excited about with this game.

All adoration aside, there's alot to soak in with this video. Aside from the awesome info about the scope of the voice over work, the actors involved, and just how big it all is, we get to see some other good bits of the game here. This video showcased some game play and UI elements that I had yet to see until now. With fanboy lust and nerd-like precision, I dissected the clip to take note of a few key areas.

User Interface

There are some notable things about the UI shown, and they all give full reassurance that SWTOR is definitely an MMORPG. The UI should has elements that will be familiar to anyone that has played WoW before. Note the self and target portraits with associated health and energy bars. A yellow casting bar displays when an ability with a cast time is used. A bank of 12 hotkeys exists at the bottom between the portraits, and these hotkey icons display cooldown timers when the abilities are used. The selected target is also highlighted with a colored circle on the floor to help you discern what you actually have targeted. Other MMO standard elements like the mini map and chat box are shown as well.

Dialog Control

I'm told that those of you that have played any of the KOTOR games are already familiar with this, but for those that aren't the shot above shows the active dialog control. This is the mechanism that you will choose how you interact with NPC's throughout your adventure.

Quest Icons

This is just an educated guess, but this appears to be some sort of quest icon. I'm assuming that they yellow icon over the NPC's head in the image above indicates an available quest. Yes, Blizzard pioneered the idea and it is in nearly every MMO made since then in some form or another, so don't be surprised to see these types of similar designs in the game.

Smuggler's Cover Mechanic

They really did not address this directly in the video, but if you were quick you might have seen the Smuggler's cover mechanic on display. As the Smuggler runs across the terrain, areas light up in a green color in the shape of a body to indicate a place where the Smuggler can take cover. Note the green figure behind the Smuggler above.

All in all its another fantastic update this week from BioWare. I remain very excited to play this game, too bad we must wait until next year for it :( So what did you think? Good stuff here? Worth getting excited for? Holla back.

Related articles

• Star Wars: The Old Republic Script More Than 40 Novels Long [Bioware] (kotaku.com)
• LucasArts will show some Star Wars love at San Diego Comic Con (crunchgear.com)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic's voice acting process detailed (joystiq.com)
• You'll crap your pants while watching this SW: TOR trailer (destructoid.com)
• The Old Republic Wordier Than Entire Run of The Sopranos [E3 2009] (kotaku.com)