I was skimming through the Dragon Age Wikipedia entry earlier (I was there to remind myself when it was shipping), and I saw some interesting words that I think are worth repeating here:
The designers are incorporating ‘origin’ stories for each race and some classes in the game. For example, a Dwarf Noble will begin the game as part of the royal family in one of the Dwarven cities, and a Dwarf Commoner will begin on the streets of the city. Origin stories determine the background of the player’s character prior to the main events of the game’s story, forming an introduction to the game world and hours of game-play. People that the player meets during the origin story may reappear throughout the game, some of whom may be adversaries.
How closely do you guys think this might be mirrored in TOR, when it comes to our storylines?
Especially the whole concept of the introduction story… could TOR end up being like Age of Conan, with an initial section dedicated to setting the scene, depending on your class? Some would say, and I would agree, that it was a great way to start that game. And if another BioWare title is doing similar… hmmmm…
There is no tracking of alignment as in previous BioWare games, but the moral choices of the main character throughout the game will still affect the story. You may save the world whether you are good or evil, but the decisions that you make in the process will change the world around you–deciding who will become King, for example, and affecting nations and races and their places in the world. These decisions will also influence your companion NPCs, and could ultimately lead to an NPC deciding to leave your party if he does not agree with your approach.
Sounds a lot like being able to be the good guy on the Republic side and being the good guy on the Sith side, eh?