A fascinating report in the Los Angeles Times about Star Wars: The Old Republic ought to get some attention for pegging the cost of making the massively multiplayer game at $200 million.
But for fans of the game's developers at BioWare—and for fans of some of the cooler pieces of pop fiction around—there's another detail that should grab your attention:
The idea for the [The Old Repubic] has its origins at a 2005 meeting between [BioWare producer Rich] Vogel and BioWare's Zeschuk and Muzyka, two Canadian physicians-turned-game developers. After attempts to adapt "Lord of the Rings," "A Game of Thrones" and Marvel comic book super-heroes like such as Spider-Man, the team signed a co-publishing deal with "Star Wars" creator George Lucas.
One of the top studios behind story-rich games wanted to tackle that stuff? They wanted to do what they'd do for Star Wars for the best dark fantasy lore around?
They wanted to do an MMO with Spider-Man and, presumably the X-Men and Fantastic Four, too?
Maybe it's too bad that we got The Old Republic. Maybe.
Star Wars: The Old Republic - the story behind a galactic gamble [The Los Angeles Times]