Star Wars Galaxies – Reflections on a Flawed GameAnyone who has followed and grown up with the Star Wars movie series (which I'm guessing is pretty much everyone reading this article) knows what a winding road it has been over the past 30+ years. The original movie almost didn't get made, then its hit status produced two sequels and changed the way movies were made forever. The movies attained almost mythical status in popular culture (particularly for the more nerdy among us) though the rumored prequels never seemed like they were going to happen. But then they did happen... and some of us spend time every day pretending they didn't.
While the prequel trilogy and various revisions George Lucas have made to the original trilogy have caused serious consternation among some people who may have been responsible for this article, there's a game whose tumult perhaps surpasses even that. I refer to Star Wars Galaxies, the first official MMO to be produced using the Star Wars license. Now that the baton is being handed off to Star Wars: The Old Republic, I feel like this occasion should be marked by looking over its vast potential and troubled life.
When Star Wars Galaxies was announced in March 2000, the excitement was palpable. After all, it was the most established MMO company on the planet at the time (Sony Online Entertainment) who had made the still very popular EverQuest now getting a crack at the making a game based on a time long, long ago in a galaxy far away. However, in 2001, a momentous decision was made about the development that would negatively impact the launch of the game – there would be no real space component at launch.
Sure, players could take shuttles between different planets, but that was the extent of the role that space played in the launch version of the game. Initial thoughts of a Star Wars MMO was something where players could strike out on their own and take off to any number of star systems in their own spaceship and go to unique and exotic locales. Clearly these ambitions were far beyond the scope of what the game could reasonably provide, but space is still a huge part of the Star Wars experience; many reviewers dinged the game when it released for not being able to take part in that (or even own a land vehicle) when the game first came out. This is something that John Smedley, President of SOE, regrets.
"We would have encouraged more in-depth discussion with the community surrounding the idea of any game modifications.” - SOE's John Smedley
“If we had to do it all over again, we would have waited another year before launching SWG to make sure the ground and space games launched together,” Smedley lamented to IndustryGamers.
After a few delays, the game finally did come out in 2003. However, despite releasing right in the middle of the Star Wars movie prequel trilogy, the games were instead set between Star Wars: A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. There is nothing inherently wrong with that timeline (in fact, I prefer that setting over all others in the Star Wars universe). However, the game missed a chance to draw off the momentum of the movies that were current then by directly basing the game on the timeline and events of those films. I say directly, because two expansions released that were related to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, giving certain elements an odd retconned feel.
Despite that strategic oddity, the game that people got was something a bit different than any MMO out there on the market. Players could choose any of six different professions and switch between them at will – combat was about managing three different bars (Health, Action, and Mind). There was a bizarre branching path of experience you could acquire for a wide variety of sub-specializations (experience points for playing music couldn't be used to become a better dancer). On top of that, there were 24 advanced professions that players could progress in if they met the prerequisites. Then there was the fact that there were numerous player created cities and no invisible walls on the rather spacious worlds that had been created – while some balked at the lack of direct goals, the void was filled with thousands of eager players who wanted a Star Wars open world experience to play around in.
“I think the thing we did best in Star Wars Galaxies was create an amazing sandbox experience, the likes of which have never been seen before in MMO gaming,” reflected Smedley.
While there were many different roles people could take in this world, being a Jedi was not one of them, not easily at least. Players had to initially complete four master level classes at random and that Jedi could be killed only three times before permanent death; it took players four months to even discover how to unlock the Force-sensitive slot. Most thought these requirements a bit too harsh, so developers instead left Holocrons around to give clues on how to unlock he Force-wielding abilities and they reduced the death penalty to a skill loss. Still, despite the obtuse nature of unlocking Force abilities, it stood to reason that such individuals would be rare during the time in the Star Wars universe when the game took place – it fit into the game's unique charm.
At its peak, Star Wars Galaxies had around 300,000 to 350,000 subscribers and had offloaded over 1 million copies at retail. It was stable, but not spectacular. However, when World of Warcraft released in 2004, the perception of what success could be in an MMO was completely changed. The first byproduct of this was what was called the “Combat Upgrade” that streamlined combat so that health was the only attribute that could be targeted, removed some ability exploits with stacked defensive buffs and made so called “combat levels” less submerged within the game system; there was some grumbling, but most players adjusted to the combat system that resembled other MMOs. The response to this update was nothing compared to the "New Game Enhancements" (NGE).
Soon after SOE released the third (and what turned out to be final) expansion to the game in Trials of Obi-Wan the company rolled out a major update to the game. This isn't uncommon with expansion releases, but in this case it fundamentally changed the way the game was played. Modular classes became static, linear level-driven affairs based around certain Star Wars archetypes. Furthermore, while being a Force wielder had once meant hours of effort and skill, now it could be selected right off the bat. The player base was outraged at these changes, many protested in game and several demanded their money back for the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion (which SOE eventually granted). While it was hoped that the changes would encourage new people to try the game out and the deteriorating subscriber base would reverse itself, the opposite happened as many Star Wars Galaxies veterans departed never to return.
When asked what he would do differently if he could have a “do over” on Star Wars Galaxies, Smedley said, “We would have encouraged more in-depth discussion with the community surrounding the idea of any game modifications.”
Since this time, the player base has shrunk significantly – while SOE has never revealed how many paying subscribers the game had in recent years, it was telling that the number of functional servers for the game was cut in half in 2009. By that time, the priority for LucasArts had shifted towards the anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic, and now as that game spins up, they reached a mutual agreement with SOE to shut Star Wars Galaxies down.
Now that the game is finished, there's plenty to reflect on what could have been done differently. Fortunately for SOE, they have successfully pivoted towards free-to-play offerings like Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, which has registered over 8 million users, Free Realms has seen 20 million and DC Universe Online has achieved an increase in revenue equal to 700 percent after the free-to-play switch; all of this has lifted the company to new heights. “We think that 'Free to Play, Your Way' is our future. Giving players choices is the theme of how we’re moving forward as a company, which means greater flexibility for our player base,' concluded Smedley.
