Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic - how Mass Effect developers Bioware made the most influential Star Wars game

(Image credit: Bioware)

The latest issue of Retro Gamer magazine features an in-depth look at Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (KOTOR), arguably one of the greatest videogames to feature the Star Wars name.

Ex-Bioware developers Greg Zeschuk, James Ohlen and Drew Karpyshyn reveal every aspect of the game's design in our exhaustive 10-page feature, including how they got a call out of the blue to work on a new Star Wars RPG while the team was wrapping up work on its acclaimed RPG, Neverwinter Nights. They also reveal the freedom they had working on the game with Greg Zeschuk revealing that, "we were given the option of setting it either between Episode V and Episode VI or in the pre-history thousands of years before the movies."

Read more great retro features in Retro Gamer magazine

(Image credit: Future)

Retro Gamer magazine delivers amazing features and developer interviews about history's best games every month, and you can save up to 57% on a print and digital subscription right now.

The team goes on to explain why they chose to work on the Xbox version over the PC (despite both formats being neck and neck during development) and how the writing team managed the large roster of playable characters. There's also talk of the influence of KOTOR in later games, from Bioware and other developers, and how it led to the popular games, Dragon Age and The Old Republic.

In addition to our excellent KOTOR coverage, issue 202 of Retro Gamer also features a look at the explosive helicoptor shmup, Tiger Heli, an interview with Mev Dinc about the Super Mario Kart clone, Street Racer, as well as an exclusive interview with Minoru Kidooka, the president of Arc System Works. We also pay tribute to Namco's excellent arcade blaster, Time Crisis, interview videator Big Boy Barry and revisit some of gaming's greatest destinations, including Midgar and Novigrad. There's much more of course, but you'll have to read the magazine to find out.

The story of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic is in the latest issue of Retro Gamer magazine which is on sale now in all good UK newsagents. KOTOR fans based in the US can subscribe to the digital edition of Retro Gamer for as little as $9 for three issues.

CATEGORIES
Retro Gamer Team

Retro Gamer is the world's biggest - and longest-running - magazine dedicated to classic games, from ZX Spectrum, to NES and PlayStation. Relaunched in 2005, Retro Gamer has become respected within the industry as the authoritative word on classic gaming, thanks to its passionate and knowledgeable writers, with in-depth interviews of numerous acclaimed veterans, including Shigeru Miyamoto, Yu Suzuki, Peter Molyneux and Trip Hawkins. 

Latest in RPG
Fighting a dragon with a sword and shield in Skyrim
Former Skyrim dev says "a lot of the great stuff" in the RPG came from the devs having "quite a bit of freedom" to create what they wanted, even if it wasn't "on schedule"
Yasuke standing in front of a Kofun tomb in Assassin's Creed Shadows
It took me over 20 hours to unlock Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows, and a Kofun turned out to be the perfect training ground
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
Reclaiming their crown, pacifist Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 player beats the whole RPG as "Merciful Henry": 1,741 strikes blocked, 472 knockouts, and zero kills
Top-down screenshot of Monsterpatch, showing a grid-based town with Pokemon-like creatures, GBC graphics and vegetations sprinkled about.
This cozy RPG promises a Pokemon and Stardew Valley mashup with "limitless customization," 208 monsters, and more, so no wonder its Kickstarter was funded in just 16 minutes
Dragon Age: The Veilguard art showing the RPG's companions grouped together
Dragon Age: The Veilguard director is leading an unannounced game for Wizards of the Coast, which recently hinted at more Baldur's Gate
Latest in News
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong