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[Monocle]

Are tie-in novels just an excuse to info-dump and meander into universe building, or do they aim to be as good as an "original" Arthur C Clarke or Ray Bradbury novel? I dunno.

I suppose that I can accept that tie-in novels should be treated differently, but at that point, I don't know what makes a "good" tie-in novel.

For me, a good tie-in novel is one that enhances my appreciation for the universe it expands. If I'm learning cool new things about a series I like, I'm satisfied. Even seeing familiar events from a different perspective is enough to keep me interested.

 

[Kintaro]

I'm going to play TOR but i'm hoping that it bombs so we can get KOTOR III.

Please god give us a KOTOR III.

Please.

If TOR bombs, the IP is dead.

Time for people to get over it. TOR is KOTOR III. Accept it.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Maybe in a universe where good things happen this game would get made

Perhaps in a galaxy.... far far away? /trollface

 

[BattleMonkey]

Drew K's SW books have been golden so far, this should be good.

Also OP, Bioware is not releasing this book, Del Rey is.

Except KoTOR2 never happened, so it doesn't matter anyway.

Where are you getting this nonsense from? It's in every chronology and background source books. And even this novel is going to cover it, Drew K even mentions that the Exile is going to be in this novel.

 

[Daft_Cat]

He's a pretty quality writer with this kind of material. He treats the lore with more respect than a lot of other property based novels. He also wrote for the games, so he's obviously the best fit to continue the story. At the same time, I would have loved to play it rather than read it. Oh well. I guess this officially means Revan's KOTOR is gone for good. TOR better be amazing (I'd appreciate a console release too..I don't have a decent rig at the moment).

 

[MechaX]

Where are you getting this nonsense from? It's in every chronology and background source books. And even this novel is going to cover it, Drew K even mentions that the Exile is going to be in this novel.

I'm curious where he got that from too.

Hell, canon wise, the only thing we don't really know about KOTOR II is whether or not the Exile (who was designated as being female I think) actually met Disciple, Handmaiden, or somehow both.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Obsidian will most likely do the singleplayer version of KOTOR 3.

Why don't they do some proper HD remakes of KOTOR 1 and 2, with the restored stuff... Hire some new upcoming teams, give them all the assets.

Maybe even combine the games into one campaign, make the art style relateable to SWTOR.. upgrade the music, resolution, fix difficulties and inventory issues, and do some balance. Make it really nice. KOTOR 1 and 2 are the backbones of SWTOR.. IMO it makes sense to have these up and running again.

 

[Skiptastic]

Drew K's SW books have been golden so far, this should be good.

Came here to mention this. His first two Darth Bane books were highly enjoyable. I failed to notice he came out with a third! I will have to pick that up.

PS. If I had a billion dollars, I would finance KOTOR III right away. I would love to see Obsidian get a second shot at the material, seeing as how KOTOR II was fucking amazing until the aborted end.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Why don't they do some proper HD remakes of KOTOR 1 and 2, with the restored stuff... Hire some new upcoming teams, give them all the assets.

Maybe even combine the games into one campaign, make the art style relateable to SWTOR.. upgrade the music, resolution, fix difficulties and inventory issues, and do some balance. Make it really nice. KOTOR 1 and 2 are the backbones of SWTOR.. IMO it makes sense to have these up and running again.

Lucasarts sadly is the one that has to decide to do anything with SW. People like to whine about Bioware not doing KOTOR3, but it was Lucasarts that went to Bioware about making a KOTOR MMO.

 

[Mutanthands]

Lucasarts sadly is the one that has to decide to do anything with SW. People like to whine about Bioware not doing KOTOR3, but it was Lucasarts that went to Bioware about making a KOTOR MMO.

Forget about LucasArts doing anything that would make sense with Star Wars. It seems that the recent executive revolving door has left them rudderless and brain damaged. It's an incredible shame.

 

[bjaelke]

Q&A with Mr. Karpyshyn.

Q: Hey – you said in your FAQ that you didn’t want to write a novel about Revan because books on video games don’t work. Remember all that stuff you wrote about Throne of Bhaal on your novels page?
A: I remember. But this is different. (And not just because I got a nice, fat check for this book. Though that didn’t hurt.) I still think a book that tries to tell the story of a BioWare video game will fail. But even though this novel is about Revan, it’s not just a rehash of the KOTOR story. The book focuses on what happened after KOTOR: Revan’s adventures that are hinted at in KOTOR 2, as well as what happened to him and the Exile after KOTOR 2. This is a new story with a familiar character.

Q: Wait – how can the character be familiar? In the game, players picked Revan’s gender and they got to choose between a light and dark side ending!
A: Okay, you got me. To write this novel, we had to make some choices. But Revan has already been enshrined in the Star Wars canon as a male who redeemed himself at the end of KOTOR. I just took that and ran with it.

Q: But you’re invalidating my whole KOTOR experience. You’re destroying my memories of my beloved female Revan who was a dark side bad-ass!
A: That’s not really a question.

Q: Okay, I’ll rephrase: why are you destroying my KOTOR memories?
A: I don’t see it that way. First, you still got to enjoy KOTOR – I don’t have a time machine to go back in the past and change that. And even while you were playing it, you had to know your version might not be the “official” version. So nothing’s really changed. And in order to tell Revan’s story properly, we had to have one canonical version of the character and events.

Q: Couldn’t you have told the story while leaving the gender unclear through carefully written dialog and scenes?
A: No. Not realistically. Not without it being the worst novel in the history of novels.

Q: I still say you’re ruining my KOTOR memories. You should have left Revan’s story untold.
A: Again, not a question. But I’ll answer anyway. Some fans feel this way. But many more fans want to know what happened to Revan. They feel his story is unfinished. They’ve been waiting years to find out what happened to him (and the Exile).

This has been building for a long time. It was inevitable. Revan was too popular not to get his own novel. And – to be brutally honest – I don’t think anyone else should write it but me. As the lead writer on KOTOR I know the canonical version of Revan better than anyone, so I wouldn’t trust anyone else with this novel.

Q: Wow – when did you get so full of yourself?
A: Like the demand for a Revan novel, this has been building for a long, long time.

Q: So are you going to mess up the canon with Revan and the Exile like you did with Bane and those Dark Horse comics?
A: Probably. I do my best to stay faithful to the original material, whether it was written by me or by someone else. But there’s a LOT of details encompassed in the KOTOR games, and I might get one or two small facts slightly wrong. Seriously – it’s almost impossible to write something in the Star Wars universe without accidentally contradicting some small piece of established lore from somewhere else. There’s just so much stuff out there that nobody can keep every single detail perfectly consistent.

But I’ve tried my damnedest not to violate canon. And - more importantly – I feel like I’ve captured the spirit, flavor and magic of the KOTOR games in the novel. I’ve got a special place in my heart for Revan, and I didn’t want to *$!@ this up.

Q: I didn’t play KOTOR. Will I be able to follow the story?
A: Yes. I wrote it so that someone who doesn’t know the tale of Revan or the Exile will still be able to follow and enjoy the story. I do think it will have more impact and resonate more if you at least know the basics, however. If you haven’t played the games and you want an overview of the story, check out the entry for KOTOR and KOTOR2 on wookieepediea. (By the way – SPOILERS!)

Q: Okay, I’m convinced. This novel is going to kick-ass!
A: Not a question, but I’ll let it slide.

Q: When does the book go on sale?
A: We don’t have an exact date yet, but as details emerge I will announce them here on the website and on my Twitter feed.

Okay, that’s it for this update. Next update in a couple weeks, where I’ll talk a bit more about the new novel. Hopefully I’ll have some info on previews, the cover, and other cool stuff like that.

 

[firehawk12]

Where are you getting this nonsense from? It's in every chronology and background source books. And even this novel is going to cover it, Drew K even mentions that the Exile is going to be in this novel.

I've been going off of the SW:TOR press releases and whatnot. At least a year or more ago, all KoTOR related answers pointedly ignored the existence of Exile and KoTOR2. I kind of checked out soon after once it became clear I had no intention of playing the game, admittedly.

For me, a good tie-in novel is one that enhances my appreciation for the universe it expands. If I'm learning cool new things about a series I like, I'm satisfied. Even seeing familiar events from a different perspective is enough to keep me interested.

Fair enough... given how people seem to hate the direction that the SW books have gone recently, I'm glad that I checked out once the Del Ray regime took over.

 

[Ellis Kim]

It's stupid that I know this, but Canon Exile is female. Except KoTOR2 never happened, so it doesn't matter anyway.

Its funny. After I found out that I could have gotten with Bastila as a male Revan, I decided to go male with KOTOR 2, and now you're telling me that the Exile was canonically female?

lol...

Obsidian Entertainment. Mass Effect 2/Alpha Protocol engine. KoTOR3.

That's a recipe for success - especially since LucasArts bailed on the MMO.

Indeed. I want Obsidian back on board. Despite KOTOR 2's story ending issues, it was great.

 

[Nirolak]

Obsidian Entertainment. Mass Effect 2/Alpha Protocol engine. KoTOR3.

That's a recipe for success - especially since LucasArts bailed on the MMO.

We usually call this Unreal Engine 3.

 

[firehawk12]

Its funny. After I found out that I could have gotten with Bastila as a male Revan, I decided to go male with KOTOR 2, and now you're telling me that the Exile was canonically female?

lol...

Yeah, I seem to remember it being a "fairness" issue. Since Revan was male, they balanced that by making Exile female. It's been years since I cared about this shit though.

Indeed. I want Obsidian back on board. Despite KOTOR 2's story ending issues, it was great.

The made the better KoTOR game and the better Fallout game. Sigh.

We usually call this Unreal Engine 3.

Well, yeah.
I mostly mean the storytelling engine/dialog system anyway though. :lol