'Star Wars: The Old Republic's' First Trailer Released In 4K
One of Star Wars fan’s favorite video games is turning 10 years old next month on December 20. Star Wars: The Old Republic was first released in 2009. It is an MMORPG game which, when it was released, was created to rival the biggest MMORPG of them all, World of Warcraft. While that was cool and all, it wasn’t what really made Star Wars: The Old Republic famous or exciting. That came in the form of the trailers that proceeded the game’s release.
On June 1, 2009, BioWare, the creator of Star Wars: The Old Republic, released a trailer for the game with the title, Deceived. This trailer was cinematic and wonderful in a way that no other video game trailer before (and for some fans, after) had ever been.
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The original trailer was meant to catch people’s eyes, and it succeeded with its many flashy lightsaber battles between the Jedi and the Sith, and an evil army descending on the world. There’s impressive animation, amazing fight choreography, and a lot of detail. So many people regard this video game trailer as on par with the actual cinematic movies with how well done it was and how beautiful everything about it is.
When released, Star Wars: The Old Republic may not have been the behemoth that BioWare was initially hoping for, but it is still a highly played game. It is even getting a new expansion soon called The Legacy of the Sith. Unfortunately, some fans think that the trailers are way more awesome than the actual game.
Which, to a point, they may be correct since BioWare also seems to agree. BioWare just re-released a 4K Ultra HD version of the original Deceived trailer (which can be seen below) from the animators at Blur Studio, and is planning on doing the same thing to their other cinematic wonders.
Throughout the years, BioWare has already released multiple cinematic trailers for updates and game play for Star Wars: The Old Republic. And now, fans can experience Darth Malgus’ brutal attack on the Coruscant Jedi Temple in 4K Ultra HD resolution. The next cinematic trailer that BioWare and Blur Studio are set to re-release is their original second one: Hope. With each re-release, the 4K Ultra HD resolution will bring all the older, outdated looking, yet beautiful cinematic works of art into the new age of brilliant graphics, animation, and sharpness.
Both of these trailers, Deceived and Hope, are very loved by both Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Wars fans alike. Each trailer doesn’t so much as show you a glimpse of what the gameplay might be like, it takes you on a journey and each is their own standalone short story. Which, if you think about it, for a video game trailer is pretty ingenious. Yes, looking at the gameplay is fascinating, but actually telling a story to get fans to play the game is much better marketing. Especially when coupled with excellent graphics, Star Wars lore, fight scene choreography, and animation. The trailer still make fans excited, but 10 years ago, it was pretty impressive for their time. Which is why, BioWare and Blur Studios decided that re-releasing the trailers would be a fun and exciting thing to do.
With all those creative aspects of the video game trailers, Blur Studios stated in a 2010 interview that for just these regular three minute trailers, it takes a team of between 40 to 50 people over three months to make. Charles Boyd, the creative director for BioWare recently said that Star Wars: The Old Republic isn’t going anywhere. In fact, with the release of the Legacy of the Sith addition to the game, BioWare has “no plans to stop anytime soon” according to Boyd. Legacy of the Sith is going to be Star Wars: The Old Republic’s eight expansion and Boyd says it may be some closure for the story so far;
"Malgus has been around since the start. He's probably our most recognizable villain. He was first introduced in those CG trailers before the game even launched. So with it now coming around to 10 years, coming around kind of full circle, maybe that could happen, maybe some kind of closure for Malgus -- whatever that might mean. That could be a reasonable guess."
The Legacy of the Sith expansion will also provide various quality of life fixes and introduce a new Combat Styles feature which will, according to Boyd, allow players to choose a “specific class story and [combine] it with ability sets from other related tech or force-wielding classes.”
Star Wars: The Old Republic has some very exciting things happening for its 10th birthday. Make sure you don’t miss the re-releases of the other cinematic trailers in 4K Ultra HD.
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Source(s): CBR, Eurogamer, Wookieepedia