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175-690: The game uses the Odyssey Engine , which was originally used in Knights of the Old Republic . Writing first began before the original Knights of the Old Republic was released, and development began in October 2003, after BioWare offered Obsidian their Star Wars license due to being confident in their previous work. Knights of the Old Republic II starts five years after the events of the first game and follows

350-519: A Buddhist monk who happened to be very good at fighting". As depicted in the canon , the Jedi study and utilize the Force in order to help and protect those in need. The Jedi members, known as Jedi Knights, respect all life by defending and protecting those who cannot do it for themselves, striving for peaceful and non-combative solutions to any altercations they encounter and fighting only in self-defense and for

525-602: A Force Projection, allowing the Resistance to escape. When Rey learned of her lineage and exiled herself on Ahch-To out of fear of turning to the dark side, Luke appeared before her as a Force spirit and encouraged her to face the Emperor. Along with the spirits of other past Jedi, he then empowered Rey during her final confrontation with Sidious, which marked the definitive defeat of the Sith. Later, he and Leia gave Rey their blessings to adopt

700-474: A Force spirit. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens , Obi-Wan's voice can briefly be heard just after Rey 's force vision when she came into contact with Anakin's lightsaber. In Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker , Obi-Wan appears as a disembodied voice alongside other past Jedi, empowering Rey to face a rejuvenated Darth Sidious. Anakin Skywalker was a human Jedi Knight, one of the main protagonists of

875-475: A Jedi named Kanan Jarrus survived the purge; the latter trains a new apprentice, Ezra Bridger . The series also reveals that, following the start of the purge with Order 66, Sidious commissioned the Inquisitorius, a group of former Jedi who had turned to the dark side for various reasons, to aid Darth Vader in hunting down the remaining Jedi. The Clone Wars spinoff series Star Wars: The Bad Batch follows

1050-566: A Thousand Faces (1949), directly influenced Lucas, and was what drove him to create the 'modern myth' of Star Wars . Lucas explained that the Jedi are trained, allowed and expected to love people (even their enemies, the Sith), but they are not to form attachments because attachment leads to the dark side of the Force. When one has, gets or wants a person or experience and attaches to them, one becomes afraid to lose them. The fear of loss feeds into greed, wanting to keep things, thus, an attached person

1225-408: A duel. He communes with Kenobi before returning to the Force. In Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker , he appears as a disembodied voice alongside other past Jedi, empowering Rey to face a rejuvenated Darth Sidious. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a human Jedi Master who trained Anakin Skywalker, at the behest of his deceased master Qui-Gon Jinn, and later Anakin's son Luke Skywalker, making him one of

1400-410: A duration of 30 minutes as it was the only E3 event it would be showcased at; however, due to the limited time frame, they would have to cut it down to a five- to ten-minute presentation. During this time, none of the levels Obsidian designed were ready to be shown, so they picked three levels and put them through a schedule to finish them on time. The demo was finished a few days before the event, and

1575-670: A leader of the Rebel Alliance . As seen in The Rise of Skywalker , Leia began training as a Jedi under her brother shortly after Return of the Jedi , but quit her training when she had a vision that it would result in the death of her yet to be born son. Decades later, while leading the Resistance against the First Order , Leia also briefly mentored Rey in the ways of the Force, despite her limited knowledge about it. Ultimately, Leia gave her life to redeem her son, Ben Solo , who had turned to

1750-442: A light or dark path, is more ambiguous, with more unexpected consequences". Eurogamer said that compared to the original game, Knights of the Old Republic II ' s plot is "far more grey". The review also said that planets are "better developed and paced". GameZone wrote that the game is a "Must Buy" for people who like well-written characters and story. The combat was generally well-received, with some reviewers noting that it

1925-596: A list of Force-sensitive children, which could be used to rebuild the Jedi Order. Once their mission was completed, Cal decided to destroy the Holocron, believing it to be better for those children to discover their own destinies. Kanan Jarrus (born Caleb Dume) was a human Jedi Padawan who fought for the Rebellion during its formation. First introduced as a main character of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels , Jarrus

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2100-510: A loose affiliation of warriors and assassins leftover from Darth Malak 's empire from the previous game. Between the events of that game and this one, the Sith have launched a largely successful genocide campaign against the Jedi Order. Another major antagonist is Atris , a former member of the Jedi Council whose unethical efforts to thwart the Sith come into conflict with the Exile. While hiding on

2275-447: A mission to seek out the remaining Jedi to fight against the Sith. The game's critical reception upon its release was generally positive; praise was given to the story, characters, and writing, which were noted to be more gray than the original Knights of the Old Republic . The game was included in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die . Particular praise was given to the character of Kreia , with GameSpy naming her

2450-463: A new studio in Montreal , Quebec , to assist with existing projects as necessary. During the mid-2000s, BioWare staff developed a number of video game projects which were ultimately canceled. A handheld spin-off for Mass Effect franchise titled Mass Effect: Corsair , inspired by the gameplay of Star Control and played from a first-person perspective, was briefly explored as a potential project for

2625-585: A number of changes in BioWare's corporate status. In November 2005, it was announced that BioWare and Pandemic Studios (itself founded by former Activision employees) would be joining forces (with each maintaining their own branding), with private equity fund Elevation Partners investing in the newly named VG Holding Corp. partnership. On 11 October 2007, it was announced that VG Holding Corp. had been bought by Electronic Arts for US$ 775   million (equivalent to $ 1.14 billion in 2023). BioWare therefore became

2800-571: A rejuvenated Darth Sidious. Ezra Bridger is a human Jedi Padawan who was born on the planet Lothal on the same day the Galactic Empire was established. He witnessed many injustices of the Imperial occupation of his homeworld for much of his childhood and was separated from his parents from a very early age. He was able to survive alone using street smarts and skills but was discovered by Kanan Jarrus to have potential Force sensitivity after he encounters

2975-542: A restructuring of their role-playing and massively multiplayer online games development into a new group that included both Mythic Entertainment and BioWare. Ray Muzyka, co-founder and general manager of BioWare, was appointed the group general manager of this newly formed "BioWare Group". BioWare's other co-founder, Greg Zeschuk, became the Group Creative Officer for the new MMORPG studio group. BioWare's studios remained unchanged and continued to report to Muzyka. Near

3150-462: A substantial "wound" in the Force that the character was forced to sever their connection to the Force to survive, and the Jedi Council ordered the character exiled from the Jedi Order. As the game progresses, the Jedi Exile rebuilds a connection to the Force and creates unusually strong Force Bonds with other characters and places, while unknowingly sapping Force powers. Among the characters who join

3325-497: A time when the Jedi have been nearly exterminated by the Sith . The player's character, a former Jedi Knight exiled from the Jedi Order, is referred to as "The Exile" or "Jedi Exile". Throughout the game, the Exile restores their connection to the Force while, with the help of playable companions, setting out to stop the Sith. The player makes choices that turn the Exile to either the light side or

3500-414: A time, who gain experience points at the same rate as the player character. Equipment and perks for party characters can be selected for different statistical effects or abilities. Players can loot corpses and various environmental objects. The protagonist also has the ability to "influence" their party members; by doing things that impress them, the player increases their influence with them. Depending on

3675-480: A unit of EA, but still retained its own branding. In 2007, BioWare released the science fiction role-playing game Mass Effect . The following year, BioWare released Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on the Nintendo DS , its first title for a handheld game console . Later, EA announced that BioWare would merge with Mythic Entertainment , another division of EA who would rename itself as BioWare Mythic after

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3850-405: A variety of melee and ranged weapons, including swords and firearms. Fighting unarmed is also an option. A new addition to the game is "prestige classes", add-ons to the Jedi classes that were established in Knights of the Old Republic . They allow the player character to practice in lightsaber combat or Force powers, depending on player choice. The player can travel with up to two party members at

4025-470: A video game company. To make their first game, they pooled their resources, $ 100,000 CAD each, which resulted in capital of $ 300,000. The company was incorporated on 1 February 1995, though formally launched on 22 May 1995. Their first game, Shattered Steel , began its life as a proof-of-concept demo, similar to the MechWarrior games . This demo was submitted to ten publishers, seven of whom returned to

4200-480: A video game this year". The game received runner-up placements in GameSpot ' s 2004 "Best Role-playing Game", "Best Voice Acting", "Best New Character" and "Best Game Based on a TV or Film Property" award categories across all platforms. In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die . Footnotes Citations Odyssey Engine BioWare

4375-538: A year after the release. Obsidian Entertainment (successor to Black Isle Studios) used an updated version of BioWare's Aurora, titled "Electron Engine", to produce Neverwinter Nights 2 (2006) and its three expansion packs (2007–2009). Like the original, the Electron toolset was released with the game. The Polish studio CD Projekt Red used the Aurora Engine to develop The Witcher , the 2007 video game adaptation of

4550-521: Is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton , Alberta . It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka , Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Since 2007, the company has been owned by American publisher Electronic Arts . BioWare specializes in role-playing video games , and achieved recognition for developing highly praised and successful licensed franchises: Baldur's Gate , Neverwinter Nights , and Star Wars: Knights of

4725-556: Is based on BioWare's previous contribution to the Star Wars franchise, and was announced on 21 October 2008, although BioWare had first mentioned an unspecified new collaboration with LucasArts in October the previous year. The other games were Dragon Age II , the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins , and Mass Effect 3 . Following the release of Mass Effect 3 in March 2012, numerous players complained about its endings failing to fulfill

4900-416: Is mostly unchanged from the original Knights of the Old Republic . GameSpot compared the combat from the first Knights of the Old Republic to the second, saying that it is not well-balanced in both; however, the reviewer wrote that it helps the combat remain spontaneous. GameZone said that the combat is not changed from the first Knights of the Old Republic to the second, but that this is a good thing since

5075-490: Is renamed Kylo Ren and destroys all that Luke built. After Kylo's fall and the destruction of the New Jedi Order, Luke goes into a self-imposed exile on Ahch-To , believing himself and the Jedi to be a negative influence on the galaxy. In the sequel The Last Jedi , the scavenger Rey ( Daisy Ridley ) discovers Luke on Ahch-To and convinces him to train her in the ways of the Force. During her training, Luke explains that

5250-407: Is selfish and unable to let go. The fear of loss turns into anger, which will lead to hate, and hate will lead into suffering, mostly on the part of the one who is selfish, because then one will spend their lives being afraid rather than actually living. The light side is focused on compassion and giving; thus it is love, and the opposite of attachment – it is everlasting joy, devoid of fear of loss and

5425-584: The Clone Wars series, the Jedi believed romantic feelings are natural and as such, they did not prohibit them, but for a Jedi Knight, it was essential to make the right choice for the Order and not neglect their Jedi duties in the favor of their beloved, even if that would mean the end of the relationship. This proves problematic when Anakin, now a young adult ( Hayden Christensen ), falls in love with Padmé Amidala ( Natalie Portman ). The Clone Wars , first spoken of in

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords - Misplaced Pages Continue

5600-602: The Icewind Dale series (2000–2002). When Beamdog sought out a license from BioWare and started engineering enhanced versions of these games in 2012, they created an updated version of the Infinity Engine, referred to as the "Infinity Enhanced Engine" (alternatively Infinity Plus Engine or Infinity Bless Engine). The Aurora Engine was the successor to the Infinity Engine, featuring full 3D environments, real-time lighting and shadows, and surround sound . BioWare used

5775-536: The Star Wars Rebels episode "Path of the Jedi" , Kanan Jarrus stated: There were around 10,000 Jedi Knights defending the galaxy. Now, we are few. But in those days, we had small outposts, temples spread throughout the stars. The Empire sought out these temples and destroyed many of them... Yoda was a wise, experienced, and powerful Grand Master of the Jedi of an unknown species and the oldest known prophet in existence (having lived at least 900 years), considered

5950-565: The Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs , a series that Lucas considered adapting to film. According to the Star Wars: Rogue One – The Ultimate Visual Guide , "Jedi" in-universe is derived from "Jedha," a planet that was once home to a Jedi temple and was a source of kyber crystals. Kyber crystals are used to power lightsabers and were considered sacred by the Jedi Order. In his book The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind

6125-588: The Handmaiden (male Exile). The game features three main antagonists: Darth Traya, a mysterious assailant who remains in the dark through most of the game; Darth Sion , an undead Sith Lord who once served under Exar Kun in the Great Sith War (as seen in Tales of the Jedi ); and Darth Nihilus , a Sith Lord whose physical being was destroyed due to his immense affinity to the Force. These three Sith Lords are leaders of

6300-567: The Harbinger , a Republic cruiser, the Exile is sedated by an HK-50 assassin droid to be delivered to a crime syndicate called the Exchange, who have put out a bounty on live Jedi. The Exile is rescued by Kreia, with whom the Exile forms a Force Bond, and the droid T3-M4 on the Ebon Hawk , and the three flee the Harbinger as it is hijacked by a squad of Sith assassins. However, their ship is damaged during

6475-567: The Jedi Order are fictional characters, and often protagonists , featured in many works within the Star Wars franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic , the Jedi Order is depicted as a religious, academic, meritocratic , and military-auxiliary (peacekeeping) organization whose origin dates back thousands of years before the events of the first film released in

6650-510: The Mass Effect franchise , Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was announced as well as an all-new entry to the franchise that had just started development. On 3 December 2020, both Hudson and Mark Darrah, the executive producer on the Dragon Age series, announced their departures from the studio. Electronic Arts stated that work on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games would still continue at

6825-598: The Nintendo DS in 2008. A sequel to Jade Empire was under development at one point. The project transitioned into a spiritual successor codenamed Revolver , which was canceled by 2008. Trent Oster led a team which worked on a spy-themed role-playing game codenamed Agent prior to his second departure from BioWare in 2009. Unused concept art for Agent and Revolver are featured in the art book BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development , published in January 2021. On 24 June 2009, Electronic Arts announced

7000-594: The Polish fantasy novel series , although the rendering module was rewritten from scratch. BioWare used an updated version of the Aurora, titled the Odyssey Engine, to produce Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in 2003 and their first original intellectual property role-playing game Jade Empire in 2005. The Odyssey Engine was the first BioWare engine to allow developing for video game consoles , with both Knights of

7175-508: The Xbox One was announced in April 2018. An iOS and Android version was released on December 18, 2020. Along with several official patches , a notable fan-made mod called The Sith Lords Restored Content Modification or TSLRCM serves as an unofficial patch by fixing around 500 remaining bugs , along with restoring most of the content that was cut from the game. There were also methods found by

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords - Misplaced Pages Continue

7350-468: The fan community to implement original adventures using the technology of BioWare's games. BioWare created the Infinity Engine to use it as a core component for development of the Baldur's Gate series (1998–2001), which were 2D role-playing video games based on Dungeons & Dragons . The engine was also used by Black Isle Studios to create the critically acclaimed Planescape: Torment (1999) and

7525-456: The original trilogy , Return of the Jedi , ends with Luke redeeming Vader and helping to destroy the Empire, thus fulfilling his destiny as a Jedi. The two last Jedi Masters die during the events of the films, after which they return as Force spirits to help Luke. Now that they're extinct, the Jedi are romanticized, deified. But if you strip away the myth and look at their deeds, the legacy of

7700-551: The " Chosen One " of a Jedi prophecy, destined to bring balance to the Force. At the end of The Phantom Menace , following Qui-Gon's death at the hands of Darth Maul , Anakin is paired with his apprentice, the young Obi-Wan Kenobi ( Ewan McGregor ), who promises to train him. The sequel, Episode II: Attack of the Clones , establishes that the Jedi forswear attachments, being in the same category of possession and striving to cultivate compassion, unconditional love instead. As revealed in

7875-424: The "light side" of the Force. Furthermore, the Jedi view fear to be the root of suffering: fear leading to anger, anger leading to hate, and hate leading to suffering. The Jedi warn that an excess of these negative emotions can turn practitioners away from the light side of the Force towards the dark side, which embraces passions, aggression, hate, rage, fear, and bitterness as a way of life. The Sith are followers of

8050-488: The 2023 sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor , it is revealed that mercenary Bode Akuna was also a survivor of Order 66. In the limited series Obi-Wan Kenobi , the Great Jedi Purge is depicted in a flashback in which Reva Sevander, future Inquisitor called Third Sister, escapes from the clones during the night of Order 66. The exact size of the pre-purge Jedi's membership and operations are never specified. However, in

8225-556: The 50-year-old but still toddler Grogu was sought by a remnant of the Galactic Empire due to his connection to the Force, but was found and adopted by the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin , who sought to reunite him with the Jedi. When Grogu was eventually captured by Moff Gideon's Imperial remnant, Djarin mounted a rescue, which would have been unsuccessful if not for the arrival of Luke Skywalker (whom Grogu had previously contacted through

8400-412: The Aurora Engine to produce their 2002 Neverwinter Nights , as well as two expansion packs. The game included the Aurora toolset, a collection of tools allowing users to create their own digital adventure modules to be played either in single-player or in online multiplayer. The toolset enjoyed great popularity among the modding community, with over a thousand fan-made modules produced in it within half

8575-495: The BioWare team, which is already developing for the Star Wars franchise." In November 2013, teaser images from the next instalment of the Mass Effect series were released. At E3 2014 , BioWare Edmonton announced working on a new (unnamed) original intellectual property in addition to continuing their established series. Another new IP, titled Shadow Realms is an episodic 4 vs. 1 story-driven online action role-playing game, and

8750-507: The Chosen One. In Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker , Anakin appears as a disembodied voice alongside other past Jedi, empowering Rey to face a rejuvenated Sidious. Ahsoka Tano is a Togruta Jedi Padawan discovered on her homeworld of Shili by Jedi Master Plo Koon. Plo brought her to Coruscant to train as a Jedi. She eventually became the Padawan learner of Anakin Skywalker during

8925-524: The Clone Wars, Jedi Master Dooku left the Jedi Order as a result of differences with his fellow Jedi, becoming the 20th Jedi Master in the history of the Order to do so. To showcase the failures of the Jedi they created statues of the fallen Jedi and placed them in the Jedi Temple Archives. The animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars depicts the battles of the Clone Wars, focusing on

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9100-722: The Clone Wars. Among many campaigns, Ahsoka found herself advising rebels on the planet Onderon, including Steela and Saw Gerrera, in their fight against the Confederacy. These rebels would eventually form part of the basis of the Alliance for the Restoration of the Republic, a relationship that would later prove beneficial to her. She was accused of bombing the hangar at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant before clearing her name with Anakin's help. However,

9275-517: The Exile unconsciously giving up their connection to the Force, which then became the teachings of the new Sith. If the player aided the Jedi Masters, they prepare to strip the Exile of their Force connection permanently, as the Masters fear that these teachings could result in the actual death of the Force, but Kreia reveals herself to be the former leader of the Sith and murders them all in retribution. If

9450-483: The Exile's alignment, they either order the destruction of Malachor V, escaping before it is destroyed, and travel into the Unknown Regions in search of Revan (light side), or remain on Malachor V as the new Dark Lord of the Sith (dark side). Knights of the Old Republic II was developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by LucasArts . It is the sequel to BioWare 's Knights of the Old Republic , and it uses

9625-407: The Force to control and command animals, a skill that proved more useful several times during his service in the Rebellion. Bridger later went missing in action during the battle to liberate Lothal from Imperial occupation, where he successfully defeated Grand Admiral Thrawn , regarded by many as the Empire's best tactician. Luke Skywalker was a human Jedi Knight (later Master) and the protagonist of

9800-519: The Force). With Djarin's approval, Luke took Grogu with him so that the child could be trained as a Jedi. Though Grogu briefly trained with Luke, he showed signs of not being fully committed to the Jedi path and wishing to be with Djarin instead, causing Luke to doubt his abilities as a teacher, as seen in The Book of Boba Fett . After speaking with Ahsoka Tano, Luke decided to let Grogu choose his own destiny, and

9975-412: The Force. With peace and justice restored to the galaxy, Rey lives on to start the Jedi Order again. In a deleted scene from Attack of the Clones , the "Lost Twenty" is the name given to a group of Jedi Masters—numbering twenty in total—who left the Jedi Order throughout its history. The first 12 of this Lost Twenty became "Dark Jedi" who eventually founded the first Sith Empire. In the years preceding

10150-463: The Hebrew term "yedid," which means "beloved." In his book The Secret History of Star Wars , Michael Kaminski suggests that Lucas may have been influenced by this term when creating the name for his knights. Kaminski notes that Lucas has cited Jewish mysticism as an inspiration for his work, and that he may have been drawn to the idea of his heroes being beloved protectors. George Lucas acknowledged that

10325-421: The Imperial era, he lived on Bracca, working as a scrapyard rigger and hiding his Force powers. While scrapping a freighter, an accident forced Cal to reveal his Force abilities to save a co-worker, exposing him to the Empire, who dispatched two Inquisitors to hunt him down. On the run, Cal was rescued by Cere Junda, a Jedi Knight also in hiding, and worked with her and other allies to find a Jedi Holocron containing

10500-510: The Jedi Council's response during the ordeal soured her faith in the Order, and she left the Order to forge her own path in the galaxy. She briefly returned in the service of the Republic during the final days of the Clone Wars, when she led part of the 501st Clone Legion in the siege of Mandalore to capture the Sith Lord Darth Maul , who attempted to warn her that Anakin would soon fall to the dark side. Shortly after capturing Maul, Ahsoka

10675-509: The Jedi Exile are Kreia , who acts as the Exile's mentor; pilot and former Sith assassin Atton Rand ; technician and Mandalorian War veteran Bao-Dur and his droid remote; the criminal droid G0-T0 ; and the Sith apprentice Visas Marr . T3-M4 and Canderous Ordo (now identified as " Mandalore "), both featured in the first game, also join the Exile's team. Other characters join the Exile's party under certain conditions. HK-47 , who appears in

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10850-478: The Jedi Order's last hope. Darth Vader ( David Prowse / James Earl Jones ) is also established as the Jedi's main enemy. By the end of the film, which depicts the battle of Yavin , Luke is on the path to becoming a Jedi. In the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back , Luke receives Jedi training from the elderly (and only surviving) Jedi Master Yoda ( Frank Oz ), even as he learns that Vader is, in fact, his father, former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker . The third film in

11025-456: The Jedi and clone troopers they lead against the Separatists and its Sith leaders. The feature-film pilot reveals that Anakin trained an apprentice, Ahsoka Tano , between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith . Later arcs explore the foundations of Order 66 and Darth Sidious' manipulation of the Jedi Order. The animated television series Star Wars Rebels reveals that Ahsoka and

11200-413: The Jedi is failure. Hypocrisy, hubris. [...] At the height of their powers, they allowed Darth Sidious to rise, create the Empire, and wipe them out. In The Force Awakens , the first film in the sequel trilogy, it is revealed that Luke had attempted to rebuild the Jedi Order, but failed when his nephew Ben Solo ( Adam Driver ) fell to the dark side, lured by the mysterious Snoke ( Andy Serkis ). Ben

11375-547: The Jedi, Sith , and other Force concepts have been inspired by many sources. These include: knighthood , chivalry , paladinism , samurai bushido , Shaolin Monastery , Feudalism , Hinduism , Qigong , Greek philosophy and mythology , Roman history and mythology , Sufism , Confucianism , Shintō , Buddhism and Taoism , and numerous cinematic precursors. The works of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and mythologist Joseph Campbell , especially his book The Hero with

11550-469: The Obsidian team also relied on the first Knights of the Old Republic and the original Star Wars films for inspiration. Avellone said that Obsidian recognized one of the things that made Knights of the Old Republic great was the story and the companions, and that they tried to expand upon this by adding more depth to them. Knights of the Old Republic II uses the same d20 System as the first Knights of

11725-524: The Odyssey Engine and, among other things, supported PhysX hardware acceleration. It was used to produce Dragon Age: Origins (2009) and its expansion pack Awakening (2010). Like Neverwinter Nights , Origins was released with a toolset to allow the players to run their own adventure modules on the Eclipse Engine. An upgraded version of the Eclipse Engine, internally known as the Lycium Engine,

11900-505: The Old Republic . They proceeded to make several other successful games based on original intellectual property: Jade Empire , the Mass Effect series, and the Dragon Age series. In 2011, BioWare launched their first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Star Wars: The Old Republic . BioWare was founded by Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk , and Augustine Yip. Of

12075-616: The Old Republic and Jade Empire originally released for the Xbox before being ported to the PC platform. Obsidian Entertainment used the Odyssey Engine to develop Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004), a sequel to the original Knights of the Old Republic . BioWare maintained limited oversight on Obsidian's development of The Sith Lords , as well as Neverwinter Nights 2 . The Eclipse Engine succeeded

12250-401: The Old Republic with some changes, and the level cap has also been removed. For the most part, the team didn't want to redo any of the design elements from the first game, as they felt that there was no need to change anything that had already proved successful; instead, they opted to look for areas that could be improved and expanded upon them in a way that retained the base style of Knights of

12425-541: The Old Republic , Jade Empire , and Dragon Age: Origins , as well as the game director of The Old Republic MMO, left the studio after 22 years in July 2018. On 24 September 2019, it was announced that BioWare had moved from their old location on Calgary Trail into 3 stories of the Epcor Tower in downtown Edmonton. On 7 November 2020 or "N7 Day", a date first declared in 2012 by BioWare as an annual "worldwide celebration" of

12600-447: The Old Republic . Obsidian put much work into the game's graphics, including the appearances of non-player characters. Other technological improvements include the lighting and weather effects, in addition to increasing the level sizes. Knights of the Old Republic II ' s lead artist was Aaron Meyers; he decided which people would join the art team after looking through "tons of applications, resumes, and demo reels", and he said that he

12775-721: The Old Republic II went gold on November 23, 2004; it was later released on December 6, 2004 in the United States, and the PC version was released on February 8, 2005. In Europe, the game was released simultaneously for both platforms on February 11. The game was later re-released in August 2012 on the digital distribution platform, Steam , and in January 2015 on GOG.com . On July 21, 2015, OS X and Linux versions were released along with new support for Steam Workshop and other Steamworks features, controller input, and modern widescreen resolutions up to 5K . Backward compatibility for

12950-535: The Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire. The Jedi are first introduced in the 1977 motion picture Star Wars as an order of warrior monks who serve as "the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy " and embrace the mystical Force. Obi-Wan Kenobi ( Alec Guinness ) explains that the Galactic Empire has all but exterminated the Jedi, and seeks to train Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hamill ) to be

13125-455: The Original Film , J.W. Rinzler notes that Lucas originally considered using the term "Jedidiah" for his knights, but ultimately settled on "jedi." Rinzler also suggests that the word may have been influenced by the term "bodhisattva," which refers to a Buddhist concept of an enlightened being who chooses to remain in the world to help others. Another potential influence on the word "jedi" is

13300-465: The PC and Xbox versions respectively, indicating "generally favorable reviews" according to the site. IGN said that there is a bulk of pressure involved with developing the sequel to a game from a different developer which won several " Game of the Year " awards, and that Obsidian delivered. The review also said that it will not disappoint fans of the original game and that it is mostly similar to it in terms of

13475-494: The PC version, it has multiple unfixed bugs. Development of the game began in October 2003. The overview of the game's story was originally drafted before the first Knights of the Old Republic was released, after which it saw many revisions and also some major redrafts. In preparation to write Knights of the Old Republic II , lead designer Chris Avellone tried to learn as much about the Star Wars universe as possible. He read many books, guides, modules, and graphic novels, and

13650-404: The Sith. The Exile then travels to four worlds to find reclusive Jedi Masters and either beg for their aid or kill them in revenge for being exiled, depending on player choice. As the Exile continues their journey, they are joined by several individuals in their quest. After finding all the Masters, the Exile travels back to Dantooine and learns that the countless deaths at Malachor V resulted in

13825-407: The Skywalker surname and continue their family's legacy. Leia Organa was the daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and one of the main characters of the original and sequel trilogies. While Force-sensitive, she didn't become aware of her connection to the Force or her lineage until much later in life, instead focusing on a career as a senator and, secretly,

14000-568: The Spectres for the first time. After discovering how much of a team player he could be during a rescue operation, they recruited Bridger, who began training him in the ways of the Jedi under Jarrus, himself still a Jedi Padawan. Bridger took a long time learning how to wield a lightsaber and use it to deflect blaster bolts, modifying his first one to fire stun blasts in the interim. He was not well skilled in lightsaber duels against Inquisitors and Darth Vader, but later discovered his unique ability to use

14175-596: The United Kingdom, the game debuted at the top of the weekly chart, beating Blizzard Entertainment 's much-anticipated online game World of Warcraft , which was released in the same week. Eurogamer reported that in the UK Knights of the Old Republic II sold much more in its first week than the first game, which the website speculates was helped by the former's simultaneous release on Windows and Xbox in PAL regions, as opposed to

14350-635: The Unknown Regions. Ahsoka is one of the few Jedi to survive past the Imperial era and into the New Republic era. After the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka took on Sabine Wren as her apprentice. In Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker , Ahsoka appears as only a voice alongside other past Jedi, empowering Rey to face a rejuvenated Darth Sidious. Cal Kestis was a human Jedi Padawan and the main protagonist of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order . Trained by Jaro Tapal, Cal witnessed his master's death during Order 66, which he himself barely managed to survive. During

14525-472: The battle on the planet Malachor V, causing mass death and destruction. Before following her to Malachor V, where Kreia had since rejoined the Sith as Darth Traya, the Exile stops a Sith invasion of Telos, defeating one of Traya's former apprentices, the Sith Lord Darth Nihilus. On Malachor V, the Exile is separated from their companions and fights through hordes of monsters on the planet's surface and

14700-411: The best video game character of 2005. However, the game received criticism for being too similar to its predecessor in terms of graphics and gameplay systems, as well as being launched in an incomplete state. Knights of the Old Republic II is not a turn based game, but is a role-playing video game played from a third-person view that features pausable real-time combat. Combat and interactions with

14875-458: The combat in the original was enjoyable. IGN praised the game's AI , saying that it is easy to control the main character alone without controlling the party members. GameSpy's reviewer, on the other hand, said that he encountered problems with the combat AI that were not present in the original Knights of the Old Republic . GameSpot criticized Knights of the Old Republic II ' s graphics, calling them "lackluster". GameSpy's reviewer felt that

15050-412: The command Order 66: Operation Knightfall . This resulted in the clone troopers being forcibly brainwashed into viewing their Jedi generals as traitors to the Republic and subsequently executing them. Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker led the 501st Legion to carry out "Operation Knightfall" against the Jedi Temple, burning and slaughtering all Jedi within, including Temple-Defender Shaak Ti. Sidious deceived

15225-523: The community for improving compatibility on modern PC operating systems. According to The NPD Group , Knights of the Old Republic II sold 458,000 copies in North America during the month of December 2004. It entered their chart for the month at number 11, and at number 3 on the Xbox-only chart. After its North American release on Windows, it debuted at number 2 on the PC chart for the month of February. In

15400-401: The company lost the licence of the game to Atari and part of their Dungeons & Dragons licence to BioWare. After selling their D&D licence to Atari, BioWare developed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire . It had publishing relationships with Interplay Entertainment, Infogrames , under its new name Atari, LucasArts , and Microsoft . The next few years saw

15575-401: The company with an offer. A publishing deal for Shattered Steel was eventually signed with Interplay Entertainment . Brent Oster and Trent Oster formed Pyrotek Studios, which continued developing Shattered Steel but broke up a year later, with Trent joining BioWare as an early employee to finish the game. BioWare's first game was released the following year. Shattered Steel ' s release

15750-401: The confirmation ( Dragon Age: Inquisition , Mass Effect: Andromeda , Anthem , and Dragon Age: The Veilguard ) were developed using Frostbite 3 as part of the general move towards a unified technology foundation across all of Electronic Arts' development studios. The full list of awards can be found on their web site. In addition to numerous game awards, in October 2008, the company

15925-561: The dark side and became the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus . He is one of the main antagonists of the prequel trilogy. He led the war against the Jedi and the Republic until his demise aboard General Grievous' ship in the Battle of Coruscant at the hands of Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon Jinn was a wise and powerful human Jedi Master, who was trained by Count Dooku and mentored Obi-Wan Kenobi. Unlike other, more conservative Jedi, he valued living in

16100-424: The dark side and become his Sith apprentice, Darth Vader. The latter begins helping Sidious hunt down and destroy the Jedi, who are nearly exterminated during the events of Revenge of the Sith ; Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Ahsoka Tano are among a handful of Jedi that avoided the initial purge. As revealed in the Clone Wars series, each of the clones were implanted with chips that Palpatine would activate with

16275-405: The dark side and the traditional enemies of the Jedi. While the Sith ultimately seek violent and absolute rule over the galaxy, the Jedi work to protect democracy, harmony, and justice. The Jedi are depicted, in the franchise's Old Republic era, as a monastic organization well-trained in the martial arts , who cooperate intimately with the galactic government and work towards bringing "peace into

16450-524: The dark side of the Force, and they travel to six planets to either help or hinder the Republic's efforts to bring peace and stability to the galaxy. New playable locations in Knights of the Old Republic II include Telos, Onderon and its moon Dxun, Malachor V, the Peragus Mining Facility, and various starships such as the hijacked Republic cruiser Harbinger , the Sith cruiser Ravager , and Goto's yacht orbiting Nar Shaddaa. Two planets featured in

16625-491: The dark side, and became one with the Force. Later, she and Luke gave Rey their blessings to adopt the Skywalker surname and continue their family's legacy. Grogu was a Jedi Initiate of the same species as Yoda who first appeared in The Mandalorian . Raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant during the Clone Wars, he was rescued by Jedi Master Kelleran Beq during the Great Jedi Purge and hidden for his own safety. Decades later,

16800-715: The deal. The growth of the MMORPG group as part of Electronic Arts in 2008 resulted in three additional studios being added to the BioWare group outside BioWare's original home base in Edmonton. The first, located in Austin, Texas , and headed by industry veterans Gordon Walton and Richard Vogel, was created to work on the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG project. Both the studio and the project were announced on 13 March 2006. On 2 March 2009, BioWare announced it had opened

16975-402: The defense of those they protect. By training the mind and the body, the Jedi seek to improve themselves by gaining unfettered access to the Force while also seeking to improve those individuals and groups they come in contact with. Like their evil counterparts, the Sith , the main weapon of the Jedi is the lightsaber. However, according to Lucas, "The Force really doesn't have anything to do with

17150-451: The developer's earlier promises regarding the conclusion of the trilogy. In response to the controversy surrounding the game's ending sequence , BioWare announced on 5 April that they would reschedule their post-release content production and release an "Extended Cut" DLC that would expand the original endings and address the most common points of critique. The Extended Cut was released as a free download on 26 June 2012. On 18 September 2012,

17325-579: The development of Mass Effect: Andromeda , left in December 2015 and February 2016 respectively. Alexis Kennedy , co-founder of Failbetter Games and the creative director of Dragon Age : The Last Court , joined BioWare as its "first ever guest writer" in September 2016. On 13 September 2016, EA announced the formation of EA Worldwide Studios, which would consist of BioWare Studios, EA Mobile , and Maxis , and led by DICE co-founder Patrick Soderlund . At

17500-404: The development team felt that symphony orchestra would work best for Knights of the Old Republic II . The musical score was composed by Mark Griskey , who developed music and themes for characters and places, including the Jedi's theme, Darth Sion 's theme and Darth Nihilus 's theme (which both have many similarities with the Emperor's theme from Return of the Jedi ). He also created a theme for

17675-568: The end of 2009, BioWare released the critically acclaimed fantasy role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins . In January 2010, BioWare released the sequel to Mass Effect , Mass Effect 2 , which would go on to receive critical acclaim and many awards. The company announced that it would be opening up a new customer service office in Galway , Ireland, in 2011. BioWare completed three major games between 2011 and 2012. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Star Wars: The Old Republic

17850-497: The environment and non-player characters in Knights of the Old Republic II are based on the d20 System as in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic . The game starts with a character creation screen with several choices to make, and there is also an option of letting the game do it automatically. There are 30 new Force powers, which are manifestations of the Force, in Knights of the Old Republic II . Like its predecessor,

18025-508: The escape by the Harbinger ' s gunfire, and they eventually arrive at the Peragus Mining Facility. Teaming up with smuggler Atton Rand, the group escapes to the planet Telos IV. While hiding out on Telos, they encounter Atris, a surviving member of the Jedi Council who sentenced the protagonist to exile ten years prior. After settling a dispute regarding the Exile's past sentence, Atris forms an uneasy alliance with them, instructing them to seek out other surviving Jedi in order to rally against

18200-531: The few survivors of Order 66 following the Galactic Republic's transformation into the Galactic Empire, Obi-Wan hid on the desert planet Tatooine , watching over Anakin's son Luke, knowing that he would one day grow to become a Jedi and defeat Vader. In Obi-Wan Kenobi , while Obi-Wan hid on Tatooine , Senator Bail Organa 's daughter, Leia Organa , was captured upon the request of the Third Sister. Obi-Wan

18375-520: The final film of the sequel trilogy, it is discovered that Darth Sidious created Snoke and has returned from death and has been secretly manipulating events from the Sith world Exegol . In his last attempt to reclaim the galaxy, Sidious unveils the Final Order, a massive fleet of Xyston -class Star Destroyers built by the Sith Eternal . The Emperor offers the Sith fleet to Kylo Ren in exchange for killing

18550-464: The first game, joins the quest if the Exile collects and uses the parts necessary to reactivate him. Depending on the player's alignment, the Exile will either be joined by the bounty hunter Mira (light side or neutral) or by her rival, a Wookiee bounty hunter known as Hanharr (dark side). Depending on the player's gender, the Exile will either be joined by Mical the Disciple (female Exile) or Brianna

18725-475: The founding team, Muzyka, Zeschuk and Yip had recently graduated from medical school at the University of Alberta , and had a background in programming for use in school. Together with Yip, they had created a medical simulation programme. The three also played video games for recreation, eventually deciding to develop their own. Their success in the medical field provided them with the funding they needed to launch

18900-521: The fourth instalment in the Dragon Age series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard , was released. The game received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for its Windows and PlayStation 5 versions and "universal acclaim" for its Xbox Series X/S version, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic . Dragon Age: The Veilguard was review bombed by users for being " ' woke ,' ' DEI ,' ' propaganda ,' and ' agenda-driven ' " on Metacritic, causing

19075-401: The franchise . The fictional organization has inspired a real-world new religious movement and parody religion : Jediism . Within the Star Wars galaxy , the Jedi are powerful guardians of order and justice, who, through intuition, rigorous training, and intensive self-discipline , are able to wield a supernatural power known as the Force , thus achieving the ability to move objects with

19250-561: The galaxy by being ambassadors and troubleshooters", according to Lucas. Jedi characters investigate certain crimes ranging from high-profile murder to political corruption, act as diplomats between powerful interplanetary groups, protect the highest government officials of the Republic, track down fugitives, and are promoted as leaders in the Republic's army during the Clone Wars . Still, their creed demands that they defend and protect all life and use their power only for knowledge and defense. With

19425-572: The galaxy together." ". . . a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him. It [partially] controls your actions, but it also obeys your commands". The prequel trilogy depicts the Jedi in their prime, headquartered at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant , and dealing with the rising presence of the dark side of the Force and the return of the Sith. In Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn ( Liam Neeson ) discovers nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker ( Jake Lloyd ), whom he believes to be

19600-549: The galaxy". Throughout the franchise, Jedi are often recognizable by their robes and tunics in various shades of brown and their use of lightsabers : sword-like weapons with a colorful blade made of plasma . Along with New Age elements, Lucas developed the Jedi creed by adopting certain elements from Eastern religions —namely Buddhism and potentially Taoism . In that same vein, the Jedi creed focuses on compassion for others, mindfulness, non-attachment, and meditation, which are all characteristics of what Jedi characters call

19775-439: The game has several minigames , including swoop bike racing and a card game called Pazaak. The interface has been streamlined from the original game and party management has been made easier; for example, the player can switch between two selected weapon sets in the menu. As in the first game, the player can choose to align with either the light side or the dark side. Choosing dialogue options that are respectful and empathetic gives

19950-503: The game was presented in May 2004. The first trailer for Knights of the Old Republic II was later unveiled in July 2004, and the official website was launched in October. When looking back at Knights of the Old Republic II in a 2013 interview, Avellone said that because of LucasArts forcing Obsidian to finish the game in a short time frame of 14 to 16 months, the game ended up being in an "unfinished" state. However, Avellone said that Obsidian

20125-410: The game's graphics were disappointing, calling them "a little dated" and "half-baked". The reviewer further criticized the graphics for looking the same as they were in the first game of the series, saying that they could only be considered "good" during the release of that game. GameZone said that the game looks exactly the same as the original Knights of the Old Republic and that it does not compare to

20300-433: The game's very well-written dialogue, and also praised the game's sound effects. The game was criticized for its glitches ; several players reported having problems with pathfinding bugs. 1UP.com's reviewer condemned Knights of the Old Republic II for having the same bugs and technical issues as in the first game, saying that his party "still had a tendency to warp and skip around the map at times", and he also criticized

20475-532: The general manager of BioWare Austin since 2012; after his promotion, Jeff Hickman took over as the general manager in Austin. Aaryn Flynn remained in charge of BioWare Canada (Edmonton and Montreal) and Jon Van Caneghem , the head of Victory Games and Waystone Studio (also parts of the BioWare label). After acquiring and dismantling LucasArts , The Walt Disney Company announced in May 2013 that Electronic Arts will produce future Star Wars games, "in addition to

20650-524: The inhabitants of a large Sith Academy who survived the cataclysm. On the final floor of the academy, the Exile kills the Sith Lord Darth Sion and confronts Darth Traya in the planet's core. The Exile defeats the Sith Lord, but before Traya dies, she delivers a prophetic vision of the future pertaining to the player's companions and the worlds that were visited over the course of the story. Depending on

20825-420: The last remaining Jedi, Rey, who is revealed to be his granddaughter. After the death of Kylo's mother, Leia Organa ( Carrie Fisher ), Kylo returns to the light and reclaims his identity as Ben Solo. At the end of the film, Ben joins Rey as she confronts Sidious. Rey channels the power of the past Jedi to destroy Sidious and the Sith, before dying herself. Ben sacrifices his life to revive Rey and becomes one with

21000-474: The latter's initial Xbox-only release. During 2005 alone, the Xbox version sold more than 60,000 copies in the region. By early 2006, Knights of the Old Republic II had sold almost 1.5 million copies. Its sales in the United States alone reached 1.275 million by 2008. Knights of the Old Republic II was met with positive reception upon its release; on Metacritic , it has an aggregate score of 85/100 and 86/100 on

21175-433: The level of influence, party members may support the player character unconditionally or turn against the protagonist. The player can also exploit high influence by drawing party members to either the light side or the dark side, and some characters can even be trained to use the Force. The game takes place five years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic and 3,919 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace , in

21350-465: The lightsaber. Anybody can have a lightsaber. It's just a weapon like a pistol". Qui-Gon Jinn gives an insight into the Force in The Phantom Menace when he tells Anakin: "Your focus determines your reality". And later, he explains: "Midi-chlorians are microscopic lifeforms that reside within all of your cells. And we are symbionts with them. Lifeforms living together for mutual advantage. Without

21525-579: The main character, which is heard occasionally when the player experiences internal conflict. The ~55-minute score was recorded by the Sinfonia Orchestra in Seattle . The opening crawl utilizes the version of John Williams ' main Star Wars theme that was re-recorded for the prequel trilogy. When Obsidian was preparing to present Knights of the Old Republic II at E3 2004 , they tried to fit as much information as they could, saying that it would need to be

21700-613: The main characters in the Star Wars franchise. Having fought in the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan proved himself an adept strategist, duelist, and spy, as his leadership style heavily favours subterfuge and misdirection while commanding clone troopers, or wielding the Force. Due to his charisma and persuasion skills, he became known as 'The Negotiator' during the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan best exemplifies the Jedi Code: in spite of Darth Vader 's betrayal and his master ( Qui-Gon Jinn ) being killed by his nemesis, Darth Maul , he never fell into darkness. As one of

21875-439: The majority of mainstream games released at the time. GameSpy called the music in the game "excellent"; however, the reviewer noted that some of it is re-used from the first game of the series. The GameSpy reviewer also said that while the majority of the voice-acting is good, there are "a few more examples of bad voice-acting" than in the first Knights of the Old Republic . GameZone said that the "top-notch" voice acting complements

22050-480: The maternal uncle of Ben Solo . After redeeming his father from the dark side of the Force, who died killing his master and the last Sith, Darth Sidious, in order to save Luke, he set out to train a new generation of Jedi to rebuild the Order, only to have them wiped out by Supreme Leader Snoke , a puppet created by a revived Sidious, who also turned Ben to the dark side, adopting the Kylo Ren persona. Skywalker then spent

22225-407: The midi-chlorians, life could not exist and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of The Force. When you learn to quiet your mind you'll hear them speaking to you". In A New Hope , Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker: "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, it binds

22400-476: The mind , perform incredible feats of strength , and connect to certain people's thoughts . As Star Wars creator George Lucas explains, the Jedi are "warrior-monks who keep peace in the universe", avoiding the use of violence except as a last resort, with a mission to "use their power to keep the governments of all the planets in line, so that they don't do terrible things". The Jedi have the "moral authority to do that" since they are "the most moral of anybody in

22575-410: The model. GamePro praised both the first and second Knights of the Old Republic and said that the second game continues the series' tradition of not fixing what is not broken. GameSpot echoed this statement, also saying that both the good things and the shortcomings from the first game are present in Knights of the Old Republic II . GameSpy compared the game to The Empire Strikes Back from

22750-419: The moment as the best way to embrace the Force. While other Jedi respected him highly, they were frequently puzzled by his beliefs. He refused to take a seat on the Jedi Council, despite him being among the wisest and most powerful of the Jedi. Jinn was both the Jedi to discover the Sith's return after a millennium, upon being attacked by Darth Maul during a mission to protect Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo , and

22925-468: The most major was the droid planet M4-78, which was entirely removed from the game after the 2004 E3 event when the team realized that they wouldn't be able to fit it into the schedule. M4-78's designer, Kevin Saunders, explained that he moved assets from that planet to Nar Shaddaa's yacht level in order to complete it on time, which was prior also likely to be cut from the game. The Xbox version of Knights of

23100-496: The new game. In July 2017, Aaryn Flynn, general manager of BioWare, announced that he would depart from the company. Hudson returned to BioWare as its new general manager. Lead story developer for Jade Empire and Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw announced his departure from BioWare in October 2017 after 14 years with the company. James Ohlen , the lead designer of the Baldur's Gate series, Neverwinter Nights , Knights of

23275-650: The next Mass Effect [game]" in an interview with Rolling Stone . Amazon MGM Studios officially confirmed on 7 November 2024 that a Mass Effect TV series is in development, following negotiations that had started in late 2021. BioWare executive producer Michael Gamble will also act as an executive producer on the TV adaptation. Between 1998 and 2011, BioWare developed a number of in-house video game engines to serve as technical basis for their games. Some of these engines were then licensed to other companies to develop their own games. Others came with modding toolkits , allowing

23450-450: The next day after the official announcement of the third Dragon Age title , both Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk , two of the remaining co-founders of BioWare, simultaneously announced they would be retiring from the gaming industry. After almost a year without a formal head, EA appointed Matthew Bromberg the group general manager of the BioWare label on 9 September 2013. Former CEO and president of Major League Gaming , Bromberg worked as

23625-455: The one to find the ability to become a Force spirit after death, though he wasn't capable of having a physical body. Following his death at Darth Maul's hands, Jinn guided both Yoda and Obi-Wan to the ability to become a physical Force spirit after death. Within the Disney+ TV series, Obi-Wan Kenobi , Qui-Gon Jinn appears as a force spirit following Darth Vader 's defeat to Obi-Wan Kenobi in

23800-485: The original Star Wars film trilogy in that it is the best of the series in terms of story, and also said that the game has the best story in a video game since Planescape: Torment . 1UP.com wrote that Obsidian surpassed the original Knights of the Old Republic in terms of the writing, saying that the plot is more consistent, the dialogue is edgier and the moral choices are more significant; Computer Gaming World agreed, writing, "your decision making, as you pursue

23975-429: The original 1977 film, begin with hundreds of Jedi participating in the battle of Geonosis . In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith , Yoda confides to Mace Windu ( Samuel L. Jackson ) that the prophecy of the Chosen One could have been misread. Palpatine ( Ian McDiarmid ), who is revealed to be Darth Sidious, manipulates Anakin's attachment for Padmé and distrust and resentment of the Jedi in order to turn him to

24150-531: The original game, Korriban and Dantooine , are revisited with ravaged buildings and intensified problems. The Ebon Hawk , the main character's ship in the first game, is also the player's transportation in Knights of the Old Republic II . The Exile's backstory reveals that the character served under Revan during the Mandalorian Wars and ordered the activation of a devastating weapon in the climactic battle over Malachor V. The deaths that ensued created such

24325-486: The original trilogy. As the last Padawan of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he became an important figure in the Rebel Alliance 's struggle against the Galactic Empire . Luke was heir to a family deeply rooted in the Force, being the twin brother of Rebellion leader Princess Leia Organa of the planet Alderaan , the son of former Queen of Naboo and Republic Senator Padmé Amidala and Jedi turned Sith Lord Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker), and

24500-411: The pain of loss. "As long as you love other people and treat them kindly, you won't be afraid". Lucas, identifying himself as "Buddhist Methodist" or "Methodist Buddhist" stated that his philosophy of non-attachment , depicted in his movies was influenced by the fact that he was from San Francisco, the "Zen Buddhism capital of the United States". In 2020, he indicated that the Jedi were "designed to be

24675-405: The past Jedi allowed Darth Sidious to rise to power. She also discovers several ancient Jedi texts hidden away in a tree. Rey learns the truth about Ben's fall to the dark side and believes herself to be his only chance of redemption. Luke decides to stay on Ahch-To and attempts to burn down the tree with the texts, but cannot bring himself to do so. However, Yoda appears as a Force spirit and burns

24850-449: The pathfinding in the game. GameSpy said that the game's bugs are "hard to forgive", and that these issues did not occur in the first Knights of the Old Republic . In a different article, GameSpy said that the game is incomplete, and attributed this to its rushed deadline. GameSpy called Kreia the best video game character of 2005, saying that she was "easily the most intriguing, complicated, enigmatic, well-designed and nuanced character in

25025-524: The people of the Republic that the Jedi were corrupted warmongers responsible for prolonging the Clone Wars, labeling them criminals with bounties placed on them. Darth Vader continued to hunt and kill nearly every surviving Jedi during the early years of the Empire, in what became known as the Great Jedi Purge . For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in

25200-487: The planet and Kenobi defeats his former apprentice, allowing Leia to return to her parents. Following this event, Qui-Gon Jinn appears before Kenobi as a force spirit, after years of failed attempts by Obi-Wan to communicate with the deceased Jedi Master. Obi-Wan mentored Luke Skywalker in the Jedi arts, before meeting his demise at the hands of his former apprentice aboard the Death Star , though he continued guiding Luke as

25375-499: The platform to respond with a statement and by removing user reviews which had violated their guidelines. Veilguard is the first BioWare game that allows the player character to identify as transgender . On 7 November 2024, or "N7 Day", BioWare released a patch which added several Mass Effect -inspired costumes into the game. In late October 2024, following the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard , creative director John Epler stated that BioWare's attention had "shifted entirely to

25550-480: The player killed the Jedi Masters, Kreia attacks the Exile and leaves. Tracking Kreia to Telos, the Exile fights and defeats a corrupted Atris, from whom it is learned that Kreia plans to strengthen a massive "wound" in the Force made ten years prior. This "wound" had been created by the Exile during the Mandalorian Wars, when they activated a gravitational superweapon, the Mass Shadow Generator, in order to end

25725-460: The prequel trilogy, and the central antagonist of the original trilogy. He is the Chosen One, being born of the Force. He was apprenticed to Obi-Wan Kenobi and proved to be a very gifted duelist and Force user, being appointed to the Jedi High Council at the age of 22. He secretly married Padmé Amidala at the onset of the Clone Wars and has two children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa . He

25900-585: The previous Mass Effect games. Given the circumstances Electronic Arts had reportedly frozen the entire Mass Effect series, downgrading the BioWare Montréal branch from a leading development team to a support team, and later merging it into Motive Studios . During EA's EA Play pre-E3 press conference on 10 June 2017, BioWare revealed Anthem , a new action role-playing game , with BioWare's story writer, Drew Karpyshyn , who previously worked on Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 , contributing to

26075-438: The protagonist light side points, while options that are egotistic and evil result in dark side points. The combat of Knights of the Old Republic II is identical to its predecessor. Several new lightsaber forms were added to the game. Each of them is useful for a different situation. For example, one is best for enemies using blaster weapons, while another would be good for recovering from using Force powers. The player can use

26250-433: The ranks of the Jedi Order, he was tasked with training the young Force-sensitive Ezra Bridger throughout his eventual service to the larger Rebellion. Ultimately, Jarrus died to save his friends, in particular Hera Syndulla , who would later give birth to her and Jarrus' son, Jacen Syndulla. In Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker , he appears as a disembodied voice alongside other past Jedi, empowering Rey to face

26425-403: The release of Baldur's Gate . Baldur's Gate II sold two million copies, matching the sales of the first game in the series. However, the success of both Baldur's Gate II and MDK2 was not enough to stabilize Interplay financially. Subsequently, BioWare began to work with Infogrames , which was later renamed to Atari . Neverwinter Nights was originally to be published by Interplay, but

26600-456: The rest of his life in exile on Ahch-To , the original headquarters of the Jedi Order, blaming himself for Ben's turn and the destruction of his Order, until he was found by Rey, the Last Jedi and the secret granddaughter of Sidious, whom he reluctantly trained in the Jedi arts. Shortly after, he gave his life to distract Kylo Ren, now Supreme Leader of the First Order , on the planet Crait via

26775-504: The rise of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and the Galactic Empire , the Jedi Order is outlawed and most of its members killed in the ensuing political purge . Later efforts are made to revive the organization. The word Jedi is said to have been adapted by George Lucas from Japanese 時代劇 ( jidaigeki ) (meaning 'period drama' motion pictures about samurai ), or perhaps inspired by the words Jed (Leader) and Jeddak (King) in

26950-494: The same Odyssey Engine as the original game. BioWare suggested that Obsidian should be offered the Knights of the Old Republic license due to their familiarity with Obsidian's past work and the good relationship between the two developers, as well as due to finding LucasArts' development schedule for the sequel to be too tight. The game was released in PC and Xbox versions, but due to the Xbox version being released two months prior to

27125-431: The same time, Samantha Ryan, head of EA Mobile and Maxis, was appointed the new head of BioWare Studios. Released in March 2017, Andromeda was at the center of controversy of equal proportions, if not higher than that around the third chapter; starting with heavy criticisms that were addressed before the video game was released to the lukewarm response received by the specialized press and the fandom with sales lower than

27300-406: The story of The Exile, a Jedi Knight who was exiled from the Jedi Order. During this time, the Jedi Order has been almost completely wiped out by the Sith . The game begins with the protagonist waking up from unconsciousness on an asteroid mining facility. After the player escapes with the help of their party members, they find the person who exiled them ten years ago, who sends the protagonist on

27475-434: The studio. On 10 December 2020, a teaser trailer for the next Mass Effect game was shown at The Game Awards . On 14 May 2021, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was released on Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 4 , and the Xbox One series. On 23 August 2023, about 50 BioWare developers were laid off. A group of former employees later sued EA, seeking better severance following their layoffs. On 31 October 2024,

27650-496: The success of Baldur's Gate , the Infinity Engine was used for the games Planescape: Torment and the Icewind Dale series . The success of Baldur's Gate was followed by an expansion pack for the game: Tales of the Sword Coast . At this point, BioWare decided to return to the action genre. The company's initial thought was to develop a sequel to Shattered Steel , but eventually a sequel to MDK from Shiny Entertainment

27825-491: The titular group of enhanced clones, who disobey Order 66 and instead choose to save a younger Kanan after his master is killed by the other clones. The canon video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduces Cal Kestis, a former Padawan hiding from the Empire who accidentally exposes his Force abilities to aid someone, putting him on the Inquisitors' radar. Kestis gets aid from Cere Junda, another Jedi Knight in hiding. In

28000-472: The tree, teaching him that failure is just as important as success, and those masters are defined by those who surpass them. Near the end of the film, Luke confronts Kylo on the planet Crait . It is subsequently revealed that Luke had been projecting himself from Ahch-To; he dies from the effort and becomes one with the Force. Rey is shown to have taken the sacred Jedi texts before she left Ahch-To, in order to continue her training. In The Rise of Skywalker ,

28175-537: The wisest and most powerful Jedi Master within the Star Wars universe. Mace Windu was a human Jedi Master of the Order and one of the last members of the Order's upper echelons before the fall of the Galactic Republic . Plo Koon was a Kel Dor Jedi Master who served as a General during the Clone Wars and a member of the Jedi Council . Koon led the 442nd Siege Battalion in the Battle of Cato Neimoidia, in which he

28350-429: Was Baldur's Gate , with a development cycle of three years. During this time, the three doctors continued to practice medicine. The demands of development later prompted Muzyka and Zeschuck to leave medicine and move into full-time development. Augustine Yip decided to continue with his medical practice. Baldur's Gate sold more than two million copies after its release, nearly matching the sales of Diablo . Following

28525-503: Was announced on Gamescom 2014 . On 9 February 2015, BioWare Austin announced that development on Shadow Realms would not continue. Casey Hudson , the creator of the Mass Effect series, left BioWare in May 2014, while Drew Karpyshyn , writer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the first two Mass Effect games, returned in 2015. Dragon Age ' s writer David Gaider left BioWare in January 2016. Chris Wynn and Chris Schlerf, both of whom had an important role in

28700-478: Was at fault for this due to not cutting out enough things; he noted that all minigames should have been removed, and also said that there were too many in-engine cutscenes . Obsidian's co-founder, Feargus Urquhart , said that the game was originally going to be released in 2005, but it was later moved up to December 2004 after E3; according to him, Obsidian had to choose between "get[ting] in trouble or get[ting] it done". Due to this, several cuts had to be made; one of

28875-534: Was betrayed by her clone troopers as part of Order 66, but she managed to escape alongside Clone Captain Rex (whose control chip she removed). Years later, Ahsoka served the nascent Rebel Alliance as the spymaster and head of its intelligence network, directing operations behind the codename Fulcrum. After the Galactic Civil War, she began searching for Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn , who had gone missing in

29050-406: Was chosen for development. MDK2 was released on PC, Dreamcast , and eventually PlayStation 2 , offering BioWare their first taste of developing games for consoles . MDK2 drew the same level of praise as its predecessor but, despite the success, BioWare returned to the Baldur's Gate series for their next project. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn was released in 2000, two years after

29225-496: Was described by IGN as a "modest success" with "decent sales". Two noteworthy points were the deformable terrain (player weapon damage caused craters in the environment) and zone damage (well-aimed gunfire could shoot mounted weapons off enemies). A sequel to Shattered Steel was planned for 1998 but never realized. BioWare's founders and staff were keenly interested in both computerized and pen-and-paper variants of role-playing games . Their next development project, therefore,

29400-544: Was determined to be a role-playing game. When Interplay financed "exploratory development", BioWare presented the publishers with a demo called Battleground: Infinity . Interplay suggested that the demonstrated gameplay engine would be well-suited to the Dungeons & Dragons licence which it had acquired from Strategic Simulations . Accordingly, Infinity was reworked in line with the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. The result

29575-515: Was eventually seduced to the dark side by the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader , serving the Galactic Empire. While he was a member of the Jedi Council, he trained a Padawan of his own, Ahsoka Tano during the Clone Wars. Vader was eventually redeemed by his son in Return of the Jedi and gave his own life to save Luke, killing Sidious and fulfilling the prophecy of

29750-473: Was known to be the leader of a small rebel cell called the Spectres, operating on the planet Lothal . As a survivor of Order 66, Jarrus was forced to break certain Jedi traditions to avoid being detected by Imperial forces that continued their mission to eliminate any Jedi on sight, such as eschewing traditional Jedi robes or occasionally using a blaster, a weapon typically shunned by Jedi. Although he lost his master Depa Billaba to Order 66 before he could ascend

29925-662: Was named one of Alberta's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal . BioWare's co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk were named as members of the Order of Canada in December 2018 "for [their] revolutionary contributions to the video game industry as a developer and co-founder of an internationally renowned studio." Jedi Legends Jedi ( / ˈ dʒ ɛ d aɪ / ), Jedi Knights , or collectively

30100-399: Was pleased with the number of people who wanted to work for Obsidian. Meyers also complained about the short deadline the development team had to deal with. Obsidian's COO , Chris Parker, said that the schedule set for the development team was "extremely aggressive", and that the team felt a lot of pressure because they were "making a sequel to the game of the year for 2003". For the music,

30275-491: Was sent to rescue the ten-year old Princess, and, after retrieving Leia on the planet Daiyu, was forced to duel his former apprentice Darth Vader on the planet Mapuzo, before escaping. Leia Organa , who was imprisoned by the Third Sister on the planet Nur, is saved by Obi-Wan Kenobi a second time before the two escape to the planet Jabiim with aid from the Path. Vader and Kenobi duel once more following Obi-Wan's attempted escape from

30450-485: Was shot down by his own troops upon the occurrence of Order 66 . Kit Fisto was a Nautolan Jedi Master, who served as a member of the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars . During the attempted arrest of Chancellor Palpatine , Fisto was killed by the Sith Lord in a duel, leaving Mace Windu to face the Chancellor alone. Count Dooku was a human Jedi Master who was trained by Yoda and mentored Qui-Gon Jinn, who later fell to

30625-466: Was used to produce Dragon Age II (2011). In September 2004, BioWare acquired a license to use Unreal Engine 3 from developer Epic Games . Unreal Engine 3 would ultimately be used to develop the original Mass Effect trilogy (2007–2012), as well as the remastered Mass Effect: Legendary Edition in 2021. In 2013, EA confirmed that all future games developed by BioWare will be made on DICE's Frostbite engine . All of BioWare's games since

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