hat makes a movie, comic book, or
video game feel like Star Wars? This
is the question every creator has to
wrestle with when they’re
approached to work on a story set in
that universe.When George Lucas began working on the original Star
Wars in the 1970s, his aim was to make a film that looked
timeless—never mind the endless budgetary and technical
limitations he had to contend with. Production designer
John Barry and set decorator Roger Christian proposed
the notion of a “used universe”, a term that’s come to be
associated with Lucas and the success of the classic
trilogy over the years. The idea was to avoid the polished
chrome and utopian vistas of earlier science fiction
movies in favor of something a bit more tangible: The
grimy, kitbashed, lived-in aesthetic of the Mos Eisley
cantina or the Millennium Falcon. Props and sets could be
assembled from existing parts, and in turn the whole
production would be less expensive.
BioWare insisted on following these same design
principles during the making of Knights of the Old
Republic. One look at the game’s cover is all it takes to spot
the similarities—the rusty flying-saucer pirate ship, the
W
This is an extract
from Star Wars:
Knights of the Old
Republic, published
by Boss Fight Books
and written by Alex
Kane. Boss Fight
Books publish
nonfiction works
about classic games,
including Jagged
Alliance 2, Baldur’s
Gate II, World of
Warcraft and more.
For more, visit
bossfightbooks.com.
hero brandishing her laser sword, the
R2-D2 and C-3PO analogs, the
Universal-monster-movie villain.
“The reason I draw pictures, what
galvanized me as a ten-year-old boy,
was Star Wars on the big screen,”
says John Gallagher, who designed
most of the game’s characters and
costumes. “It changed my life.”
Gallagher worked in broadcasting,
writing and producing television
commercials, prior to joining
BioWare. Like most of his peers, he
was a neophyte in the games world.
“But I’ve drawn my entire life,” he
says. “Anybody who knows me
knows that, from the time I could
hold a crayon, that’s really what I was
doing. It was kind of in my DNA.” He
spent a total of nine years with the
company, witnessing its humblest
beginnings and staying on until 2004,
two years into development on
Dragon Age: Origins.
KotOR is a particularly cherished
memory for Gallagher because it gave
him the chance to meet his hero—
Star Wars production illustrator
Ralph McQuarrie.JEDI COUNCIL
In 2001, following months of
preparation, work on the game began
in earnest. “Once the post-orgasm
glow [of getting the Star Wars
licence] was diminishing,” Gallagher
says, “we had to get down to
business.” All of the team leaders on
the project at BioWare flew down toKnights of the Old Republic
FEATURE