One reason BioWare is setting Star Wars: The Old Republic 3ooo years before the movies is that it allows more flexibility with the lore. They can change certain elements of history as they see fit and it is necessary to address what alterations they may have decided upon. The most recent of these possible changes comes to us in the The Making of Coruscant. I will list certain quotes that I found relevant to the lore story arch and how they might effect game play, as well as my interpretation. It is important to note that everything written about the lore is purely speculative unless expressly stated otherwise by Bioware.

 

Parts of the city are in ruins and are therefore inaccessible. This gives a lore reason for a limitation on the size of Coruscant (invisible walls). It also explains a reason behind a possible increase in the gangs and criminal activity that inhabit the upper and lower parts of Coruscant.

Using this quote, we can see several stories emerging. One that is focused on helping those that were hurt physically, emotionally, financially, etc, where the player may help them recover or deal with their losses. While another storyline could focus on taking advantage of the situation to gain political and financial power. It is interesting to note that this quote not only applies to Coruscant, it also applies to the entire galaxy. So, I suspect that it won't be unusual to uncover similar stories in different locals.



Through this quote, it sounds as if your character may become an essential part of the lore as it develops. Whether you aid the noble senator from Naboo to pass a law enabling food shipments to the poorer sectors of the war-torn galaxy or decide to manufacture his failure and ultimate downfall is completely up to you.

If this is true, then how these stories will merge together with so many people making decisions is unknown, but it would definitely make for an interesting in-game situation when you discover that the person aiding you in questing is actually trying to sabotage you (whether companion character or otherwise). Additionally, this quote shows more than just your involvement in the decisions of the Senate. It also shows that there is much distrust and disdain for the senatorial process, so there might be those who wish to do away with such trivialities all together.



Although these types of questions might seem uninteresting to those that are more concerned with backstabbing their local senator, these questions are important to the lore. Lore has a lot of unanswered questions concerning how certain aspects of Star Wars society operates. This approach will allow many of those questions to hopefully be answered, but not only that, it could also create a more enriching experience for the player, whether they are unaware of it or not.

However these small additions not only add to the lore, they can also explain a few aspects of the story. How is your character going to get from one sector to another? Is he going to walk? It doesn't sound like this is the case, because they mentioned parking decks, both in word and picture.

Perhaps even certain elements of the city are designed with a sort of phasing in mind. For instance, in the middle of a gang war, the power generators for the entire residential block are disabled. So, when you are performing certain quests down in the lower levels, you might encounter repair teams making sure that the power isn't lost for too long. Although this might not sound important, it creates a more realistic and engaging experience.



Regardless of the lore or story arch that Bioware decides to implement, you can bet that they will make sure that it is a worthwhile experience, both visually and mentally. By seeing the Making of Coruscant, I know that I am looking foward to exploring this planet and the many adventures that await me and my characters.