E308: A first look at Champions of the Force

We admit: we're addicts. Addicted to the drug that is collectible trading card games. So when SOE recently announced their latest online trading card game, Champions of the Force, we knew we were destined to be consumed by it. (Not to mention the in-game loot to be acquired. Who out there doesn't want their own household Jawa vendor?) Massively sat down with SOE Senior Game Designer Joe Alread at E3 to talk Champions.

Where did the idea for a TCG based on Star Wars Galaxies come from?
Joe Alread: People were really enjoying Legends of Norrath, really enjoying the game and the unique story that came from it. This gave us some incintive to branch out with Star Wars Galaxies. Champions of the Force is going to have its own unique story-line and raids, much like Legends of Norrath.

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Has the development process for this game been substantially different from Legends of Norrath or are you basically using the same kind of mechanics?
JA: We're using a lot of the same kind of mechanics, but obviously we've learned a lot from Legends of Norrath. Champions of the Force will see the benefits of that: it's going to feel smoother and the gameplay is going to be more streamlined.

In Legends of Norrath you have the four general classes, but obviously Galaxies has nine very different classes. Are you going to support all nine or are you going to break them in to small groups?
JA: We've broken them down. The four archetypes in SWG are jedi, sith, imperial, and rebel. Each one of them channels into one of those archetypes. I think we've done a good job of it, so I'm excited.

Can you give us some idea of which archetypes fill which roles? Like is the jedi the healer, generally?
JA: Common sense would tell you that, jedi do heal... But it's really more about [class charactaristics]... imperials are kind of a dirty class, a little more sneaky, and the rebels are more nobel. Sith are these diviant, mystical, dark users of the force. We're still trying to gather our numbers and see the raw effect this has on the player. Every class in LoN has a unique feel to it and tere's some of that in CotF as well, but we moved some things around based on what we learned, improving on LoN.

What kind of story-line can we expect?
JA: You can expect, again, a very unique story-line. Unique to the Star Wars universe. I can't comment on the specifics of the story, but the idea is that there is a mystical jedi holocron that contains secrets to certain things... that I really can't talk about!... and the basic idea is you're chasing this holocron and trying to hunt it down.

From the two [loot cards] that have come out so far, it seems like you're giving people a chance to delve into the Star Wars lore. How does that fit into the overall gameplan? Are there any elements that are typical Star Wars that you think have to be in the game?
JA: In terms of cards, certainly the main characters. in LoN we have big-name characters but in Star Wars Galaxies we have Darth Vader! One of the things we're trying to focus on is making those characters. We want people to be excited about them. Obviously in Star Wars those characters play a huge role and we want that to reflect in the game as well, so we want the big characters to play a big role.

In CotF is it going to be a given that you'll have a kind of iconic character in your deck or is that going to be an option?
JA: It's going to be an option but I think, really, as a designer, we want it to be a big point of tension. Does this character belong in the deck or not belong in the deck? It's less about whether he's in the deck and more about the point of debate. As a gamer, I enjoy the choice. And those cards have to be interesting enough to make that choice interesting.

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