The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic

by Frank Parisi, Daniel Erickson, Jerry Holkins (Foreward)

Star Wars fans the world over are buzzing in anticipation of what promises to be a defining moment in the history of multiplayer online gaming: the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic. The game follows the escalating war between the Jedi and the Sith thousands of years before the events of the Star Wars films, and its innovative design allows players to choose sides and help shape the history of the galaxy. This gorgeous, full-color volume features the detailed art behind this highly anticipated release from BioWare and LucasArts. With character sketches, interviews, and artwork featuring the game's new weapons, starships, and previously unexplored worlds, The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic is the ultimate chronicle of the newest Star Wars experience.

Genres: Star Wars, Art, Science Fiction, Video Games

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2011

Reviews

[Andrew]

The range of Star Wars art books varies greatly - let me explain. You have some which are purely art -showcasing the various different versions and stages a design will go through before being seen (if at all) on the silver screen. The opposite is also true where you have length descriptions of the processes, inspirations and details that go in to an image even before pen hits the paper (or in this age stylus hits the tablet).

This book is a mixture of the two. You see many designs of characters, weapons, ship and location many of which were never used. However you also get the story behind the design of the game itself - not quite a written history of how it came to be but close - often describing the ideas that were laid out in the early days of the games planning - include those which were rejected as not fitting the image of the game (or that of the star wars universe).

Now I will admit I am not a game player for several reasons (not to mention I am bad at it) however I do appreciate the work that went in to this game and how it opened up a chapter in the Star Wars universe which was often referred to but never really explored. This game did more than that it let you actually in to the era and to experience it up close and personal.

Therefore there is a good reason why this book does not follow the same formats as say the art of The Force Awakens and for a very good reason too. However as a record of the game I think it is exceptional after all many games studios will explain they do as much work on a product as any film production however they are rarely if ever recognised for it, this book is a testament to what they put in to Star Wars The Old Republic.

[Cloak88]

Awesome art an behind-the-scenes info.

This is a really good Star wars artbook, of artbook in general. The book starts with the conceptualizations and then takes you step by step thru the proces, to the finish-line. The artwork is gorgeous and the info both useful and interesting.

Full marks for this SW artbook.

[Xavier]

Interesting book about the designs for this online game.. it is a shame that they let the prologue to be soo poorly made

[Miss Clark]

2.5 stars

One of the least engaging of all the art books I have read.

[Parka]

(More pictures on my blog)

Here's the art book for the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, a game from BioWare and LucasArts.

The book collects mainly character designs, environment art, and some spaceship designs. It's also a making-of book that explains at length on the production of a game with scope this big. I like reading insightful productions stories. The remaining text serve as commentary on the concept art.

The art is sci-fi art, of course, for the Star Wars universe. For the character designs, you can see some design clues that are distinctly Star Wars, such as armor and helmet. Sometimes they are also quite different. What you can see are the eight character classes with their few costumes and sometimes weapons. Creature and spaceship designs aren't a lot.

The main draw of the book would be the environment art for the different locations and planets. They are beautiful and gives a nice idea of the place, although I'm not sure if they are the actual place the game characters can run on.

The downside of the book is layout. There are pockets of space on pages which can really be used to pack more art. Text represents a substantial portion of the book, but is interesting to read so it's alright. As a MMORPG, I was expecting a lot more character designs, a whole lot more. There's a nice amount but somehow I don't feel like the universe is very populated. I'm comparing this to the other video game art book The Art and Making of Star Wars Force Unleashed which feels packed in every sense.

I've checked out the website for Star Wars: The Old Republic and there are lots of concept art there. Last time I check, it's over 160 pieces. There many on the website that's not even in the book. Maybe that's why the book can feel sparse at times. Some of the artwork in the book, especially the ones on spaceships are the more detailed pieces but they are printed too small. If you download the high resolution artwork from the website, they are several times bigger than the ones in the book!

This book is mixed bag. It's has good production stories but ruined by bad layout and seemingly incomplete selection of artwork.

[Joy]

A little thin, especially on character designs, but it's nicely laid out with lots of good information about the early planning of the game and how the planets were chosen and designed. I love the scenery in the game and was more interested in that side of it. Quick, insightful read and I only wish there were more of it.

[Jocelin]

It is so interesting to see all the hard work and creativity that goes into a Star Wars Project. This artwork is based off the video game (which I have never played). Still, I enjoyed it just the same.

[John]

A collection of concept art and developer's notes for Star Wars: The Old Republic. There's some really beautiful art in here, but if I had to choose between this book and Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia, I'd take the latter every time.

[Louis]

Inspiring collection of Star Wars related imagery. There are a lot of crossovers in terms of art style, with references stated for each concept. Vibrant colourwork and much experimentation make this an interesting reference book. I'll be sure to use this for future artwork.

[Michael Alexander]

Awesome art and some cool behind the scenes stuff. Can't wait for this game.

[Morbus Iff]

I would have preferred a LOT more "making of" for this "largest" MMO. Ugh, fingerprints.

[Katherine]

RATING: 2 Out Of 5

Not nearly as much information for a "making of" as there should be