
RTF Book Review: ‘STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC’
Knights of the Old Republic, a game loved by many, is set 4,000 years before Star Wars: A New Hope. The game is currently not canon, but there’s a strong push for it to be made so because of its success in the realm of Star Wars. It looks like that could be the case, or at least partially, with rumors that D.B. Weiss and David Benioff’s upcoming Star Wars trilogy is going to be set in the Old Republic era. The game is for some, a huge part of why they got involved in Star Wars, and Alex Kane has given us a book on the behind the scenes how the game got started, as well as the development of the game.
I was fortunate to snag a review copy of the book from Alex, and our PlayItLoudCast got the opportunity to interview him about the game, and Bioware, so make sure you check that out. I have actually never played the Knights of the Old Republic game, so I’m coming at this from an unknowing perspective, so let’s dive in.
Kane provides an awesome in-depth coverage of the developmental process, and also shares some great Easter Eggs about Star Wars in general. Kane interviewed multiple people, as well as did a ton of research to pull quotes from other interviews. He’s got all his citations at the end of the book, and gives fair credit to all. He shares some quotes from the interviews and reviews about KOTOR. These speak to the impact KOTOR has had on people, and changed their opinions on Star Wars. It’s a short read, but one that has tidbits of information for every reader, the strict videogamer, the Star Wars fan, or just an average reader.
The tidbits about the characters are really special. Cat Taber, the voice of Senator Amidala in Star Wars: The Clone Wars got her start voice acting in this video game. People have told the developers how much the game has impacted them, from 2003 to now. Kane delves deep into the twist of the video game, which I found utterly fascinating. The fact that Darth Revan was meant to be the result of the player’s actions takes some careful crafting. I learned a ton about KOTOR, and it makes me want to try and find it to play. What I enjoyed personally as a software developer myself is learning about the game development process.
Bits and pieces from KOTOR have already been incorporated into Star Wars canon, and there is definitely potential for more. It’s clear that’s what Bioware was focused on, expanding the great universe. It’s what helped the game and it speaks to what might help Star Wars now. Get out of the current era all of the material is in and give us something new. Give us the next KOTOR Lucasfilm please
I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re interested in Star Wars or video games in general. You might even be interested in this book if you’re curious about software development. This makes me want to get into the Star Wars: Legends Old Republic books.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is on sale now. You can find it from the publisher Boss Fight Books, or on Amazon.
[…] on the era, and Alex Kane’s book on the making of the beloved video game (which I reviewed HERE), and our PlayItLoudCast crew got to interview Kane as well on their podcast. But now MTV confirmed […]