Bioware has released two new articles about Star Wars: The Old Republic, on their website. The article that piqued my interest is about how Bioware is planning to capture the Star Wars universe using the "stylized realism" method of art. According to the article Star Wars: The Old Republic will have a "unique" and "instantly recognizable appearance" that will continue to look great, even as it ages. World of Warcraft has done sort of the same thing with their style of art. Coincidence?

The overarching goal of the art for Star Wars: The Old Republic is to bring concept art paintings to life in 3D. This goal has led the artists to forego the use of photographs for surface textures in favor of hand-painting every asset. The concept art also drove the game art to match its heroic and idealized proportions of the characters and environments. Part of remaining true to the classic big screen vision of Star Wars™ is not only to look like it, but also to ensure that the art feels like it on the small screen. There is a fine line to follow in being true to the realistic expectations that we inherit from the movies while making style choices that will play well on the computer screen. This distillation of the Star Wars vision through a painters eye and a fan’s heart forms the core of the visual direction of the game.

Check out both articles: Capturing the Look of STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ and the BioWare Blog: Mark How.