Knights Of The Old Republic Was Censored In The Weirdest Way
Kotaku • • technology
Key Points:
- Former BioWare producer Mark Darrah revealed on the FRVR podcast that the Knights of the Old Republic team wanted to include the word "damn" in the game, but Lucasfilm prohibited it, claiming such language was inappropriate for the Star Wars universe.
- Despite a writer documenting 19 instances of characters saying "damn" in Star Wars movies to counter Lucasfilm's claim, the studio maintained their stance, reflecting a newer Lucasfilm policy against profanity established during the prequel trilogy era.
- Darrah noted this kind of strict control is typical when working with licensed properties, where a single person from the license holder has final say over content decisions, often leading to creative conflicts.
- He also mentioned BioWare's experience with licensed games includes working with Sega on the Nintendo DS RPG Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, highlighting the challenges of such partnerships.
- The irony of censoring mild swear words in a game featuring morally dark choices, such as neglecting the poor or forcing characters into violent acts, was also pointed out by Darrah during the discussion.
