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BioWare’s creative director and lead designer James Ohlen spills the beans on companion characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Talking to IGN, James Ohlen  has let slip a few details about companions in the upcoming Star Wars game, The Old Republic. Every hero needs a sidekick, Hans Solo had Chewie, Luke had R2-D2, even Dan, our editor, is forever stroking his own Wookie. But how do you integrate companions into the game and keep them from being just a generic tag along?

Companions will join you throughout your epic journey for a variety of different reasons, greed is bound to play a part in some of the characters’ motivations, while some will just fancy an adventure. Inter-stellar travel and exploration just because you “fancy an adventure”, sounds good to me! Others will have a little ambiguity about them, their motives will unfold as you spend more time with them.

Characters will travel throughout the galaxy with you acting as your conscience, influencing you throughout your journey. Likewise, you also play your part in influencing them, altering how they develop throughout. Think of it as a moral choice system but with a greater result at the end. If it does work like a moral choice system, there’s no doubt most will turn their followers to the dark side… It’s just so much more fun to be evil!

Early on, you will be introduced to your first companion, however over time, more will join you, each allowing you to access separate quests and story-lines as they develop into more powerful allies. As your team grows, so do your options; alternate strategies and tactics will be unlocked to keep things fresh and interesting in the long run. You’ll have to choose which members of your group are going to make a worthy contribution and who are likely to land you in deep shit crap.