So, it's official. Knights of the Old Republic III, or The Old Republic as it's called, is going to be a MMORPG.

I'm not entirely sure what to think of this. For me, KotOR has been a decidedly single player experience. I am the person tied up in the plot single-handedly saving the galaxy with lightsaber and force powers. It is me, or that character, upon which the entire fate of the galaxy rests. I am the centre of an epic, twisting plot with everything hanging in the balance. I matter.

In an MMO, I am one of thousands. That feeling of importance is completely gone. It is impossible for me to be that influential, because the influence must be shared amongst thousands and thousands of people cannot all be the epic hero of the age. How, then, can my role in the game ever hope to compare to what it was in the previous two games?

The plot was absolutely key to both games. It drew you in, slowly but surely, then right when you least expected it threw a massive bombshell at you which completely wiped clean your previous notions of the game, the characters and your entire purpose. It twisted and turned in many different ways, and was so, so in depth. Dozens of NPC characters prodded and poked at your history, the world's history, your party member's history and levered you into positions of influence and power not just to the major organisations, but of little people. On many occasions you have the power to make or break a person's life and it's these little things as well as the world-shattering events that made the games what they were. I shall never forget the first game where I had to conduct a murder investigation on behalf of a friend of one of my companions and not only gather the evidence, but actually act as the lawyer for the person.

I honestly don't see how they can implement everything into an MMO. Perhaps the micro-level elements, but the macro? How do you do that? The entire purpose of a single player game, ignoring side-quests, is to complete it. To reach the end, to kill the bad guy and restore peace (or your own reign of terror). The moment that happens in an MMO, the MMO is over and that can never happen. How can you possibly have a substantial plot for a game that can never end? Where can a plot go, except to wind itself further and further into loops and circles and whatever else? How can any plot work for thousands of players, and how can players who join later in the game's life hope to understand what is going on?

I am really apprehensive about this move. I imagine I'll get the game and play it to see what it's like, and who knows? Maybe I'll like it. It is being made by Bioware, after all, who are the only people who should be allowed near such a project with a twenty foot vibroblade. Perhaps there is hope after all - certainly there is from their announcements, but what else would they say? Any official announcement exists solely to make the game sound good, to encourage hype and eventually to get as many people as possible to buy the game.

Time will tell.