How did a publisher not jump on the chance to combine Diablo and Star Wars?
The troubled development of Knights of the Old Republic II eventually led to it becoming gaming's great unfinished symphony. Developer Obsidian did the best they could with the game considering the resources they had to work with did not equal their ambitious plans for the game, but the final product makes it clear that everyone involved wasn't able to finish developing the game they truly wanted to make.
Actually, it turns out that Obsidian never got to start developing the Star Wars game they truly wanted to make.
In an interview with IGN, Obsidian CEO Fergus Urquhart revealed that the studio originally wanted to make a Star Wars action-RPG. The idea came about following Obsidian's work with Snowblind Studios on 2001's Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Following the tremendous success of that title, Obsidian started to dream of a dungeon crawler set within the Star Wars universe.
"There hadn't been a game like that, like an action, Star Wars action-RPG," said Urquhart. Wanting to deliver such an experience to Star Wars fans everywhere, Urquhart spoke to LucasArts and delivered the simple pitch: "What about using the Dark Alliance engine and making a Star Wars action-RPG?"
Unfortunately, LucasArts did not share their enthusiasm. While the studio did eventually contact Obsidian when it came time to develop the sequel to Knights of the Old Republic, the studio never got the chance to make the Star Wars action-RPG you're now suddenly dreaming of.
For what it's worth, Urquhart informed IGN that, "I still want to make this game or a game like it." Obsidian has also previously indicated that they'd absolutely love to develop another Knights of the Old Republic game should anyone be willing to allow them to do so.
