inform the troops Lord Vader has arrived

A setting as rich in content as the Star Wars universe, where the story is already embedded in the consciousness of gamers everywhere, allows the possibility of truly seamless role playing in a game like Star Wars Galaxies. Next to its contemporaries, the quasi-modern setting of Galaxies allows people to just be their characters instead of worrying how they'll react to each situation in the technologically stunted worlds that form the basis for fantasy MMORPGs. Some of the most satisfying roleplaying experiences I've had in an MMORPG were in Star Wars Galaxies, because when the grind got boring you could always enjoy what the engaging community had to offer.

My initial reaction to hearing that the 203rd Tatooine Expeditionary Stormtrooper Legion was paid a visit by Darth Vader himself was one of derision. Next to the mass hysteria surrounding World of Warcraft, SOE must be really desperate to retain subscribers to pull a stunt like this. Based on Bruce Woodcock's MMORPG Chart, after just over three months of operation World of Warcraft has a significant hold over the current market, accelerating to 1.25 million subscribers. After a year and a half, Galaxies remains topped out at just over 250,000 subscribers. What happened?

I've discussed in the past the weaknesses that Galaxies has in comparison to the more traditional MMORPG. Galaxies is a job in the truest sense, and requires more time than is reasonable. To develop your character into something that's actually worth playing, you have to suffer through a grind that is both tedious and frustrating. The awards are all long term: become a master armoursmith by crafting millions of items, work your way through Jabba's ranks by taking on increasingly hard missions, or better yet, master multiple professions that may unlock your Force potential so that you can begin the long journey towards becoming a Jedi. To some, dedicating hours to this would seem ludicrous - we're playing a game here, right? It should be fun! Though I always saw it as a perfect adaptation of real life into the Star Wars mythos. Not all of the classes and occupations are glamorous, but they do have their place and make the game world that much more immersive. These store owners and tailors and shipwrights are controlled by real people.

If I was a member of that stormtrooper guild I'd probably feel very proud, but also a little relieved. Relieved that the constant drilling and patrols did actually serve a purpose, because there's no fucking way Galaxies was doling out any experience for that. This was roleplaying in its purest form: players living the life of a stormtrooper when the Empire still had its oppressive grip on the galaxy. Maybe they'll get some interested recruits as a result of this event, which couldn't come a more opportune time. SOE says that the Galactic Civil War is near completion, with updates allowing players to take sides and engage in the struggle to control the galaxy. It sounds like they've really thought about this system, and apparently the legendary Combat Revamp and an as yet un-named expansion pack will actually be released as well.

Sadly, this unplanned inspection by Darth Vader seems to be relegated to fan sites only - it wasn't even listed as a news item on the official Galaxies website. It's not like famous NPCs like this make an appearance every day - as they shouldn't - but this could have been used as a clever marketing tool to get people interested in the game again. Especially the former players that quit the game in frustration after broken promises and an inconsequential expansion pack. It showed that even seemingly insignificant devotion to this game might actually pay off.

So I'll take back my cynical comments, because I know that the dev team on Galaxies has taken a lot of shit from players over the past year and a half. It's nice to see them notice this die hard subset of the larger community. It doesn't correct the game's many underlying problems, but for that moment it at least provided a little context on why people wanted to play this game in the first place.