Let’s talk about why we shouldn’t skip Taris. For being such a historic RPG, the first level of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003), Taris, is strangely different from the rest of the space opera adventure that follows. In this video essay, I draw on cognitive narratology to conduct a close reading of Taris, and explore how Taris serves the overall narrative of kotor.
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Chapters
00:00 How You End Up on Taris
00:53 The Premise of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
01:53 Intro to Taris
02:36 If You Think Taris Is A Drag, I’m Not Here to Drag You (Disclaimer)
03:21 A Thought Experiment: In This Essay I WILL
04:05 KOTOR Spoiler Warning
04:43 Thesis Statement: Taris is Essential to the Narrative of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
06:30 Cognitive Narratology: Foregrounding My Reading of Taris
07:41 What Does This Have To Do With KOTOR?
09:13 How Taris Establishes Lore and Themes
19:50 Bastila as Mythic Figure and How This Shapes the Playable Character’s Position in the Narrative
20:31 How Quest Design Shapes Narrative Experience: The Search for Bastila Spiralling Out of Control
26:06 Local Power Dynamics on Taris
29:31 Taris: A Thematic Critique of Wealth Hoarding
32:57 The Emotional Shock of Meeting Bastila Shan: An Analysis
38:01 Canderous Order Joins the Party and Carth Can’t Cope
42:23 Bastila Analysis
44:23 The Destruction of Taris and Its’ Narrative Consequence
48:29 KOTOR Post Taris
51:48 SPOILER WARNING | Also, How Taris Sharpens The Cognitive and Emotional Experience of the Late Game
55:27 TLDR: Why Taris is Genius
59:50 Anyway
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More From @Loadingscreen_Keva:
MediEvil 2: Hidden Themes
https://youtu.be/TWZC38Xu2fc?si=b2_JXY1h-qLL87_r
Silent Hill: Controversial Opinions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3zGlbfpQPQ&t=1138s
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I’m also on Instagram! @LoadingScreen_Keva
https://www.instagram.com/loadingscre...
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