The wuxia films Jade Empire's combat was meant to emulate are largely descended from the works of the Shaw Brothers Studio, including films like Five Fingers of Death, One-Armed Swordsman, Five Deadly Venoms, and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. (Something that led to many crackdowns and bans of such works over China's long history.) The 'xia' part of wuxia refers to a chivalrous code a warrior undertakes to fight for righteousness against oppression. Wuxia itself is a genre of Chinese fiction, usually depicting a lone hero with martial arts skills up against larger, corrupt organizations. Unfortunately, while Jade Empire combat was smooth, it never really challenged players it was good to look at, but simply okay to play. Bioware used motion capture for the first time with Jade Empire, as hitting that authentic wuxia feel was key. The game's action was intended to provide the feel of classic wuxia films, offering up a number of different weapon and fighting styles. The biggest change from Bioware's previous work was the simplistic real-time combat system, featuring a light attack, heavy attack, area of effect attack, block, and dodge. There are a number of reasons why we waited until now to create this 'dream project.'' 'We've always felt that becoming a martial arts master would be a great experience, and since we're unable to do so in real life we thought that becoming a martial arts master in the Jade Empire would be ideal. 'Ray and I have personally wanted to make a game like Jade Empire for nearly ten years,' said Zeschuk to GameSpy in 2004. The game was a 'dream project' for Bioware co-founders Dr. Jade Empire was the result, releasing on April 12, 2005. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or the popular Dungeons & Dragons pen-and-paper RPG, Bioware instead tapped Chinese mythology. Instead of relying on medieval European fantasy rooted in J.R.R. When it came time for a follow-up, Bioware took Knights of the Old Republic's Odyssey Engine and crafted a new fantasy universe. Bioware was well-loved before KotOR, but the game put them on the map for audience who had never touched their PC titles. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was a critical and commerical hit.

It relied on the popular Star Wars brand and an Xbox-exclusive release to draw mainstream players in. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic had launched in 2003 as an Xbox-exclusive, offering up everything Bioware had learned from developing Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, and Neverwinter Nights on PC platforms. Ten years ago on April 12, Bioware tried something a little bit different.

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