Welcome back to today's E3 coverage here on ZAM!

Today's second media briefing (2 of 4) was from EA. We've got the details you're looking for, so let's dive in!

All Events: Bethesda, Xbox, EA, Ubisoft, Playstation, Nintendo, Square Enix, PC Gaming

Earlier this week the team behind Star Wars: The Old Republic announced a simple, yet significant change to how users will be able to log in to their accounts. Instead of using your associated Email address to log into the game or their official website, players will soon be asked to use their Display Name instead.The change will be fully implemented on April 2nd, however players can begin using their Display Names to log in to the game and website immediately if they choose to do so.

While the newest news update for Star Wars: The Old Republic may be small, we'll happily take what we can get as we anxiously await more information on this game.

Spacefaring species from across the galaxy come together to create the diverse population of Star Wars ™. Today we’d like to share our artists’ concepts of some of the many interesting characters you’ll come to meet as you venture through Star Wars ™: The Old Republic™.

The concept art shows us the faces of a Nautolan, Neimoidian, Rakata, Bith, Kitonak and Gammorean. Die-hard fans will recognize all of these faces, but casual fans should recognize Biths from Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, the band playing in the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

The update also includes 10 new forum avatars for use on the official forums, so check them out and decide if you want to show allegiance to the Republic or the Empire.

Now that the holidays are over and all the presents have been unwrapped; we'd like to show you what you may have missed this week.

Allakhazam Features

Jim Lee's Universe, Part One : We sit down with Jim Lee, famed DC comic book artist, to talk about his Sony Online Entertainments upcoming MMO, DC Universe Online. In the interview we talk with Jim about his role on the project, his past, and of course the game itself.

Jim Lee's Universe, Part Two : Part Two of the interview with Jim Lee.

Jumpgate Evolution Media #4 : We give you our final look at Jumpgate Evolution in 2008 with four brand new exclusive screenshots.

This month's media update contains new concept art and screenshots for various droids, weapons, creatures and locations you can expect to see in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

From lightsabers to landscapes, our concept artists have been busy creating art to inspire the look of Star Wars ™: The Old Republic™. Check out these newly released images depicting the iconic imagery from the Star Wars ™ universe. Also, make sure to take a look at the new screenshots we’ve added to our gallery including scenes from inside the Sith Academy and the majestic ruins of Tython.

Eight screenshots and eight pieces of concept art were added in the media update.

Also, if you missed it, you can still check out the team's first video documentary. It contains new concepts, screenshots, and real-time pre-production gameplay video.

Earlier today, Bioware and LucasArts announced that they will be unveiling the first video documentary for Star Wars: The Old Republic on Friday, December 12th. That's tomorrow for those without a calendar! The video is going to show ' a overview of the upcoming story-driven massively multiplayer online PC game set in the timeframe of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic franchise' and will finally provide the public with our first look at in-game footage. To me, tomorrow is a pivotal point in that the community will either like what they see, or they won't. Hopefully we wont have similar complaints like when the first batch of in-game media was released.

Keep your eye on the official website tomorrow, it should be interesting to see what happens.

Ever since LucasArts and BioWare announced Star Wars: The Old Republic in late October, they have focused on the story as one of the most important aspects of the game. After all, Star Wars fans are generally quite attached to the lore of the Star Wars universe, and any game related to the franchise should recognize that fact.

Well, fans will be happy to note that the story is still a major emphasis of the writing team, and is the focus of the official site's two newest updates. The first explains how your character will be immersed in the MMORPG, while the second outlines how the writing team keeps that Star Wars "feel" while respecting the continuity of the expanded universe.

Since Star Wars : The Old Republic takes place almost four millennia before the films, it removes a lot of potential for error, but it’s still not easy keeping track of when Species X was first discovered or when Technology Y was invented. We do our best to work within established continuity where we can, and adjust it gently where we can’t—even a long-forgotten issue of Marvel’s Star Wars comic series is something we’d rather not contradict.

Both articles can be found after the jump.

A strong community can help make or break a game during the long development period before any sort of public testing begins. Luckily for LucasArts and BioWare, Star Wars fans have embraced The Old Republic wholeheartedly.

The team behind SW:ToR just released their first monthly Fan Friday post, which is filled with creations by community members. It contains a role-playing thread called The Cantina, amazing Star Wars art by StandAlone, and a link to the fansite www.swtortemple.com (which just happens to mention our interview with Community Manager Sean Dahlberg in case you missed it).

Check out the full post here for more information on Fan Friday. You can also visit the community creations forums to submit your own work.

Ten new concept art pieces have been posted on the Star Wars: The Old Republic Web site.

The new concept pieces are of the follow items and places:

• • An Assassin Droid (left)
  • A Medical Droid
  • A Jedi Lightsaber
  • A Blaster Rifle
  • A Blaster
  • A Sith Lightsaber
  • Holo-images of past Jedi
  • A Republic Lookout Tower
  • A Sith Imprisonment Chamber
  • A Jedi Enclave

Also, 10 new avatars have been added to the community section. According to this news post, "These avatars contain more iconic Star Wars races, additional female options, and Republic and Empire allegiance icons."

More media will be released in the coming months.

A short time ago in our very own galaxy, Star Wars fans around the world felt a disturbance in the force, as if millions of voices cried out in happiness and just kept right on cheering. This wonderful disturbance was the announcement that LucasArts and BioWare have teamed up to develop Star Wars: The Old Republic, an MMORPG set 300 years after Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

If you're not familiar with KOTOR through its videogames or comic books, you're in for a treat. Forget about Anakin Skywalker, the Millenium Falcon and Ewoks. This MMO will take place thousands of years before Episodes I-VI, in a time when the Old Republic and the Sith Empire were at all-out war. In that vein, you'll be able to play as a Jedi or Sith. Specific species and classes have not been announced, however.

The two companies have stated that a main focus of the game will be on the story, in addition to combat, exploration and character progression. Allakhazam will be keeping you posted throughout the development of this monumental MMO, which has no release date or beta test set at this time. For now, check out the official announcement press release below and all the information at www.swtor.com.