dialogue choice system was carried over directly from Knights of the Old Republic. The inspirations for the game's plot included the Classic Chinese Novels Outlaws of the Marsh, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West, in addition to Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and more recent works such as The Deer and the Cauldron, Lone Wolf and Cub and Bridge of Birds. They also drew inspiration from Wuxia and samurai movies including Seven Samurai, Fist of Legend, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Shaolin Dolemite and The Five Fingers of Death. The character Black Whirlwind was a homage by Laidlaw to Li Kui, a main character from Outlaws of the Marsh. Henpecked Hou followed a tradition in BioWare titles of including a character for comic relief, in addition to playing on Chinese narrative stereotypes. A notable side character is Sir Roderick Ponce Von Fontlebottom the Magnificent Bastard, a musket-wielding explorer from a foreign land used for comic relief. The character was generally influenced by the explorers of Medieval Europe who had historically been to China. While much of the script is in English, many characters in the game speak Tho Fan, a 2,500-word Asian-style constructed language translated for players using English subtitles. Similar to the development of the Elvish languages for The Lord of the Rings, Tho Fan was developed to add to the personality, realism and immersion of to the setting of Jade Empire. The team chose not to use a real-world Asian language as Jade Empire was set in a fantasy world despite its Asian influence, with Tho Fan being used to add a level of exoticism for players. To create Tho Fan, BioWare contacted the linguistics department of the nearby University of Alberta; one of those who responded was Wolf Wikeley, then a student at the University with a master's degree in psycholinguistics and a candidate for a PhD in phonology. When Wikeley—a fan of Japanese anime and video games—was interviewed, he spoke several sentences in fluent fictional languages from various films and TV shows, impressing the BioWare staff and earning him the job. The language, according to Wikeley, relies on soft sounds and most closely resembles Mongolian. When planning the new language, Wikeley asked the developers who temperament the people of the Jade Empire had, as it would impact the sound and delivery of the words. After this is worked on creating a