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Tag: Star Wars 1313

  • Disney Shuts Down LucasArts, Cancels All Current Projects

    Disney Shuts Down LucasArts, Cancels All Current Projects

    LucasArts, the game publisher and developer subsidiary of LucasFilm, was shut down today by its new overlords at Disney. The brand will remain as the company will look to licensing its crop of franchises out to other developers, but the development staff has been let go. Projects currently being worked on at the studio, like Star Wars 1313, have also been canceled.

    Game Informer received the following statement regarding the closure of the development studio:

    “After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles.”

    Unfortunately, the news doesn’t come as too surprising as some thought Disney would at least downsize the studio when the company bought LucasFilm last year. At the time, Disney said it would be moving more towards a licensing model, and today’s news confirms that reality.

    As for the games LucasArts was working on, Polygon reports that Star Wars 1313 is no longer being worked on at the studio. The game could be licensed to an outside developer for completion, but an inside source speaking to Kotaku says that’s unlikely.

    Even if Star Wars 1313 never sees the light of day, it’s not the end of Star Wars video games. Disney will undoubtedly have game tie-ins available alongside the release of the next film that’s due in 2015. Under a licensing model, we’re also likely to see more original projects that expand the universe, much like Knights of the Old Republic and Republic Commando did under LucasArts.

    Aside from Star Wars games, gamers are also rightly concerned about LucasArts’ stable of adventure games, like Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion. The developer dabbled in its roots a few years ago with remakes of the first two Monkey Island games, but nothing has been done with its other properties. Some are hoping that Disney will license out these properties to other developers for new entries.

    As we say our goodbyes and wish all the talented people at LucasArts the best; let’s look back on what made LucasArts so unique – it’s awesome logo:

  • Gamescom 2012: Star Wars 1313 Still Looks Amazing

    After the disappointing Force Unleashed II, a new Star Wars game wasn’t high on anybody’s anticipation meter. That all changed at E3 when LucasArts gave us our first look at Star Wars 1313. It’s a new game starring not the usual Jedi characters, but a regular bounty hunter on the planet/city of Coruscant.

    It’s been a few months since E3 and that first trailer still amazes to this day. What could LucasArts to do ratchet up the hype for their new game? Make an even better trailer. That’s what they did today with Gamescom 2012 playing host to our next look at Star Wars 1313.

    The new trailer only confirms that the visuals are still one of the strongest parts of the new title. It’s clearly some of the best work done in Unreal Engine 3. There are even rumors that the title may be next gen due to just how good it looks.

    The visuals aren’t the only thing the game has going for it though. The new trailer gives us a look at some more of the gameplay present. As a bounty hunter, the game will focus a lot on gunplay. There will be some melee combat as well. It all looks fast and fluid. In all honesty, it looks like Uncharted set in the Star Wars universe. That’s not a bad thing at all and LucasArts definitely impresses.

    We still have no clue when the game will be out except for a vague 2013 release date. LucasArts hasn’t mentioned platforms yet either adding to the next gen buzz. Much like Watch Dogs, the game is being run on a powerful PC decked out with the latest components. We’ll probably find out more throughout the end of the year. Hopefully they’ll be ready to announce a launch date by E3 2013.

  • Microsoft Believes the Xbox 360 Still Has Two Years Left to Live

    Although a lot of people are speculating that Microsoft will drop a brand new console by the end of next year, it would seem that the company feels their ol’ girl still has some life left in her yet. Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer told Gamespot that, thanks to SmartGlass technology and a recent Nike partnership, the system will still be around for at least another two years.

    “It’s a platform that has really reached scale; this is the time when you really see the great content showing up. The future in a lot of ways is always tomorrow: [things like] the SmartGlass technology and Windows 8 [show that] things are going to constantly evolve,” Spencer explained.”The world where everything gets centered around one console and when that comes out–we kind of have to evolve away from just thinking about that, [especially] with the service-based nature of games today.”

    This news comes in the wake of several graphically-impressive debuts at this year’s E3, including LucasArts’ “Star Wars 1313” and Ubisoft’s “Watch Dogs”. Both games are thought to be a little too advanced for the current generation, and once you’ve seen the trailers, you’ll quickly understand why. When asked when “Watch Dogs” was scheduled to hit retail shelves, Ubisoft issued the following tweet, the vagueness of which has been called into question.

     

    At this point, it’s really all just speculation. Instead of wasting your time wondering when the next console is going to put you further into debt, have a look at some footage from “Star Wars 1313” and “Watch Dogs”. We may not get to play them for some time, but they sure are fun to look at.

  • Star Wars 1313 Gameplay Shown at E3

    Star Wars 1313 Gameplay Shown at E3

    When Star Wars 1313 was announced last week, the excitement and discussion was mostly based on speculation. This week, in the midst of all the E3 festivities, GameTrailers and Spike TV were able to get hold of some gameplay footage from the demo that debuted this week at E3. Dominic Robilliard, the creative director at Lucas arts, was on-hand to show off the gritty (for a Star Wars game, at least) new 3rd-person action game.

    Keep in mind that Robilliard states that the footage seen is all real-time, in-game footage and not simply a cut scene:

    As you can see in the footage, the graphics, lighting, and particle effects for the game all look amazing. A visual effects supervisor for the game last week stated that one of the goals of the project was to blend gameplay and cinematics, making it so that the two are interchangeable from a player perspective. In this next clip, which features combat gameplay, Robilliard says much the same thing, stating, “We make a big effort to make sure that the game transitions seamlessly in and out of gameplay and cutscenes so that you’re not sure when you are in control or not.”

    Players not knowing for sure whether they are in control sounds as if it could be problem when the blasters begin firing. However, being a modern 3rd person action game means players can always tell when enemies will appear, due to the presence of waist-high crates and walls.

    Star Wars 1313 still does not have a release date, but I expect the game will not be out until, at the earliest, that magic window all of the recently delayed and announced titles are getting: spring 2013.

  • Star Wars 1313: New 3rd Person Game Revealed

    Star Wars 1313 has had rumors slung its way for a while now, as every Lucasarts fan has been awaiting its arrival amid tales of a Mature rating and a player-controlled Boba Fett. And while Star Wars based games haven’t always fared well in the interactive department, first looks at the latest in the series is building anticipation for something epic.

    A few aspects of the game were released late last night, along with some photos of the concept art, and while details are still sketchy, they’re more than enough to hold the interest of gamers. A third-person adventure, the game focuses on one central character who is reportedly not Boba Fett, but rather a human bounty hunter who will use his own skills to get through each challenge–set on the planet Coruscant on Level 1313, a criminal underground–rather than the Force.

    Lucasarts president Paul Meegan says, “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part of the Star Wars mythos that we’ve always known existed, but never had a chance to visit. We are committed to bringing the best gameplay experience and visual fidelity to life and I truly believe the work we are showcasing at E3 will speak for itself.”

    More details are expected to be given next week, when the game is officially announced at E3 2012 in L.A.

    star wars 1313

    star wars 1313

    Tip of the ol’ hat to Luke Plunkett at Kotaku for the images.

  • Star Wars 1313 Video Game Announced

    E3 is beginning next week and already some big game announcements are being made. Game companies are releasing collector edition pre-orders and bawdy trailers at hyperspeed. Speaking of hyperspeed, LucasArts made what could be the biggest pre-E3 announcement yet. The company has officially announced Star Wars 1313, a new Star Wars video game franchise that will officially debut at E3 next week.

    Details about the game are sparse, though GameTrailers.tv was able to interview developers at LucasArts’ San Francisco studio about what players can expect. Players will take on the role of a bounty hunter in “the most dangerous place in the galaxy, 1313.” According to LucasArts, 1313 is located somewhere below the surface of the planet Coruscant. The way the developers talk about it, 1313 is a very dark place filled with crime and gangs. It will be interesting to see whether LucasArts will really make a Star Wars game as mature as they are intimating.

    As for the gameplay, 1313 is a third-person “cinematic” action adventure game. The bounty hunter main character (whose identity is being kept secret, for now) will use an “arsenal of exotic weaponry” to track bounties and uncover a criminal conspiracy. LucasArts states that the game will feature “epic” set pieces and fast-paced combat. Also, the player will have little connection to the force, meaning players will be using bounty hunter gadgets rather than sorcery. A visual effects supervisor at LucasArts stated that the developers are trying to unify cut-scenes and gameplay, meaning from a player’s perspective there should be no difference between the two.

    “We’re excited to share one of the projects LucasArts has been hard at work developing,” said Paul Meegan, President of LucasArts. “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part of the Star Wars mythos that we’ve always known existed, but never had a chance to visit. We are committed to bringing the best gameplay experience and visual fidelity to life and I truly believe the work we are showcasing at E3 will speak for itself.”

    From the look and feel of Star Wars 1313, as well as the bounty hunter protagonist, I’m thinking the game might be something similar to Shadows of the Empire. Could the game be a sequel or prequel to that classic Nintendo 64 game? Could Dash Rendar be the mysterious figure in the picture above? We will have to wait until E3 next week to find out. In the meantime, the first segment of the GameTrailers video below will fill you in on everything there is to know about the game so far.

    (via GameTrailers.tv)