In anticipation of the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes game, Nathaniel interviewed the game's developers at Lucasarts! Find out what they have to say about working on the next big Star Wars video game!
Q: Tell us just quickly what this game's about and what makes it special over other Star Wars games.
A: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Republic Heroes is all about bringing the authentic Clone Wars animated series experience to gamers. In this pursuit, we've leveraged art assets from Lucas Animation, used the same voice actors, and we've worked closely Writers and Producers from the show to create a story that bridges the gap between season 1 and 2. Player can play as all their favorite Jedi and Clones. Jedi focus on acrobatic movement, lightsaber attacks, and force use while Clones use tactics, tech, and an arsenal of weapons to take out the enemy droid forces.
Q: When's the game coming out and on which consoles?
A: September 2009, on PS3, 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS, and PC
Q: Are there any features just for certain consoles?
A: We’ve strived to keep the experience as uniform as possible across all platforms. That being said, the Wii of course has some unique WiiMote movements to help with lightsaber combat and Clone blaster combat.
Q: How does the storyline fit into that of the movies, other games, or the Clone Wars TV show?
A: The story picks up where the Occupation of Ryloth storyline in the show left off - players will start out on Ryloth and move on to other locales as they battle the Separatist army and hunt down a doomsday device that threatens to destroy a solar system. Along the way they’ll battle known villains such as Count Dooku and Assaj Ventress, and a few new ones such as Cad Bane and the Skakoan Assassin Kul Teska.
Q: Who creates the basic story? Is it relayed down from Lucasarts for the game developers to use, or do the game developers have their own writers who go beyond just implementing what Lucasarts gave them?
A: The basic outline of the story was discussed between LucasArts and our partners at Krome Studios, and they created new characters who debut in our game. After that, one of the Animated Series writers wrote the script and the vast majority of character banter and dialogue. Then it was the job of Krome Studios to implement that story , animate the cutscenes, and write in additional dialogue where it made sense. In addition, the voice director and actors change the dialogue here and there to fit the performance. So the story was touched a little by everyone.
Q: Do you have any advice for any kids who want to get in on the games business?
A: The games industry is always looking for people with talent, but it’s also important to know that if you want to get into Games, you need to stand out as many other people are trying to get in the door too! . Most people focus on a speciality, like Computer Science, Programming, Art, Writing, Mathematics, or Business, so your goal should be to get good grades in what you are good at, and earn that College Degree. For those people who want to be in a creative field - don’t just settle on one or two “great ideas”. Keep coming up with ideas every day. You never know which idea will someday become the next great game!
