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EXTREME MAKEOVER
Producer Julio Torres on Star Wars: Galaxies' New Redesign
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, director George Lucas created a sci-fi franchise from which countless games were birthed. Specifically, some good (Star Wars: Jedi Knight), some bad (Star Wars: Bounty Hunter) and some downright idiotic (Star Wars: Demolition)…
Today though, we’ll confine our discussion strictly to the massively multiplayer kind in the form of Star Wars: Galaxies, the industry’s leading light insofar as futuristic role-playing adventures are concerned. Despite numerous development delays, troubles with spaceflight (initially promised, but later delivered via the Jump to Lightspeed expansion), and various game balancing dilemmas (e.g. issues with player-controlled Jedi), it’s quickly become an international sensation. Between the theatrical/DVD debut of Star Wars Episode III and add-ons like Rage of the Wookies and Trials of Obi-Wan, which have slowly helped offset the title’s grind-heavy play mechanics, one can easily see why.
Nevertheless, change came to the universe in a major way on November 15 in the form of a sweeping repositioning of character professions, a streamlined interface and the introduction of real-time interactive combat. On the eve of this massive upgrade, we touch base with producer Julio Torres to see what surprises the team at LucasArts has in store for unsuspecting fans.
LQGaming Services:: Galaxies has been quite an ambitious project. Now it's about to become even more so. How in the hell do you manage to simulate something as huge, diverse and well-loved as the Star Wars universe?
Julio Torres: As suggested, you may have seen recently that we announced some exciting new enhancements and features we are adding to our game. These additions provide the experience one would expect from a Star Wars game with its revolutionary fast-action combat system, iconic profession development, and interaction with famous (and infamous) Star Wars characters. We are confident that this new direction indeed stimulates the interest of all Star Wars fans, both the hardcore and casual.
LQGaming Services:: How do you make sure you stay as close to the subject material as possible... is the design team made up exclusively of hardcore fans?
JT: We have an outstanding team that are both fans themselves as well as often work closely with the other teams developing the core Star Wars fiction and content, such as Lucasfilm and Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). We have found a combination of hardcore fans, casual fans, and folks that aren’t fans at all that creates a nice mix and delivers material that appeals to all Star Wars fans, as well as gamers and sci-fi fans in general.
"We're confident that the game's new direction will interest all Star Wars fans, both hardcore and casual.."
LQGaming Services:: Who maintains series continuity? And with the new updates in place, are you allowed to take any liberties with existing characters and storylines? If so, to what degree?
JT: That is actually the beauty of Galaxies. Though we don't tend to take liberties when it comes to story as the Star Wars fiction and canon is very "protected," we do at times allow for things that appeal to gamers that would otherwise not be permitted as they doesn't fit with the existing fiction and canon. An example of this is that we allow multiple Jedi to exist in the game even though it is set at a time when there are very few Jedi left in the universe. We strive to deliver a fun balance of gameplay that stays consistent with the storylines
LQGaming Services:: In what ways has the recent release of Episode III, especially on DVD, increased the title’s universal appeal?
JT: Certainly, as we often find after a major Star Wars film or other fiction release (such as The Clone Wars animated series) that we gain a throng of new fans who also seek to create their own Star Wars adventure, which is a key fun-factor in Galaxies: Where the movies leave off, your adventure begins…
As I mentioned earlier, we have so many elements in our game that appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers, as well as Star Wars fans in general.
LQGaming Services:: Space combat finally made its way into the game with Jump to Lightspeed... Why wasn't in there to begin with, after being promised for so long?
JT: As with the development of any other game out there, often concessions have to be made in order to meet release dates and to ensure delivery of a top-quality game at release. After all, there are only so many resources available. Fortunately, the extra time we had to work on Jump to Lightspeed allowed us to deliver a much more robust and enjoyable experience than we would have if we released it as a component of An Empire Divided.
LQGaming Services:: How much of an impact has the ability to explore the stars made on play, and you do think it’s become a driving force behind the game’s steadily increasing popularity?
JT: It has had a tremendous impact on all aspects of the title. The “space game” was one of our inspirations for the new fast-action combat system. Players were enjoying the action of the space game so much that we wanted to align the “ground game” much more with this in order to deliver true Star Wars combat action.
LQGaming Services:: Obviously, some big changes are just around the corner. What other major additions/expansions do you currently have planned?
JT: Though I can’t go into any detail of future projects, with the unveiling of the new game enhancements I mentioned earlier, we are setting the stage and laying a solid foundation for great things to come, including capitalizing on the epic Galactic Civil War.
LQGaming Services:: Any features fans have been clamoring for that you'll soon be implementing?
JT: We are not ready to announce any specifics yet.
LQGaming Services:: What do you feel is the game’s greatest strength in its new form? What’s its biggest weakness? And apart from the Star Wars mythology, what does it have to offer no other MMO can match?
JT: I hate to sound cliché, but its greatest strength is that it is the only game available that can truly immerse a player in their own Star Wars adventures within the Star Wars universe. The biggest weakness would have to be its lack of accessibility in the past, but with the new game enhancements, we anticipate this former weakness become one of the game’s greatest strengths.
In terms of something no other MMO can match: I would have to say it’s the overall size of the game, the incredible amount of content it features and in particular the immersion factor our players enjoy while playing a Star Wars fantasy.
LQGaming Services:: Your line of expansions has been quite successful so far. Where does inspiration for each effort come from? And what sort of reaction have they garnered from fans?
JT: Expansions offer us the opportunity to introduce something entirely new to Galaxies. In the case of Rage of the Wookies, we wanted to offer a more story-driven and directed experience than had been seen in Galaxies up until that point. Players really enjoyed the story arcs as well as the graphical enhancements. We carried these elements over into our most recent expansion as well, Trials of Obi-Wan, while adding a couple of other new features such as cyclical loot that rewarded the player with a different item each time they replayed a quest. Again, our latest features in Trials of Obi-Wan have been very well-received.
LQGaming Services:: At what rate do you plan to produce add-ons of the magnitude of the upcoming holistic revamp?
JT: Again, can’t dive into much detail, but we are planning some great things in the future, both near and far.
LQGaming Services:: What makes Galaxies' player community unique amongst all the other massively multiplayer social scenes out there?
JT: They are by far one of the most devout communities out there. Plus, you combine that with the fact that the majority are also hardcore Star Wars fans, and you have one of the most unique communities out there.
"With these new enhancements, we're setting the stage for great things to come - including the Galactic Civil War."
LQGaming Services:: Where do you see the game headed in the future?
JT: Definitely in a direction that will appeal to all types of gamers and Star Wars fans, both hardcore and casual. We have some very exciting "top layer" features for the casual players to enjoy, as well as some excellent features for our hardcore players that wish to explore deeper. Ultimately, we want the player who only has an hour to play to get as much enjoyment out of the game as the player who has multiple hours to play.
LQGaming Services:: Does the fact that Episodes I – VI are now all officially released affect you any (e.g. by limiting the characters/content you can produce)? Or does it actually benefit Galaxies in some way?
JT: It most certainly benefits, especially when you consider that now the “full story” has been revealed, we can begin including elements of this in the game that we weren’t able to before.
LQGaming Services:: Recently, players have been launching successful uprisings and turning Galaxies’ established order on its head. Are you thrilled to see people taking the game into their own hands, or...?
JT: I’m guessing you are referencing the recent “Ahazi Uprising?” To answer that, we love seeing our players able to create their own fun in the game beyond what we had designed. But we are also working to make things such as this much more accessible for our players so that more can enjoy. After all, the Galactic Civil War is more fun to fight when you have other players alongside you!
You’ll see more of this happening in the future as events like these are one of our inspirations for constantly evolving the game and improving the content and mechanics. At the end of the day, we want this game to be as fun as it can possibly be while delivering the ultimate Star Wars experience.
LQGaming Services:: Whom do you see as Galaxies’ biggest competition in the MMO space and why?
JT: Games like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars have fortunately brought more players than ever before to the MMO space, so we are hoping to capitalize on their success to draw more people to Star Wars Galaxies. Sure, these could be considered competition as well, but I think they help the MMO space more than anything.
LQGaming Services:: What sorts of surprises will you be offering soon to help keep fans hooked, bearing in mind that they can now turn to comics, books, console games, and dozens of other outlets to get their Star Wars fixes?
JT: Granted, all of those outlets you mention are exciting and great ways to enjoy Star Wars fiction, but Galaxies is the absolute only thing that allows one to truly immerse themselves in the Star Wars experience and create their own Star Wars adventures.
- Scott Steinberg
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