A few weeks ago, we received an invitation to view footage from an at the time unannounced project from LucasArts.
Before E3 began, we learned that the title was Star Wars 1313, not Battlefront 3 (we’re still dreaming), and would not feature any Jedi or Sith, but instead focus on the tale of a Bounty Hunter and the dangerous level 1313 underneath Coruscant. Naturally, LucasArts was hyping the new IP quite considerably, but after viewing the short demo, we can understand why.
From the get go, one thing is clear: this game is downright beautiful, leaving myself wondering just how this would ever run on current-gen hardware. Now, no systems, release date, or really any specifics were announced, other that the demo was running on a PC and the game was still in a very, very early pre-production phase. Regardless of how early it is, the game looks quite polished, though that can probably be chalked up to the fact that they worked their tails off on the brief demo. Before the gameplay started, we were given a brief overview of the development process which featured a lot of footage we eventually saw in the demo, as well as a signification motion cap process that pays off dividends in a similar style that L.A. Noire did.
Should you be in the belief that this was merely a coincidence, we can chalk up the impressive visuals, sounds, and set pieces due to the fact that Industrial Light and Magic, SkywalkerSound, and Lucasfilms Animation are collaborating with LucasArts as well, plus the involvement of Epic Games was overheard, though there wasn’t any specific mention of if it was Unreal 4. There was mention, however, of the fact that George Lucas is working closely with the game’s story, which may or may not be a good thing; that depends on which Star Wars fan you ask.
So while yes, we were all disappointed that instead of Battlefront 3 we got a brand new Star Wars IP with a funny name fresh off the heels of Star Wars Kinect. However, after watching the video demonstration, all of that disappointment has been replaced by anticipation. We know very little about Star Wars 1313 and hope that changes very, very soon.
