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LucasArts Shows Interest In Wii Lightsaber Game

Gamasutra reports that, though they're not willing to say they have one in the works right now, LucasArts is interested in a Wii lightsaber game. From the article: "At the end of the demonstration, Gamasutra inquired as to whether the company planned on creating a lightsaber game for the Wii, after many commented on the suitability of the system to the concept - especially after an internal speaker was revealed in the controller being used to demo the concept. This question produced a number of knowing smiles around the room from LucasArts employees, followed by the comments: 'We know' and 'We are looking into it', as possible concepts for the game were discussed. However, the firm has not yet made any official announcements regarding planned Wii titles."

15 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Ob by HoosierPeschke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just don't film yourself playing....

    --
    Mr. Universe: "They can't stop the signal, Mal. They can never stop the signal."
  2. Not quite the same... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hand me my lightsaber. It's the one that says, "Wii" on it.

  3. Irish model smaller? by Oculus+Habent · · Score: 3, Funny

    Look at the Wii Lightsaber!

    --
    That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit
  4. Oblig Spaceballs Quote by hal2814 · · Score: 4, Funny

    You have the ring, and I see your Wii is as big as mine. Let's see how well you handle it.

  5. Good news by linvir · · Score: 5, Interesting
    They'll find a way to ruin this, believe me. For example, it'll take place on a world where lightsaber energy depletes at 1000x the normal rate, and you have to search for generic blue crystals to replenish some bar. Or it'll interpret general controller gestures into predetermined saber motion animations.

    Not meaning to sound like the typical Slashbot everything-hater, but it's my experience that the games with the greatest potential prove the most disappointing. Star Wars Galaxies is coincidentally the best example.

    1. Re:Good news by poulbailey · · Score: 4, Informative

      Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 were both great Star Wars games. Theory shot down.

  6. A true Dark Forces/Jedi Knight game? by Dark+Paladin · · Score: 3, Informative

    This would be the perfect game in the Kyle Katarn story line. Work it as a first person shooter so you can face stormtroopers and block the shots, face off against Jedi with force powers (and use the crosshair to select your own, A to execute).

    Man - I loved Jedi Knight II. I'd go through levels, pull every weapon away from my enemies, and then leave them screaming "Don't kill me" while I took out the turrents. I think I was able to play all of the later levels without killing anyone but the Dark Jedi.

  7. new technology by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 4, Funny

    As everyone always says, the pr0n industry decides what new technologies take off. I can't wait to see their novel uses for the Wiimote...

    --
    This guy's the limit!
  8. Re:Article is a bit hopeful... by DingerX · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Same thing. Money talks. The essence of Jedi persona is tied up in the light saber. Now you've got a controller that can make you monetize that.

    I'm sure they've got numbers that will indicate how many sales of any turd with "star wars" on the box will sell. Then you add in something that they haven't done before, but would just be cool, and there you have it. A Wii light saber game is a million sales minimum; the Wii artwork demands are not as bad as PS3/360, so all you need to do is make it work, and make people feel cool doing it.

    Besides, I want me one of them twin-blade batons o' death.

  9. Prior Art!!! by Ratso+Baggins · · Score: 3, Funny

    My dad taught me to play light-sabers with wee (sound effect and all) and I in turn taught my son. It's a tradition 'round here.

    --

    --
    "we live in a post-ideological world..." - Billy Bragg.

  10. Controls would be perfect by UncleFriendly · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Remote would control the lightsabre, obviously. It should be free-form, in that as you move the remote, the onscreen sabre moves, too. Also, since the analong "nunchuck" has motion-sensing capabilities, too, it could be used for force powers! Push forward to do a force push in the direction you push. Pull back for a force grab. Pull back and quickly pull up to do a choke and mid-air suspension... all while fighting a second guy with the sabre! The analog stick moves and it could use Metroid-style controls to lock on to a guy during sword combat so that you won't have to worry about strafing.

  11. Re:Article is a bit hopeful... by Golias · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Okay, so everybody with memories of playing "lightsaber fights" with their flashlight beams when they were little kids hears about a Jedi game for the Wii and thinks "oooo! That's perfect! The wireless Wii motion sensor will work just like a lightsaber! What could be more intuitive????"

    But wait a sec. There are a few details to work out.

    1. If controller motion indicates what you are doing with your weapon, what indicates where you move and where you are standing? The thumb buttons?

    2. If you swing your lightsaber and your opponent blocks it, but you follow through on your swing... where is the lightsaber? Still pinned against the block? Do you need to bring your hands back up to that aproximate location to move it? Or do you now need to keep your hands down by your knees for the rest of the fight?

    I'm not saying such issues can't be worked out somehow, but unless you put the controllers into big plastic tubes, and attach several more motion sensors to your head, torso, and limbs, it's kind of hard to indicate that you block one swing, duck under the next, leap over the one after that, then circle around so your opponent's back is to the Sarlac Pit (or whatever) without resorting to old-fashioned button-mashing as part of the interface.

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  12. Re:Article is a bit hopeful... by DingerX · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Aye, 1) is the rumblestick.

    2) is easier than you think. Swinging, and other motions are simply movements between extremes. Anything beyond an extreme (Such as against a contraopposing sword, or bey0ond the range of motion), you can either filter out or use to shift the relative range of motion -- or some combination thereof.

    The best way to find out what really works is to hook someone up and play.

  13. We are... by Alzheimers · · Score: 4, Funny

    We are the Jedi who say ... Wii!

  14. LucasArts says "we Kinda have too much money" by AzraelKans · · Score: 3, Funny


    "We would love geeks throwing money at us for releasing this title (or titles) I mean, we love money as much as the next guy, but seriously we have so much money here we simply dont know what do to with it, we have used it to lit the boiler, as toilet paper, eating it, these days we are just giving it away, by the way heres a bag of money for interviewing us take it, please! Nothing works! Money just appears every day at the door, we are literally swimming in it and when we release the Star Wars Special DVD set later this year... well, Im afraid for our very own lives, you can't breathe money you know? we've tried."

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    Go ahead MOD my day!
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