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LucasArts Layoffs Spark Many Rumors, Including KOTOR 3

It seems that LucasArts has laid off somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 employees, sparking all sorts of interesting leaks and rumors. Chief among the rumors seems to be another carrot in the chase for the LucasArts/Bioware MMO project, which according to one employee, will take the shape of KOTOR 3. "Most interesting, however, is the information they provide on how the layoffs leave the company severely short-staffed as they approach a packed development schedule, one which it appears may be increasingly outsourced. Some of the titles they report LucasArts apparently have in this stacked pipeline, whether as publisher or developer, include: KOTOR 3, Battlefront 3, 'The Official Indiana Jones' game, another LEGO based game based on the Indy universe, and 'a lightsaber game for the Wii.'"

21 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. KOTOR3 by Anarke_Incarnate · · Score: 5, Funny

    You get to play as an aging Han Solo who finds an artifact and meets aliens..........wait........redundant?

  2. Meh. by Fieryphoenix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I stopped caring about LucasArts when they stopped making space combat simulators.

    1. Re:Meh. by Alinabi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I stopped caring when they stopped making adventure games

      --
      "You can't allow somebody to commit the crime before you detain them." [Condoleezza Rice]
  3. make a new version of Xwing vs Tie Fighter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Amen

    They need to make an up to date version of Xwing vs Tie Fighter... Imagine a 20 ship scrum going on with shinny new graphics...

    1. Re:make a new version of Xwing vs Tie Fighter by Prien715 · · Score: 4, Informative

      For what it's worth, X-Wing Alliance was the last game in the series and has actually aged pretty well. Since it's actually entirely 3D, people have created new models for it that are much more complex than the originals and fit in well with the missions provided. Plus, they actually got Mark Hamil to do some of the voice-overs;)

      --
      -- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
    2. Re:make a new version of Xwing vs Tie Fighter by mako1138 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      There's a TIE Fighter Total Conversion that combines TIE Fighter with the XWA engine. I haven't tried it, because I still haven't finished XWA!

      That site also has ship model upgrades, it seems.

  4. Re:Fuck George Lucas by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Funny

    The triple bladed light-saber gives a closer shave.

  5. NOOOOO!!!! by Hatta · · Score: 4, Insightful

    KOTOR3 as an MMO? That's awful. KOTOR 1 and 2 were the best adventure games to come out in a long time. That's what I want more of, adventure games.

    I want a game with a compelling story, and interesting puzzles interwoven into the plot. I don't think that's possible to do with an MMO. I want to be the (singular)hero, the protagonist to the story. You can't have a compelling story with thousands of protagonists.

    This is really bad news.

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    1. Re:NOOOOO!!!! by Taibhsear · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is really bad news.
      I got a bad feeling about this. Fixed that for you.
  6. Re:Wii, lightsabre game? by SBacks · · Score: 4, Funny

    You can make your own now, just strap a bunch of LEDs to a Wiimote and run around hitting people.

  7. Re:Wii, lightsabre game? by BigAssRat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Wii-mote probably would do a great simulation of a light sabre considering both would have about the same balance type. Since a light sabre would not have any weight where the blade would be either. Kind of a cool concept for the wii-mote. And you can sell a light sabre "handle" for the wii-mote to fit in.

  8. LucasArts just hasn't been the same... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    LucasArts just hasn't been the same since the late 90's. Deciding to solely exploit the Star Wars franchise instead of the incredible IP they had built up over the last decade was probably the worst decision they could have made.

    Now, we're all a little tired of the endless Star Wars games (and not even the great ones, like Tie Fighter!), and they're laying off staff and outsourcing to continue producing the same Star Wars crud.

    Not a good sign for LucasArts' future if you ask me.

  9. Do I have to hand in my nerd badge... by NewbieProgrammerMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...because I have no fucking clue what KOTOR is?

    --
    [b.belong('us') for b in bases if b.owner() == 'you']
    1. Re:Do I have to hand in my nerd badge... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Knight of the Old Republic

    2. Re:Do I have to hand in my nerd badge... by hidannik · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, violating a cannon is only one of the ways to take liberties with it. But be careful that someone doesn't fire the cannon while you're violating it, or you just might find out how much bigger one of its balls is than yours.

  10. Shocked to not to see Monkey Island 5... by stardude82 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Or Grim Fandango 2 on the list. Sigh...

  11. Re:Fuck George Lucas by ichthyoboy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fuck everything, we're doing five blades.

  12. Re:Fuck George Lucas by plasmacutter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    i'm surprised and delighted to see this concise summation of my opinion given this information.

    1 - the guy is not only beating dead horse franchises to powder, but he's going necro too, dragging them up from decades ago for a second round, this time using light sabers to beat the leftover powder into vapor.

    2 - he's laying off experienced, skilled american labor who have demonstrated their loyalty for god knows how many years of work to replace them with offshore labor. He doesn't even bother to invent a pretext like "there just aren't enough talented americans". It's like watching your spouse make mad, horny love to whoever theyre cheating with on your dinner table in front of your 5 year old children.

    3 - not only is he doing this, but he's adding insult to injury to both his remaining american staff and his customers by cutting this staff from dev and QA, meaning more pissed customers putting dents in the devs' reputations when it was the head honcho himself who overworked, understaffed, and partially repopulated his departments with trainees who in all likelihood barely meet minimum qualifications.

    so yeah.. the conclusion.. (explative deleted) george lucas... it's absolutely brilliant. it boils down 3 paragraphs into a 3 word post title.

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  13. Layoffs; The Remake! by mandark1967 · · Score: 5, Funny

    When the inevitable happens and a disgruntled former employee goes berzerk when told he is laid off and is then shot by a security guard, you can bet George Lucas will edit the security cam footage to make it appear disgruntled worker shot first.

    --
    Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
  14. Re:Wii, lightsabre game? by oldmacdonald · · Score: 4, Funny

    I guess the name LIGHT sabre is what confused me. That just means it doesn't weigh very much!
  15. Deathstar go boom! by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I felt a great disturbance in the Force...as if a 100 voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

    Lucas the great rebel... is really just another corporate dick.