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Disney Closes LucasArts
An anonymous reader sends news that Disney is closing LucasArts. The game studio has been around since 1982, and brought us classics such as Labyrinth, The Secret of Monkey Island, X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and Star Wars: Battlefront. They also published Star Wars: Galaxies, Knights of the Old Republic, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. The company held a meeting today informing employees of the layoffs. "In some ways, the news is not a surprise. LucasArts had seemed directionless in recent years. The company's core business of games based on the Star Wars license have been largely disappointing in both quality and sales. While the company had some success with games like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and the Battlefront series, both of those franchises seemed to have died on the vine. The cancellation of Star Wars Battlefront III was particularly ugly, which led to nasty public fingerpointing between LucasArts and developer Free Radical. ... LucasArt's other big franchise, Indiana Jones, has failed to make much of a dent in games in recent years, with the exception of Traveller's Tales LEGO Indiana Jones series that, once again, was not developed by LucasArts. Meanwhile, series like Uncharted and Tomb Raider, which are both heavily influenced by the Indiana Jones films, have thrived." If only they hadn't abandoned the X-Wing series of games. I would have bought a new one of those in a heartbeat. Update: 04/04 18:09 GMT by T : Dice.com's news service (Dice.com is the corporate parent of Slashdot) mentions one small silver lining for those employees who stuck it out to the end: the best kind of parting gift. "Soon after the acquisition, a number of people departed LucasArts, deciding the time was right to head out in search of a new job. Many others remained, encouraged to hang on as long as they could by talk of generous severance packages. Sources among those laid off say the packages were, indeed, generous."
Noooo!
I am a subscriber. Will the servers shutdown?
http://saveie6.com/
Sad day. Everyone be sure to raise a grog in their honor.
When there's fingerpointing and one of the two dies suddenly...
the other guy wins, right?
It's now a redundant (meaning duplicated) department. This does not mean the games will stop, it means that they will be made by Disney.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
I hope that at least Disney tries to get money from me by releasing HD versions of TIE and XWing as LucasArts did with Monkey Island
No mention of Grim Fandango in the list of classics?
The hidden story here is this: if your core business is not making computer games, and you decide to have an in-house team to do the games, keep in mind that these people are not driven as hard as they would be on the open market where the game is their only product.
When a team is in house, the customer are the other divisions of the company who need to be "satisfied" by what looks like a good project; this is a layer removed from the customer, who actually determines if the product succeeds by buying it or not.
This is the same reason people make fun of government employees. There's no quality-end-result motivation; the real job is to work the job, and to keep taking money for doing whatever it is hasn't gotten them fired yet.
Yeah, I miss TIE Fighter. That game was really cool.
Now other developers can buy into the star wars license and make good games without the license holder holding back out of fear of competition. Waiting for someone to license and start production on a good star wars mmo.
Disagreeing with you does not make me a troll.
... Its just the life of workers and their families...
Its time to setup dosbox and play some Tie-fighter and Xwing...
The LucasArts that's closing today isn't the same company that made all of those games you loved in the past. They really have not put out a decent title in near a decade. All of the good talent left and started/joined other companies ages ago, pretty much around the time the company became a development house for making star wars franchise shovelware. (Not to be mistaken for many of their earlier excellent star wars franchise games, like x-wing, tie fighter, super starwars, etc)
IIRC, there's this classic Loom.
They should outsource to Rockstar Games. GTA set in a Star Wars universe could be fun.
I would have paid full price in a heartbeat for a new X-Wing series and a season Pass for the first 4 major DLCs.
What a cash cow that could be - selling E-Wings or Pirate Frankenfighters for .99 and eventually tying everything back to an MMO. LucasArts should never have ignored the fan's outcry for the past decade for a new reboot of that series on modern desktops.
I would just hope they would make sure not to piece it up too badly, as many games are these days... but the X-Wing series would have been a natural for the trend. Major DLC to add new missions and fleets would be a no-brainer.
In the past, I just got the sweater into the dryer, and in the future I'm just now getting the hamster of the freezer! DON'T PULL THE PLUG! I WANT TO BEAT THE EVIL TENTACLE! PLEEEASE!
I grow a massive boner when I fantasize about a new X-Wing [vs Tie Fighter] game. That's the only game I've ever used a DOS emulator to play.
That way I can always shoot first.
Hopefully, the games can still be made. Disney paid for the IP, I hope it wasn't just to make movies.
The Lucasarts that produced all those legendary games was already long gone. Did they still even have their own internal development studio? I am not sure. They seemed to be more on the publishing side of things for the past decade.
Regarding Star Wars titles, Knights of the Old Republic was great, part 2 was clearly rushed and unfinished, but still very enjoyable. Somebody (not EA) should put some effort into a part 3 (and not involve EA in any way whatsoever) and I'd buy that! (Did I mention I wouldn't buy it if EA had anything to do with it?)
LucasArts hasn't *created* anything in nearly a decade. It's been a licensing wing of Lucas for years, and Disney's being financially smart to roll it into their other licenses. However, it's a strong name in the gaming industry for a reason, and for historical reasons, they'd have done better to keep the name while rolling it into another division.
All kings is mostly rapscallions. -Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
I am going to take business advice from a person who can't actually read and hasn't got a clue about the company he is talking about?
For your information, Lucasarts THRIVED when it developed games internally, it was when they outsourced development that the rot set in. So... the history of Lucasarts 100% invalidates your rant and proofs you are a silly person nobody should listen too.
You must be a Romney voter because logic just doesn't exist for you does it? It is generally accepted that first party titles for consoles are the must haves, the once of most reliable high quality.
You can spot the downfall of Lucasarts when during the opening graphics of X-Wing vs Tie-Fighter between the iconic logo's, there was a silly little bi-plane animation of a the 3rd party studio that got involved. And while the game offered some intresting new features, it just couldn't hold a candle to the solid quality of its ancestors. Some more disasters followed until the company was reduced to ordering totally unrelated companies to produce mods for other peoples games.
Inhouse = Solid quality and must buy titles each and everyone of them
Outsourced = meh
You might make fun of government employees, while you pay a fortune to save the privately run industries like the car and banking industries saying Romney was cheated because people like the editors of financial news papers just didn't get his policies and recommended right wingers vote for a left wing black guy.
Oh and to get back on topic, the only GOOD Disney game, was an inhouse title as well, Stunt Island. Google it, it was amazing for its time and is still unique.
In reality, in house means putting the interest of the company, YOUR company first and the intrests of your company are the customers. For 3rd party developers, the customer is the publisher NOT the plebs in the shops.
Just see what happened to Bioware when it stopped being a publisher and had to dance to EA's tune instead of listening to customers.
Hell, all the most respected studio's are those who develop their own games. Unreal, Id, Blizzard etc etc. It is the publishing houses and their slave companies that everyone looks down upon.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Just Google Stunt Island, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stunt_Island
That was Disney. They make more then shovel ware movie license games. Well, they used to. Same as Lucasarts really.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
One of the few things still with some support is the original Star Wars Galaxies game, though it has passed from the commercial realm ages ago. Several teams of developers have been building and running two different emulator systems, which are "clean room" re-developments of the start wars galaxies back-end servers. Sony Online Entertainment, the company that ran the Everquest series of MMOs ran the original, and tried to focus it on an fps-like Jedi vs Bounty Hunter, with the galactic civil war as a secondary PVP aspect. What they missed however, was the fact that the richness and familiarity of the Star Wars worlds created a place where players went to "live", rather than to score against some game mechanics. Player associations (Guilds) built cities which they could fortify, with shared amenities like cantinas, med centers, cloning facilities and transport shuttles. Player crafters could create top level gear and weapons, as well as support items, houses, foods, vehicles and other items which were sold to other players. The world and the community participations made for a lasting experience, which has outlived the commercial game itself.
I can't remember from my pirate classes with Guybrush Threepwood what the correct insult is for this story... anyone? Maybe, I hear the end of Lucas Arts is near, I hope Disney gets skunk mucus in its ear.
I bought x-wing when it first came out, but ended up abandoning it due to the poor targeting graphics. The target would turn a dark red, and like many males I have red/green colorblindness, which caused the targeted object to pretty much disappear. Had they left the object brightly lit and put a bracket around it, like Wing Commander or Comanche, I would have been more interested. I liked the degree of control of your ship's resources (something nobody else had at the time) and really wanted to like the game, but my wife got tired of standing behind me saying "Left. A little more. Too far. Go down. Down to the right. No, up." (Helping me play the game, you juveniles.) The experience was frustrating enough that I didn't bother with the rest of the series. And so, my feeling of loss at LucasArts going away is at best abstract.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Jar-Jar vs. tie-fighter
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For me, they'll always be the firm that produced incredible Atari 800 games, Ballblazer, Behind Jedi Lines and The Eidelon. Fractal games in 1982, Hell yeah!
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
They should outsource to Rockstar Games. GTA set in a Star Wars universe could be fun.
Grand Theft Android? I might buy that.
(T>t && O(n)--) == sqrt(666)
I remember absolutely loving Day of the Tentacle.
I had always hoped they would bring out more such games.
I can't say I'm surprised at this announcement. Really, what has LucasArts done in at least 10+ years that has been good?
They used to be known for not only their movie-related games, but also creative original ones like Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, etc. But they stopped doing all of that when Episode 1-3 came out. At that point it was just a string of shovelware Starwars games. Even their once successful space-sim games like Xwing and TIE Fighter were abandoned.
Can you imagine how awesome a modern Starwars space-sim game would be that featured massively multiplayer battles? MAG showed that you can successfully do 256 players in an FPS environment, so the same should be feasible for Xwing as well. Even some of the Commander-type things MAG did might be possible to actually have someone command the ISD or MonCal Cruisers, etc.
Such a wasted opportunity.
Totally agree. I never had much free dough, back in the day. But I scrimped and saved to buy each X-Wing game as it was released. I'd also buy a new flight stick - as I'd worn the last one out playing the previous versions.
with free electric sheep!
Isn't that what KOTOR was? Although I wouldn't mind a Rockstar reboot.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
disney produced some ok stuff back in the day.. experimental even.
now I'm just wondering why the fuck lucasarts is referred to as a games studio in this article when they haven't been a games studio in ages? a games studio makes games.. a publishing company publishes and a middleman just skims money from the deal because they own the ip. now there was a time in the nineties when lucasarts was the developer and someone else was the publisher but lucasarts switched that around about the time lucasarts stopped being a seal of a decent game, so in recent lucasarts releases lucasarts is the publisher and the developer is some random development house they outsourced some slave work to and got slave quality shit as games in return..
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Hopefully, the games can still be made. Disney paid for the IP, I hope it wasn't just to make movies.
lucasarts hadn't been actually making any games in years .. disney will still license the ip or produce games - that much is certain. they just don't need a bunch of suits sitting in an office labeled lucasarts. lucasarts track record for the past 10 years is publisher, publisher, publisher and the development houses they chose to make the games almost all were never heard no history development houses they paid bottom dollar for.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Close the GAME SUBSIDIARY of LucasArt, LucasArt is still alive.
Did they seriously just post some assorted Lucas Arts titles and not include Maniac Mansion UR COMING WITH ME, CRATER-HEAD!!
I agree: I'm still playing the original 'Tie Fighter' game running under DOS (Box).
I bought it before when it came out on FDDs - must be 15 years ago now.
Even today it is a great shoot 'em up and surprisingly challenging; the graphics are blocky by modern standards - but I don't care as the game is so engrossing my brain doesn't even see it.
Yup, I'd pay 10 Euro / Dollars / UKP for a new mission pack or something I spent more on a Joystick to play the game than that - beats wasting money on virtual lawn trash ornaments in Whatever-clone Ville.
GTS - Grand Theft Speeder
Well, Knights of the Old Republic was a RPG using a modified version of the D&D 2nd edition rule set, not an action-adventure game. And since Rockstar is known for their sandbox games, and KOTOR wasn't even slightly sandbox in style, with planets roughly the size of a high school gymnasium, I'd say the similarities between KOTOR and the GTA games are pretty much limited to the fact that they're both third-person 3D.
Also, since Rockstar doesn't generally produce RPGs, they wouldn't be my first choice to reboot the series.
Sean Daugherty "I have walked in Eternity -- and Eternity weeps."
my favorite game to ever come out of LucasArts: Sam and Max Hit the Road (TIE Fighter vs X-Wing was a close second).
It would be the biggest space sim in years. But that doesn't make it a hit. People today don't want realistic controls, they want an FPS in space. Make a real X-Wing sequel, and people would hate it for its difficulty. Make a watered down X-Wing, and the people who remember the original would hate it.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Or Grand Theft Anakin!
Tomorrow is another day...
Im glad lucasarts is gone. They haven't done anything for the past decade besides shit out terrible stars wars game after star wars game. All lucasarts can do is whore out the license and nothing else.
Now if Disney is smart they will give GOG.com the rights to the old classic lucasarts games which would earn them a good chunk of change without having to do anything themselves and it would make millions of classic lucasarts fans happy in the process.
LucasArts and LucasFilm was the best entertrainment when I was young: Indiana Jones films and games (Indiana Jones and fate of Atlantis), Monkey Island, TIE Fighter etc.
But they really kind of "died" after late 1990s. The new Star Wars and Indiana Jones films/games just didn't have the quality of the old times (or maybe I just became old).
Sad news. It would be great if Disney open sourced the X-Wing and Tie Fighter code... :-O
I wonder how many that are actually buying the "new" Lego Z-95 Headhunter only because of X-Wing / Tie Fighter series. I was one of them.
GTA set in a Star Wars universe could be fun.
I was going to make a joke involving the Hot Coffee incident, Natalie Portman as Padme, and hot grits, but I decided that was way too much nerdiness for one post.
So I'm simply going to say that I'd prefer vice versa, Star Wars set in a GTA universe.
Large outside levels... curved walls... it was cutting edge... and one of my favorite games
Also, since Rockstar doesn't generally produce RPGs, they wouldn't be my first choice to reboot the series.
Yeah but since we're after Grand Theft Tie-Fighter instead of a KOTOR reboot, Rockstar are best placed :)
Surely you meant GTAT-AT.
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I interviewed at Lucas Arts about 6 years ago. One of my interviewers joked about how they had recently laid off large numbers of employees because those employees had believed that game design and story were more important than the best looking graphics.
I would have enjoyed a new game in the X-Wing series too. I enjoyed a several series of games flying space fighters or similar. The X-Wing series, the Wing Commander series, and Descent I, II. I never did play the third one. All the game series I knew in this category seem to have disappeared. In recent years I’ve been to busy with grad school to notice if anything new in this space.
Just a comment for folks speculating that this just means that other dev studios will pay Disney for the privilege of making Star Wars/Indy Jones/Monkey Island/whatever games... Disney apparently has a reputation for shafting their license partners so hard they go out of business. It's part of the reason that a Gargoyles comic book can't get off the ground despite the huge fan appeal (here like 20 years after the cartoon aired).
The Old Republic players should be worried about this; it means when it comes time for Electronic Arts to re-negotiate their Star Wars MMO license with the new owners (Disney), they'll likely be in the unenviable position of having to choose whether or not to pay 2-10 times as much as previous in licensing fees, all for an MMO that (rightly or not) a large cross-section of the gamer and developer communities say has severely under-performed so far. Much more likely that EA will just decide to cut bait and shut down their servers.
No idea when or if EA's contract for the Star Wars MMO license is up for renewal, of course. But it's some serious food for thought. I think TOR's a good game.
And naturally, Disney's hatred for any video games not aimed at 3-year-olds means that they certainly won't be developing any new LucasArts properties in-house...
- Draegos
I would have enjoyed a new game in the X-Wing series too. I enjoyed a several series of games flying space fighters or similar. The X-Wing series, the Wing Commander series, and Descent I, II. I never did play the third one. All the game series I knew in this category seem to have disappeared. In recent years I’ve been to busy with grad school to notice if anything new has appeared in this space.
'Tard it was a modified version of the *3e* rules, during their big push for everybody to adopt D20.
Personally I would've liked at least one WEG D6 based game, but the closest we got was SWG (Which honestly was better, since it directly involved your usage of skills increasing your experience/level with those skills.)
Or Grand Theft Anakin!
Or you could be Anakin, just like in the film, mowing down Sand People and Jedi.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Enjoy these LucasArts and Origin games, for they will not be around forever. Take on the Kilrathi and Empire until your joystick breaks. Finish all the side objectives and keep all your wingmen alive. Get the better soundcard and CDROM drive to enjoy Day of the Tentacles with full voice support. And you can never have too many Death Star trench runs so buy Rebel Assault.
It would be the biggest space sim in years. But that doesn't make it a hit. People today don't want realistic controls, they want an FPS in space. Make a real X-Wing sequel, and people would hate it for its difficulty. Make a watered down X-Wing, and the people who remember the original would hate it.
Revive the SWG space combat and it would be fine.
With smoother graphics, real physics support, and hopefully a bit more interesting collision damage (The game only let you take another pod a few times before you'd explode, crashing into anything would make you explode, etc.) The core gameplay though was the closest I could get to F-Zero on a PC, and the customization options for the campaign mode made it super enjoyable. Honestly the only thing that would've made it better was more 'dirty tricks' like Sebulba's engine flare (which was a tradeoff since it would dramatically slow you down, but would also cause an engine fire on an opponent if it hit.), and maybe some skinning support so you actually make a pod YOURS.
Regardless I won't miss it, nor any of LA's future cinemagraphic works. The age of Lucas greatness has long since passed, and remains make me weep every time I'm reminded of them.
All I asked for was an undated to today's standard in graphics Tie Fighter. And you can't even do that. One of the richest trove of made for video games universes in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones and somehow you fuck it up and can't stay in business. I don't understand. They should be a juggernaut in the Video Game world.
"I don't which is worse, that everyone has a price, or that the price is always so low"--Hobbes
I'm dating myself but I blame X-Wing for my bad college freshman grades. We would play the game on a my room mates 66 Mhz 486DX2. The sound was OK but the music was crap so we just put in a Star Wars CD and turned it up.
The energy management was such a great part of the game. Double Front my ass! Put all power into the engines and bob and weave.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
as the original.
The SWGEmu guys set back the development of the emulator by 5+ years by not releasing documentation on the protocol, and getting in a tizzy over other people's complaints about their development habits (A number of us kept it ported to linux but various rank amateur 'original' devs kept using windowsisms to break things even when there was an easier and better documented function that was cross platform compatible.)
Their usage of the (L)GPL is against it's copyright (They radically change the terms of it in their headerfiles and claim privileges that the license they're using doesn't actually cover.), they use a closed source backend which would intentionally crash hourly and had a connection limit (First 1 then like 8, it may be capped at 100 now. I stopped following them a while back.) There's constant breakage in their subversion repository, many times requiring you to 'start over' with a fresh db.
I'm sure the list could go on, but the point is the emulator projects are a joke. Nevermind that the client is getting long in the tooth and the proper way to handle the whole mess would be just writing a new client from scratch and simply trying to reimplement the Pre-CU/NGE rules on an entirely new codebase. It would've also wasted FAR FAR fewer hours than the emulator projects currently have, nevermind the tens of thousands in donations they've milked it for over the past 5-8 years.
Also: given the community of primadonnas and douchebags surrounding what's left of the swgemu community, I have to say it's left me even LESS interested in anything Star Wars.
As another reflection on this: Go look at the Star Trek modelling community compared to the Star Wars one. There's far more openness and cameraderie in the former than in the latter, despite both latching to the teats of a corporate controlled work.
with free electric sheep!
Just like my dreams.
"All these years believing you're the signified monkey, only to find out you're just a big hunk of nobody cares."
I've posted a nostalgic look back at LucasArts. They were a client of my game testing company and I also was a member of the press during their most creative years. I remember these guys well. You can find the post at http://slashcomment.com/entertainment/good-bye-lucasarts/
They should have flipped that around. Release an updated X-Wing, with multiplayer, and eventually tie it into an MMO like Galaxies. It might have led to a more successful launch for SWG had they used this game as a pre-cursor to build up a solid online fanbase before-hand.
I never owned a LucasArts game. All there games were quirky, kiddy, and silly for the most part. They haven't really had any hits in awhile.
If Disney can release the original Star Wars movies without the plot changes it will be welcome.
I am still trying to forget the prequels even happened.
Phil
Laugh, it's good for you!
Disney has a long history of buying very good game and educational software makers and then killing them. When Disney buys a company it is the beginning of the end.
the music, which used iMuse, was actually great if you ran it to an outboard midi GM module (I used my Roland D5 keyboard at the time, which worked as it was compatible-ish with the MT-32 a lot of games back then supported), it was also awesome since it was midi it would seamlessly switch between "quiet" and "battle", I was really sad when games switched from that tech to CD tracks as the switch in that case it's a heck of a lot more noticeable.
With the available quality of virtual instruments nowadays I am a bit miffed that more games don't go for stems and mix things on the fly vs having fully produced tracks.
-- the cake is a lie
Well... there goes my hope for a sequel to Rescue on Fractalus!.
You pay even if the games suck? Sure, they can make them but then they might suck. :(
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I'm dating myself
Welcome to slashdot.
We would play the game on a my room mates 66 Mhz 486DX2.
66 MHz? Luxury! Why in my day... etc etc.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Better be good with that trigger finger if you get that six star wanted level, no way you're outrunning those fracking Snow Speeders and their damned grappling lines - they're taking you down every time.
Oh man. I was even planning to play through The Dig this weekend for fun and nostalgia sake. And now, this news about Lucasarts closing comes though... Looks like this weekend's gaming session will also be a memorial play-through as well.
if ($question !~ m/bb|[^b]{2}/i) { die(); }
you go to see the next disney bambifier idiotic film, or you put disney channel, and so on.
We all knew this would happen. Alas, we did it anyway.
Will only buy if Larry Holland is on board. Will only buy if it has strong single player. Will only buy if you stand no chance without proper flight controls.
The original floppy version of X-Wing included a legendary frustrating mission. You were protecting a couple of freighters in an A-Wing(my least favorite craft) against a couple of waves of TIE Bombers. Who launched and launched and launched torpedoes. It's been 20 years since but I still remember the feeling of accomplishment after I finished that one. Sniped torpedoes ot of the air, hammered out my concussion missiles and went at the bombers with my measly two lasers, full shields to bow and hell rode in after me.
It took me 2 days to get this one right.
The mission got nerfed in the subsequent re-releases.
20 minutes into the future
CH Flightstick. You needed one. If you couldn't reconfigure your shields, energy levels(to weapon, engines and shields), switch between laser fire modes, didn't know your ion cannon from your concusion missile and couldn't read your radar then you were toast. Although(oh heresy) I still prefer the Wing commander radar display.
In which case Sir might perhaps Rebel Assault? Many distinguished gentlemen with deficient aptitude prefer that offering. It can be controlled by a game pad, no special skills required.
20 minutes into the future
LucasArts used to be the gold standard for games. Of course, that was over a decade ago, and have been worse and worse since, but they have more then enough IP's to make fantastic games with. Are they at least going to sell off the IP's?
For those of you, like me, who miss The secret of monkey island, day of the tentacle, grim fandango and the other classics.
I can warmly recommend Deponia and Chaos on Deponia, 2 games in the same vein and with a 3rd one on the way.
It's a great shame that this game genre pretty much died at the dawn of 3D gaming and it took about 10 years for it to reanimate.
Lots of names I cherish in that company who still worked there; I knew LucasArts was in decline but I was hoping it'd hang on long enough for those people to retire - Did they make it??
I still remember names from the games credits like the testers Chip Hinnenberg and Jim Davison, the producer/hintline/testing combo of Brett and Tabitha Tosti (From whom I have a lovely written e-mail, from when I trying to get help for one of the buggy missions in XvT. The e-mail wasn't just some corporate robotic boilerplate reply but was actually written in a nice friendly style by a real person! With actual suggestions and help! It had smileys in it! How many people do that these days!?), Jo 'CaptainTrips' Ashburn, Peter Chan, the near-legendary music and sound people Peter McConnell, Michael Land and Clint Bajakian, and countless others!
So many names from so many ending credits!
We know the big names like Schafer and Gilbert, but there were so many others behind the scenes!
I know a lot of people have left over the years; Some to Lawrence Holland's Totally Games when it spun out, and then later, more to Double Fine, but I suspect a lot of my old heros are still around there and it pains me to know that they're being laid off :(
Those names appeared in the credits of so many LucasArts games that awed me and I loved spotting them, seeing more and more familiar ones as my collection built up.
To all of them, thank you! I for one will not forget you!
Be cursed Mickey Mouse.
I really liked Rebellion... but I had a list of complaints about it longer than my arm that needed "fixing" to make the game what it should have been. I have no idea any more what those complaints were, but I don't think any of it was overly complicated to fix. They just needed a few good beta testers to point out the problems, then fix them. It could have been a much better game.
Don't get me wrong. I love the X-wing series. I don't think they're suited for todays mass audience though. Reconfiguring your energy levels on the fly is a bit much for todays gamers that can't even handle health paks.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Off the top of my head, that can be addressed by offering multiple difficulty levels/options.
Lower difficulties automate things for you, maybe even grant you perks to make the casual/noob player feel like a powerful hero (let's say... auto health regen if out of combat? unlimited or reloadable missiles/torpedoes? force powers that does anything from bullet time to speed boost to insta-gibbing a target with lightning? I'm just being crazy here)
Higher difficulties don't.
All that is adjustable in multiplayer, and we'll let the players segregate themselves in the casuals and hardcores.
The point is this: when a larger corporate entity, whose business is not the making of software, then has an in-house department that makes that software, it will not follow market demands but will be obedient to management, who are one step removed from market demands.
The point isn't "develop their own games" if they are a games company; it's a non-games company developing games internally.
That was clear in the original message, but you either missed it or don't care. Judging by your angry and incoherent post, you're looking for an excuse to be offended and righteously angry. I hope you get that chip off your shoulder; living like that has never worked for me or anyone I know.
I hope they at least release X-Wing and TIE Fighter on Steam before shutting down. To this day TIE Fighter is still one of my favorite games.
Don't get me wrong. I love the X-wing series. I don't think they're suited for todays mass audience though. Reconfiguring your energy levels on the fly is a bit much for todays gamers that can't even handle health paks.
The current euphemism for this is "streamlining". We still call it "you kids suck". Every time I see somebody taking a couple of rockets to the face, dive behind a chest-high wall and emerge 10 seconds later right as rain I die a little bit inside. Halo ruined health management and Half-life ruined what used to be open shooters.
Not that the FPS genre was worth anything to begin with. First we had those shooting ducks shooting galleries. They were shareware. Then they thought "let's let the ducks move to and fro as well". And then they let the player move to and fro. And then we got multiplayer so the ducks were people who shot back. The whole thing had not too much depth to begin with and even that got taken away.
Now everybody makes those highly scripted regen health death-to-the-brown-people shooterthings. But at least they have a story. Handily presented in QTEs. Don't stand over there or you will be summarily exected for triggering the QTE in the wrong sequence.
You are propably right. A shooting duck's brain propably wouldn't be able to handle redirecting all power from the shield to overtake that imperial bastard/rebel scum and would write an angry email to the internet.
20 minutes into the future
Thank you for trying but:
The primary product is film, not games.
The primary product is film, not games.
The primary product is whatever the owners or the ones running the company want. It could be just one thing. It could be twenty things. You can even switch gears if you dare.
Nintendo started off making playing cards. Sony went from making radios to making... like... everything. Disney (the one who bought Lucasfilm) also started off with just films but branched out to a ton of other stuff.
George Lucas, at least for a time, wanted his company to also do games. So he did.
Having something being your primary or core product doesn't mean you'll do better or worse. Sometimes you make an Episode V. Sometimes you make Jar Jar Binks.
Disney should sell the rights to the X-Wing / Tie Fighter engine to CCP Games to be integrated into Eve Online. I think a joystick driven fast-twitch interface would do that game a lot of good.