STACK #157 Nov 2017

FEATURE GAMES

storyline that did it was the Shadow of the Empire comic books. It gave us a fresh outlook and a lot of room to play around. “You’ll get to see some classic locations. Like I mentioned, you’ll be a part

ready to discharge a wealth of collective knowledge. “A lot of the people that we work with are super, super hardcore fans of Star Wars,” laughs Robillard. “I mean, I like Star Wars – I grew up on the original trilogy – but I never got into the nitty gritty details that some people get into. For me, there’s an X-wing – there’s one X-wing. But no, there are five models of X-wings, each with their own differences. “There is so much more depth than I originally knew about. A lot of it comes from the team. Our game director, Mark Thompson, is actually a pretty gritty Star Wars fan. We had a lot of in-studio checks for whatever we were trying to do, and most of the time we’d go to Lucasfilm and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re trying to do’, and they’d say ‘Hey, you guys did your homework – it’s fine’.” Finally, we broach the bane of all single-players around the globe – campaign length. For those – and there are many – who choose to dwell within the confines of an offline campaign, the quest for a prolonged single-player mode remains a constant struggle. Remembering that the Battlefront series, since its inception in 2004, has always primarily been multiplayer authentic Star Wars experience and we wanted to convey the fantasy that we see in the movies,” Robillard responds. “Depending on how you play, and your skill level, it’s probably going to be between six and eight hours. We thought that was good, and that was the right amount of time in order not to stretch things too thin.” focused, there’s still a sizeable chunk of campaign for gamers to sink their teeth into. “We set out to build an

So, who is Iden Versio? “She’s an Imperialist born and bred. Her father’s an admiral in the Empire’s fleet. She was brought up from the get-go thinking that the Empire was in the right; they’re trying to bring order the galaxy and make everyone see stability, so she’s very headstrong about what she has to do to get that done. What you’re going to experience as Iden Versio during the campaign is what kind of emotional growth she will be learning from the experiences she’s going to have. I can’t spoil it too much, but some beliefs are going to be tested. “There are two compatriots: Agent Hask, who’s a very ambitious specialist; then there’s Agent Meeko, who’s more of a laid-back kind of guy, not as direct, but has a few experiences leading other outfits. They all work as a team, they all complement each other, but of course in the end, Iden is the leader of the squad.”

of the Battle for Endor but from another perspective, and you’ll also get a look

at a new location we worked at establishing and creating with Lucasflim called Vardos – it’s an Imperial Stronghold; you might even visit other locations that we’ve seen in The Force Awakens …” Robillard says Motive worked closely with Lucasfilm, telling STACK that “everything that you’re going to be playing in the single-player campaign comes through extensive collaboration with Lucasfilm.” “They helped us keep the story authentic, keep the story true to the Star Wars feel; they actually even let a couple of our art direction guys visit their archives down on the West Coast.” And there is always the office to turn to should any Star Wars

looking at making the campaign, The Force Awakens was in theatres,” says Robillard, outlining how the narrative concept behind the campaign developed. “ The Force Awakens was kind of a bridging of the gap between the first original trilogy and the new era. We thought that was pretty cool and perhaps we could use that as an inspiration for the timeline we wanted for our campaign. “We started bouncing ideas with DICE and Lucasfilm, and

We wanted to convey the fantasy that we see in the movies

then somebody said, ‘Why don’t we take the events that left the Empire crushed after the Battle for Endor and show that side of the story?’ “We wanted to explore something that hadn’t really been covered before. The only other

lore questions arise; the studio is home to more than a few aficionados

• Star Wars: Battlefront II is out Nov 17

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