Star Wars 1313

Star Wars 1313
Developer(s) LucasArts
Publisher(s) LucasArts
Director(s) Dominic Robilliard[1]
Designer(s) Matthias Worch[2]
Engine Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One[3]
Release date(s) Unknown
Genre(s) Action-adventure

Star Wars 1313 is a cancelled action-adventure video game that was under development by LucasArts.[4] The game would take a more mature, gritty direction compared to past Star Wars video games and, like 2002's Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, emphasize fast-paced gadget and weapon-based combat using tools exclusive to bounty hunters rather than Force and lightsaber-based combat.[5][6][7]

On April 3, 2013, it was announced that The Walt Disney Company had ceased internal development of all LucasArts projects, including Star Wars 1313. Company representatives have indicated that the game may be revived through a licensing deal with an outside studio, but until then Star Wars 1313 remains on hold.[8]

Plot

Star Wars 1313 was supposed to revolve around Boba Fett in his early adulthood, navigating past the scum of civilization in an underground area of Coruscant known as Level 1313 (pronounced: "thirteen-thirteen"), and fulfilling his destiny as a full-fledged bounty hunter like his father.

Development

While being developed in-house by LucasArts, Star Wars 1313 was undergoing an integrated development approach that involved Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation and Skywalker Sound.[4] The game's title was trademarked in May 2012,[9] and the game was announced later that month by LucasArts. The game was officially revealed at E3 2012 the following month.[10] Spike TV broadcast a sneak peek on June 4 that showed exclusive gameplay footage.

It was being developed on top of Unreal Engine 3, as shown in the latest Developer Diary called "Descent to the Underworld".[11] The diary video shows the game running in 64-bit mode with the Direct3D 11 rendering path.

On March 1, 2013, it was reported that the game had been "on hold" ever since The Walt Disney Company's purchase of Lucasfilm, stating that Disney will focus mostly on Star Wars film-related projects, as also with Disney's animated film Frozen. However, a LucasArts representative reported that "Star Wars 1313 was continuing production".[12]

On April 3, 2013, it was announced that The Walt Disney Company had ceased internal development at LucasArts and laid off its staff, except a skeleton crew of less than 10 employees which would allow LucasArts to remain open as a licensor.[13] As a result, all projects were shut down, including Star Wars 1313. A Lucasfilm representative stated: "After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization."[8] It is possible that Star Wars 1313 may resume development by an external developer, but until that happens Star Wars 1313 remains shelved.[14] Following the halting of internal development at LucasArts, Disney announced an exclusive deal with Electronic Arts to produce Star Wars games for the core gaming market. However, Disney Interactive Studios retained the ability to develop, and LucasArts retained the ability to license the franchise for the casual gaming market.[15] When asked whether Electronic Arts would continue Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars: First Assault, a representative for the company stated, "We are not announcing any specific titles at this time."[16]

In September 2013, while speaking at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Lucasfilm chief technology strategy officer Kim Libreri demonstrated a video of motion capture being processed in real-time by the Star Wars 1313 engine and its assets. Using the game's capacities as an example, Libreri suggested that cinematic post-processing might eventually be supplemented or superseded by rendering technologies developed for video games.[17]

Disney chose not to renew the trademark for Star Wars 1313 at the end of 2013 and so as a result, The United States Patent and Trademark Office considers the trademark abandoned.[18]

In December 2015, it was reported by /Film that Kathleen Kennedy suggested the concept art for the game was "gold" and "something we don't want to throw away."[19]

References

  1. ↑ Devore, Jordan (2012-06-04). "E3: This in-game Star Wars 1313 footage is eye candy". Destructoid. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  2. ↑ Ligman, Kris. "Star Wars 1313 dev on talking to the player through design".
  3. ↑ Owen Hill (5 June 2012). "Watch Star Wars 1313 running on a "high-end PC with Nvidia hardware"". Star Wars 1313. PCGamer. Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  4. 1 2 "LucasArts Drops Gamers into the Criminal Underworld with New Mature Themed Videogame Franchise, Star Wars 1313™". LucasArts.com. 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  5. ↑ Parker, Laura (2012-05-31). "Star Wars: 1313 revealed". E3.gamespot.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  6. ↑ Senior, Tom (2012-06-01). "Star Wars 1313 casts you as a bounty hunter in "dark and mature" new third person shooter". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  7. ↑ Cooper, Hollander (2012-05-31). "Star Wars 1313 revealed, will put us in the boots of a bounty hunter". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  8. 1 2 Sal Romano. "Disney shutters LucasArts, Star Wars 1313 canceled [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  9. ↑ "Star Wars 1313". Tarr.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  10. ↑ Anthony Gallegos (May 31, 2012). "E3 2012: Star Wars: 1313 Officially Announced". Star Wars 1313. IGN.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  11. ↑ "Developer Diary: Descent to the Underworld". GameTrailers. 2012-08-23. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  12. ↑ Brenna Hillier (1 March 2013). "Star Wars 1313 "continues production", according to LucasArts". VG24/7. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  13. ↑ "Disney to Shut LucasArts Videogame Unit". The Wall Street Journal. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  14. ↑ "Disney closing down LucasArts". 3 News NZ. April 4, 2013.
  15. ↑ "EA takes helm from LucasArts, will exclusively develop future 'Star Wars' games". The Verge. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "EA Snags Exclusive Deal To Make Star Wars Games". Kotaku. 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  17. ↑ Bell, Lee (20 September 2013). "Lucasfilm will combine video games and movies to axe post-production process". The Inquirer. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  18. ↑ Engen, Josh (16 January 2014). "Disney Abandons Star Wars 1313 Trademark". The Escapist. Alloy Digital. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  19. ↑ http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-tv-show/

External links

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