If you are a Star Wars fan much like myself, the announcement of Star Wars 1313 really got the blood pumping. Very little was known about the plot, but LucasArts developers revealed that players would be sent into the dark underworld of Coruscant in the shoes of a dangerous bounty hunter. Judging by the exciting gameplay trailer released at E3 in 2012, the game was set to be a third-person action/adventure game that appeared to be similar to games like Mass Effect and Uncharted.
Shortly after the game trailer was unveiled, Disney purchased LucasFilms and LucasArts and proceeded to cancel all active projects, essentially killing all hopes of a game. However, rights to for the game were eventually sold on to EA.
Gustavo H. Mendonça, who served as an illustrator & designer on Star Wars 1313, released a series of concept images from the project on his website. Mendonça stated, "Working on 1313 was one of the most fulfilling and challenging design jobs on my 15+ years career in the entertainment industry." Judging by his concepts, the statement he released appears to be spot-on. The images depict a dark criminal underworld sectioned off from the rest of Coruscant, as well as his depiction of bounty hunter Boba Fett.
Adding further pain to fans, former developers demonstrated the power of the engine that had been created by releasing footage that displayed an animation reel. What’s different about this animation though, is that it was done in real time, creating a live virtual scene for actors to interact with. By repurposing the game engine, the developers had created a system that they believed could be used in film production to render scenes (live) that would normally have needed to be rendered in post production. The video below shows a few clips from the demonstration.
The new images and footage further add to the pain that fans are experiencing, knowing that such potential is not being taken advantage of. On the up side, fans got great news from EA at E3 when they teased a new Star Wars Battlefront game, but still no word from EA on Star Wars 1313. What are you thoughts on EA taking reins on the Star Wars projects? Do you anticipate they bring back Star Wars 1313 in the future, or is the project doomed? Let us know in the comments below.
More concept images can be found at the link below:
http://www.brushonfire.com/design2/
Sources:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/29/5043232/star-wars-1313-concept-art
http://www.pcgamesn.com/star-wars-1313-engine-turned-post-production-movie-technology
