Star Wars 1313 Creative Director Joins Sony

[Andy Chalk]

Star Wars 1313 Creative Director Joins Sony

Dominic Robilliard, the creative director on the canceled Star Wars 1313 project, is now working at Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Disney's closure of LucasArts [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123055-Disney-Closes-LucasArts] in April 2013 was sad enough in its own right, but the particularly lamentable aspect for an awful lot of gamers was the loss of Star Wars 1313 that resulted. A daring and more mature take on the franchise, it promised something more than the kid-friendly Star Wars shovelware we'd grown used to - perhaps, we dared to dream, something on the level of Knights of the Old Republic, or at the very least Dark Forces.

Anyway, the dream is dead (mostly [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123081-Licensing-Deals-Could-Rescue-Star-Wars-1313]) but those who tried to bring it to life live on, and one key member in particular - Robilliard - has now moved on to the greener pastures of Sony Computer Entertainment America. What he's doing there or which studio he'll be affiliated with isn't known, but it's not his first kick at the Sony can: Prior to joining LucasArts he was a member of the now-defunct Sony Computer Entertainment Europe studio Team Soho, where he worked on The Getaway series.

We've reached out to Sony to find out more about Robbiliard's role at the company and will update if and when we hear back.

Source: IGN [http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/01/08/sony-hired-star-wars-1313s-creative-director]


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[TallanKhan]

Obviously I will be curious to see what he goes on to do at Sony but it is good at the very least to see a talented person getting back into a position where he may be able to develop some interesting games.

 

[Nimcha]

It's been that long? I still can't believe that game was cancelled. Even if it wouldn't appeal to the general public gameplay-wise, you'd think just the Star Wars name is enough of a selling point for any publisher.

 

[Andy Chalk]

It's been that long? I still can't believe that game was cancelled. Even if it wouldn't appeal to the general public gameplay-wise, you'd think just the Star Wars name is enough of a selling point for any publisher.

That was pretty much my reaction too: April? Really? And surprise that it got canned, too. Disney's got the financial resources to handle a commercial failure, and I can't imagine a better and more direct way to signal that it takes the franchise seriously than by making 1313 something memorable. I still hold out hope it will see the light of day, but I worry that if it does it'll be a watered-down version of the original vision - Disney-fied, you might say.

 

[Racecarlock]

You mean the guy who wanted to make a gritty version of star wars?

Oh good, because I was just thinking how much the next generation needed a gritty, third person shooter version of crash bandicoot.

 

[Leonbelmont64]

You mean the guy who wanted to make a gritty version of star wars?

Oh good, because I was just thinking how much the next generation needed a gritty, third person shooter version of crash bandicoot.

I'm guessing you don't pay attention to what Sony actually owns and what they don't seeing the Last of Us and Killzone are both gritty shooter games and activision owns crash. Either way if it signals in a bounty hunter game(even if has nothing to do with star wars) I wouldn't mind.

 

[MrBaskerville]

You mean the guy who wanted to make a gritty version of star wars?

Oh good, because I was just thinking how much the next generation needed a gritty, third person shooter version of crash bandicoot.

One can't help but wonder why that game got so much hype, i just looked like any other third person shooter, just set in the Star Wars universe. No interesting mechanics or anything, just a lot of flashy effects and covers to hide behind. Bleh!

And i must admit i've never wanted a gritty version of Star Wars, i like the old movies, i like that it's lighthearted fun that the whole family can enjoy while also taking the time to show us some darker moments for the sake of contrast. There's plenty of dark and gritty franchises, does it need to bleed into Star Wars?