Avalanche Studios "Almost" Made Open World Star Wars Game

[StewShearerOld]

Avalanche Studios "Almost" Made Open World Star Wars Game

The developer of Just Cause 2 had, at one point,been in negotiations with LucasArts to make an open world game in the Star Wars universe.

The Star Wars the universe itself is a massive one, and a dream title for many Star Wars devotees would be an open world experience that would equip them with the tools and freedom to search out every nook and cranny of its wide and diverse world. While previous Star Wars games have shown us some of the galaxy's more exotic vistas, none have arguably ever given gamers the sort of freedom typically offered by open world titles. It's been revealed, however, that such a game, at one point, almost existed.

According Oskar Burman, former studio manager for Avalanche, the developer had, between 2005 and 2009, been in talks with LucasArts to develop a "massive, open-world" Star Wars games. "[A] long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, we almost got that deal when I was at Avalanche," said Burman. The developer of <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1632-Just-Cause-2>Just Cause 2 , Avalanche would arguably have been a perfect fit for such a project. Avalanche founder Christopher Sundberg expressed has little doubt the project would have been a hit. "If they had given us the deal back then LucasArts would be alive today," said Sundberg. "A massive SW open world game! We would have rocked it."

While it's unclear if a successful open world Star Wars game would have saved LucasArts <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123783-Electronic-Arts-Signs-Exclusive-Star-Wars-Game-Deal-With-Disney>following its sale to Disney, it nonetheless might have done more for the company's legacy than Star Wars Kinect, the last game produced by the now defunct publisher. Currently, the future for Star Wars games is somewhat unclear. Most recently, Disney signed an <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.407382-Electronic-Arts-Signs-Exclusive-Star-Wars-Game-Deal-With-Disney>exclusive licensing agreement with Electronic Arts, and while the involvement of studios like Bioware, DICE and Visceral give hope for quality products, there's still a lot of mystery as to what games the partnership will produce.

Source: Joystiq


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[Chrono212]

"10/10 - must buy" - alternate universe version of me with the aforementioned open world Star Wars game.

Then again, that would be because I'd have made it. After curing the whales and saving the plague, naturally.

If it was anything like Just Cause 2, would that have limited it to one 'planet' rather than galactic exploration? Probably.

 

[Quaxar]

Just Cause 2 but with Boba Fett?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cvYnqNSActA/TGpitXVakNI/AAAAAAAAAEM/oznKr__YGMg/s1600/j.jpg

Although you could probably take the current game, make a mod to change building texture and vehicles and it'd be awesome still.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Avalanche is a good studio. And I think they are still independent. They could sign a contract with EA to make a free roaming Star Wars game with EA as the publisher without selling themselves to EA. Exactly like Crytek.

 

[templar1138a]

I don't care that EA has the licensing, but way to reopen an old wound and rub salt in it. "Lucasarts seeks open-world designer," followed by an announcement of 1313 (which looked like a joke).

If only EA would rerelease SWTOR as a single-player game, that would be enough for me for a long time. Hell, I'd pay full-price for it, and given that I never spend more than twenty bucks on a game these days AND I pre-ordered TOR back in the day, that means something!

 

[GonzoGamer]

I loved JC2. Something like that in the Swars universe would've been amazing.

"10/10 - must buy" - alternate universe version of me with the aforementioned open world Star Wars game.

Then again, that would be because I'd have made it. After curing the whales and saving the plague, naturally.

If it was anything like Just Cause 2, would that have limited it to one 'planet' rather than galactic exploration? Probably.

I don't know. JC2 was frikkin huge. Maybe in a season, if they were able to hire some more hands, they could've had at least a few planets...and/or a few cities like Besbin. Of course they would've probably been abridged, video game versions. Of course if EA is really in charge of the game IP now, that's not going to happen.

I missed the news that EA is in charge of SW games now. That sucks, now every SW game will have online shoehorned onto it so they can add an online pass.

 

[DarksideFlame]

GODDAMN IT!!!

I fucking loved JC2 and if they could made an equally good (Maybe even better) open-world SW game as JC2 I would have bought that game day 1.

But why did he have to bring this up now of all times? Now we're gonna get some morons complaining about how EA killed this game because when you complain about EA, facts (at least some people think so) can be ignored. I was even blissfully unaware that I wanted a game like this so badly as I do now...

 

[RA92]

I swear, LucasArts after the '90s was helmed by a company of Jar Jar Binks.

 

[Something Amyss]

I swear, LucasArts after the '90s was helmed by a company of Jar Jar Binks.

I think even Jar Jar deserves an apology for that.

 

[VoidWanderer]

I swear, LucasArts after the '90s was helmed by a company of Jar Jar Binks.

I think even Jar Jar deserves an apology for that.

No, the comparison is accurate... given them saying 'no' to Just Cause 2 with lightsabers!?

That would've sold like Call of Duty!!