A few weeks back the domain Starwars 1313.com and several similar addresses were registered by companies owned by George Lucas. Speculation ran through fandom sources that perhaps this could be the rumored Boba Fett film or at the very least, it was a new entry into the Star Wars universe.
During our visit with Lucasarts during the 2012 E3 conference in Los Angeles, I got a chance to get a hands on look at what is shaping up to be a very amazing and dynamic title.
I was ushered into a viewing theater which was done up to resemble a battered service frieghter. The room had control panels and view ports which showed various spaceport activities happening in real time.
The presentation started with a confirmation that Star Wars 1313 is a new Star Wars game, but unlike previous releases from the company, this would have a mature rating and would delve into much darker and mature themes. The game will cast players as a bounty hunter and will allow them to use a wide array of awesome weapons and tech.
The 1313 in the title referes to underground level 1313 on Coruscant which as fans of the series know is the planet wide city where the galactic capital is located.
The planet also has a vast underground area where all manner of seedy business takes place far from the sunlight. It is in this dark and dangerous area where even the JedI do not go which serves as the games setting.
The video previews showed that Lucasfilm has brought in takent from I.L.M. as well as their other brancches such as Lucasfilm, Skywalker Sound to help create the game. It is truly massive in scope and depth. The second video showed how dynamic the motion capture tech involved with the game would be and allow for greater facial expressions and detail as well as character movement.
The final video showed the game in an early state as we were told that it is very early in the production cycyle, so early that the designers did not want to show the main character and also wanted to keep the plot a secret.
The game had amazing cinematic sequences and followed two bounty hunters under attack while doicking their ship in the lower levels. A daring attack resulted in spectacular action and cinematics with combat on and between two ships.
I did notice a passing style nod to Mass Effect 3 with the combat, but at this very early stage I would not call the game in the style of Mass Effect 3.
The demo ended with an amazing sequence and thunderous applause erupted from the assembled members of the media as even though it is very early in the design process, this is a dynamic and exciting new direction for the Star Wars franchise.
