Force Unleashed: Downloadable Content Update…

Some new information pertaining to The Force Unleashed downloadable content has been posted by MTV.com (Via: TheForce.net).

“I spoke with “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” project lead Haden Blackman late last week about the game’s newly-announced autumn downloadable content of new player characters and a bonus Jedi Temple level.

A few things came up that hadn’t made the press release that I believe are important for gamers to know, since they show how LucasArts is handling its DLC differently than many other publishers and developers:

The New Level Stands Alone: Players will access the new Jedi Temple level through the game’s main menu and will not be able to use the character they controlled in the campaign. To compensate, the developers are giving players a pool of Force points, so they can spec a new character just for the extra mission. (This is a different approach than the one taken by BioWare, which required players to proceed a couple of hours into “Mass Effect” before being able to visit the new planets introduced in that game’s “Bring Down the Sky” DLC pack.)

The Game’s New Level Is Actually New: As publishers and developers have embraced the idea of DLC, we’ve also seen them embrace the idea of faking DLC by locking content on the discs we buy and charging people to download a key to access that content. That approach merely creates the illusion that new content is being downloaded after a game’s release, when it’s really being unlocked on something that shipped weeks earlier. Thankfully, that’s not the case with the new “Star Wars” Jedi Temple level being offered to Xbox 360 and PS3 owners. Blackman told me: “We waited until we were in submission [to the console manufacturers] on the core product…then we had the conversation internally about whether it made sense to downloadable content.”

That means that not only is the Jedi Temple level not already on gamers’ discs, but that it was designed in mid-Summer with the benefit of knowledge gained by making the full “Force Unleashed” game. “As we went through the development process on ‘The Force Unleashed’ we learned a lot of things, as we do with all games,” Blackman said. And were able to apply those to the Jedi Temple [level].” He said the team is actually trying “new things” with the Jedi Temple level. “We knew the two or three we want to try with something like this.”

Despite what you’ve heard, you haven’t seen the level before. The Jedi Temple level is not featured in “The Force Unleashed” novel or comic book. It’s also not the same as the Jedi Temple level in the Krome-developed PS2, PSP and Wii versions. It was one of three locations considered for a DLC level. An idea that almost made the cut was the Coruscant Senate Chamber. Throwing all those chairs would have been fun, Blackman noted. He described the new level as “highly destructive, very iconic and fun to build.”

The New Characters Are Skins: The announced DLC of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker and other characters — as well as bonus Dark Apprentice costumes — are all going to be skins for the existing player-protagonist. So when you play as Luke, he’ll hold his lightsaber the way the Dark Apprentice does. He’ll animate like the Dark Apprentice.

No ‘Soul Calibur’ Reciprocity: The DLC characters will all be from “Star Wars” lore. None will be from “Soul Calibur,” even though the Dark Apprentice, Yoda and Darth Vader all showed up in “Soul Calibur IV” earlier this year. Blackman said that there are still more “Star Wars” DLC characters to be announced: “We held back some that hopefully people will be excited about.”

This Is But A Grand Experiment: I asked Blackman why LucasArts would greenlight a downloadable level, offering motivations as disparate as creative freedom to discouraging new owners of the game from trading it in. His response highlighted an altogether different motivation: ‘From a company standpoint we’re really interested in downloadable content. We want to find ways to make that work for us and build games around it… This is one of the biggest things we’ve ever done in terms of downloadable content. It’s a chance for us to experiment a little bit, to see what works and what doesn’t and to be able to apply those learnings to future games.

“It’s also a chance for the team to hone their skills and … allows us to start gathering metrics in the event that we do a sequel or want to do more levels. It gives us the ability to really figure out those metrics and say okay. It’s really hard to take the data from working on the initial product whenever you’re building a game with a lot of tech and building it from the ground up, because so much of it is evolving together. So much of it is iterative. And with this particular process, because we know the tech, because we know how to design one of these levels and what it really works, it’s much easier to get clear metrics. How much time does it take for an artist to light a level? How much does it take to build geometry for a level? It’s a really good information-gathering tool. And this, quite frankly, was also something the team wanted to do.”

Force Unleashed: LucasArts announces downloadable content…

LucasArts made an announcement today that there will be additional content coming for The Force Unleashed. The new content will be made available for XBOX 360 owners via the XBOX marketplace and for Playstation 3 owners via the Playstation network. Unfortunately, they still haven’t addressed any of the game glitches or freezes.

The downloadable content is being created by LucasArts internal development team and as well as the downloadable content there will be additional themes and picture packs will also be released over time.
Pricing and availability for the downloadable content will be released on a later date.

The first of the downloadable content will consist of additional costumes and character models that can used while playing through the single-player campaign, including Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Kit Fisto.

The second of the downloadable content, which will be released later on this year, will include an entirely new single-player mission, set in the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant. Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice turns to the Jedi Temple to learn more about his father, and while searching through the rubble of the destroyed building he must confront his inner demons.

Interesting Rumor / New Interview with The Force Unleashed Producer Haden Blackman

First thing I want to get out there is a new rumor that i’ve come across. According to SlashGamer.com they have stumbled across some proof that there will be, “downloadable content” released for The Force Unleashed. Although they don’t release their source, they say that Lucas Arts is working on it right now.

It’s a nice speculation and unfortunately I cannot confirm that this is true or not, so for the time being i’m going to keep thinking that it is a rumor.

We’ve just got word from a source that was at LucasArt’s game division today and had some interesting information concerning Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. As our source was walking through the halls he was invited into their Foley room. If some of you are wondering what the Foley room is; it’s where sound is reordered live for movies and games.

As he watched two Foley sound technicians finishing up some work, he asked them, “what game are you recording for“. The two men responded and said it was for the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game, and they’re working on “new content” but weren’t allowed to go into detail. What exactly do they mean “new content”. Generally speaking, the Foley room recordings are done well in advance and Star Wars is scheduled to be released September 16th. So why would they still need to record sound for the game? From what it seemed like and how it was worded, LucasArts is already well underway and creating downloadable content for the Force Unleashed. Which makes sense, this Star Wars game could be the biggest game for the franchise up to this point.

Next off ActionTrip.com has posted a great interview with The Force Unleashed Producer Haden Blackman.

Some of the interesting questions include:

AT: To what extent was your team restricted while working on characters, worlds and other aspects of the game. How much of the development was overseen by George Lucas?

HB: I don’t think we ever felt restricted at all. Early on, we worked with George Lucas to determine the setting for the game — the era between Episodes III and IV — and he gave us a rundown of what is happening during that time period. He told us the types plots Darth Vader might be hatching, what some of the major characters are doing, and how the Emperor might play a role in any story we create. Once we had an approved story (which took many months), we checked in with George Lucas and Lucasfilm Licensing periodically, but we basically had a great deal of freedom to explore the time period, really push the boundaries of the Force, and tell the story in a way we felt would be most compelling.

AT: Combining DMM and Euphoria was obviously a great challenge. Do you see these technologies used in other projects and for different genres?

HB: I certainly think we can continue to expand on the ways these technologies interact, and the technologies themselves. We’ve barely scratched the surface of simulation-based gameplay, environmental interactivity and destructibility, and bio-mechanical AI. While different genres might be better at exploiting these technologies, I think that many game concepts could benefit from the level of interactions we’ve achieved in The Force Unleashed, and I hope we continue to blow the doors off of real-time simulation moving forward, especially as we become more skilled at building games for the current generation of consoles and start looking towards the next generation.

AT: The upcoming demo features the Tie Fighter Construction Facility level and a different conclusion to that level - one that won’t be in the final game. Is this ending an important segment of the overall story in The Force Unleashed?

HB: We added a new enemy at the end of the demo that players normally won’t encounter at that exact location so that players get a taste for what it’s like fighting a bigger unit.

AT: If all goes well with Force Unleashed, can we expect a sequel some time in the future?

Be sure to check out the full interview here, it’s a great read!