Development
Production of Star Wars: Dark Forces began in September 1993, with Daron Stinnett as project leader and Justin Chin as lead writer. The developers wanted to adapt the first-person shooter format to include strategy and puzzles, which at the time, had never been done. Dark Forces thus features numerous logic puzzles and parts of the game requires a strategic method to progress, often involving manipulation of the environment. This style of gameplay has remained constant in all Jedi Knight games. Another aspect that has remained the same since Dark Forces is the use of John Williams' soundtrack from the Star Wars films. In Dark Forces the music was implemented using iMuse, software that alters the music depending on what is happening at any given moment in the game. Lucasarts developed the Jedi game engine to power Dark Forces, adding features to the first-person shooter genre that were uncommon at the time, such as multi-level floors and free look, as well as athletic abilities such as running, jumping, ducking and swimming. Original plans for the game had Luke Skywalker as the main character, but due to the limitations this would impose on the story, the developers designed a new character, Kyle Katarn.
Even before the release of Dark Forces, Justin Chin had planned out Katarn's role in Star Wars Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, indicating that Katarn would face a "big trial" in the game that would be a "rite of passage." Chin became project leader for Dark Forces II, which was released on October 9, 1997. In the game, the digital sound from Dark Forces was replaced with CD audio. Dark Forces II adds two "Jedi" aspects to the series; the use of The Force and the lightsaber. The Force plays an integral role in how the player plays the game. The method of allocating credits to Force powers was designed with an RPG style in mind, allowing the player the choice which powers to improve. Chin said in an early interview that progress through the game is based upon the abilities the player develops. A new game engine, the Sith engine, was developed for Dark Forces II, which uses both 3D graphics and sound. It was one of the first games to adopt the use of 3D graphics hardware acceleration using Microsoft Direct3D. Another development was that Dark Forces II moved on from the static images between levels used in Dark Forces to full motion video cutscenes. The characters are represented by live actors while the backgrounds are pre-rendered. The cutscenes included the first lightsaber footage filmed since Return of the Jedi in 1983. Dark Forces II also introduced multiplayer gaming to the series, allowing players to play online or over a LAN. Multiplayer gaming has since remained a part of the series ever since.
Nearly four years after the release of Dark Forces II, LucasArts announced at E3 2001 that Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast would be released in 2002. Unlike previous games in the series, Jedi Outcast was not developed in-house by LucasArts, but by Raven Software. The subsequent success of Outcast led LucasArts to continue the partnership with the development of Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy a year later; "With the overwhelming success and critical acclaim of Star Wars: Jedi Outcast, continuing an alliance with Activision and Raven Software was a clear and very easy decision," said president of LucasArts, Simon Jeffery. Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy are both powered by the Quake III: Team Arena game engine, with modifications for the use of a lightsaber and The Force. Jedi Academy is the only game in the Jedi Knight series that does not give the player control of Kyle Katarn at any point. Instead the focus is on Jaden Korr, a student of the Force under Katarn. The decision to change protagonist was made by the developers for gameplay reasons.
Read more about this topic: Star Wars: Jedi Knight (series)
Famous quotes containing the word development:
“I hope I may claim in the present work to have made it probable that the laws of arithmetic are analytic judgments and consequently a priori. Arithmetic thus becomes simply a development of logic, and every proposition of arithmetic a law of logic, albeit a derivative one. To apply arithmetic in the physical sciences is to bring logic to bear on observed facts; calculation becomes deduction.”
—Gottlob Frege (1848–1925)
“Understanding child development takes the emphasis away from the child’s character—looking at the child as good or bad. The emphasis is put on behavior as communication. Discipline is thus seen as problem-solving. The child is helped to learn a more acceptable manner of communication.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)
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—Jeanne Elium (20th century)