'LEGO Star Wars' Developer Says That 'Episode IX' Content Was "Miserable" But Fun
Alongside the developer Travelers Tales, Lego has released a long line of video game tie-ins over the years. These games often parody a film or series of films, with their plots loosely following the source material. Aside from replacing the inhabitants with Lego counterparts, the games often apply a lighthearted spin on their source’s more dramatic moments for comedic effect. Gameplay-wise, all the entries follow the same design philosophy, incorporating puzzles and other problem-solving elements to great effect. With brain-teasing obstacles, hilarious spoofs, and clever writing, they have won over quite a few fans over the years.
The top spot among them safely belonging to the adaptations of the Star Wars series. All the way back in 2005, the company dropped their first Lego Star Wars game. Simply titled Lego Star Wars, it chronicled the films of the prequel trilogy. So naturally the game’s sequel covered the original trilogy. The tradition continued for some time, and there was no shortage of new Star Wars content. Some later additions went so far as to devote entire games to properties like the critically acclaimed The Clone Wars anthology series from 2008. And as the list grew, even lesser-known Star Wars stories got a chance to shine in downloadable content.
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After a brief hiatus from the franchise, the developers finally teased the arrival of the next entry in the series, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. As the name suggests, it would encompass the entirety of the mainline Star Wars films, with plans to add other entries as additional downloadable content at later dates. Offering a sandbox of over forty years of Star Wars content for fans to enjoy. It was quite the tall order. Initially, the game was slated to drop in late October of 2020, but we all know that wasn’t a kind year for the entertainment industry.
Countries the world over had to deal with the virus as best as they could. For most businesses, this meant social distancing and working from home. And while it may seem like such limitations wouldn’t adversely affect game development, the industry still suffered for it. The team at Traveler’s Tales was no different, but in the face of such adversity, it seems some of their crew were able to make the best of it. In light of the recent misfortunes, two of the game’s developers took to Twitter and poked fun at each other on the subject of the design process, adding some much-needed levity to the pitfalls that come with designing a game during a quarantine.
While most of the game had had varying degrees of development time prior to the outbreak, there was one exception. The final entry in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker was released only months prior to the quarantine. Naturally, all development on content related to the film couldn’t begin until the film’s release, which came with a plethora of unforeseen complications. As one can imagine, that’s less than ideal, and the developers' tweets serve as amusing insight into their ordeal, with one saying, “it was the most fun I’ve had and the most miserable I’ve been whilst working on the game.”
A global pandemic can certainly throw a wrench into even the most well-made plans. Social distancing and quarantines made it difficult to make any headway, so little by little the project has been delayed. The initial date was pushed back to Spring of the following year, and now the game has been completely postponed. And with no release date in site, it may be a while before fans get their hands on the finished product.
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Written By Micah Mitchells
Source(s): Game Rant