Star Wars The Clone Wars Interview IGN

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Here is the interview for the ds version

Interview: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Use the stylus to wield your lightsaber in this new DS-exclusive adventure.
by Matt Casamassina

June 18, 2008 - LucasArts is bringing the Force, again, to Nintendo's handheld. This time, the company's Singapore studio has developed a DS-exclusive new action-adventure game based on the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated TV series and movie. The project, called Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance, thrusts you into a new storyline branch from the Clone Wars universe and challenges you to use your stylus to wield your deadly lightsaber. We caught up with project lead Feargus Carroll to learn more about the game and we've posted the first screenshot below.

IGN: Your last DS Star Wars effort was handled externally by n-Space. Why take the development process in-house?

Feargus Carroll: This DS game is based on the forthcoming movie and TV series Clone Wars. It is being developed in the Lucasfilm Animation Studio in Singapore, the same place that the TV show is being animated. The opportunity to build the game alongside the artists on the show was a unique one, and I think for the first time in the world both movie/show and game were built side by side in the same building. And the results speak for themselves.

IGN: How does the storyline of the DS game branch out from the movie and TV series, if at all?

Feargus Carroll: We've taken all the major characters from the TV show and created a brand new adventure for them. The very future of the Republic is threatened by a sinister alliance of Count Dooku and the mysterious Nightsisters – Sith Witches with Force powers and Lightsaber skills. This combination is a huge threat to the Jedi Order, and it is up to the player to uncover the plot and defeat this powerful enemy.

IGN: Explain the gameplay mechanics powering the project. What do you do?

A screenshot from the DS title.
Feargus Carroll: Clone Wars Jedi Alliance tells the story of how Jedi tag-teams work together to uncover and prevent a plot by enemies of the Republic. The player gets to choose from a possible six Jedi which two get taken on each mission. With the player directing one character and the other under AI control, the team must fight droids, Lightsaber wielding enemies, complete thrilling action sequences and solve numerous mini-games before a six-way showdown with the ultimate boss, Count Dooku! Each Jedi has their own unique fight combo moves, and they also combine to carry out unique two-man attacks on powerful enemies.

IGN: How do you control your Jedi using the stylus? Please elaborate.

Feargus Carroll: Jedi Alliance is designed, from the ground up, as a stylus driven game. Player movement, combat, Force powers and puzzle solving all driven by the stylus. The unique form factor of the DS has given us a great opportunity for the first time ever to give players direct control of the Lightsaber. With stylus control the player can aim the Lightsaber with pin-point accuracy and engage in blisteringly fast Lightsaber duels. Using the Force has never been easier – press a button, tap the screen and feel the power. The team has worked really hard to make controls really intuitive, and I believe they've succeeded.

IGN: How does the multiplayer mode work?

Feargus Carroll: At any time during play, one of your friends can drop into the game and take over control of your partner Jedi – at that point they too must engage enemies in Lightsaber duels, escape near death in the high action sequences, and combine with you to unlock secret rooms to find pick-ups and collectables.

IGN: How are you pushing the DS graphically?

Feargus Carroll: Can you imagine a fully 3D world on the DS? Well, neither could we 18 months ago, but that was the challenge I set the team, and they knocked it out of the park. You won't have seen anything like this on the DS.

IGN: You have a Jedi pairing system in the game. How does this work?

Feargus Carroll: As you will learn from the TV series, Jedi are not lone operatives; they work in partnerships, fighting alongside each other and leading the Clone troopers. We will reveal how each partnership brings a unique dimension to how the Jedi fought during the Clone Wars – their relationship to each other; their fighting moves; their Force abilities – are all different depending on which Jedi are fighting together. In a given situation, you will hear unique dialogue between each pair of Jedi, depending on whether it is master and apprentice, master and former apprentice or two Jedi Masters.

IGN: Who do you get to play as?

Feargus Carroll: This is the Clone Wars, and the Jedi Order bring out their big guns to combat their enemies – so you play as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu, both Jedi Generals. We also have Anakin Skywalker, no longer a Padawan (apprentice) but a full Jedi; the new star of the TV show Ahsoka Tano. She is very cool and Star Wars fans will love her. We also have two die-hard fan favorites, Plo Koon and Kit Fisto. Each of these Jedi feature in the show, and you will get to see their cool and unique powers in our game.

IGN: Why should DS owners be excited about the project, in your opinion?

Feargus Carroll: In watching the TV series, fans will learn a lot more about the individual Jedi than was previously known – their relationships to each other, events from their past, how the Clone Wars were won. In the game we explore that further. This is not just the game of the TV show; this is the TV show in your pocket. Just as in the show, each game level is delivered as an episode of the story, with a cliff hangar ending that is resolved only later. This is a stylus driven game that delivers previously unknown Lightsaber control in a game that will blow your mind.