Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter Q&A

Following LucasArts' recent announcement of the next installment in the Starfighter franchise, we were able to sit down and talk with director Daron Stinnett, designer Tim Longo, and producer Rachel Bryant. They were able to give us more insight into what the sequel will offer when it is released next year for the PS2.

GameSpot: Now, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter is technically Starfighter 2, right?

Tim Longo: Yes, it is a continuation of the story, and we have characters from Starfighter whose stories we're picking up 10 years later.

GS: How much access to Episode II materials have you had?

TL: We have characters from Episode II, as well as craft and locations. I'd say the story itself is similar to Starfighter in that it is a backdrop to Episode II. These are events that are happening at the same time as the Episode II storyline, but on a tangent. We weave in and out of the story, and then, at the end, we climax at the same point the movie does. I'd say, content-wise, about 20 percent of our game deals with aspects that you actually see in the movie. You'll get story, you'll get characters, you'll see things in the movie that you'll see in our game--you'll just be able to play them instead of watch them.

A peek at one of the new craft to be seen in Jedi Starfighter.

GS: How do you make a compelling game that ties into the movie without spoiling the film?

TL: It's a tricky thing. That's a hard question to answer. We do consider there to be some information from the film that's revealed. It pulls facets from Episode II but isn't a direct mirror of it. You'll see major events from the movie, and you're in there with everyone, but it's not overtly spelling things out. We feel it pays tribute to Episode II and will be a teaser rather than a spoiler. The story is intertwined and it's in the backdrop of it. We have our own thing going, though, because we have characters of our own who aren't in the movie and who we want to develop.

Rachel Bryant: Maybe after seeing the movie and playing the game people will make connections as well.

Daron Stinnett: There are a lot of connections I think people will see clearer once they see the movie. We're dealing a lot with back story and things going on around at the time and doing things to support what George is doing in the movie. There are certainly going to be things they're going to see and hear about that are going to give them clues to the movie. But the movie has such a different focus on the events going on that people are going to be so caught up in that story and the drama--and there's plenty of it--that it's not going to feel like, "Oh, I've already seen the movie in the video game." In some ways, it's similar to the way Starfighter was to Episode I. In fact, I think we've done a better job of tying it in this time than we did on the original Starfighter. I think when players have seen the movie and go back to play the game, they'll feel the ties to the movie.