Lucasarts - Lightsaber Control in LEGO Star Wars "Just a Taste"

[Dr.Finger]

Aussie gamer site Gameplayer (http://www.gameplayer.com.au/Home/NEWS/NEWS/tabid/1482/Default.aspx?CID=83766202-bef9-4c24-8693-ffcbc6d81370) was at Activision’s Activate Asia Pacific conference where Lucasarts rep Mark Montuya was demonstrating the controls for the Wii version of LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga when he dropped a tease on the fans in attendance. Mark Montuya commented today that the game’s motion-sensitive lightsaber action is “just a taster” for a future release involving motion-sensitive lightsaber combat.Yeah, we all suspected that Lucasarts would make a Wii-based Lightsaber game from the first time we saw the Wiimote. But I think this is the first real confirmation that it was actually in the works (other than the Lego games). Red Steel aside, I am truly intrigued by the thought of a Lightsaber game on the Wii.

Found via Maxconsole (http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=20612).

[president_fred]

It could be so great, but I refuse to get my hopes up. It's a Star Wars game, even though some of the up coming games look interesting. I'm so confused.

[Dr.Finger]

But, Star Wars games probably have the highest batting average of any licensed property ever. Even the absolute turds (Masters of Teras Kai) are totally outweighed by the KOTORs, the TIE Fighters, the Dark Forces and the Rogue Squadrons.

[president_fred]

But, Star Wars games probably have the highest batting average of any licensed property ever. Even the absolute turds (Masters of Teras Kai) are totally outweighed by the KOTORs, the TIE Fighters, the Dark Forces and the Rogue Squadrons.
True and some of my absolute favorite games (tie fighter in particular) have been Star Wars games. It's just that I don't really get my hopes up for licensed games mostly. Just the combination of Wiimote and lightsaber seems like something which will work completely or not at all. Here's hoping.

[Mdot23]

Definitely one of the first concepts I thought of when seeing the wiimote for the first time. Can't wait to see what they cook up. And as much as FPS are played out at the moment, I think it would be the best format for this kind of game.

[kid cabelgo]

True and some of my absolute favorite games (tie fighter in particular) have been Star Wars games. It's just that I don't really get my hopes up for licensed games mostly. Just the combination of Wiimote and lightsaber seems like something which will work completely or not at all. Here's hoping.

My prediction? The game will be mediocre at best. It will promise 1:1 translation of wiimote-to-lightsaber movement but end up shipping with crappy gesture controls. It will be too easy, too short, and too simplistic.

Call me a pessimist, but I like to think of myself as a realist. ;)

[Digital Outlaw]

Will it actually be a lightsaber attachment, cause then I will finally go buy a wii. Its hard for me to buy one cause of XBL being so fucking great, but with a lightsaber attachment, yea, ill buy....

[MacD]

The wiimote will never be able to do true 1:1 motions, simply due to Nintendo's shortsightedness in using IR instead of RF.
As soon as you pitch the wiimote up or down and the IR cameras lose the IR bar, you loose your depth. Sure, you can do some tricky calculations using the accelerometers to interpolate, but true 1:1 is just physically not possible (sadly enough).

[Fizzl]

Better yet since its lego star wars, something that lets you connect lego bricks to the wii-mote and instructions for building your own legolightsabre around it :)

[WpnX]

Yeah - I don't see this working tremendously well. Sword-fighting with a 2D opponent is like using Japanese-to-English text converters. Most of the time, it just doesn't translate.

The wiimote will never be able to do true 1:1 motions, simply due to Nintendo's shortsightedness in using IR instead of RF.
As soon as you pitch the wiimote up or down and the IR cameras lose the IR bar, you loose your depth. Sure, you can do some tricky calculations using the accelerometers to interpolate, but true 1:1 is just physically not possible (sadly enough).

I thought the Wiimote used both. IR had to be used so as to allow the Wii to 'see' where the screen is via sensor bar, while RF is used for everything else (hence you don't need the controller pointed at the screen to play things like VC games)... But I could be totally wrong.

--Bill

[Abednigo]

My prediction? The game will be mediocre at best. It will promise 1:1 translation of wiimote-to-lightsaber movement but end up shipping with crappy gesture controls. It will be too easy, too short, and too simplistic.


That's the thing, people can't expect it to be a 1:1 translation of what you do with the remote and what happens onscreen. I'm sure it's possible, but in reality you really can't do that. Anyone playing Metroid Prime 3 has experienced pointing the remote off screen and losing the connection briefly. I can't imagine that you would be able to stand there swinging the remote like a lightsaber (even with an attachment) and have it match up without losing connection constantly. Look at Twilight Princess. It will probably end up being something like that.

Besides, what kind of dork would stand there and swing the controller light a lightsaber anyway? :rolleyes:;)

EDIT: Someone already said what I said. I just didn't read far enough down. :)

[51|RandoM]

I'm banning star wars games until they make a new xwing vs. tie fighter game.

[VTMarik]

Hm, Wii-mote plus FPS controls plus Motion Sensitivity...

Can anyone say First Person Jedi Knight?

Think about it: Pointing for blasters, swinging the nunchuck for thermal detonators. Then, when you select the lightsaber, you activate it with a button and use it like the real thing. There's an arcade game much like it with a samurai sword controller.

[cppcrusader]

I've played 1:1 sword fighting games before and frankly they're usually not all that fun. Even more so if you actually know how to wield a sword.

From a design standpoint I would say a lightsaber game would need to be just a bit shy of actual 1:1 movement. Give the sword arm enough control so that you feel like you're controlling everything, but make the gestures needed for different combos and techniques feel natural so as to keep up the illusion.

[Bone]

Agreed with CPP and others. Gesture-based lightsaber should work, provided that there are enough different moves to give it variety. From playing baseball on Wii Sports, I know you could calculate high/medium/low swings, and bunt (a blocking move), so there's that. And with baseball, you are pointing the bat straight up, so I'm pretty sure that particular motion in Wii Sports was entirely-accelerometer based.

To me, the key would be integrating the Wiimote's sound and rumble so you *feel* when two lightsabers hit each other (bzzzzzttt!), then implementing a system where you are fighting for dominance in the parry, including use of the nunchuck to grapple with your non-sword hand. That's the most signature part of a lightsaber battle, IMO.

[Feltoar]

Almost any form of 1:1 sword fighting wont be possible. If you think about it, the controller doesnt know which way is forward (unless pointed at the TV, but who duels like that?). Without that data games will be VERY limited. You can play Wii bowling facing any direction, how does that limitation translate into a duel?

Itll be gesture based all the way, with the definition of 1:1 coming from the remotes ability to know which way is up (kind of like the bat in Wii Sports baseball).

I wrote this ages ago if anyone actually cares http://www.vooks.net/modules.php?module=article&id=11544

[mister_slim]

LucasArts has a Wii lightsaber prototype up and running that they've said works well. I don't think they've started actually developing the game yet though.

[Sophism]

LucasArts has a Wii lightsaber prototype up and running that they've said works well. I don't think they've started actually developing the game yet though.Correct.

June 28th of this year (http://wii.qj.net/LucasArts-We-re-already-doing-a-lightsaber-game-for-the-Wii/pg/49/aid/96225)

[Tabasco]

I'm banning star wars games until they make a new xwing vs. tie fighter game.

I agree completely. It's been far too long.