These are such things as dreams are made on, the colourful concepts of dying developers, the universes that will never be.

Oh man, oh man, oh man. This has got to be the coolest looking Obi-Wan Kenobi I’ve ever seen.

Fresh from the Kotaku source line come these amazing concept images of what would have happened if Obi-Wan Kenobi turned to the Dark Side.

Here’s what Free Radical did to turn the lovable teacher into a frightening hermit for what would have been Star Wars Battlefront III:

Tattered rags for clothes, like Yoda’s but more decayed.
Yellowed teeth and claw like nails
Relics and artifacts with strong dark side resonance kept in pouches and threaded through his clothes.
Belts and straps made from Krayt dragon leather
Fur lining from Wampa slain on his travels
Many layers of robes, cloaks and cloth mask his shriveled wiry frame.
Mostly a hermit, Dark Obi-Wan wanders searching for places and things with strong connections to the dark side.

I sure hope the new developers take this in the same direction.

Leaked Star Wars Battlefront 3 Gameplay Footage

Remember that amazing footage of Star Wars Battlefront III we caught a glimpse of yesterday in the leaked footage? It looks like we’re never going to be able to play that game.

SPOnG reports that a former Free Radical employee has verified that the footage is genuine, but that the game has already been passed to a new developer. Worse still, the tech that allowed you to fly from the ground to air and then into orbit stayed with Free Radical. The new developer, the source says, will now be using cutscenes.

The source did confirm that my careful listening did pick up the correct phrase in the cutscene, with a Sith saying “stick to the plan Kenobi” and that the Free Radical game was to feature another attempt to turn a Jedi to the Dark Side.

No word if that made the hand-off.

And now a moment of silence for what would have been a great game.

Exclusive: Star Wars: Battlefront III Tech Dead [SPOnG]

Looking through that beautiful footage of Star Wars Battlefront III again and again and again this morning, I couldn’t help but notice something:

It sounds like a Sith, perhaps even a hoodless Palpatine, is telling “Kenobi” to “stick to the plan” about four minutes and 55 seconds into the video. The actual quote is “Stick to the plan Kenobi.”

What’s this now? Could it be that LucasArts has approved another storyline that deals with the internal struggle against the darkside, this time featuring Kenobi? I haven’t a clue but it does seem to show that the jedi will make some sort of appearance in the game.

Whether he’s a playable main character or a walk-on appearance remains to be seen. Maybe some of the more devoted fans of Star Wars could pick through the trailer for me and explain, if for no reason other than to let me stop trying to figure it out.

Oh, one other thing, it maybe that the last seconds of the video show the platforms the game will be on. Too fuzzy to know for sure, but kind of looks like PS3, PC, Xbox 360 and Wii. Or maybe I’m smoking something.

Someone buy Free Radical already and then fill me in.

With Free Radical Design having effectively kicked the bucket, shedding most of its workforce and desperately seeking buyers, here come the leaks. We’ve already seen what Timesplitters 4 might have looked like—how about Battlefront III?

High poly-count renders and in-game meshes from the third Star Wars: Battlefront were leaked by one of Free Radical’s former animators, revealing a partial look at who’s in the game and what they look like.

Appearances from Star Wars regulars like Han Solo, Chancellor Palpatine and the Jawas look to join newcomers like Shara the Bounty Hunter and the Kimanoans, the forgettable long-necked alien species from the similarly forgettable Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

The renders, via SWBF3.de and the artist’s various web sites, are dated from the end of 2007, so much could have changed during that time period. Whether Star Wars: Battlefront III will change even further at its rumoured new home at Rebellion, remains to be seen.

Lots of rumours flying around today concerning Timesplitters developer Free Radical. So one more – this time concerning the future of their “Star Wars project” (ie Battlefront III) – won’t hurt you.

According to a report on GI.biz, the game (which is supposed to be the reason behind the studio’s woes after they lost the deal) has been handed over to Rebellion. You may know Rebellion as the guys who port a ton of games to handheld consoles.

Or, on a more promising note, you may know them as the guys behind the original Aliens vs Predator on PC, one of the best – and most underrated – shooters of all time.

Free Radical Design closes doors [GI.biz]

Star Wars Battlefront III [Amazon via GoNintendo]