LucasArts, a nearly 30-year-old cornerstone brand in video gaming, said today it would cease all development. It was more than a publisher of Star Wars video games, like Dark Forces or X-Wing. LucasArts gave us point-and-click adventures from the halcyon days of the genre, like The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Maniac Mansion and Full Throttle (pictured above).
So it’s not much of a surprise that LucasArts is a globally trending topic on Twitter right now as those in the games industry, those who write about it, and fans who play them, take to social media to pay their respects, and make known their regrets about LucasArts’ end as a developer of games. Here are several.
Sad day today, but not surprising, you had to see that coming.I was employee #9 at Lucasfilm Games.
— Ron Gilbert (@grumpygamer) April 3, 2013
RIP LucasArts. What a tragedy. We lost one of the all-time greats today. Not even new Star Wars movies are worth this.
— Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) April 3, 2013
Look, LucasArts was a special company back in the day. But COME ON, they hadn’t made a good game since Republic Commando back in 04.
— Justin Fassino (@Justegarde) April 3, 2013
I picked up most of my English from LucasArts and the work of @timoflegend and @grumpygamer. They made me.
— Ludwig Kietzmann (@LudwigK) April 3, 2013
Without LucasArts, we’d never have had Singing Pirates. How the industry would have survived I’ll never know… bit.ly/YT8SHI
— Ben Nunney (@BenNunney) April 3, 2013
Very sad to hear about the Lucas Arts shutdown 🙁 150+ very talented individuals now available kotaku.com/disney-shuts-d…
— Jane McGonigal (@avantgame) April 3, 2013
Thoughts go out to all affected by the layoffs. Ubisoft is always hiring — ubisoftgroup.com/en-US/careers/… — May the Force be with you.
— C.J. Kershner (@cjkershner) April 3, 2013
Yes, it *is* like the voice of a million gamers cried out and were suddenly silent.
— Sterling McGarvey (@sterling_m) April 3, 2013
That’s what this LucasArts closure feels like. Just the final admission that “Guys, we have no idea what we’re doing.”
— Justin McElroy (@JustinMcElroy) April 3, 2013
Disney, I find your lack of faith disturbing.
— Sebastien Viard (@SebViard) April 3, 2013
Kotick and Riccitiello get a lot of crap, but Pleasants switched gears on hundreds of talented devs for a shallow social games portfolio
— Chris Plante (@ctplante) April 3, 2013
Feels like a gut-punch.
— Orthy (@adam_orth) April 3, 2013
The first job I ever applied for was a QA job at LucasArts. Might’ve been hard for me to get to work, though, I was 15.
— Jeff Gerstmann (@jeffgerstmann) April 3, 2013
In related news, I have also shut down my internal Star Wars game development studio.
— Ian Bogost (@ibogost) April 3, 2013
lucasarts made far and away the favourite games of my childhood. sad news.
— Sam Biddle (@samfbiddle) April 3, 2013
The only time I ever got written up in my college dorm was for playing Super Star Wars too loud. BECAUSE IT WAS IN STEREO.
— Billy Berghammer (@louiethecat) April 3, 2013
If I traced it back, LucasArts (along with Sierra) was likely 95% responsible for me wanting to work in this industry.
— Eric Pope (@MrPope) April 3, 2013
What’s with execs laying people off AFTER GDC and E3? If you are going to lay them off why not just do it beforehand so they can job hunt?
— thekevindent (@TheKevinDent) April 3, 2013
RIP: LucasArts. Pour one out for Dark Forces and Jedi Knight! Those games defined my childhood.
— Ken Hatch (@kenhatch) April 3, 2013
I know the LucasArts of today wasn’t the LucasArts of Pre-2000, but it still feels like a bit of the spirit of games died today.
— Zilla Doty (@DMZilla) April 3, 2013
— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) April 3, 2013
Disney is shutting down LucasArts. In related news, the Death Star just aimed its laser at Disney’s headquarters.
— Darth Vader (@DepressedDarth) April 3, 2013
LucasArts was so much more than Star Wars games. Monkey Island, Loom, DOTT, Full Throttle, The Dig, and Grim Fandango shaped my adolescence.
— Andy Baio (@waxpancake) April 3, 2013
Maniac Mansion and Grim Fandango are trending. That’s cool. Though again, it’s been a long, long time since LucasArts made games like that.
— Ben Hardwidge (@manshark) April 3, 2013
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