Disclaimer: This interview was conducted prior to reports of developers facing crunch at TT Games during the development of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
The newest addition to the LEGO Star Wars series is the full monty, with all nine films coming together in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. The game is looking to be quite the feat, with the whole game being developed on an entirely new engine. To learn a bit more about what’s to come in the upcoming release, we spoke to the lead designer of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Damn McDiarmid.
What kind of direction has TT Games gone in, in terms of turning The Skywalker Saga into a LEGO game?
TT Games has a long history of adapting Star Wars™ into classic and much loved LEGO titles, so we’ve definitely used the knowledge we gained over the years while creating LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Players will find elements they have come to know and love in our games, such as the irreverent comedy, but we also looked at what we could improve and elevate to take this game to the next level and make it the biggest and best Star Wars game we’ve made to date.
How will this new entry into the LEGO game series stand out from those before it?
With a whole galaxy of fun to explore, 23 planets to visit, capital ships to take down, and nine films to play through, this game was built from the ground up making everything brand new. This allowed us to improve upon mechanics, elevate the art, and create an alive and bustling gameworld that I think the players will really enjoy running around.
What are some new things that we’ll see in The Skywalker Saga that we haven’t seen in other Star Wars games?
There are so many new things in this game, it’d be hard to name them all. Something that stands out for me personally is the new combat system. We’ve really changed up how the player can engage with enemies in the game, in particular the Blaster combat is a lot of fun, with the camera pulling in and making you really feel like you are in the action.
Another new feature that blew me away when I first saw it in game was the Capital Ship encounters. You can be flying through space and then a HUGE ship will appear that you can choose to fight and then take over! It’s really cool and opens up new ship environments to run around in.
This game is clearly going to be huge. What was the development process like for this title?
With any game we make, balancing the whole development process is a fine art that takes a huge amount of cross team collaboration, and this game was no different. As to be expected there were some bumps along the road, who saw a pandemic coming, but ultimately the team pulled together to create something we are really proud of and hope that all the fans love it!
Has anything asset-wise been borrowed from previous LEGO Star Wars games to make this one? If so, what was brought along? If not, why?
We moved to a new engine for this project and couldn’t utilise elements from our old games so everything you see in the game, from the ground up, is brand new and created for The Skywalker Saga.
Are there plans to expand the LEGO Star Wars universe in line with the countless spin-offs that have come out and are coming out?
Yes, after launch we will be releasing several DLC character packs to enhance the already massive roster of characters in the game. Fans will be able to purchase characters from properties such as The Mandalorian™ and films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Will we be seeing a LEGO Grogu™ in the future?
Grogu™ will indeed be making an appearance in the game. Players will be able to obtain him by purchasing The Mandalorian™ DLC pack where he appears as a very cute companion for the Mandalorian himself.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will be releasing April 5, 2022.
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