Amy Hennig Discusses Challenges of Visceral’s Star Wars Title

Visceral Games’ untitled Star Wars game, teased at E3 2016, certainly has its fair share of expectations. Along with being set in the vaunted film franchise, it has former Uncharted director and writer Amy Hennig at the helm. Hennig was at PAX West to discuss the action adventure title, as noted by DualShockers, and shared her thoughts on the challenges of development.

Visceral is working with LucasFilm’s story division, led by Doug Chang, and the goal is to make things as authentic as possible.

“Authentic Star Wars can mean that we get the AT-ST right, right? And of course we have to do that too, but it’s all about the new stuff, the new characters, the new story, the new locations, the new creatures, the new tech. All of this stuff that has to sit authentically alongside the Star Wars that we’re so familiar with.”

And while there may be plenty of similarities for working on Uncharted and Star Wars, there are plenty of differences as well. “So I thought that some of the rules I had used making Uncharted no longer applied,” said Hennig. “In Uncharted or in Indiana Jones you actually kinda stick with Indie the whole time. There are times you cut away, but it’s always something that informs you on what he is doing, like Marion in the tent. In Star Wars you’re always cutting away to the bad guys, and seeing what they’re doing: ‘Meanwhile, back at the villain ranch…'”

Hennig also talked about experiencing the adventure without the privilege of knowing things that the main characters don’t. “When we watch a film, we’re the privileged observer, right? We’re not the protagonist. Their struggle is illuminated by the things we can see that they don’t. Suspense and all that kind of stuff. How do you do that in a game where you’re supposed to identify with the protagonist and cut away the things that they don’t know?”

Nevertheless, like the prequel trilogy and the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Visceral’s Star Wars will make its characters the underdogs facing tough odds. “They have to work together and they have to be cleverer than their enemies. Therefore, how do you turn that into gameplay. How do you take that idea and then deconstruct it as mechanics, sequences, that then play to that core principle. That’s the challenge of making these kinds of things.”

What are your hopes from Visceral’s Star Wars? Let us know in the comments.