Star Wars 1313: Six Gameplay Mechanics That You May Have Missed

In his preface to the Lyrical Ballads, William Wordsworth described his style of poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings… recollected in tranquillity.” Just as Wordsworth collected his feelings in a state of calm after some time, so must us games journalists attempt to do the same. Far too often do we leap headlong into preview articles, still high on the buzz of witnessing a new game announcement. It has been quite a while since Star Wars 1313 was announced at E3 this June now, so here’s hoping it will be possible to think back upon some of the gameplay elements of the upcoming Star Wars title with some semblance of clarity. Hopefully…

No Quick Time Events

Who needs QTEs when your game looks this good?

Though it may seem odd to include stuff that will be absent from the game in a list such as this, it’s important to remember that LucasArts have promised us that there will be no QTE sequences anywhere in Star Wars 1313. Most games with a cinematic qualities, or indeed any kind of competent production values, nowadays seem to be littered with immersion shattering button mashing at every turn. It’s good to know that LucasArts are confident enough in their gameplay mechanics to avoid what has become an over-used gameplay idea.

Force-Gun

Whilst the gun shown off for the majority of the gameplay demos for 1313 was a standard blaster pistol, one particular section shows the main character knocking an enemy off the ground using a type of force gun. Force as in moving mass, rather than force as in the ultimate power in the Star Wars universe; a popular element of Star Wars fiction that won’t make its way into 1313. Either way, it shows a versatility in the game’s armoury that will be welcome when the full game releases… whenever that is.

Unsure Footing

The third and final trailer for Star Wars 1313 showed off some serious platforming action, the kind of stuff that the recent Tomb Raiders and the Uncharted series has been popularising for the last few years. Among this parkour inspired action was an interesting part where the character lost his footing on a slippery surface. It may well have just been a seamlessly integrated scripted event, but it looked a bit too convincing for that, prompting the sincere hope that the physics engine will just be that good when Star Wars 1313 hits store shelves.