With killer technology, gut-wrenching gameplay, and the first new Star Wars footage in over a decade, Rebel Assault II just may turn out be the biggest CD-ROM game of all time. Go behind the scenes for an advanced screening.
Future historians charting the development of electronic entertainment will no doubt mark November of 1993 as a date to remember. That was the day that Rebel Assault, LucasArts' first CD-ROM-only game and the first salvo in a barrage of new-wave multimedia titles, blasted onto store shelves amidst critical acclaim and frenzied consumer demand. But even with the intense build-up and enthusiastic reception, no one could foresee the enormity of the success Rebel Assault would achieve--sales have long since passed the 1 million mark, in a market where 100,000 is considered a major hit. With its gorgeous cinematic interludes, texture-mapped 3-D graphics, and intense, arcade style game play, Rebel Assault remains one of the most powerful examples of what is possible on the multimedia PC.
But time, they say, marches on. And so does technology. New challengers, and countless clones, have arisen to vie for the minds and dollars of PC gamers. No stranger to the shifting sands of the entertainment software market, LucasArts knew that to stand still would be to fall behind--so it began feverish work on a Rebel Assault sequel almost as soon as the original game was released. Now, almost two years later, executive producer Vince Lee and his development team are in the home stretch of the game's production. Over a period of three days, we visited the Rebel Assault II set and the LucasArts production complex to get an overview of the game's design and to see the progress made to this point.
It was time well spent.
A New Beginning
The biggest news about Rebel Assault II is that it contains the most significant advancement of the Star Wars saga since the film Return of the Jedi. Lee, who not only produced the game but conceived the underlying story as well, explains:. "Unlike Rebel Assault I, which followed the Star Wars plot with only minor modifications, Rebel Assault II has a completely original storyline." Chronologically, the game takes place in the time period following the destruction of the Death Star, but before the retribution unleashed by the Dark Side in The Empire Strikes Back. In order to maintain the integrity of the Star Wars mythos, approval for the story was requested, and obtained, from the LucasFilm Licensing division.
As in the first game, players take on the role of Rookie One, a "green" Rebel pilot. As the story begins, Rookie One is sent to investigate a series of strange disappearances in the Dreighton Nebula (sort of a Bermuda Triangle in space). Soon enough, the insidious mark of the Empire is revealed, and a new plot--one that threatens the future of the Rebel Alliance--is uncovered. The ensuing adventure spans the universe, hurtling players through a series of fifteen pulse-pounding challenges--including a flight sequence in Han Solo's Millennium Falcon and a frantic ride on a speeder bike--leading to a showdown with the Alliance's eternal nemesis, Darth Vader.
As significant as the story itself is the manner in which it is told. Rebel Assault II contains the first original Star Wars footage ever seen outside of the movie releases. This is in sharp contrast to the original title, which used computer animation in conjunction with actor voice-overs. The creation of new video is a watershed event for LucasArts, one that required approval from the highest level--George Lucas himself. According to Lee, "The reason [we] haven't released any video-based products up to this point is that George wanted to be sure that any video we did lived up to the Star Wars name." Only now, with the technological advancement of both the PC platform and video production tools, can this standard be met.
To ensure the quality of the new footage, veteran director Hal Barwood was brought in to oversee the shoot. Barwood is uniquely qualified for this type of work: He has not only been involved with Hollywood productions for two decades, working as a writer, producer, and director on such films as Dragonslayer, but has also produced numerous computer games, including the seminal graphic adventure Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Realizing that the quality of the footage was critical to the project's success, Barwood reevaluated every aspect of digital video production. "I spent a lot of time doing tests, trying different kinds of cameras, different kinds of blues, different detail levels and compositing techniques, to find out what would really work," he says. Finally, after distilling all of the results, "We came up with a system that did what we needed it to do."
But the move to video did have some disadvantages, the most severe is the elimination of the option to play the game as a female protagonist. "Allowing computerized cross-dressing, if you will, is something I really pushed for in the first game," says Lee, "but doing it in Rebel Assault II would require filming the entire movie twice. It was difficult to give up. But I felt that in designing the second game, if we could put the same amount of effort and money into better imagery and better gameplay, that's a trade-off I was willing to make."
Production took place at BGG Productions outside of San Francisco, California, with a cast of over of dozen actors. Working from a series of 500 sketches created by Lee, Barwood directed some 150 video sequences, all of which were shot against a blue screen. Post production consisted of editing the sequences, and compositing them with computer-generated, fully rendered 3-D backgrounds. The end result will be fifteen minutes of all new Star Wars footage.
And, according to Lee, a major advance in the cinematic feel of computer games. "If people thought Rebel Assault I was impressive from a visual standpoint, they're going to be blown away by Rebel Assault II," he says. "Some of the sequences are virtually indistinguishable from parts of the Star Wars movies."
Amazing Animation
But as important as it is, it would be a mistake to call Rebel Assault II a video-based title. Like the original, the action sequences are primarily rendered using 3D computer animation, but the graphics engine has been totally overhauled. "In Rebel Assault I, a lot of the imagery was compressed with 16-colors, and it was a little grainy," says Lee. "If you take a look at the new engine, you'll see that the imagery is fantastic--it's 256 color, it's bright, it's a whole other ball game."
Much of the enhanced realism is due to the fact that Rebel Assault II , if used on a machine with a high-end processor and VESA-compliant video card, runs in SVGA (a screen resolution of 640 x 480) at 30 frames per second (the original only ran in 320 x 200, or VGA resolution). The higher image detail, combined with the painstakingly crafted background scenes and slick video composites, produces an effect that is nothing less than stunning. One sequence we previewed had the player screaming through the interior of an asteroid that had been converted to a secret Empire base. Amidst eerie green glows and ominous shadows, the ship runs through the scene like a bat out of hell. Huge, mechanical structures form a blur outside the cockpit, but scale with unbelievable smoothness as they're approached. Having dodged enemy fire and destroyed an acceptable number of targets, the ship accelerates through a tunnel filled with a dull red glow, emerges from the other end, speeding through space as the asteroid explodes manginificentally in the background.
To put it simply, this is as close as you can get to being in a Star Wars movie.
Evolutionary Gameplay Advances
As for the action sequences themselves, they will represent evolutionary advances of the approach taken in Rebel Assault. Given the success of the original title, and his own penchant for arcade style gameplay, Lee saw no reason to overhaul basic play mechanics. "We want the action to be easy to get into," he says. "The kind of game where anyone can just sit down and start playing."
Like the original, the objectives and environments will vary from mission to mission. Beyond flying the prototypical X-Wing starfighter, players take a breakneck ride on a speed bike, and eventually take command of the Millennium Falcon (the first time that players will have the opportunity to pilot Han Solo's mythical craft). In addition, there are also a number of missions that take place on foot, pitting the player against Storm Troppers and assorted other menacing ground-based enemies. This type of hand-to-hand combat was also present in the first game, but with new wrinkles, such as defense shields and greater freedom of movement, the experience will be in large part a new one, even for experienced players.
Despite the similarities to the original title, Lee thinks that the gameplay is clearly superior this time around "because with the Rebel Assault I, we invented it as we went along. Some of the game sequences had to be [tested] very quickly to get the game ready for release," he says. "Now, they've been better designed from the start, because we know what works and what doesn't."
And speaking of things that didn't work, Lee took special pains to eliminate the two most commonly criticized aspects of Rebel Assault I. First, the sequel will have more clearly delineated difficulty levels, so that you can fine-tune the challenge to meet your own level of expertise (or patience). Furthermore, unlike its predecessor, Rebel Assault II allows you to save progress after each level, eliminating the frustration and repetition of having to make it through multiple sequences before the game can be saved. The triple threat of a user-friendly structure, intense gameplay, and out-of-this-world graphics all but guarantee that Rebel Assault II will be an exhilarating and entrancing entertainment experience.
The only thing that isn't guaranteed is the game's ship date. LucasArts has set a goal of December 1995 release date, but if past history is any guide, they won't rush the title just to meet a holiday deadline. To be considered a success, Rebel Assault II must do more than merely follow the legend--it must surpass it. And for that, we're willing to wait.
