While there’s been plenty of buzz about Lucasarts’ upcoming Star Wars title The Force Unleashed, there’s been little discussion about how their radical gameplay design is affecting the development process. During GDC 2007, Lucasarts’ Haden Blackman and several lead designers took some time to talk about how their shifted focus to “simulation based gameplay” has changed how they make videogames.

Simulation Based Gameplay

When the creative minds at Lucasarts set out to develop for next-generation consoles, they went back to the drawing board to reevaluate how the enhanced capabilities of multi-core consoles could affect fundamental gameplay. Their decision was to harness the power of next-gen systems to move gameplay to be more simulation-driven, and use less hard-coded situations. Through the combination of Havok (physics), Digital Molecular Matter (object simulation), and Euphoria (biomechanical AI), not just effects like debris or smoke would be simulated. Instead, environments, characters, events, and systems are simulated and no longer rely on scripted scenarios triggered by specific conditions. What this means is that the game world becomes much more dynamic, with constantly changing environments and characters to interact with. According to Blackman, this allows Lucasarts to get “a proper return on level real estate” by increasing the amount of interaction that can take place in a given area. The hope is to increase replay value dramatically, as no gameplay session should ever be the same. By using simulation to determine character movements, they are able to spend less time animating canned movements for dozens of different actions, and can instead rely on the game’s engine to produce the proper movements. Of course this leads to an increased number of designers instead of animators, but it’s interesting to note that the demand for animators has gone down as a result of this switch to more simulation based design.

Haden stressed how important it is to differentiate between realism and authenticity, especially within the boundaries of the Star Wars universe. To elaborate upon that, he reminded everyone that even though they could realistically simulate the physical interactions per the laws of physics, they wouldn’t really want to as the world of Star Wars behaves slightly differently. For example the Force has a strong impact on how objects behave, and for dramatic effect certain behaviors may be exaggerated. These reactions can be changed for each individual object, so that each item will have a unique response to forces imposed upon it. Since the Force is “the galaxy’s best simulation catalyst” (by Blackman’s own admission) it made sense to focus a simulation based game on Force interactions. For this game the Force has been retooled to be “amped up” and “out of control.” Blackman described the core gameplay as revolving around “kicking someone’s ass with the Force.” If you’re not doing that in a given section of the game, they haven’t done something right.

Ronin

Lucasarts’ combination of Havok, Digital Molecular Matter, Euphoria, and their proprietary graphics engine has been dubbed the Ronin engine. Their collaboration with Industrial Light and Magic has allowed them access to tools and experience from the film industry that will substantially improve the level of detail in videogames. By using a modular production system based on ILM’s Zeno model, Lucasarts’ is able to combine cutting edge effects like facial mocap (as seen in Pirates of the Caribbean) with simulated fluid dynamics (as seen in Poseidon). The result will be an unprecedented level of characterization and the ability to fully simulate environments that would otherwise be static (like rivers). Their relationship with ILM is proving beneficial to both parties as well, since ILM is interested in using some of Lucasarts’ tools in their pre-visualization process. Development of Ronin is almost complete, with the engine’s lighting techniques remaining as the only major feature still under development. The majority of the game’s production is now being focused on level design.

The benefits of using Digital Molecular Matter are apparent both from a development standpoint as well as a gamer’s perspective. With dynamic object destruction and soft bodies, Lucasarts is no longer required to generate destruction animations to be used in art swapping. This cuts down on the amount of assets that are necessary and saves time/money on development. For gamers, the environment is much more interactive and the sense of authenticity is much improved. DMM encourages players to experiment with their surroundings more and to explore areas that might otherwise have been ignored. The designers now have new challenges in trying to find ways to surprise the player without suspending disbelief. The hope is that every player’s experience will be different, leading to a unique experience with what Blackman calls the “out-of-game story.” The “in-game story” is a rigid entity comprised of the central plot of the game. The “out-of-game story” refers to the player’s unique path and events taken in order to beat the game. Through DMM this story should never be the same, providing an entirely unique experience with each gameplay session.

When Will We Get It?

Unfortunately for us The Force Unleashed has been quietly pushed back to early 2008. Slated for release on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC, it’s unknown what sort of system requirements will be needed for the PC version. I’m guessing it’ll need a dual-core CPU at a minimum, but it’s really all conjecture at this point. Keep an eye out as we’ll be frantically trying to bring you as much information about The Force Unleashed as soon as we can get it.