Knights of the Old Republic 3 stalled by LucasArts lay-offs
08-17-04, 06:17 PM
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Knights of the Old Republic 3 stalled by LucasArts lay-offs
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content...e=pub&aid=3976
Tom Bramwell 09:39 16/08/2004
More redundancies for Star Wars franchise holder as restructuring continues
Publisher LucasArts has laid off a further 31 staff from its development division, with reports indicating that the staff affected were a small team attached to early development on Knights of the Old Republic 3.
A report on US website GameSpot made the link between the layoffs and the KOTOR3 team - although LucasArts itself described the move only as "a major restructuring" of its development studio. The Californian firm had not yet announced the existence of a third instalment for the KOTOR series.
The developer issued a statement revealing that as a result of the restructuring effort, "31 people from the development studio were laid off as the company will be concentrating on fewer titles." Some reports suggest that all but one of the developer's internal projects have been canned.
LucasArts has yet to confirm that, although many of its key games are now in the hands of external firms - such as the new Star Wars Episode III title, which is being composed by Indiana Jones And The Emperor's Tomb developer The Collective.
Predictably, the company was unwilling to focus on the issue in any detail. Its Friday statement was actually built around the appointment of a new vice president of product development - Peter Hirschmann, a two-year veteran at the company and former architect of EA's Medal of Honor series.
However, this isn't the first time in recent months that LucasArts has been in trouble. Back in April the company laid off 29 staff, and in mid July a leaked memo allegedly from president Jim Ward announced to staff that there would be no bonuses for the current year.
I can hardly wait for KOTOR 3 !
Chris
Tom Bramwell 09:39 16/08/2004
More redundancies for Star Wars franchise holder as restructuring continues
Publisher LucasArts has laid off a further 31 staff from its development division, with reports indicating that the staff affected were a small team attached to early development on Knights of the Old Republic 3.
A report on US website GameSpot made the link between the layoffs and the KOTOR3 team - although LucasArts itself described the move only as "a major restructuring" of its development studio. The Californian firm had not yet announced the existence of a third instalment for the KOTOR series.
The developer issued a statement revealing that as a result of the restructuring effort, "31 people from the development studio were laid off as the company will be concentrating on fewer titles." Some reports suggest that all but one of the developer's internal projects have been canned.
LucasArts has yet to confirm that, although many of its key games are now in the hands of external firms - such as the new Star Wars Episode III title, which is being composed by Indiana Jones And The Emperor's Tomb developer The Collective.
Predictably, the company was unwilling to focus on the issue in any detail. Its Friday statement was actually built around the appointment of a new vice president of product development - Peter Hirschmann, a two-year veteran at the company and former architect of EA's Medal of Honor series.
However, this isn't the first time in recent months that LucasArts has been in trouble. Back in April the company laid off 29 staff, and in mid July a leaked memo allegedly from president Jim Ward announced to staff that there would be no bonuses for the current year.
I can hardly wait for KOTOR 3 !
Chris
08-18-04, 11:02 AM
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Originally posted by Groucho
I thought Bioware was doing these. Layoffs and Lucasarts shouldn't affect development.
I thought Bioware was doing these. Layoffs and Lucasarts shouldn't affect development.
08-18-04, 11:14 AM
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LucasArts is not doing KOTOR2. Obsidian (people from Black Isle and Blizzard) is doing KOTOR2 (with BioWare's engine) with LucasArts overseeing the project (much like they did for BioWare with KOTOR).
My guess is KOTOR3 was just in planning stages, such as which developer will be working on it, basic story outline and those kinds of things.
My guess is KOTOR3 was just in planning stages, such as which developer will be working on it, basic story outline and those kinds of things.
08-18-04, 11:20 AM
#9
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Originally posted by AgtFox
LucasArts is not doing KOTOR2. Obsidian (people from Black Isle and Blizzard) is doing KOTOR2 (with BioWare's engine)
LucasArts is not doing KOTOR2. Obsidian (people from Black Isle and Blizzard) is doing KOTOR2 (with BioWare's engine)
08-18-04, 03:25 PM
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Ooops, my bad. I was just less enthused finding out it was a different developer. I figure Fable and Jade Empire will keep me busy until KOTOR 2 drops in price anyway.
08-18-04, 03:31 PM
#13
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My only concern is the story. It's using the same engine, so the gameplay should be fine. However, I wasn't 100% thrilled with the gameplay (prefer japanese style, menu driven RPGs) but the SW story and atmosphere still made it one of my all time favorite games.
I just hope they came up with a story at least on par with the first, or I'll be sorely dissappointed. I'll probably wait for a price drop as well, simply because I'm super busy right now (and will be through december) and need to catch up on a backlog of games as is, thus I really don't have time for an RPG right now. Metroid Prime 2 will probably be the only new release I pick up this fall.
I just hope they came up with a story at least on par with the first, or I'll be sorely dissappointed. I'll probably wait for a price drop as well, simply because I'm super busy right now (and will be through december) and need to catch up on a backlog of games as is, thus I really don't have time for an RPG right now. Metroid Prime 2 will probably be the only new release I pick up this fall.
08-18-04, 05:04 PM
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Originally posted by Save Ferris
I just dont want the KOTOR2 story to be spoiled. The game would of SUCKED for me if i found out the twists in the first one ahead of time.
I just dont want the KOTOR2 story to be spoiled. The game would of SUCKED for me if i found out the twists in the first one ahead of time.
08-18-04, 09:12 PM
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Some of the development team from Planesape: Torment are the people at Obsidian, so I am expecting the story to be strong.
At any rate, I'll pick this up.
For those interested, Obsidian is also doing Neverwinter Nights 2. I know some people didn't care for the original, but I feel that the game was meant to be a toolset and spending any time on that campaign they did was time wasted. However, now that most of the groundwork is there, Obsidian should be able to develop the toolset further AND have time to construct a good campaign.
At any rate, I'll pick this up.
For those interested, Obsidian is also doing Neverwinter Nights 2. I know some people didn't care for the original, but I feel that the game was meant to be a toolset and spending any time on that campaign they did was time wasted. However, now that most of the groundwork is there, Obsidian should be able to develop the toolset further AND have time to construct a good campaign.
08-19-04, 08:25 AM
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I pretty much gave up on LucasArts after they canned the new Sam & Max and Full Throttle games. This is just par for the course, IMO. They used to be my favorite game company producing my favorite games. Now they're just a slowly collapsing collective of Star Wars sycophants.
