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While the games that LucasArts had to show were interesting, the most noteworthy thing might have been what they weren't showing. As soon as they had acquired semi-exclusive use of Natural Motion's Euphoria engine and Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) technology, it was going to be used in their upcoming Indiana Jones game. The simple demos that were rapidly thrown together for last E3 even bore an Indiana Jones theme. This year, however, the LucasArts presentation didn't include anything on the upcoming Indiana Jones game.
Instead, the game that was being focused on as being the game that was to feature DMM and Euphoria was the upcoming Star Wars: Force Unleashed. When we asked about the Indiana Jones game, we were told that it was definitely coming out, but no further information was given. So, it appears that the Indiana Jones game is being preempted by Star Wars: Force Unleashed. LucasArts gave no explanations for this time schedule, but they were indicating that Star Wars: Force Unleashed was going to be more than just a side story; Star Wars: Force Unleashed is supposed to present an important story arc, much like Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire for the Nintendo 64. For Shadows of the Empire, this included a series of comic books as well as a couple of graphic novels. It is atypical that Star Wars games expand the Star Wars Extended Universe and add to the official continuity.
Then again, it is possible that the Indiana Jones game could be pushed back for marketing reasons; specifically, to cash in on the hype and interest generated by an upcoming Indiana Jones movie. Regardless of whether the stories are specifically related, advertising for the movie is likely to increase interest in the game, as well.
Or, perhaps, the team that is going to be working on the Indiana Jones game is the same team that is currently working on Star Wars: Force Unleashed; that would certainly make sense. You would want the developers who are trained to use DMM and Euphoria to take that skill with them to multiple games, rather than having to train several people in the same skill.
Mind you, most of the above is conjecture, but as awesome as some of the games that were shown at LucasArts' were, the fact that the Indiana Jones game was completely lacking from their presentation stood out glaringly. |
