The International House of Mojo

The Star Wars MMO "The Old Republic" has launched its Free-To-Play option for those who don't care for monthly subscriptions. The press release says:

“We want to give our players the freedom to enjoy Star Wars: The Old Republic when and how they want,” said Matthew Bromberg, General Manager of BioWare Austin. “There has never been a better time to start playing with us.”

Also today, BioWare released Game Update 1.5: HK-51 Activated, which adds new areas to explore, a new Companion character and more... So there you go, if you've wanted to play more Old Republic Era Star Wars game, but don't like the thought of monthly fees, give it a try.

Source: Star Wars The Old Republic

It's a funny thing. The Disney buyout seems to have served, in part, to remind people of all the great games LucasArts once made, leading them to wonder why in the hell they're being kept in cold storage. The remarks by Disney about a potential focus on mobile platforms in particular has fueled the question: why not bring the oldies to handheld devices?

You take this guy over at Android Apps, who searches for logic in the dearth of PC games, modern and legacy, on his favorite gadget, and comes up short:

And what about this suggestion by Pocket Gamer of ten LucasArts classics to find a home on iOS and Android? The list, which represents the space opera only with Super Star Wars, reads like a roll call of beloved LEC originals.

It almost seems like there's this indeterminately sized society of weirdos that loves those old games and would like to see them given the modest respect of a place in the digital space. It's too bad this admittedly profane cult of individuals can't happen to include the people who actually have the power to make it happen.

Source: MTV Multiplayer

Over at Examiner.com, some poor fellow has worked himself into something of a row over what he perceives to be uncertainty surrounding the fate of Star Wars 1313, which you may recall as the game that's so mature it stays up past its bedtime on school nights.

According to a report from IGN on Tuesday, this purchase has apparently placed a cloud of doubt around the project for no reason other than the fact that Disney is really looking to focus on developing titles for mobile and social platforms.

While it's true that the future of internal development on consoles now rests beneath the shade of a big fat question mark, I don't know that there's reason to fear for what's already in the pipeline, and I all but do know that Star Wars 1313 is immune to the scorched earth policy that will ensue in the unlikely worst case scenario. Everyone except me has been eating up all the media released to date for that game, which has excited the internet to wedding night amplitudes since the first glimpse; it's a preordained success and isn't going to be pitched. I'd stake my Brimstone Beach membership card on it.

No telling about those other games. Although Star Wars 1313 is the only example to really enjoy public broadcast, LucasArts has supposedly been revving up internal development over the last couple of years. Other projects they've been working on are that Battlefront-looking shooter for Xbox Live Arcade as well as some unannounced flight sim and potentially a couple of others. (Peruse the company job site and choose your own speculation in a game I'm fond of calling, Choose Your Own Speculation.)

While history should certainly keep anyone from ruling out the possibility of the reset button being smacked on in-house development (again), neither can we assume that Disney wouldn't allow LucasArts to operate in a similar fashion to how they are today. That's why there's little reason to fear a "hostile takeover" scenario; certainly, there's no more hostile an environment for interesting ideas than the one that Lucasfilm has imposed itself on its game subsidiary for the past several years. I'll give the new foster parents a chance to rise to the ambition of doing worse instead of assuming it. The safest assumption, of course, is that little will change whatsoever.

Source: Examiner.com

What with the whole buyout thing that's caused something of a kerfuffle across the internet, the folks at VentureBeat saw fit to write up a brief history of LucasArts now that it too is history. It's pretty nice, and probably akin to the sort of thing we might write, if we wrote things.

Source: VentureBeat

As George Lucas owns LucasFilm outright, and as the company has little debt, he will be pocketing the majority of Disney's $4 billion himself. And what does it plan to do with this insane sum of money? Put it towards charitable endeavors in education.

As Lucas is already the chairman of Edutopia, which is part of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, it's possible the money may go into that.

Move over Bill Gates, there's a new kid on the block.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Polygon has posted some comments from Disney CEO Robert Iger regarding the future direction of LucasArts;

So they're continuing with Star Wars 1313, licensing out Star Wars to 3rd party developers and will be churning out mostly Mobile games. So, no change in company direction there at all.

Let's just hope that porting the back-catalog of LucasArts' classic games to tablets and smartphones is on the agenda.

Source: Polygon

Some guy discovered a gem while rooting through Sub-basement #7194 of Archive.org. It's an interview with Tim Schafer circa 1996 about the freshly released Full Throttle:

Source: Double Fine forums

In breaking news, Disney has acquired Lucasfilm for just over $4 billion. Star Wars Ep VII slated for 2015 release, apparently.

What the Duck?

JP Update:

Source: Coming Soon

You pretty much can't ridicule LucasArts enough for their abject failure to join the 21st century and maintain their library of titles. They are in the enviable position of having one of the most beloved back catalogs ever, but the notion of lifting a finger toward the ambitious and bankruptcy-assuring goal of making these classic games obtainable is too radical to entertain. Want to buy Maniac Mansion? Ain't that too bad. Need a legitimate copy of Full Throttle? Go to hell. How about finding out if Grim Fandango is as good as its reputation? That's what torrents sites are for.

There's no excuse. LucasArts should have been on this years ago, either by launching their own service or by licensing their catalog to one or more of the multiple outlets who would be glad to have it. But even in 2012, when the responsibility and long-term value of preserving the oldies is common sense to publishers dramatically younger in age and lower in profile, LucasArts seems to actively take pride in their refusal to get with the program.

Is there another explanation? Back when Gametap was a thing, the rumors held that the service had acquired the rights to add LucasArts' library to its fold before the studio abruptly threw ice water on the whole thing at the eleventh hour for reasons unknown. Ever since Good Old Games, a fine home for classic PC titles, launched in 2008 there's been fitful chatter about the service's brass trying to open up a dialog with LucasArts. But as a number of companies have learned, a Jew will kiss a cross before LEC will deign to acknowledge an outside business proposal that doesn't begin with, "Hi, I'm THQ and I wanna make a Star Wars iPhone game."

In the end, what we've wound up with are four SCUMM games on Steam and a handful of console gems on the Wii's Virtual Console. Congratulations, LucasArts; you are a stripper.

I rant and I rave and I remind you of all this to prepare you for today's news of nascent disappointment. VG 24/7 reports that GOG is close to signing a deal with one of the three remaining publishers they've been attempting to negotiate with for years, and yes, LucasArts is explicitly identified as one of the holdouts. (The others are Microsoft and Take-Two.)

Is this it? Did someone at LEC slip up and accidentally ratify an idea that imitates respect for their legacy and goodwill toward its hoary fans (and who could just as easily have youthful counterparts)? Is the possibility of a legal transaction in which money is exchanged for legitimate installations of Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders or X-Wing actually in the offing? Will it be possible to buy The Curse of Monkey Island on the level again? The answer, of course, is no, and we all look forward to finally having a convenient portal for purchasing Grand Theft Auto.

Source: VG 24/7

So apparently cover art for Star Wars: First Assault has been leaked that indicates two things: it will be an XBOX Live Arcade title (at minimum) and is an internally developed game.

People are also speculating, what with the trigger-happy stormtroopers, that this game will be a spiritual successor to Battlefront. They'll find out soon enough, because promotional assets mean this thing can't be very far away; certainly, it would seem to be LEC's next release.

Remember, for all the latest info on Star Wars: First Assault, you'll probably want to hit Google, but if you're patient I'm sure we'll eventually catch up or something I don't know really.

PSA: In a shocking turn of events even the most attentive of us never saw coming, it has been a whole week since a public executive directly related to LucasArts has resigned from their position. This departure from standard operating protocol should not cause panic among the readers of Mixnmojo, and should not lend credence to the rumour that no executive has resigned from LucasArts because LucasArts has ceased to exist. LucasArts is fine, Lucas himself is fine, and the next Star Wars game should be arriving soon, though maybe not soon enough for those of you still going rabid at the prospect of swinging a virtual, in-game lightsaber.

It has been reported by The Wrap that Michelle 'Mich' Chau has retired from her position as LucasFilm Chief Operating Officer. You may remember her from such PR pieces as 'LucasArts President Paul Meegan steps down'.

Kathleen Kennedy, who joined Lucasfilm as co-chairman in June, will serve as interim president. The heads of the various departments, such as Industrial Light & Magic animation, LucasArts (gaming) and licensing, will report to Kennedy for the time being.

Right, then.

Source: The Wrap

This past week I went on a cross-country search for my humility (nothing turned up) and return to find all the hot news well-covered by my fellow staffers in a timely fashion. Except this one:

Now I'm not going to name any names here, but...get your head in the game, Huz.

Source: Fusible

Groovebricks.com has reported on the LEGO news from the just-finished Star Wars Celebration 6 in Florida. As well as an assortment of new Star Wars LEGO sets, it was also revealed a fourth LEGO Star Wars videogame is in the works.

No word yet on the setting, but my guess is something set in 'The Old Republic', given there are some new LEGO sets based on Old Republic ships. And if we get some KOTOR characters and levels in an Old Republic videogame, there will many happy gamers.

Source: Groove Bricks

Knights of the Old Republic II is now available on Steam.

So, if you wanted a way to play The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod without buying the KOTOR I&II bundle, now you have another option.

Reacting to the imminent end of Nintendo Power magazine's twenty-four year run (Lord, the memories), Christina Warren of Mashable tearfully selected her favorite ten covers. Making her cut is issue #16, which had a Maniac Mansion cover story teased by a bodacious clay art take on the mansion and the cast.

We've scans of all the pertinent content from that issue in our galleries, by the by. Check them out:

Source: Mashable Entertainment

For what purpose is unclear, but speculation on what the domain portends ranges from an Ewok action playset to a social game.

Whatever it is, be excited.

Source: Fusible

Develop reports that the "3D digital paint tool" Mari has received a new update with version 1.5. The features include "improved overlapping UV support, games shaders, a Maya texture export feature, shadow support and DDS Cubemap support."

The relevance is that LucasArts is using the tool for Star Wars 1313.

There you have it?

Source: Develop