The International House of Mojo

According to the LucasArts Insider e-mail, LucasArts.com will have the trailer for Star Wars Bounty Hunter this Friday. The trailer has already been posted on other websites after it was found on the extras to Jedi Starfighter. Bounty Hunter is expected to be released for PlayStation2 and Gamecube systems this fall.

After LEC released some mysterious art in yesterday's Insider, there have been some attempts in the Mojo Forums at guessing what the game might be.

The best so far is mumpizz's Monkey Island/Star Wars Crossover. I'd like to see more of these if anyone can take a stab at it.

Just got another mysterious press release from LucasArts, this time announcing the renewal of their old relationship with Totally Games (originall X-Wing team I believe, later contracted back to make X-Wing Alliance) to create a new World War II flight game in the tradition of their classic Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe! E3 looks to be mad indeed this year!

The new game, expected to release in 2003, will immerse would-be fighter pilot aces into dynamic, edge-of-the-seat air-to-air and air-to-ground battle scenarios in a variety of combat theaters over Europe and other territories. The story-driven game will drop players into a secret, elite squad of pilots who undertake the most dangerous missions of World War II.

Click read more for the full press release. <:MORENEWS:>

LUCASARTS RENEWS RELATIONSHIP WITH LAWRENCE HOLLAND AND TOTALLY GAMES FOR NEW WORLD WAR II FLIGHT COMBAT GAME
Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe(-Inspired Game Expected Fall 2003 for Next Generation Console and PC Platforms

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- April 17, 2002 -- LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC today announced the resumption of its relationship with Lawrence Holland and his company Totally Games to develop a World War II flight combat game for next generation consoles and PC. Previous associations between LucasArts and Totally Games produced the critically acclaimed and best selling X-wing and TIE fighter series of Star Wars games, as well
as Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe and Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain (The latter two games will serve as inspiration for the upcoming World War II flight combat title.

The new game, expected to release in 2003, will immerse would-be fighter pilot aces into dynamic, edge-of-the-seat air-to-air and air-to-ground battle scenarios in a variety of combat theaters over Europe and other territories. The story-driven game will drop players into a secret, elite squad of pilots who undertake the most dangerous missions of World War II.

"Lawrence Holland single-handedly defined the fun, accessible flight action genre with his groundbreaking trilogy of World War II air combat games," says Simon Jeffery, president of LucasArts. "Adding the sophisticated storytelling style Holland developed for the award-winning X-wing series, this new game promises exhilarating gameplay with a rip-roaring story of adventure and intrigue. The legions of fans who have been clamoring for a new game in the vein of Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe should be very happy with this announcement."

"I'm thrilled to be back working with LucasArts, for whom Totally Games has developed so many successful titles over the years," says Lawrence Holland, chief executive officer and creative director of Totally Games."My team and I will have a great time building a brand new World War II air combat game for this next generation of hardware. I believe our team has some exciting ideas that will capture the imaginations of players everywhere. Get ready to watch your six!"

According to a recent LucasArts Insider e-mail, visitors to LucasArts.com this Friday will be treated to a first look at an image from an upcoming title. No other information was given. However, there was this small mystery image next to the announcement. What's also interesting is a graphic that was contained in the headline image of the e-mail. It appears to be Ben from Full Throttle with a Monkey Island monkey on his back. Let the speculation begin! - Discuss this on the forums

The SCUMM Bar has run a new article, titled "Another Lesson on Legal Anarchy - Why Your Fan Game Ain't Legit (Or Even Good)." The article, obviously a response to AdventureDeveloper's original "A Lesson on Legal Anarchy - How to Avoid the Cold Wrath of LEC," tells why your LucasArts-based fan game has very little chance of surviving in the real world, and little reason to exist at all.

As was mentioned in the comments section at the bottom, the article doesn't address the "Parody" defense at all. This could be viewed as the weak point of a well written article, or the saving grace of fangames (though I sometimes wonder where some fan games lie on the line between "parody" and "rip-off").

Also, Dominic Armato drops in on the comments to further remind us why companies have to chase after fan work, even if they love it more than they love their own work. The article and most all the comments to date are definitely worth your time, so get reading.

Well this news, is in fact old, but I thought I'd post this anyways:
Whilst mooching about at work, I found an abandoned brochure for the Game Developers Conference that took place in San Hose about a month ago. on the first page was a list of people giving Keynote talks at the show, and under Visual Arts was listed Mr. Peter Chan.

As a conceptual illustrator and storyboard artist, Peter Chan has worked on games (Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Putt Putt, Pajama Sam, Vampire the Masquerade to name a few), films and advertising since 1989. After 4 years at LucasArts, he moved to a remote island in Washington State to launch his freelance career ( a giant and illogical leap of faith initiated by quality of life issues). Film credits include Antz, Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phanton Menace, Monkeybone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's(Philosipher's) Stone. He recently completed 2 projects for the Xbox (New Legends for Infinite Machine, and an unannounced Tim Schafer game).

So yeah we missed a more than probably interesting talk from the man behind some of our favourite things...
Other LEC folk that we missed included:

• "400 rules of Game Design" - Hal Barwood (who also appeared on the 'Advisory board')
• "Managing the QA Process" -Chuck McFadden
• "Battling Level Design in Hardcore Genres for a Casual Audience" - Tim Longo (Star Wars StarFighter)
  
• "From All Levels: Perspectives of Level Design" - Tim Miller (Jedi Knight)
• "Game Audio Production: Process and Strategy" - Clint Bajakian
• "Learning from the Classics: A discussion of What Made Games Great" - Alex Neuse ( Grim Fandango)

This post is pretty pointless, seeing as it's already happened, but at least we will remember to send someone there next year to see what these people have to say!

LucasArts has issued a press release, announcing that they have obtained the publishing rights for a game called Wrath. This action/strategy game involves one-on-one battles with monstrous characters as well as commanding entire armies.

The game is being made by The Collective, which recently was picked by LucasArts to make the next Indiana Jones game. Simon Jeffery, president of LucasArts, stated that "LucasArts feels it is the ideal publisher; Wrath complements our original game legacy incredibly well and supports our continuing strategy of working with the world's premiere game developers."

To learn more about this game, you can visits its website or click on some of the images below. The game is expected to release for next generation console platforms in 2003.

LucasArts.com has updated their product spotlight for Star Wars? Galactic Battlegrounds?: Clone Campaigns?. In the update, you can find screenshots for this Battlegrounds expansion pack plus some concept art as well. Unfortunately this is the most exciting piece of news to come around in a few days, but that will change in the coming weeks as E3 looms closer.

LucasArts.com has updated its Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic product spotlight with quite a few new screenshots and concept art. This game is looking to be very impressive thus far. Knights is due on the XBox this fall with a PC release in early 2003.

Just noticed there is a poll at LucasArts.com asking what your favorite PlayStation 2 game is that LEC has released. The choices are Starfighter, Jedi Starfighter, Racer II: Racer Revenge, and Escape From Monkey Island.

I didn't know LEC remembered that there was a PS2 port of EMI. Go vote for your favorite game, even if you don't plan on giving EMI your vote (it's currently winning at 40%).

Source: World of MI

Okay, so now you find yourself all pissed off that Jake has gotten a copy of this game before you and now you can't stand the wait. Well, LucasArts has good news for you! According to a LucasArts e-mail, Jedi Outcast will be in stores tomorrow, March 28th. That's one full day earlier than what was expected, meaning that you need to rush down to your local game store now and wait in line. Good luck sleeping tonight.

Guess who has JKII a few days early? Yeah, that's right.

This is one of the nicest packages LucasArts has put out in a while. The box, CD, and manual are all excellent quality. To tide you over until the game ships, I've put up some pictures. Enjoy!

In a press release issued today from LucasArts, it has been revealed that Star Wars Bounty Hunter will be a third-person action game for PlayStation 2 and GameCube systems this fall. This game will allow you to play as Jango Fett across six worlds and 18 levels. Plus, it seems this title has been given a high production priority. Here's a quote:

The development of Star Wars Bounty Hunter utilizes the unique, world-renowned talents of LucasArts' sister companies Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound. This marks the first time other companies in the Lucas group have combined their expertise in the production of a LucasArts game. ILM is generating cinematics for Star Wars Bounty Hunter, and Skywalker Sound is creating sound effects for the game.

Now what other game company can compete with that? Although sadly, no screenshots were shown at this time.

LucasArts has created a very small teaser website for its recently announced Star Wars game, Bounty Hunter. The site, which can be found at www.starwarsbountyhunter.com, contains a simple Flash animation giving us a tentative release date of Fall, 2002 for this title. More details on this game will probably be given this May at E3.

LucasArts has updated their careers page with some important information for individuals hoping to join the ranks of LEC staff. They will have a booth this year at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California. Here are the details:

San Jose Convention Center - March 21st -23rd LucasArts will be actively recruiting at this years GDC. Please stop by our booth at the Job Fair located on the main convention floor. Representatives from Human Resources, Art and Programming will be on hand to answer questions. Please bring a resume and/or throw away demo reel/portfolio.

Perhaps you could show off what you learned from Penny Arcade.

Following on the heels of GoneGold.com's announcement of Jedi Knight 2 going gold on March 28th, LucasArts has released another action-packed trailer for the game. Go watch it! (Note: You must be a member of LucasArts.com or StarWars.com to view the trailer. Signing up takes only a second and they don't spam you or anything.)

At the end of the trailer, LEC announces that the game's official release date is March 29th, 2002.

Penny Arcade may have an idea about how you can get a job at our favorite game company. In case you aren't familiar with it, Penny Arcade is a popular online comic about gaming that frequently makes references to LucasArts. Check it out!

According to an e-mail from the LucasArts Game Alerts, Jedi Outcast will have a new trailer released at the LucasArts website on Thursday. However, if you are a Lucas Online Member, you can view the trailer as early as this Wednesday after 6 pm PST. If you're not an Online Member... what's your problem? It's free, so go sign up now, ya freak. The new trailer will feature all new content, so be sure to check it out.

LucasArts managed to include a brief trailer for an upcoming title in the bonus section of Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter for the PlayStation 2. What looks to be the first in a line of Attack of the Clones-related games, Bounty Hunter appears to be an action game starring Jango Fett.

The trailer boasts some amazing 3D graphics and particle effects, and for those that don't own Jedi Starfighter, you can view the trailer in its entirety here.

Source: LucasConsoles

A JediKnightII.net forum regular has made an unofficial botfile for the stormtrooper Quake 3 model. For those that don't know what this means, it will allow you to play against the stormtrooper while offline.

You can pick it up here (updated with correct file format), and start fragging these Imperial jerks like the good rebels we all know you are. For those new to Q3A, you must put this in the baseq3 directory to use it in the game.