With the internet still filled with disappointment about what could have been regarding Visceral Games' Star Wars title, new information has surfaced that compared the linear story-driven game to the Uncharted series. The similarities were so great that EA's executives made the development team change aspects of the game in order to make the differences between the two more distinguished.
Although the Internet was shocked by the closure of Visceral Games earlier this month, many employees who worked for the company saw the event as inevitable. Having been in decline for years, following the disappointing reviews of Dead Space 3 and Battlefield Hardline, director of the first three Uncharted games Amy Hennig launched a new project - a Star Wars title by the name of Ragtag.
The Uncharted/Star Wars mashup had three demos prepared to show EA what the team hoped would be enough to save their company. As a brief sample of experiences, Visceral displayed an escape from a pursuing AT-ST walker, a shootout on the planet Tatooine, and a rescue mission in the dungeons of Jabba's palace. Unfortunately for the team, their example wasn't enough for EA executives, who decided to close down Visceral and change the direction the title was heading in.
Jedi powers were not part of the experience since no members of the crew could use the Force, but sabotage was key and the crew could often manipulate the environment in order to distract and divert enemies in non-violent ways. The game was action-fueled and varied, with each member of the Ragtag team playable at different points in the story, while the other members of the squad used their unique AI minds and abilities without being commanded.
Having multiple crew members was essential, as it was one of the factors that differentiated Ragtag from Uncharted, and the cast was quite the sight to behold. The lead protagonist was Dodger, a "cracked mirror" version of Han Solo, who battled alongside a band of fellow misfits. There was Robie, the gunslinger, Ooba, daughter of a mob boss, and Buck, the mentor of the crew and a veteran leader. Together, these adventurers would explore a world that had just witnessed the destruction of Alderaan and band together to form an unstoppable team.
At the end, Ragtag was just too ambitious for its own good and, combined with budget constraints, pressure from EA, and the fact that all decisions had to be approved by Lucasfilm before getting added to the game, the project was unsustainable. One former Visceral employee described the shut down as a "mercy killing," yet the Internet was in uproar at the reveal. All things considered, the fact that EA still has a version of the Star Wars title on the way is something to be glad about and while it won't be Ragtag, the developer hopefully won't stray too far from the aspects that made the project great.
Source: Kotaku