Lucasfilm Games’ top boss has teased the future of Star Wars games and how Respawn have created the foundation for it with their Jedi games. This information comes from a heartfelt tribute to a man instrumental to the creation of both Star Wars Jedi games.
A Titan Tribute
Earlier this month, the annual D.I.C.E Summit took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is considered the most prestigious game industry event of the year. It features an award show, panels and more. Game developers vote amongst themselves and highlight their peers’ work.
One of the key events part of this year’s D.I.C.E Summit was a fittingly named tribute, Remembering a Titan, to the late Vince Zampella. The Respawn Entertainment co-founder passed away untimely back in December.
The 40+ minute tribute celebrates Vince’s career and how he changed the video game and entertainment industries multiple times. Friends and colleagues such as ex-Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and Bethesda’s Todd Howard took to the stage to deliver speeches honouring Vince. Plus, videos were sent in by other well-known game makers and Star Wars gaming legends with some interesting quotes. The full tribute event has now been posted online to be viewed by all.
Creating Star Wars: Jedi
Star Wars Jedi Survivor and Fallen Order game director Stig Asmussen shared his experience working with Vince and joining Respawn in the tribute. He started by saying “When I had that first conversation about joining Respawn I said “What’s the game? Do you have an idea what you want the game to be?” Vince responded by saying “Well, it’s only the biggest franchise in the world. Is that big enough?” To which Stig said Star Wars?” “Exactly” Vince replied.
“Vince wanted to make a single player star Wars game with the vibe of the original trilogy. There were a lot of questions how was this going to be received? Are people going to like it?”
In the middle of the night Vince texted Stig with the “outstanding” review scores and that “we did it”. Stig said “People are loving the game. When I got back a week later, Vince came into my office…we didn’t say anything and he just gave me a big hug.”
“When I’m trying to make a decision or I’m questioning something, what would Vince do? Before leading to whatever decision I was going to make I still ask myself that question pretty much every day. What would Vince do?”
The Future of Star Wars Games
Lucasfilm Games Vice President and General Manager Douglas Reilly also shared a video discussing Vince’s legacy in Star Wars and the wider gaming industry. Reilly also teased how Vince’s work has led to what we’ll see in more Star Wars games. You can read the full quote below:
“I don’t know how to thank him enough for his contribution to making great Star Wars games and unlocking the potential for this medium inside the franchise.
And there’s more to come. This doesn’t end with the game’s we’re making right now. This is a foundation for continued storytelling in a world that Respawn created, that is unprecedented.
Call of Duty is maybe the greatest franchise in video game history. They’ve our vision for Star Wars games and I think they’ve inspired millions and millions of people.
Vince rewrote the book on first person, action/adventure games. The games Vince has created are the standard now 20 years later for all these games. It will continue to be the standard for decades to come.”
Star Wars Jedi 3 is also in deep development at Respawn despite Asmussen and other leads leaving the company shortly after Survivor’s release. It will be interesting to see what Lucasfilm Games decide to do next with Star Wars games.
What Could Have Been
Storied Star Wars game developer Peter Hirschmann also took part in offering personal memories and words on Vince. Hirschmann was LucasArts’ Vice President and oversaw production of the original Star Wars Battlefront games, The Force Unleashed, Empire at War, LEGO Star Wars titles and more.
In recent years, Hirschmann was game director on Respawn’s Mandalorian first person shooter game. The game was innovative and deeply exciting with team members believing it would be new, defining moment for Star Wars and games. Sadly, EA binned the project and the team were laid off. It would have been yet another beloved title Vince had a hand in.
“Vince created an environment for those games to be made and you can absolutely, unequivocally say because of that he made the world a better place. My god, what better legacy could you ever hope, and what better thing could you ever say about someone?
He’ll be the first who say it was the teams around him, it was the people around him. But there’s a constant there. There is something that got the quality bar up with all those teams and got the commitment to excellence across the board. Not just in the game but how the games were launched, how the games were marketed which is so important. And that speaks for itself. Vince was the real deal.”
Another recent Star Wars game decision from Vince was to tap up Bit Reactor to make a Star Wars strategy game. They are now busy working on Star Wars Zero Company, in partnership with Respawn, which is out this year.
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