With LucasArts Producer Shawn Storc
Written by Matt Cabral, 2/29/2008
We never expected 2005's Lego Star Wars to be much more than another kiddie title that'd exist anonymously alongside developer Traveler's Tales Games' other family-friendly offerings (Toy Story Racer, Finding Nemo.) Sure, it was backed by the wildly successful sci-fi saga license, but it was also based on building blocks, and featured Jar Jar Binks as a playable character. However, despite having the demographic deck stacked against them, TT Games and publisher Eidos scored a Death Star-sized hit, killing with Lego and Star Wars fans of all ages. And, an equally successful sequel, as well as last year's content-packed The Complete Saga, has continued to keep us addicted to the block busting -- reducing Jar Jar to a pile of plastic never gets old -- stud collecting, character-unlocking fun long after "bigger" titles (read: Halo 3) have been retired from our disc trays.
As Lucas' other prized property preps for a big screen return, and next-gen gaming debut, TTG is at it again with Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. Based on the first three Indy flicks, it promises to stick with the same parody-fueled formula--Indy trying to pass off a C-3PO head as the golden idol from Raiders, to rival spelunker Belloq, is priceless--and pick-up-and-play accessibility that made the SW titles simple, yet endlessly satisfying, while also forging its own whip-cracking identity. We recently spoke with LucasArts’ producer Shawn Storc to discover how the publisher plans on making Lego Indy more than just "Lego Star Wars with a whip and fedora", what surprises the plastic, platforming archaeologist might have in store for us, and how Short Round can possibly be a cool playable character.
AtomicGamer: How similar an experience will Lego Indy be to the Lego SW titles? How does Lego Indy separate itself from Lego SW, or is it more or less Lego SW with an Indy paint job?
Shawn Storc: The two products share some elements, particularly some control elements and an overall ease of use. However, the characters in Lego Indy are much more in tune with their environment insofar as the level designs incorporate a wider variety of puzzles, traps and challenges as well as expanded abilities such as being able to pick up, throw, move and assemble objects, picking up weapons, climbing, swimming and shimmying along ledges. The player interaction with the puzzles and environment really stand to differentiate Lego Indy from LSW. This relates directly to the on-screen experience you get when viewing any of the Indiana Jones films.
AG: How is Indy's whip used in the game?
SS: I like to say the whip is Indy’s multi function tool. Players can use the whip to do a number of exciting things in the game, for example, disarming enemies, smashing objects, swinging across gaps, stunning enemies as well as grabbing and pulling objects.
AG: From horses to motorcycles, tanks to boats, Indy is often aided by some mode of transportation. Does this aspect make it into the game at all?
SS: Definitely! We are very excited to be able to offer players the ability to live the films and battle enemies on moving vehicles.
AG: We're assuming the trademark humor will be part of the experience. Can you give us an example of a famous scene from the movies and how it's been altered for the game? Maybe the Cairo swordsman encounter, or when Indy nearly eats a poisoned date?
SS: Humor is definitely part and parcel of the experience with this game, as it was for LSW. A great example of the use of humor is when Indy is retrieving the Idol from the Lost Temple. He rummages through his bag to find an object of similar weight to offset the removal of the Idol from the pressure pad and pulls out several humorous and out of context objects before settling on a stack of Lego studs.
