Exclusive Interview with Daniel Erickson, Senior Director Game Design at Kabam!
Kabam, the makers of the upcoming Star Wars: Uprising mobile game are at PAX Prime in Seattle this weekend, where they are organizing a series of events and giveaways focused around the much anticipated game. The Kabam booth will feature photo opportunities and a chance to speak with game developers. StarWars7News got a chance to speak exclusively with Kabam’s Creative Director Daniel Erickson before the event. Check out our full interview after the jump…
Star Wars: Uprising is an upcoming mobile RPG game, set in the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. This will be our first canon peek at the galaxy following the Battle of Endor.
StarWars7News spoke with Kabam’s Creative Director Daniel Erickson, trying to find out more about the game and its place in the new Star Wars canon.
StarWars7News: What sort of game engine is the game running on? You mentioned this is like a “mobile-Diablo”, so what have you drawn from those games? What other games have had some elements make it into the game?
Daniel Erickson: We’re running on Unity. They literally have an office downstairs from ours so it makes any tech issues quick to address! We definitely have elements of action RPGs, primarily in how we approach combat and loot collection. Everything is fast and real-time. Unsurprisingly, the classic Knights of the Old Republic was also a big influence on us when it comes to how to make an RPG feel Star Wars and too many other games to name for little bits and pieces.
SW7N: You mention customization – are we seeing customization in all facets, like the character features, armor, weapons, skills, etc?
DE: You can definitely customize your character with different species, gender, looks, etc. You can fully customize Ability loadouts for each Mission from all of the ones you’ve collected. Same with weapons and armor. We group them into sets to easily switch them in and out. Vanity sets are in the mix as well so you can keep a specific look if you really enjoy it.
SW7N:Â We have Deathstick, Riley, Commander Bragh and GovernorAdelhard. Tell us a little about each of them, such as what their motives at the start of the game, personality, importance, etc. are in the game. Is the man in the center of the game poster part of the Rebellion. The main website has under “Factions” a man looking very similar under the Rebellion.
DE:Â Short versions!
–Deathstick is the head of the Kouhun, one of the five factions that comprise the Uprising. The Kouhun are part assassin, part Illuminati and she is more than a little unbalanced.
–Riley is your sister, which is our art and engineering teams’ least favorite feature because that means she has to change with whatever you make your character! Riley is older and a bit more hardcore in the criminal life than you are when the game begins but a busted cybernetic support on her leg keeps her out of the action.
–Commander Bragh is the head of the Purge Troopers, Adelhard’s personal enforcers. They are sent in to completely eliminate anyone spreading rumors of the Emperor’s death or suspected of having treasonous leanings.
–Adelhard is a former Imperial officer who came up through the ranks. He’s a true believer, a lover of Emperor and Empire and ruthless when it comes to protecting the Empire from what he sees as chaos.
-In the center is Tam Bastion, head of the few members of the Rebel Alliance still in the Anoat Sector after the Battle of Hoth. He’s trying to hold his own with no support from outside and mostly green recruits from the local worlds.
SW7N: Without telling us the story between ROTJ and TFA, how will the game work with the Aftermath Book Trilogy and other supposed works? Is there a chance what happens in Uprising will affect the literary and comic worlds of Star Wars?
DE:Â Absolutely. We work closely with the central story team at Lucasfilm that is carefully coordinating all of the products. Expect to see Uprising touch other pieces of the Star Wars universe and those pieces impact Uprising as well.
SW7N: Any tie-ins to comics, novels, TV shows?
DE:Â Nothing we can talk about yet!
SW7N: How soon does this game take place after the end of Return Of The Jedi – weeks, months, or years? Does the celebration at Cloud City that is seen in the Special Edition of the film tie into the storyline, given that the Empire officially denies that they suffered a crippling defeat at Endor?
DE:Â Although we keep it a little vague it’s clearly in the months time frame. The celebration at Cloud City was when the Imperial garrison was pulled back by Governor Adelhard and though there was a brief rumor the Emperor himself had been killed, that was quickly denied and suppressed.
SW7N: Were there any Legends (not part of the new official canon) works in particular that you looked at for inspiration for the game? Can we expect any canonization of certain Legends characters, planets, ships, species, and other such concepts?
DE:Â Definitely. Much of the Legends stuff is beloved to both ourselves and the Lucasfilm team so we’ve carefully weaved back in strings that make sense. As well as just some ridiculously cool things we re-purposed. Who doesn’t want to fight a Hutt security droid on an ancient Hutt world?
SW7N: The Dark Troopers from Dark Forces have been canonized given that they appear in last year’s Commander game, whereas the Purge Troopers were created for the non-canon game, The Force Unleashed, and are now appearing in this game. Is there a link between the two in the canon continuity like there was for Legends?
DE:Â There is not. We loved the name and kept it alive but they are an entirely different group who are now canon.
SW7N: Should we expect any appearances from existing characters in the Star Wars saga?
DE:Â Yes but that’s literally all we can say.
SW7N: Will there be any hints towards the plot of The Force Awakens hidden in the game?
DE:Â Oh look, is that a wampa? Gotta go!
SW7N: If you were having a casual conversation with a Star Wars fan, how would you sell this game to them?
DE:Â It’s a love letter to Star Wars with an original story by Alex Freed, a fantastic Star Wars author, that will last you hundreds of hours. Plus it’s free!
Special thanks to Mr. Erickson and the Kabam team for the great opportunity! The game will be fully released in September 2015Â for iOS and Android. For more information on the game go to playstarwarsuprising.com
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
I really am excited to play this game! A Star Wars take on Diablo is a game I’ve been wanting for a long time now… Just please, for the love of God, don’t kill it with the cash shop.
That said, this game has a solid team behind it, and I’m really excited to finally play it!
This game is a big joke, insult to SW fans and what they can actually achieve themselves with such a team and Disney budget, imagine potential of game they would be able to make with this post Jedi story, this ”project” is cheap rip-off, money grabbing joke!…
You don’t know nothing about te game. The insulting thing is to spit on a free game that’s not even released.
One can usually tell what a mobile game is like before it’s released.
I actually wish it cost money to play. Free mobile games usually turn into “freemium” games…
Agreed.
It’s F2P, or freemium. I’ve played both Uprising versions 0.1 and 0.2, and unlike Commander, there is a serious tale and a lot of ways to avoid “paying”. These guys aren’t fooling around here, and no, they really showed their love for Star Wars from what I’ve played. Ask the staff and the 1030th, I’ve told them as well. Unless you’ve played the game, don’t bash it before you have your hands on it.
This is really neat, guys! Well done on asking him good questions too 🙂
I hate that this is coming out now, honestly. I already play three of these games (SWC included). More monies out of my pocket I guess, haha!
Well from what I’ve played, the F2P is surprisingly good, and actually better than even an MMO like SWTOR! Of course, the game has limitations, but for what they’ve been given, it’s quite nice!
That’s great news! Thanks for taking the time to let me (and the rest of us) know a little more about it 🙂
This does look cool. I’d like to see a new open world Star Wars game ala GTA, AC, etc. for consoles and PC. I loved the KOTOR games.
Visceral Games is making one, reportedly about Han Solo and Boba Fett!
Am I going blind – or is that the Ebon Hawk landing in the first picture? Obviously its not actually since this would be thousands of years later, but darn if that’s not what it looks like to me.
it totally does. Must be the same type of ship…. Deep down inside i hope it turns out the be the Ebon Hawk!!
I have a feeling its “freemium”. Meaning free until you want other features. Some mobile games will try to suck you for hundreds of dollars at a time. Be careful.
The only thing that bothers me, which has nothing to do with the game itself, is that everyone keeps saying this game “will be our first canon peek at the galaxy following the Battle of Endor.” No. It won’t. It doesn’t release until some time next month (still no exact date, which is odd), but Shattered Empire and Aftermath BOTH release next week. Shattered Empire, which comes out Wednesday, will actually be “our first canon peek at the galaxy following the Battle of Endor,” with Aftermath being MUCH MORE than just a peek, and releasing 2 days later on Force Friday. Even if this game releases on Force Friday (which seems incredibly unlikely if they haven’t announced it yet), Shattered Empire would still be first, and Aftermath at the same time. Either way, this game is most definitely NOT “our first canon peek at the galaxy following the Battle of Endor.” So could everyone discussing this game all over the internet please stop referring to it as such? It’s simply not true. Thanks. [End pedantic rant XD]
Of course, we as SW fans will feed on anything that has SW logo on it, especially now, ease prey!…
HOW with all the advanced recording technology and faster than light communication in the Star Wars universe can ANYONE but fanatics doubt the Sith died at Endor?