Lucas "involved" in Star Wars MMO

By Oli Welsh Published 10 July, 2009

Legend has finger on Old Republic's pulse.

BioWare boss Ray Muzyka has told G4tv that George Lucas is keeping his eye on the studio's Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic.

"I haven't shown it to him personally, no," said Muzyka, "but I know he keeps his finger on the pulse of everything that LucasArts is working on, so I know he's involved in it. I've talked to him about the project in the past and I know he's excited about it."

We already know that Lucas is "a big fan" of Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies but has never played World of Warcraft.

BioWare caused a sensation at E3 with its cinematic trailer for the game, but Muzyka couldn't say whether it had received the elusive potentate's blessing.

"I can't say what he thought of the trailer because I don't know for sure that he's seen it," said EA's newly-minted RPG overlord, "but I imagine he has because he's very involved in the development side of things."

It was the behind-the-scenes showing of the game itself that caught our attention though. Plenty more at the Star Wars: The Old Republic gamepage.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (47) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • paul_haine #1 3 years ago

    So it'll be shit then.

  • Evolution #2 3 years ago

    Keep him away from it!

  • Plewt #3 3 years ago

    ^ What they said.

  • Bodd #4 3 years ago

    Legend has finger on Old Republic's pulse
    More like a Force choke round it's throat, no?

  • bad09 #5 3 years ago

    So it'll be sh.....oh wait beaten to it.

    Keep hi...oh.

    / Wanders off.

  • menage #6 3 years ago

    Agreed with the shit comments. The guy will only put in Ewoks.

  • PrinzPils #7 3 years ago

    I'd rather have the input of Mark Hamill, Jeremy Bulloch and Billy Dee Williams.....

  • Pirotic #8 3 years ago

    The paladins can summon a fridge then?

  • curtlikesmeat #9 3 years ago

    He might have his finger on the pulse but he probably won't be feeling anything since he killed of Star Wars a while back. Someone needs to shoo him away with a broom or something.

  • Eldritch #10 3 years ago

    Legend has finger up the Old Republic's a**e

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #11 3 years ago

    Lucas is "a big fan" of Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies

    That probably says it all. However, the rest of the article seems to reassuringly imply that Lucas has an utter disinterest in the project. If he was actively working on it, then the head of Bioware would at least have heard his comments on their big trailer.

  • dylman #12 3 years ago

    Don't worry, I heard there's a shoot on sight policy if he so much as enters the writer's room.

  • Nasty #13 3 years ago

    Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

  • roz123 #14 3 years ago

    jesus lucas is involved, no doubt he will make every attempt to bleed you dry of all your cash

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #15 3 years ago

    Amazing! Every single comment on an EG news item in agreeance. That's a first surely.

    And guess what? I Agree!

    Thanks George, we universally think you're a bit of a cock. :)

  • Darkjinxter #16 3 years ago

    Twas the internet ruined Star Wars, not just Lucas who was bullied into submission by the global flaming which spread after Jar Jar Binks came on the scene. Had the internet been around in 1977 those two annoying robots wouldn't have made it into The Empire Strikes Back. Twill be the internet that ruins ToR with demands for uber loot glowing shoulderpads and Jedi mind tricks to be accessible for all from day one.
    Jar Jar Binks wasn't so bad really.

  • Domovoi #17 3 years ago

    What Darkjinxter said. Also, anybody who has never played World of Warcraft sounds like an ideal candidate to be involved in an MMO that's supposed to be different than World of Warcraft.

  • ZuluHero #18 3 years ago

    jesus lucas is involved, no doubt he will make every attempt to bleed you dry of all your cash"

    I didn't realize that George had a brother ;)

    I don't see what the big deal is really. Sure, he might have gone a little mad with the franchise in later years but without him there would be no Star Wars. It didn't just magically materialize out of metaclorians . It's his baby, give the guy a break.
    Edited by 1 at 10/07/09 @ 10:56

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #19 3 years ago

    Twas the internet ruined Star Wars, not just Lucas who was bullied into submission by the global flaming which spread after Jar Jar Binks came on the scene.

    What a load of rubbish. You've simplified everything people are moaning about to Jar Jar. Not that I think for one minute that GL listened to people on the internet (his arrogance about what HE wants is well publicised), but the prequels got progressively better as they went on, so IF what you say is true, you're still wrong.

    If you was old enough to remember the hype arround Star Wars was massive before it was even released at Sci Fi conventions etc. If people had problems with the originals they would have been heard....they didn't.

    Fact is, GL is a great creator of stories but he cant write a script or direct for shit. There's a reason people think the original trilogy are better... he had help.

    @ZuluHero. Just as George is accepting of fans love for his films, he must also accept some of us taking it away. You can't have the best of both.
    Edited by 1 at 13/07/09 @ 12:56

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #20 3 years ago

    "Twas the internet ruined Star Wars, not just Lucas"

    Certainly, it's the internet's fault that things got worse after The Phantom Menace. There's a good film at the core of the first one but there are plenty of things Lucas is responsible for in that film that spoiled it without any outside interference.

    Not that I think for one minute that GL listened to people on the internet

    Oh, he did. The second and third films tried to buy off the internet community with misguided fanservice (spining, flying Yoda lightsaber battle? Flying R2D2?), rather than addressing core problems of character, motivation and giving the thing some of the gravitas or the cool of the original trilogy.

    Mind you, it's spot on that the reason the originals are better is largely to do with the fact that Lucas wasn't surrounded by yes-men that time round.
    Edited by 1 at 10/07/09 @ 11:11

  • General_Zod #21 3 years ago

    The only thing that Lucas keeps his finger on is the button that orders him more pies.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #22 3 years ago

    Oh, he did. The second and third films tried to buy off the internet community with misguided fanservice (spining, flying Yoda lightsaber battle? Flying R2D2?), rather than addressing core problems of character, motivation and giving the thing some of the gravitas or the cool of the original trilogy.

    Yeah I agree with you there. I probably didn't explain myself too well. I was actually talking about things like the character, motivation and gravitas that you just mentioned. Those are the things that 'broke' Star Wars and they had nothing to do with The Internet. Adding or removing Jar Jar for example (due to fanservice) is irrelievent to the core issues of the whats wrong with the prequels.

  • poopmonster #23 3 years ago

    Lucas has about as much creativity as a dead sheep

  • poopmonster #24 3 years ago

    And Jar Jar wasn't what broke the movies, but it was a clear symptom of his wankness.

  • Daryoon #25 3 years ago

    It was a combination of Lucas and the fanboys that ruined things. The actual story of the prequels is fine, it's just that the execution got messed up somewhat, mainly in terms of pacing and the romance. Though looking back at Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo's hitting on the princess is just as cringe-worthy as Anakin's attempts. Only difference is Harrison Ford could pull it off somehow.

    The original films aren't fantastic either, and most people are far too forgiving of them. Had the two trilogies been released in reverse order, I have no doubts people would hate 4-6 for similar reasons they hate 1-3 now. Star Wars was a product of its time, so there was no way the same formula could be repeated 20 years later. Lucas waited too long, let the fanbase get too clingy, had them reading hundreds of indentikit novels, gave them too much time to fantasise about what the prequels would be.

    And in the end, they're meant to be modern equivalents to those dodgy old Flash Gordon serials, not Shakespeare, which a lot of fans seem to be ignorant of. That's why you get silly titles, pantomime villains and over-the-top dialogue. Again though, the original got away with it more because, at the time, it was new and there were no expectations.

  • Razorus #26 3 years ago

    Hey, fuck you guys. Lucas is a great man. Maybe lost his touch a little and makes very strange decisions but show a little respect. He pioneered a lot of stuff we take for granted now. Besides, he may have his "finger on the pulse" but I doubt he's going to stick his dick in the pie. Or something like that.
    Basically, he's not gonna have anything to do with how the game is made. So relax.

  • menage #27 3 years ago

    He also added Aliens to Indy 4. So yeah, brilliant. Maybe he once was, not anymore.

    He's add aliens to anything if he was given the chance.
    Edited by 1 at 10/07/09 @ 14:37

  • Silvervein #28 3 years ago

    George Lucas presents....Jar Jar Burgers!
    Now that's adding aliens that makes sense...

    :)

  • Cannibal #29 3 years ago

    Star Wars could be worse. Just imagine Lucas dying and the rights going to someone else and Star Wars directed by... Michael Bay.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #30 3 years ago

    He also added Aliens to Indy 4

    I don't think you can lift the responsibility for aliens in Indiana Jones entirely off of the director of ET, Close Encounters and War of the Worlds.

    Besides, the aliens weren't the problem in Indy 4. If you can have the power of God made manifest in a movie franchise, you can have interdimensional beings. What you can't have is a regular guy being ejected from a nuclear bomb explosion in a fridge.

  • WinterSnowblind #31 3 years ago

    Oh come on, I can't believe people are still going on about Crystal Skull.

    Aliens were part of the crystal skull myth, and had just as much reason to be on the film as immortal knights, or people who can rip out your heart with their bare hands. And the fridge nuke was no more silly than many scenes from the previous movies. Remember in the second movie when they jump out of the plane using a dinghy..then slide down the side of a mountain.. and off a waterfall?

    Vote me down if you will, but you guys complaining about Crystal Skull have obviously never seen the previous movies and/or know nothing of what Indy is supposed to be about.

  • Daryoon #32 3 years ago

    Vote me down if you will, but you guys complaining about Crystal Skull have obviously never seen the previous movies and/or know nothing of what Indy is supposed to be about.

    It's funny that the same thing can be said for Star Wars!!

  • AOFanboi #33 3 years ago

    Jar-Jar was the best realized character in TPM - next to him, Liam Neeson (in paricular) looked like a piece of firewood who walked around regretting signing the contract. And the rest weren't much better.

    Give us Labyrinth 2 or a Dark Crystal sequel, Lucas. You can direct and produce animated features but SUCK at actual humans - American Grafitti nonwithstanding. So perhaps assisting on an animated MMO is the best thing for you.

  • Freek #34 3 years ago

    How to make a Star Wars product good, lesson 1:

    Do not let Lucas near it, at all, ever.

    And about Indiana Jones: it always walked a fine line between sillyness and a believable sense of danger, in the Crystal Skull that balance was lost completly and almost all of it fell into the sillyness catagory wich made the movie boring.
    Edited by 1 at 10/07/09 @ 22:58

  • Razorus #35 3 years ago

    @ Freek.
    You do realise that Lucas INVENTED Star Wars right? Doesn't matter if the prequels were not as good or if he lost his touch since. The fact is, you wouldn't have The Old Republic or any Star Wars product without his genius.

    Some of your comments are ridiculous, guys.

  • Daryoon #36 3 years ago

    Personally, I love seeing people suggest George Lucas has NO RIGHT to tell HIS STORY the way HE WANTS IT because IT BELONGS TO THE FANS!!! Or some such bollocks like that.

    He didn't tell the story you want. Get over it. Go swoon over Russel T Davies if you want a sci-fi writer who panders to the fandom over telling a half-decent story.

  • Marshall2008 #37 3 years ago

    Can't see how Lucas can fuck this up. Its all digital actors so he should be right at home.
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/09 @ 02:40

  • Freek #38 3 years ago

    Yes, he invented it, then he ran out of ideas and started to mess with it in ways that were unwise. He had the money to do what ever wanted adn that led to allot bad creative decisions.

    It's time for him to retire and let other people handel Star Wars now.

    And that doesn't mean it "belongs to the fans" or that the fans can do it better, it simply means Lucas isn't as good as he used to be anymore.
    He has every right to tell the stories he wants, but that doesn't mean he is free from criticism or that his recent creations in the Star Wars universe are any good.
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/09 @ 10:05

  • Darkjinxter #39 3 years ago

    @ spacemidget75
    Yes I simplified it, you cant write all that many words in a forum post. You also simplified it by stating Lucas wouldn't be swayed by a bunch of nerds flaming Jar Jar Binks and refusing to buy into his appearance in the followup.
    Lucas you see is not the only one who influences Star Wars movies, there's a whole bunch of money men who, fearing the fans will desert if Jar Jar continues would run scared of investing in the sequel....Hence forcing Lucas' hand.
    And don't try the 'Lucas could have funded the entire thing himself' retort. being worth 500mil is quite different to actually having 500mil.

  • Orange #40 3 years ago

    Well actually Lucas heavily borrowed from Kurosawa for theoriginal Star Wars, the superior sequels were then made by other people.

  • Creasy #41 3 years ago

    Well, it looks like shit already, so it doesn't really matter.
    Ya, I know it's Bioware.. blahblah.. and yes, the story part sounds awesome... But the presentation is just so ugly as hell.
    Anyway, to the one bashing Ewoks... Ewoks were cool... The only thing bad are the first 3 SW movies.

  • levitate #42 3 years ago

    Keep him the f*ck away from the game!

  • Repsode #43 3 years ago

    "Go swoon over Russel T Davies if you want a sci-fi writer who panders to the fandom over telling a half-decent story."

    So I guess you didn't watch Torchwood:Children of Earth this week then? Because as true as that statement usually is I think RTD may surprise you with that one.

  • levitate #44 3 years ago

    It's funny how the best Star Wars books were written by someone other than Luucas.

    Yes, two u:s. If you know your Star Wars you know the reason to it.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #45 3 years ago

    @Darkjinxter

    I didn't simplify anything. I disagreed with your statement that The Internet ruined the prequels and explained it in as much detail as necessary.

    Phantom Menace was below the originals (IMHO obviously) BEFORE the fans got on the internet and flamed as you say. He did what HE wanted to do, as is his right, and lots of us didn't think they were as good as they could have been. That's all.

    Nothing to do with the internet vitriol which didn't exist until we saw the first mess!

    EVEN if he did listen to the fans for the other two, as I mentioned before, none of those things are really what fans have issues with. As much as I might think it stupid that R2 can fly (as an example) its not a deal breaker. Poor dialogue, terrible direction of the actors, some iffy choices in casting and an over use of CG had far more of an effect on the film. How exactly did the fans fuck those things up??
    Edited by 1 at 13/07/09 @ 12:46

  • DrMGinius #46 3 years ago

    Its Lucas? George Lucas? I dindnīt knew people hated him.

    Freek said:
    Yes, he invented it, then he ran out of ideas and started to mess with it in ways that were unwise. He had the money to do what ever wanted adn that led to allot bad creative decisions.

    Thats very similar to what I feel of World of Warcraft and Blizzard; they created a stuff I loved, then messed it up.

    When the "new" Star Wars series, the 3-D animated ones, showed up, and I saw Jar-Jar, I was like... "why did they put Jar-Jar? everybody hates him! they make a new thing and make a wrong decision again?" I dont know if Lucas was involved, tought (or however you spell it)

  • actionfitz #47 3 years ago

    "Lucas "involved" in Star Wars MMO"

    am I the only whose blood chills reading that?
    heh.

    George: 'hmm, looks good and all... but I think it needs more Jar jar and muppets...'