Force Unleashed maker on why he walked
It wasn't "dissatisfaction" - Blackman.
Haden Blackman, the man who created and then walked away from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, has made himself a new home: Fearless Studio.
And he made it not because of "dissatisfaction" with employer of 15 years LucasArts, but because he wanted to make his own Star Wars.
"My father has only given me a handful of advice in my lifetime. One when I took the LucasArts job was, 'Make sure you don't ever give up writing your own stuff or designing your own games.' It's because he knew that at the end of the day I don't ultimately control the destiny of where Star Wars goes, and I want something that I have more control over - and beyond that, to be able to try my hand at something new," Blackman explained to Gamasutra.
"I really want to build big, story-driven action games," he added. "And I'm a big horror buff; I would love to do a horror game. That's kind of where our head-space is at right there."
"The reason we left wasn't dissatisfaction with LucasArts or the changes that happened there recently."
Blackman's departure from LucasArts raised a lot of questions. First there were reports of follow-on game The Force Unleashed III being scrapped (although that's now back on), then the PSP version of The Force Unleashed II was binned. And after that, Blackman left. The general consensus was that things weren't right at LucasArts HQ.
So, Haden Blackman's new comments contradict those murmurings of internal strife at George Lucas' quiff palace. Or do they? Even his jovial chat with Gamasutra talks about how he and business partner Cedrick Collomb are hoping to establish "an environment where you're not micromanaged".
"I believe very strongly that I've done my best work when I've had a sense of autonomy - when I felt like I was making decisions on my own and had an opportunity to master my craft," Blackman expanded. "[And] in an organization where I had a sense of purpose, where I was working on something that I felt was bigger than just me."
Blackman and Collomb (sounds like Gollum) are aiming at hiring roughly 50 people to make what will probably be "a big console title".
Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II - a game Blackman had time to finish before he walked - approaches a 29th October release. There's a demo out now on PS3 and Xbox 360. The game's also in development for DS, PC and Wii.