Travellers Tales and LucasArts let the public play The Force!
Feel and Play The Force at GameCity (www.gamecity.org). Visitors to the world's most exciting game festival are to be the first in the world get their hands on the Wii lightsaber, in LucasArts' Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga re-mastered and shown in glorious HD.
Since the first film's debut 30 years ago, fans have longed for the day when they could fight their own lightsaber duels. Now, thanks to the Wii's motion-sensitive controller, The Complete Saga will finally make that fantasy a reality, allowing players to battle with thrusts and slices of the Remote. GameCity is thrilled to give gamers a chance to be the first in the world to see and try the lightsaber first-hand in a worldwide exclusive premier of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for Wii.
This global premier is part of GameCity's Play The Force – a celebration of the rich heritage that games share with the Star Wars phenomenon. That legacy - thirty years, six films, and billions of dollars - is enormous, and throughout those decades games have been an integral part of the Star Wars universe. More than 120 of them have tried – with varying degrees of success – to bring the different elements of Lucas's world to life.
And so, 26th October is Star Wars day at GameCity. The festival is thrilled to be able to welcome Jonathan Smith, of developer Travellers Tales and visionary behind the Lego Star Wars phenomenon, which has brought all six films to life with the tiny, clunky charisma only Lego can bring. Presenting the complete saga of the games' development, and explaining the secret behind their prodigious success, this session will be an exceptional opportunity to see behind the scenes of a game that delighted critics and consumers alike.
Please note: this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – limited tickets are available. Go online and buy your tickets NOW – once they're sold there won't be anymore! www.gamecity.org
Following on from Smith's symposium is a session that gets to the heart of the question that all those not-so-stellar Star Wars games raise: just why is it so hard to get it right? 'What Makes A Brilliant Star Wars Game' brings together gaming experts and Star Wars specialists to hammer out the formula for the perfect Star Wars game. Is it the lightsabers? Is it the music? Is it the X-wings? Join Wonderland's Alice Taylor, and sci-fi expert Jonathan Hamblin to find out.
30 years on from the release of the original film, science - the science behind games, at least - has caught up with science fiction. GameCity is proud to showcase 'Euphoria', Natural Motion's on-the-fly dynamic motion synthesis engine which dynamically generates the movements of your character in-game. Rather than being limited by animations prepared in advance by the game's designers, Euphoria means that no two jumps, no two punches, no two KOs need ever be the same again. Already showcased to great effect in the upcoming Indiana Jones game, Euphoria will also play a key part in the new Star Wars extravaganza. Come along and see how your actions will shape the games of the future.
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga – 12pm, 26th October. Broadway Cinema and Media Centre
What Makes A Brilliant Star Wars Game? – 1pm, 26th October, Broadway Cinema and Media Centre
Euphoria: Physics of the Force – 2pm, 26th October, Broadway Cinema and Media Centre