On October 17, 2017 it was announced that EA would be shutting down Visceral Games and that the Star Wars game they were developing would be getting completely rehashed. But what could it have been?
Kotaku’s Jason Schreier recently released an article which compiled anonymous interviews from many of the staff at Visceral Games that were working on the unannounced Star Wars game. The information they gave not only shed more light on the trials and tribulations they faced heading into their eventual shutdown, but game a glimpse of what the game was shaping up to be.
Their game was titled Star Wars Ragtag. It would focus on a group of misfit space pirates, set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Gameplay wise, the game aimed to be the Star Wars cross of Uncharted and Oceans Eleven.
Instead of revolving around Jedi powers and the force Ragtag’s biggest theme was sabotage. Players would have their characters find a way to manipulate environments and divert enemies non violently. They’d also be given control over multiple characters, each with different abilities and personalities that best fit given situations.
The lead protagonist would have been Dodger, Ragtag’s version of Han Solo, who fought alongside a gunslinger named Robie (and Dodger’s partner in crime), Ooana, the daughter of a mob boss, and the crews mentor and leader Buck. Exact powers for each character weren’t entirely specified, but it was revealed that they would have their own AI minds and abilities when you weren’t controlling them.
Earlier gameplay demos for the game showed off gameplay that involved the group getting chased by an AT-ST walker, getting into a shootout on the desert planet Tatooine, and embark on a rescue mission within the dungeons of Jabba’s palace. The overall plot of Ragtag would have focused on the impact and repercussions Alderaan’s destruction had, telling a story about criminal families, scoundrels, and action-packed heists.
For more information on why this beautifully ambition game never came to fruition, read the full piece written by Jason Scheirer linked above. And be sure to check back to the site for updates as well as all of your other Nerdy News and Needs!