LucasArts debuted a trailer for The Force Unleashed II - a game I’m currently working on, alongside a ridiculously talented team - this past Saturday on the Spike TV VGA 09 broadcast. The announcement was followed by a press release and the launch of the official web site, where you can find the trailer and a powerful piece of key art. I can only confirm what’s in the press release and the trailer: Starkiller, the tortured protagonist from the original game, is back… And I’m thrilled to see him in action again.
A few months ago, I did an interview with X360 Magazine about the experience writing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and storytelling in games in general. The material is being used for two separate articles on scriptwriting and storytelling, but the full transcript of the interview has been posted in two parts on the X360 site. Follow the links for Part One and Part Two. Thanks to Sam Roberts for providing some great questions!
The "goodbye kiss" between Juno and the Apprentice was one of the most difficult to write and produce.
I recently had the privilege of writing a short ”Ask the Expert” <looks over shoulder> piece for Storylink. While you’re there, be sure to read the more insightful Q&A with Simon Kinberg, screenwriter for X-Men: Last Stand, Jumper, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and the upcoming Sherlock Holmes flick. His writing process is especially interesting, but my favorite quote covers the heart of story:
I really believe all good stories start from the same place: interesting characters in an emotionally charged situation. For me, the difference between drama and genre is this: in dramas, you have relatable characters in a relatable situation, whereas in genre films you have relatable characters in an unrelatable situation (fighting ghosts or robots or giant sharks, etc…). But you have to relate to the characters.
And then read the interview with non-stop Jimmy Palmiotti!
“It’s as simple as having a planet of fire … and you want to keep the characters from burning.”
There’s an interview with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who wrote Transformers and the recent Star Trek reboot (along with a ton of other stuff), over at Storylink. One bit of advice I’d pull out and add to the techniques for unwrapping the dead fish:
Here’s one trick we use sometimes with writers block. You can get so critical of yourself, thinking you have to write the scene perfectly the first time, but actually you don’t. You are going to write it many times… Sometimes it’s a fun mental exercise when you are stuck to actually try and write the worst version of a scene you can think of. That way, it takes the critic off your shoulder and … you get something down on paper. Then you can go back and make it better and better.
