Building a New Legacy with ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’

In 2010, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II hit shelves to mixed reviews. It would be another nine years until players had another chance to get their hands on a lightsaber-wielding Force-sensitive.

After a long wait (and an arduous development cycle), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order launched to critical success. Players not only had the chance to play as a Jedi once again, but they even got to choose their blade colors. 

But what made that development cycle so challenging? What follows is a look at what happened behind the scenes at Respawn Entertainment during the game’s creation and marketing.

Respawn Entertainment

A Short History

In 2010, game designers Jason West and Vince Zampella sought to form their own independent studio after being fired from Infinity Ward earlier that year. After making a name for itself with well-known games like Apex Legends and Titanfall, Youtinians may recall their excitement when Respawn announced a brand new third-person Star Wars game on May the Fourth, 2016. Further elation followed after Fallen Order’s full reveal at E3 2018.

Respawn Entertainment

Development Timeline

Stig Asmussen, who had worked on the God of War series, came on board a secondary team effort separate from the Titanfall franchise called Project Bird Dog. Initially, it was supposed to be a melee-based combat game distinct from Star Wars.

When executives from Electronic Arts (EA, which had acquired Respawn in 2017) saw it, they suggested turning it into a Star Wars game. After Lucasfilm signed off on the project, by 2016 the team was ironing out (and presumably Star Wars-ifying) major game features and story beats. 

By the end of 2016, Respawn provided stakeholders with a first batch of vertical slices, essentially a proof of concept to demonstrate that the money committed to the project was actually going somewhere. 

Respawn marked October 2017 for full production, when the gametransitioned from conceptual work and prototyping to an all-hands-on-deck effort. By February 2019, the team had to lock in which features could make it to the end of development on time as Respawn prepared for the sprint toward the finish line near the end of 2019.

Respawn Entertainment

Earning a Jedi’s Saber - and Their Keep

Developing a video game is never easy, and is always a collaborative effort. Working with an existing property, especially one as big as Star Wars, is both thrilling and, understandably, scrutinized for the most minute details.

We’ve heard from various creators that while working on a Star Wars project is a dream come true, it can be limiting as the Lucasfilm Star Wars Story Group's job is to ensure consistency and mitigate continuity errors. Working with the keepers of Star Wars lore inherently makes for better stories and a more cohesive galaxy. Still, it certainly is a lot to keep track of even when one is just pitching ideas.

At first, the team was encouraged to reuse the elements of their original game idea to create a shooter featuring a smuggler protagonist. But Asmussen’s team simply wasn’t built to create a third-person shooter. Furthermore, a massive, identifying element of Star Wars wouldn’t leave the narrative pitches, concept art, or whispers around the office: the lightsaber. (But if you’re looking for a smuggler-based shooter, check out Star Wars Outlaws from Ubisoft.)

Folks at Respawn have gone on record in multiple cases to say the team essentially had to earn the right to use the lightsaber in their game, much like the Jedi before them. Fortunately, as the relationship between the team and Lucasfilm developed, it became more collaborative. As the narrative developed, the lightsaber became even more integral to the story, gameplay mechanics, environments, and level designs. 

Finally, the game went from simply looking like Star Wars to truly integrating Force users and, ultimately, incorporating "Jedi" into the title.

Respawn Entertainment

Influences & Inspirations

I’ve written before about how visuals and art direction are integral to Star Wars's identity, when it comes to an interactive medium, that becomes more important than ever as gamers crave that immersion while they traverse familiar worlds like Dathomir or find secrets in new places like Zeffo.

The game's aesthetics were heavily inspired by Rebels and Rogue One, which take place around the same time as Fallen Order’s story. The grittiness that especially permeates that space between the rise of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance’s humble origins was a touchstone for the art team, especially as Rogue One had just released during the development cycle.

As for the level design and gameplay mechanics, anyone well-versed in video games likely recognizes the nonlinear metroidvania-style progression, following the example of the Soulsborne games franchise. Pieces of the environments are inaccessible for one reason or another until the player progresses enough to earn some form of upgrade. Maybe that’s a particular Force ability or piece of equipment. It doesn’t matter how close you get to the edge of something: if you don't have the double jump skill yet, you really, really won’t make it over that gap on Bogano. Trust me.

Leaning more into Soulsborne inspiration, the slick combat maneuvers the team was justifiably stoked to show off at EA Play feel almost like a dance. It was almost intimidating: I’ll admit, I was hesitant to pick up this game mostly because I know myself. I play Bloodborne for the aesthetic. Do you think I’ve beaten it even once since 2015? Please.

But Fallen Order features variable difficulty settings. While the intricate movesets and parrying remain the same, those openings remain open longer for those who need less punishing combat, and I think that really echoes the idea that Star Wars is for everyone. Respawn wanted to create a Jedi game for anyone, and it feels more possible when I can actually beat a boss in less than three tries. (Please don’t talk to me about Spawn of Oggdo in Jedi Survivor.)

Respawn Entertainment

EA Play and E3

The timeline above shows about a three-year span from conception to realization, which is pretty short for a major video game's development. And for all the praises the game received upon launch, its publicity run didn’t exactly go as planned.

The idea behind the gameplay shared at EA Play was to show off the lightsaber combat the team worked so hard to earn and the slick traversal through the breathtaking world of Kashyyyk. While this showed how maneuvers differed from what gamers had previously played, it also led to temporary confusion regarding the narrative and level design.

Fortunately, the E3 demo came mere days later, and those who saw it understood better than anyone else just how special this game would be. Respawn left the beloved expo with several Best of E3 awards.

Respawn Entertainment

Legacy

As we know, after some fun marketing including Cameron Monaghan and Mark Hamill, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was met with critical success, leading to a sequel titled Jedi Survivor. A third game is in the works at the time of writing. A novel set between Fallen Order and Survival explains much of what happened between games, as the sequel drops players in media res. Cal has been mentioned in comics, hundreds of videos and soundscapes capture the series’ ambience, and even a scale replica LEGO BD-1 has captured the hearts of many brick enthusiasts.

After years of waiting, Jedi Fallen Order was exactly what fans needed, even if they didn’t realize or expect it. A strong narrative that built out already expansive lore, coupled with intricate mechanics and environmental puzzles, made players feel like a Force user in ways previous iterations and technology simply couldn’t. 

So that’s the good and bad of it: the light and the dark sides to developing an award-winning game are fraught with both the tension of high-stakes collaboration and, when it goes right, pride in a job well done.

Perhaps most importantly, however, are the companions we meet along the way… and I don’t mean BD-1.

Respawn Entertainment