Dark Forces
The Empire has just developed the ultimate weapon, the Death Star, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. It’s vital that Rebel forces obtain secret plans for this station—and you are the Rebel spy the Alliance has sent in to do the job.
In Dark Forces, a brand new character is introduced into the Star Wars fantasy…YOU. Finding the plans to the Death Star is only your first mission. After you’ve handed them over to the Rebel leaders, the familiar Star Wars characters continue on their trilogy while you branch off into your own Star Wars adventure, complete with all-new missions.
After securing the plans, you uncover another despicable plot by the Empire. It turns out there’s a secret facility somewhere in the galaxy where a new army is being created, an army of deadly mechanized stormtroopers that are unlimited in number and impervious to pain: dark troopers.
As your missions progress, you explore 14 different worlds, each with a distinct look and feel in terms of its architecture, graphics, and attention to detail. Dark Forces project leader Daron Stinnett notes, "the worlds extend out in all directions. There are elevators to take you to multiple floors, bridges over flowing water, catwalks, air shafts, and other architectural features. We wanted an active environment, so ships come and go at flight decks, rivers sweep along, platforms and conveyor belts move, and much of the machinery functions."
Dark Forces’ Jedi Engine is a new, proprietary system developed internally by LucasArts. The Jedi Engine supports full 3D objects, a realistic lighting model, atmospheric effects (haze, fog, etc.), gouraud shading, animating textures, 3D viewing angles, and more. Lead programmer Ray Gresko states that working on this complex 3D engine was "one of my personal favorite accomplishments."
These interactive environments are inhabited by a whole slew of Star Wars characters, some new and some very familiar. Dark Forces lead artist/co-writer Justin Chin states, "many of the enemies are from the movies — Boba Fett, Gamorrean guards, the interrogation droid Leia encountered in the detention center, and the creature in the trash compactor — just to name a few." As for the loathsome dark troopers, Chin wanted something unique. "Instead of just beefing up the stormtroopers, I designed dark troopers to be more efficient. I wanted something more terrifying and more omnipotent—something that would be used by the Imperial Army as a first-strike weapon."
Gresko designed all the enemies’ artificial intelligence. "They’re sort of my deadly children," says Gresko. "I teach them how to walk, attack, and use weapons."
Battling this battalion will take quick reflexes and superior aim. You’ll have nine weapons (plus your fists) at your disposal. Your arsenal can consist of laser pistols, thermal detonators, fusion cutters, and other arms you find or take from the enemy. Gresko remarks, "I wanted the weapons to be as real as possible, so in some rooms you will see lasers ricochet off walls."
Dark Forces was painstakingly crafted with tools created by programmer Winston Wolff. "My primary objective was to give the artists flexibility and power in the way they design the environments," states Wolff. "That’s why in Dark Forces, you’ll see rooms, chambers, halls, and outdoor areas with unique shapes, textures, and lighting. No two rooms will ever look alike."
The team also wanted to separate Dark Forces from other first person "shooter" games by adding large doses of strategy. The game features logic puzzles, as well as strategic timing scenarios. For instance, you must discover ways to extend bridges, rotate walls, or otherwise manipulate your environment. And most important of all, this actions runs very fast and smoothly at a brisk 30 frames per second.
During game play, your alter-ego is extremely maneuverable. In addition to having 360 degree rotation, he can look up and down and execute enhanced movements such as jumping, ducking, and crawling. In addition to your physical agility, you have other tools to assist you during your dangerous missions. You have use of a Personal Digital Assistant for easy access to briefings, as well as a Heads-Up Display for statues evaluation and an auto-mapping function for quick location reference. The mapping function will come in very handy when trying to navigate the multi-layered, extensive locales of the game.
Stinnett sums it all up: "One of the greatest things about Dark Forces is that it’s part action, part adventure, and part exploration. It’s not just about finding important or secret rooms and blowing away enemies. You can actually check out things you’ve seen in the movies." Now players can look forward to running through a Star Destroyer or hanging out in Jabba the Hutt’s palace.
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