Star Wars Eclipse, the upcoming action-adventure game from developer Quantic Dream set in the beloved Star Wars universe, promises to deliver a gameplay experience unlike any other Star Wars title to date. Recently, developers from Quantic Dream revealed some intriguing new details about Eclipse’s narrative structure and how player choices will impact the story.
Unlike most Star Wars games, Eclipse will not have a traditional “game over” and any character could potentially meet their demise regardless of the player’s performance. This high stakes approach gives Eclipse the potential to tell a truly unique Star Wars story.
Eclipse’s High Stakes Approach
Star Wars Eclipse, the upcoming action-adventure game from developer Quantic Dream set in the beloved Star Wars universe, promises to deliver a gameplay experience unlike any other Star Wars title to date. Recently, developers from Quantic Dream revealed some intriguing new details about Eclipse’s narrative structure and how player choices will impact the story.
Unlike most Star Wars games, Eclipse will not have a traditional “game over” and any character could potentially meet their demise regardless of the player’s performance. This high stakes approach gives Eclipse the potential to tell a truly unique Star Wars story.
Eclipse’s Exploration of the High Republic Era
Eclipse takes place during the High Republic era, hundreds of years before the Skywalker saga. This golden age for the Jedi and Galactic Republic provides a rarely explored setting within the expansive Star Wars timeline. Players will take on the role of multiple characters as they adventure across the Outer Rim during a critical moment in the High Republic’s history.
While Eclipse embraces action-focused gameplay compared to Quantic Dream’s previous narrative adventure titles like Heavy Rain, developers have stressed the game will retain quintessential Quantic Dream elements such as branching storylines and consequential player choices.
Eclipse’s Branching Storylines and Consequential Choices
In a recent interview, Quantic Dream vice president Lisa Pendse divulged a radically different design philosophy for Eclipse’s campaign – there is no definitive “game over” state. No matter how badly the player performs in encounters or makes story decisions, the overarching narrative will adapt and continue forward. If a player’s character perishes in battle, the story adapts around their death rather than outright ending.
Likewise, narrative branches closed off by poor choices will still allow the tale to progress through alternate paths. This diverges greatly from most video game campaigns which end or reload a checkpoint upon dying or missing key objectives.
Eclipse’s Absence of Failure States and Its Impact on Star Wars Storytelling
Within the Star Wars license, this absence of failure states is unprecedented. Most Star Wars games provide a definitive end when all playable characters perish in combat or critical plot points are missed. Knights of the Old Republic remains one of the few exceptions with multiple potential endings dictated by narrative choices.
By refusing to halt the story no matter the circumstances, Eclipse gambles on maintaining escalating stakes without punishing failure or exploration. Characters the player grows attached to could meet their demise at any moment, changing the direction of the plot. This high wire act aims to craft an experience that responds dynamically to both player skill and story preference.
Eclipse’s Development Controversy and the Road Ahead
However, Eclipse’s development does not come without controversy for Quantic Dream. In 2018, reports detailed accounts of poor workplace conditions, including allegations of toxic crunch culture, sexist jokes and harassment. Quantic Dream denied many of these claims but was engulfed in legal battles with former employees for years.
While these lawsuits have concluded, the studio still works to regain trust following such damning reports. For Eclipse, Quantic Dream must prove its practices and company culture have reformed if the game hopes to find widespread commercial success. But if the developers can leverage their ambitious narrative vision while reforming studio practices, Eclipse may help usher in a new era for both Quantic Dream and Star Wars gaming.
Conclusion
Only time will tell if Quantic Dream can rise to the lofty challenge of crafting a Star Wars experience with no true victory or failure states. By refusing to halt the overarching story no matter the circumstances, Eclipse takes bold strides toward interactive narrative that responds to, rather than punishes, the player.
Within the structured confines of the Star Wars universe, such radical malleability poses a puzzle over what details remain concrete.
But if executed deftly, Eclipse could pave the way for Star Wars stories more shaped by player choice than ever before. Fans will be keeping a close eye on Eclipse’s development as it aims to tell a High Republic tale like no other within the iconic science fiction saga.
However, Eclipse’s development does not come without controversy for Quantic Dream. In 2018, reports detailed accounts of poor workplace conditions, including allegations of toxic crunch culture, sexist jokes and harassment. Quantic Dream denied many of these claims but was engulfed in legal battles with former employees for years.
While these lawsuits have concluded, the studio still works to regain trust following such damning reports. For Eclipse, Quantic Dream must prove its practices and company culture have reformed if the game hopes to find widespread commercial success.
But if the developers can leverage their ambitious narrative vision while reforming studio practices, Eclipse may help usher in a new era for both Quantic Dream and Star Wars gaming.
