Everything Amy Hennig's Star Wars Game Can Borrow From Uncharted
Amy Hennig is once again set to develop a Star Wars game, and the experience she garnered from her acclaimed work on the Uncharted series might be able to translate to this new, untitled project. The galaxy prone to space operas created by George Lucas is a much different setting than the Earth-bound, treasure hunting adventures of Naughty Dog's games, but the Star Wars universe is wildly varied, with plenty of room for Hennig's expertise to be put to use. Hennig's canceled Star Wars project, which was under development at Visceral Games before the studio was closed, isn't necessarily Uncharted in space, but broad similarities show how Hennig might stick to what has worked for her previously.
After serving as writer and creative director for the first three Uncharted games, Hennig moved to Electronic Arts and was working on a now canceled Star Wars game that emulated the films. Known only as Project Ragtag, it was envisioned to be about an interplanetary heist sometime after the events of Episode IV: A New Hope. The ambitious game would have been told from multiple perspectives, much like the Star Wars movies, bringing the cast together and letting the player experience multiple facets of the heist.
The Uncharted games are a bit like heist stories at times, but Hennig envisioned something more grand for Project Ragtag, telling IGN in 2019 that the key was an ensemble cast, rather than a singular focus on one protagonist like Nathan Drake. Although Hennig left Naughty Dog in 2014, The Lost Legacy proves that her writing can support multiple characters worthy of the spotlight. She was likely a major contributor to Chloe Frazer's character, who as the protagonist of The Lost Legacy showed that the Uncharted series doesn't need Nathan Drake to succeed. Hennig's speciality is linear, narrative-driven games, and Star Wars could benefit from an Uncharted-like experience.
Amy Hennig's past comments about wanting Project Ragtag to be like the Star Wars movies will hopefully apply to this new game at Skydance New Media. With conflicts that have ramifications throughout the galaxy, Star Wars frequently has impressive sequences and set pieces, and the cinematic quality of Uncharted shows how such excitement can be translated to an interactive medium. The opening of Uncharted 2, with a train dangling from a cliff, and the cargo plane scenes in Uncharted 3 are great examples of high-octane segments that are possible in narrative-driven games. If Amy Hennig's newly announced Star Wars game does keep the ensemble cast approach from Project Ragtag, action sequences could be incredibly varied, highlighting many different galactic locales both new and familiar.
That same hope for an ensemble cast could also result in something rarely seen in Star Wars - grounded, common folk characters. Star Wars in all its forms tends to focus on Force users and the biggest names from the most prominent conflicts, but Project Ragtag piqued the interest by featuring characters that had relatable motivations, wanting to strike back at the Empire somehow following the destruction of Alderaan. The fantastical treasure hunting in Uncharted necessitates some inhuman feats on Drake's part, but he's just an orphaned kid who eventually retires as a salvage diver. Uncharted's Elena Fisher, who deserves a bigger role, is similarly just a journalist who gets pulled into historic adventures. Star Wars doesn't always have to be about the Chosen One or a Jedi in hiding escaping from the Imperial Inquisitors. Uncharted shows that Amy Hennig and Skydance New Media's upcoming game could feature more grounded characters coming together to pull off incredible accomplishments.
Source: IGN