Exclusive LEGO Star Wars interview: TT Games’ Jonathan Smith

In this exclusive interview, TT Games’ Jonathan Smith chats to Brick Fanatics about the company’s almost 20-year history developing LEGO Star Wars video games.

TT Games has been creating licensed LEGO video games since 2005, with titles based on the likes of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Marvel, Batman, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean and many more proving to be huge hits. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the LEGO Star Wars theme, TT Games’ Strategic Director, Jonathan Smith, spoke exclusively to Brick Fanatics about the company’s almost 20-year journey through a galaxy far, far away…

Can you tell us a little about how the initial idea for LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game came about?

Hello! It’s fantastic to be able to celebrate the work we’ve done at TT over so many years; we feel extremely privileged to have been able to contribute to the incredible success of LEGO Star Wars. I was part of the team working at the LEGO Company back in 2002 on a “new generation” of LEGO games, partnering with the world’s finest developers to bring LEGO characters to life in fun new ways. Tom Stone (Managing Director of TT Games until 2020) was in charge of “LEGO Interactive”, as the group was called; it was he who first suggested that we could add Star Wars into the mix. The first LEGO sets tying in with The Phantom Menace had proved very successful. Everyone’s imagination was immediately captured by the opportunity to use LEGO Star Wars characters, and the stories of the movies, as the foundations for our first big release.

Were there any specific challenges you faced when creating LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game?

The team at Traveller’s Tales put together an initial demo of the first few steps of gameplay on the Trade Federation Battleship, which was nothing less than magnificent – perfectly capturing the graphical and animation style of the game – and that set a really clear direction for development. Incorporating the storyline and action of Episode III was certainly a challenge though, as that movie was still being made while we were working on the game!

Were you surprised at all by the success of LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game?

You didn’t have quite the same level of intense consolidated instant feedback to a game launch in 2005 as you do today. All our sales were physical, not digital; while we could see some people liked the game in early reviews, it took a while before the re-orders started to flow through from retailers. It became gradually apparent through the year that the game was going to be a hit. And of course we were absolutely delighted, because it meant that we’d be able to continue the adventure with additional LEGO games!

The release of LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars in 2007 coincided with TT Games being bought by the Warner Bros. Entertainment company (now Warner Bros. Games). How do you feel that acquisition has changed TT Games?

We were delighted to be able to team up with Warner Bros. Games and look back now on many years of success together. Not only have they executed brilliantly on the publishing side of the operation, but they’ve supported our growth both practically, financially and with unwavering support for the creativity of our teams.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the most successful LSW video game to date. Were you surprised by how well-received the title was?

We’d put so much work into the game and we were proud of what it represented. But of course you can never be sure how any new release is going to be received. We’d had to delay the launch a couple of times, and everyone was still emerging from the experience of having to deal with all the various impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. So we didn’t have a clear sense of what people were going to say about the game. We were truly delighted by the response – everything we hoped for!

How challenging was it to complete development of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga during the COVID-19 pandemic?

We were fantastically well-supported by the Warner Bros. Games organisation and our IT groups, and everyone pulled together to make the transition to remote working almost seamless. Like everyone else, we all had a lot to deal with during that time, both as a business and as individuals; it made everything harder. But we learned and adjusted; and came through as a team.

What aspects of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga are you most proud of?

We’re proud of everything! The action; the humour; the authenticity; the secrets… we had bold ambitions for the game and were so pleased to see it all come together. The whole story, across all nine films; every planet, beautifully brought to life; so many characters, creatures and ships. That combination of broad scope and scrupulous attention to detail!

How important do you feel humour is in a LEGO Star Wars video game?

Completely unimportant. Only joking! It’s very important.

Thanks to Jonathan Smith, TT Games and Warner Bros. Games for their assistance with this interview. For more interactive entertainment from a galaxy far, far away, be sure to check out our complete history of LEGO Star Wars video games to date right here.

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