TT Games talks comedy in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

The developers behind LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga have discussed one of the title’s biggest challenges: redoing the humour from the original games.

When LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game redefined the landscape of LEGO gaming in 2005, it did so by retelling stories we’re all familiar with through grunts, gestures and visual comedy. That first game and its sequel, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, delivered countless moments of memorable humour across all six films.

Think Darth Vader revealing his paternity to Luke through a photo of a pregnant Padmé; Luke performing gymnastics above the Sarlacc pit; or Obi-Wan blowing smoke from the barrel of his blaster after destroying General Grievous. They’re all great character moments that remind you you’re not just playing a Star Wars game, but a LEGO Star Wars game.

For LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, the dev team at TT Games had the chance to bring that comedic energy to The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker for the first time – but they also had the unenviable challenge of revisiting the first seven mainline films and presenting them in new and different ways.

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We already know that urge to make the new title sit distinct from its predecessors will feed into the levels from each film – there will reportedly be a focus on moments we haven’t played before – but according to cinematic animation director Dave Brown, it’ll also be evident in the game’s cutscenes and humour.

“There are, of course, a vast range of comedic takes on the Star Wars films, but we always try to create new material,” he told GamesRadar. “Although it can be hard, you sometimes think you’ve come up with a new idea only to find it’s been done. There are naturally scenes that have been featured in these previous games, but none of these have been reworked, they are all new content.”

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The key difference between the original LEGO Star Wars games – including 2007’s The Complete Saga, which brought together the first two titles in one neat package – and The Skywalker Saga is that TT Games now uses dialogue in place of those classic grunts (although there will be a mumble mode for those so nostalgically-inclined).

2016’s LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens already includes dialogue, but this is the first time we’ll have seen any of the prequel or original trilogy movies played out in LEGO form with lines from their respective films. And for Brown, that’s opened plenty of doors in developing LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

“The move to using dialogue has meant that we can tell a lot more of the story than we used to, and it allows us to play with the interactions between characters a lot more than we did previously,” he explained. While the execution may be different, however, Brown says the team’s ‘core take on humour remains the same’.

“The characters in our games fully believe that they are the characters from the films, they react in serious and authentic ways, and then we add physical and visual twists to create humour,” he added.

“As with LEGO itself, there is an expectation to remain authentic to the source material, but to push the fun. We believe it’s really important to remain true to the characters and the story itself, so that the game is an authentic experience, while going as zany as we can within that world.”

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga launches on April 5. Click here for our guide to pre-ordering the game, including all the different versions available and the platforms you’ll be able to play the game on.

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Author Profile

Chris Wharfe
I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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