GDC 08: PS3 version of The Force Unleashed the hardest to develop, says LucasArts

More news coming right at you direct from this year’s Game Developers Conference, and this time it’s about the difficulties of making a multiplatform game – specifically, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, DS) from LucasArts. There’s also the deal with the developing team feeling a bit cramped about ESRB ratings, too. So hit the full article to find out more.

Developing a single title is hard enough, but what about making that same title but with six drastically-different versions? That’s got to be quite the feat, and in this news update direct from GDC about Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, DS) , Project Lead Haden Blackman talks about the difficulties of making a multiplatform title. Specifically, the difficulties they’re having with ESRB rating issues, as well as those they had with the PS3 version.

First up, the deal with the ratings. Haden Blackman complained that they weren’t able to do everything that they wanted – in terms of carnage and going all-out with the Force – as they had to keep things mostly clean for the Teen rating. Remember the Rancor blowing up from within? Yeah, they weren’t able to do that, either. But not to worry, as he reassures that even with the violence restrictions, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is all about “kicking someone’s ass with the Force.”

As for the difficulties in making a multiplatform game, Haden Blackman has this to say: “It really turned out to be a long, slow battle to get everything working on PS3.”

He didn’t quite specify just what made developing the PS3 version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but he did say that he had no regrets about the development team’s vision and ambitions in regards to the title, and the game itself is nearing completion on all platforms. So whatever those difficulties were, it’s a safe bet that they’re already resolved. Here’s hoping.