Star Wars: Droid Works

The game was developed by Lucas Learning, which was originally created to produce consumer products but was re-imagined as a developer of direct-to-school products in the fall of 1998.[4][5] Star Wars: DroidWorks was the first title from Lucas Learning and eventually became one of a series of Star Wars games to be released as edutainment titles.[5] This game marked George Lucas' first foray into the edutainment market.[3] Lucas' directive to the company was to design a game that would allow players to explore and create in a manner similar to playing with Erector Sets and Lego.[6] DroidWorks was only one out of a total of 175 titles created by third-party software developers for the newly launched iMac.[7] Susan Schilling, the general manager of Lucas Learning, and Clent Richardson, the senior director of worldwide developer relations at Apple Computer, agreed that the Apple Mac was the best platform for the game.[8]

The game was initially conceived by project leader, Collette Michaud, who pitched a game where players could design their own Star Wars droid and watch them move.[6] As the game shifted toward a physics-based educational puzzle game mid-development, resources were redirected accordingly. Susan Schilling said that DroidWorks did not require the player to use bombs or guns, noting that the only weapon required is the player's mind.[9] The team made a concerted effort to make the game equally appealing to all children; recent research had shown that children liked interactive software and to "make their own story", so the team wanted the program to encourage learning about math, science, and computers.[9] It would be the player's decisions and curiosity that would ultimately lead to his or her success.[10] In a press release, Lucas Learning described DroidWorks as a "unique combination of construction set and strategy game".[11] The development team consulted with both a kid advisory group and subject matter experts to make the game appealing to young players and scientifically accurate.[6]

The game uses audio tracks similar to those from the film series and includes clips from the original Star Wars trilogy.[12] It uses the same first-person shooter engine as many other contemporary LucasArts' titles.[13] The game was built using a modified version of the Sith game engine which was developed for LucasArts' Star Wars: Jedi Knight, with changes to ensure that the physics engine would be realistic.[14] While the Star Wars universe was known for its combative atmosphere, the design team tried to incorporate minimal violence. This approach is visible in the ways players progress - rather than pitting the player's droid against enemies, the landscape itself becomes an obstacle passable to only certain droid types. This effectively prevents those who have not yet acquired the parts necessary to complete a level from doing so.[6] One of the removed features would have allowed players to place droid parts in locations other than where they were intended, for instance, an arm could be attached to a droid's head.[14]

While the developers planned a "luxurious" development schedule which would have culminated in the game's release in Christmas 1998, the marketing department thought the game should be released on Labor Day instead. This new deadline meant that various cuts had to be made to the design. A demo of the game premiered at the 1998 Macworld Expo.[8]

That June, The Washington Times reported that the game was scheduled for release (for both Macintosh and PC) in September.[10] Ultimately, the game missed the Labor Day deadline and was released on 21 October.[15] The game was directly made available to schools, along with other edutainment titles from Lucas Learning.[5] The game was marketed and packaged as an entertainment title, and was advertised in gaming magazines and Family PC.[16]

The developers' original claim that the game blurred the line between entertainment and education presented difficulties for marketers as they had to decide whether to place the game on "game" or "education" shelves. In March 1999, the game was "currently available wherever software is sold".[15] By June, however, the game was noted as being sold at two-store specialty groups.[17] Fortunately, Lucas Arts' previous successes and association with the Star Wars title enabled DroidWorks to be distributed at retail stores, such as Walmart and Costco.[14]

From October 1998 to March 1999, the game received seven awards, including the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment award and two New Media Invision awards, and was "singled out by several prominent educational software newsletters, magazines and Web sites".[15] By May 1999, the game had received two more awards.[36] The game was the highest-rated science software title from 1999 to 2000.[37] While noting that they had previously never considered including educational software in their list, the game was featured in Parenting for High Potential.[38]