If you’ve played enough Star Wars video games over the years, hopefully you’ve noticed the evolution of lightsabers from overly-pixelized sticks to the elegant weapons meant for a more civilized age.

Take a stroll down memory lane with GamesRadar.com Editor Brett Elston as he reminds us of such classics as Atari’s Jedi Arena, Star Wars on NES, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi, Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles, Star Wars: Obi-Wan, and Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast among others.

(more…)

Gametrailers.com has posted the first two parts of a fantastic three-part series showcasing the history of Star Wars video games. From the first Empire Strikes Back cartridge made for Atari’s old 2600 in 1982 to the LEGO Star Wars series and beyond, these short docs walk us through the history of Star Wars video gaming with extensive gameplay footage and the classic old 8-bit soundtracks — no quarters required.

Check out Part 1 and Part 2, and if you’ve still got the energy, check out Starwars.com’s video game poster retrospective when you’re finished.

What happens when gamers need a break from fighting in Star Wars Galaxies? They dance! Dance like they’ve never danced before to the musical stylings of Kenny Loggins. That’s what!

Watch your favorite Star Wars: Galaxies characters reenact dance moves from the last scene in the ’80s classic teen flick Footloose!

Check out the fancy digital footwork here:
Footloose (Star Wars Galaxies)

In honor of the launch of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron and the Sony Star Wars Battlefront PSP Entertainment Pack, Sony and LucasArts threw a launch party at the Sony Metreon in San Francisco.

Check out the photos here:
Renegade Squadron Launch Party

Hayden Christensen, who portrayed Anakin Skywalker in Episodes II and III, stars in Jumper this February, directed by Doug Liman (Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith). Co-stars will include Samuel L. Jackson and Nathalie Cox (of the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game).

Looks like thrill-a-minute stuff — check out the trailer here.

In honor of the launch of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron and the Sony Star Wars Battlefront PSP Entertainment Pack, Sony and LucasArts are throwing a launch party at the Sony Metreon in San Francisco that’s open to the public!

Next Tuesday, Oct. 9, starting at 6pm, at the Sony PlayStation Store at the Metreon (101 4th Street, San Francisco, CA) we’ll be celebrating, Star Wars style!

(more…)

WizardWorld.com recently posted a list of 20 things Star Wars fans have to look forward to in the future, including the CG animated Clone Wars series, the live-action TV series, The Force Unleashed video game, Fanboys, Hasbro’s Star Wars Mighty Muggs, and a whole bunch more to keep your Force-sense tingling. Head on over to WizardWorld.com to check it out.

The loyal community of Star Wars: Galaxies MMO put gaming to an even greater good when they teamed up with Habitat for Humanity.

In the game, a surplus of abandoned player-created houses and buildings were clogging up the landscape, and the player asked for a bit of “urban renewal.” So the houses were marked “condemned” and scheduled for demolition via a TIE fighter Blitzkrieg.

Sony Online Entertainment VP of Development John Blakely saw the opportunity to bridge the gap between virtual and real housing by offering to match the number of houses demolished with a donation to the charity Habitat for Humanity.

“Using the money we raised blowing-up virtual houses and buildings to help build real homes was a no-brainer for us,” said Blakely. “Austin Habitat for Humanity has done incredible work in the community, helping people find good homes, and our whole studio wanted to contribute to their efforts.”

Read all about it here:
Abandoned Star Wars: Galaxies Housing Gets Real

In May 2007, filmmaker George Lucas was interviewed on stage at the D: All Things Digital, the annual tech and media conference sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, where he chatted about digital visual effects, new gaming technology developed by LucasArts and ILM, the future of Web entertainment and filmmaking in general.

The site posted the entire (almost hour-long) interview for fans to check out, complete with ILM reels including a Pirates reel with Oscar-winning VFX Supervisor John Knoll explaining how the new software helps create realistic water effects. For you gamers, there’s also a live demo from LucasArts President Jim Ward about the upcoming LucasArts gaming technology (keep your eyes peeled for the Jar Jar in Carbonite, ice and Jell-O!)

The interview hosted by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher also veers into tangents about his Lucas’ thoughts on Youtube, hedge-fund investors trying to act as film producers and more.

Check out the video here:
George Lucas: The Entire D5 Interview

For their “The Future of Work” series, BusinessWeek magazine goes inside Lucasfilm to see how the company manages multidisciplinary projects, accordion staffing and a freelance army with amazing results.

A few highlights from the article:

SCALABLE WORKFORCE
ILM has a permanent staff of about 700, but that can swell by as much as a quarter in the winter and spring, when effects work is being done on the summer blockbusters. Around 350 people at the Presidio worked with Farrar on Transformers, more than were actually on set with director Michael Bay. And John Knoll, visual effects supervisor on the third Pirates of the Caribbean, figures half of his team members were new to ILM. It’s a significant challenge to accommodate the constantly rising and falling army of freelancers, all of whom need IT training and HR orientation, a computer (or three), and a place to sit. The desks, tables, and chairs are all reconfigurable, so that one or four people can use an office. And—a simple but crucial point—each room has ample electrical outlets.

(more…)