Space combat games used to be a fairly popular game genre with the Wing Commander, Privateer, and Freespace franchises constantly in the top of the charts. The last decade hasn't be kind to the genre though as you can count the number of good space combat games on one hand.
A few years ago we got DarkStar One and while it wasn't
great it did open up some hope that we might get a better console point in the future. Well that future is now as DarkStar One - Broken Alliance will soon be making it's way to the Xbox 360. We were able to get an interview with the team and here is the result.
Can you introduce yourself and talk about your role into the project? How did you get into the game industry?
My name’s Daniel Dumont and I am the creator and lead designer of DarkStar One. I studied Physics, playing computer games was a hobby for me since I was 13 years old. After my studies I looked around for possible jobs. At random, I found the employment ad of UbiSoft in Paris. They wanted to open a new office in Germany and were looking for someone to organize the games part and the localization. One thing led to another and much later, I got the offer to work as a project manager at Ascaron. There, I started writing game concepts and planning game development.
What's the plot behind Dark Star Broken: Alliance? How much heritage does this game share with the PC game? What parts of the game are new?
The Plot of PC and console version are the same. In the story, you play as Kayron Jarvis, a young hotshot pilot who is investigating the mysterious death of his father. Early in the game, you are assigned command of the DarkStar One, a new ship that features a new technology that lets you completely customize it.
There's also a sub-plot regarding an alien invasion, but we'll leave that for players to discover.
As far as "what's new" on the Xbox 360 version - we upgraded the graphics to full HD (1080p-supported) and of course, we've fine-tuned the controls for use on the control pad.
What were the inspirations behind the game? Outside of the obvious things like the Wing Commander games can you talk about why you've created a space combat game?
When I was 14, I played „Elite“ on a Commodore 64. This game was the game that didn’t felt like a game, it was much more. Compared to other games at that time, „Elite“ was much more authentic and serious. That’s why I wanted to create a space game by myself.
I was influenced by the freedom in Privateer 2, the story and its presentation in Wing Commander and the large tactical battles in X-Wing and Tie-Fighter. Additionally, we’ve put a real trading system in the background, with simulated transports between the systems that influence the economies of star systems (which effects you, if you want to play as a trader).
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