STAR WARS: Galactic Battle Game
To promote one of the seasons of STAR WARS The Clone Wars, I was asked by Cartoon Network to create a game to help promote the show. As a HUGE Star Wars fan and a collector of action figures, I was aware that Hasbro was releasing the new line of action figures with a first of its kind dice role playing game in pack. I approached Cartoon Network with the idea of creating a flash version of the dice game online to cross-promote the show and the toy line. They loved the idea and Hasbro jumped onboard quickly with the concept.
Now, one of my biggest challenges was that approvals needed to take place across three major stakeholders with one of the worlds biggest IP’s. Cartoon Network was broadcasting and marketing the show, Hasbro created the toy line and Lucas Film was producing the show and had all final approvals. Just getting a conference call scheduled was a hurdle.
The in-pack dice and card game was called the Star Wars: Galactic Battle Game.
Each figure came with a die with six category symbols on it and a custom card with the same categories. Each category had a number next to it based on the figure’s in world abilities. Each figure also came with a custom base to slide the card into. Each base had two unique notches in it to reveal parts of the card that gave power boosts to the figure’s category numbers. Players were to play head to head with their figures, rolling a die and seeing whose figure would win based on the category the die landed on and the associated number on each card. The highest number was the winner.
It was my task to now translate this gameplay into an engaging online game, while equally promoting the show and the cpg action figure line.
Hasbro sent me a set of the figures (Wahoo!) and I sat down with my kids and began to play.
I created wireframes on how the game should work and began running approvals through all three clients.
After several rounds of tweaks, I got the green light.
I was also given access to the Lucas Film sound archive for the show, for music and sound effects.
While in the wireframe phase, I simultaneously worked with my Art Director on the photo shoot of the actual figures and began the UI design.
Once they chose their side, they could cycle through the hero figures (or villains) and choose the one they felt would best align with the opponent they were versing.
When they were ready, they simply clicked on the Start Battle Holocron. This activated the blast doors behind the figures to open, revealing a randomized background environment from the show.
I also decided to take the dice roll and turn it into a randomizing Holocron that would cycle through the categories before coming to rest on one.
Once they chose their character, they then could choose a base with booster notches.
Once it settled on a category symbol, it would highlight it on each figure’s card and count the appropriate points, including any boosters.
The player was then rewarded with a reveal of their winning character’s likeness from the show and their defeated opponent, also in their likeness from the show.
The game launched to tremendous success and had one of the highest play ratios on cartoonnetwork.com for the 18 months it was live. The game is no longer online, but below are some screen recordings from the source files I retained.
Instructions
Walkthrough
Captain Rex
VS.
AsaJJ Ventress
Obi-Wan Kenobi
VS
General Grievous
and
Obi-Wan Kenobi
VS
Count Dooku
General Grievous
VS
Kit Fisto
and
General Grievous
VS
Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker
VS.
AsaJJ Ventress
Core Team:
Alan Hellard – Creative Director/Producer
Hanzel Haro – Art Director
Mike Young – Flash Development