Would you like a Star Wars video game developed “in universe”?

I’ve been playing Star Wars Outlaws and I’m truly addicted to the really well done mini-games. Conceptually I’m really taken with the arcade shooter, a really creative mini game, that feels like a bit like a first person Galaga with lots of design elements inspired by the original Star Wars arcade game. It’s framed as an arcade game made by denizens of the SW Galaxy, which really got my thoughts rolling with using that idea for an entire game.

I think this would be a cool way to continue the always in Canon approach that every Star Wars piece of media goes for currently, reimagining that concept itself and bringing your immersion with the Star Wars universe even closer, being able to easily meet fan demands that could break attempts at establishing coherence in the continuity. I’ve outlined some basic concepts I’ve thought up just to illustrate how far you could take this concept.

• The Princess of Alderaan, a Zelda style top down adventure/dungeon crawler developed well after The Rise of Skywalker letting the player control the legendary Luke Skywalker from humble beginnings as a farm boy to redeeming his Sith Lord father and saving the galaxy. The game is framed as “historical fiction” piecing together Luke’s story from historical accounts and embellishing in the unknown. Much of the intimate detail of what actually happened in the OT is unknown to the developers, so they have to adapt and create their own version of the narrative.

• Imagine what the Star Wars galaxy equivalent to Super Mario Bros might be like. That’s what this game would be: a 3D cartoon-style platformer all about squashing enemies, collecting items and power-ups, and exploring various Worlds, with a cast of unique mascot characters. Would resemble Star Wars about as much as Mario resembles ours, this would be what “cartoons” are like in that galaxy.

• Heroes of the Republic, this is a bit similar to the first idea but with a distinct twist. Specifically developed as Clone Wars-era propaganda, this would be a co-op beat ‘em up starring Anakin and Obi-Wan, greatly exaggerating their abilities and stories to assure and excite the children of the Republic (inspired by the ROTS novelization). The gameplay would be inspired by ps2 era beat em ups such as MK Shaolin Monks or God of War, with the overall style and tone informed by Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. Incredibly over the top and stylized, almost anime take. A direct Star Wars comparison could be a spiritual remake of the ROTS game, or a co-op take on The Force Unleashed.

• Blood of the Krayt, a non-linear fantasy action game, developed as an adaptation of a galaxy-wide top-selling series of complex fantasy novels. Essentially, somewhat like the second game, think of this as what the Star Wars in universe equivalent of The Witcher would be. This might be a bit of a hat on top of a hat, as it’s really two ideas: what does “knights and dragons” type fantasy look and operate like within Star Wars, and therefore what would their fantasy RPGs look like? I imagine this playing less like Witcher actually, more inspired by Fromsoft’s titles and 3D Zelda but reimagining typical fantasy tropes directing in a Star Wars context.

These are just concepts but I think it’s an idea with a surprising amount of potential