30 years of "TIE Fighter": The dark side of LucasArts
If you look for the best Star Wars games of all time, "TIE Fighter" is usually at the top of the list. A legendary game that is turning 30 years old these days.
"TIE Fighter" turns 30 years old.
(Image: LucasArts)
"TIE Fighter" comes from a different time. A time when the last Star Wars film was more than ten years ago, and when hopes for the upcoming prequels were still unclouded. A time when the mere sight of a logo could give you goose bumps. 1994, to be precise.
A time when the first Star Wars game from LucasArts was just one year old. Of course, that sounds kind of absurd: a games company that was just in its eleventh year of existence and had not yet developed a single game set in the most famous universe of the person who gave the company its name. A company that was already renowned and firmly established, and had earned a sensational reputation with games such as "Rescue on Fractalus" (1984), "Maniac Mansion" (1987), "The Secret of Monkey Island" (1990) or "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis" (1992) - but could not boast a single Star Wars game on its CV.
The end of the legacy
This was mainly due to an old distribution deal with Atari. After LucasArts bought back the game rights to its own brand from the last holder, Brøderbund, in the early 1990s, this gap was closed again. The first LucasArts-owned game in a galaxy far, far away was given an enormously symbolic name: "Star Wars: X-Wing"
To be precise, not even this was developed directly by LucasArts, but by "Totally Games", or "Peregrine Software", as the company was still called at the time. The small company, which was founded in 1984 under the name "Micro Imagery", was managed by Lawrence "Larry" Holland, a long-time Lucasfilm Games employee, to whom the company owes flight simulation successes such as "Battlehawks 1942" (1988), "Their Finest Hour" (1989) and "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe" (1991).
Propeller-driven aircraft in space
The leap from the Second World War to the space fairy tale was a smaller one than one might think: George Lucas never made a secret of the fact that he drew inspiration for his space battle scenes primarily from classic films such as 1954's "The Bridges at Toko-Ri", 1955's "The Dam Busters", 1970's "Tora! Tora! Tora!" or even real propeller planes such as the British Supermarine Spitfire. In this respect, it made perfect sense that Larry Holland and his colleagues should take care of a proper remake of the rebels' workhorse.
After around a year and a half of development, "X-Wing" was finally released in February 1993 - and was not only met with enthusiasm. This was not so much due to the game principle, which was a pleasant departure from the arcade baller-heavy "Wing Commander" series and took a more challenging simulation direction. The problem was rather the terrible mission structure, which relied on endless trial-and-error and the associated memorization of missions. This made them feel less like combat missions and more like arbitrary puzzles that could only be solved in exactly one predefined way. In combination with the generally very high level of difficulty, this made for less hot laser battles and more frustration in the cockpit.
"TIE Fighter" turns 30 (17 Bilder)
Nevertheless, the game was worth the trouble. Because it was a damn great feeling to finally be able to sit at the controls of an X-Wing, clutching the joystick tightly, the other hand resting heavily on the fully-loaded keyboard. The R2 whistles some techno noise into your ear from behind, the laser hisses, the enemy TIE fighter hisses before it disappears in a colorful explosion - that was really cool. There were also lots of very scanned and reworked images from the first movie, original sound effects, atmospheric English voice-overs and very good music that dynamically adapted to the course of the game. It was easy to forget from time to time that the game design itself was pretty garbage.
Despite all its weaknesses, "X-Wing" was well received by testers and buyers - so a successor was quickly decided upon. A successor that was supposed to do everything better. And above all, a sequel that had a brilliant surprise in its name: "TIE Fighter"
Off with the old braids!
This game, again developed by Totally Games, was officially released on July 20, 1994, and chronologically speaking is not a direct successor to "X-Wing". The story of the latter ends shortly before the rebel base on Hoth is established, while the plot of "TIE Fighter" begins shortly after the destruction of the latter. But that didn't matter at the time, because it was much more important that the developers had listened to the extensive feedback from players and testers, which made "TIE Fighter" a much better game in every respect compared to its predecessor: better graphics, better controls, better and much clearer mission design, a much more interesting story, a much better overview of space and thousands of clever little additions.
Or to put it another way: It was of course somehow "more of the same", only at the same time so much better! What's more, "TIE Fighter" was the first medium in the saga that didn't begin with the classic "Star Wars" fanfare, but instead, in keeping with the theme, with a snappy version of the equally legendary "Imperial March". Oh yes, and for the very first time in the history of this particular universe, you get to play from the perspective of the bitterly evil Empire.
