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Studying Skywalkers: Foils in Dark Disciple  Studying Skywalkers is an exclusive column that investigates the characters, themes, and lessons of Star Wars from an educational, literary perspective. In this installment, StarWars.com looks at the use of foils in the new novel, Star Wars: Dark Disciple, by Christie Golden. Note: the following contains minor spoilers from the upcoming novel, Dark Disciple. A poignant and useful literary device that enhances an audience’s understanding of a particular character is known as a foil. A foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to create a certain dynamic. There are many wonderful examples of this in the new novel, Dark Disciple, by Christie Golden. The two main protagonists, Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, both have qualities that embody heroism, but feature very different approaches in how they accomplish their goals. When juxtaposing the two, the reader is able to learn more about each character. How they r

E3 2015 Game Of The Show Nomination: Star Wars: Battlefront After the Star Wars Celebration and the announcement that Star Wars: Battlefront will have less maps and modes than in the previous series, there has been tons of criticism. However, the past history of the Star Wars franchise doesn’t really mesh well with what DICE is currently trying to do with Battlefront. The main concept for the game remains the same, fighting against many foot soldiers in the middle of the Star Wars universe. The rest of the game is quite different though and that’s the whole reason why it’s not being named Star Wars: Battlefront 3, they are completely starting over. Most people say that Star Wars: Battlefront is basically just a Battlefield game with a Star Wars theme, and they are correct. It’s not a bad thing at all and there are some differences in gameplay, but it’s still a DICE game all the way. When you compare Star Wars: Battlefront with its older versions, the scale is much larger. The lar

GALAXY WIRE: STAR WARS NEWS FROM AROUND THE WEB – JUNE 23, 2015 Galaxy Wire is a selection of the StarWars.com team’s favorite activity relating to Jedi, Sith, and the power of the Force on the Internet. From Star Wars: The Force Awakens tidbits to photos of dogs dressed like Ewoks, you’ll find it all here. Thankfully, no Bothans died to get us this information. Later is Better Star Wars is kind of a big deal in the United States. Now it may have gained a few more fans over the last few days. Star Wars: A New Hope finally had its premiere in China as part of The Shanghai International Film Festival, and as Vanity Fair reports, the sold-out screening was comparable to the fandom seen at Comic-Con or Star Wars Celebration. Darth Vader and a battalion of stormtroopers were also seen invading the event. With Star Wars: The Force Awakens opening worldwide this December, there couldn’t be a better time to recruit a couple more fans overseas. Kanye West comes over to the Lig

SWTOR Character Transfers 90% Off Starting Tomorrow Soeren Kamper Character transfers will be 90% off in SWTOR, starting Tuesday june 23 and last for a few weeks. In this period, each character transfer will only cost 90 Cartel Coins: Last week we announced our next Digital Expansion: Knights of the Fallen Empire. Since announcing, we have seen a lot of players coming back and getting into The Old Republic. Whether you are a new player, an old subscriber coming back, or a player who has been around a while, you may have been looking for an opportunity to move to a new server. Maybe your friends transferred servers in the past or you’re just trying to find a new Fleet to call home. In honor of our Fallen Empire announcement, we wanted to make it a bit easier for you to play on the server you want to. Starting tomorrow, Tuesday June 23rd, all character transfers will be discounted by over 90%, for a limited time. Each character transfer will only cost 90 Cartel Coins each. Thi

Fathers And Father Figures in Star Wars Family is a recurring theme in Star Wars. The story begins with a fatherless young boy, Anakin Skywalker, making a brave move and leaving his mother to become a Jedi. One of his many steps towards the dark side comes after he grows up and learns his mother has been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. Anakin even starts a family of his own despite that action being against the tenets of the Jedi Order. Though he doesn’t know of his children until after he becomes Darth Vader, his love for his son ultimately helps tear down the Empire. In honor of the familial ties in the saga and the fact that Father’s Day will be celebrated in our galaxy on June 21 (you still have time to make plans), let’s take a look at some of the fathers and father figures in the Star Wars universe. Darth Vader All of Anakin Skywalker’s parenting happened after he embraced life as Darth Vader, but his one true moment of fatherhood took place when the black mask w

How Players Can Help the MMORPG Scene Evolve RAPTORAK It’s no secret that most games to be released over the past couple years have been somewhat stagnant (read: they aren’t bringing much, if anything, new to the table). Amidst this situation, player hostility towards gaming news – and the games themselves – has been rising. While it’s understandable that players need to vent their frustration, it’s being done in the wrong manner. That said, I believe we can see some change. So let’s look at what we, as players, can do to help evolve the gaming field. Realize Different People Like Different Things One of the worst things I’ve been seeing is players putting down others that like a specific game. Different people like different things – there is no right or wrong way to feel about them. In fact, some of the most complained-about games are also the most popular (in terms of active players). So clearly there are people that enjoy playing those. Rather than

GW2 Guild Claiming in WvW The 7th blog post talks about Guild Objective Claiming in World vs World. Greetings, Mist warriors. Guilds are the lifeblood of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™, and it’s our desire that they become a greater part of World vs. World. We want to give guild members more strategic choices and encourage them to work together both within their guilds and also with other guilds and players. To this end, we’ve overhauled the guild claiming system so that guilds have more tools at their disposal in WvW. Players will help their guilds obtain resources, unlock the ability to make claims, and manufacture tactics and improvements. These can be used to enhance the functionality and defense of an objective or to give teams an edge in the open field. These upgrades and tools give teams tactical decisions to make about which upgrades to choose and which objectives to take or destroy to gain the most advantages for their team (or deny the most advantages to their oppo

Podrants and Pomojema Talk Star Wars Cartoons! The guys at Podrants (who I have podcasted with previously) were nice enough to invite me back onto the show. This time, we talk about Star Wars cartoons… And we leave no stone unturned, as we start off with talking about the animated segment from the Star Wars Holiday Special and go from there. WARNING: THESE SEGMENTS HAVE COLORFUL LANGUAGE IN THEM, SO IF YOU ARE AN OLD, BORING PERSON WHO CAN’T HANDLE THAT, OR ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF OLD, BORING PEOPLE WHO CAN’T HANDLE PROFANITY, YOU MIGHT WANT TO KEEP THE VOLUME DOWN. Anyway, while Sharky was present, Stephanie was not having just been exhausted from a camping trip that apparently involved copious amounts of alcohol (she did pop in for a brief spell, but I’m not sure if Sharky edited that bit out or not). Instead, her husband Mike covered for her. Part One : We have fun with British stereotypes (fret not, I do have quite a bit of Brit blood in me), discuss how bad the S

When the going gets tough, the tough sometimes take a fishing pole and start fishing in a bloody Jacuzzi stuffed with a mutilated body. That's, at least, the lesson you learn in Technobabylon, a point-and-click adventure that's set in 2087 in a city where a powerful AI controls and observes all. It's a cyberpunk quest with ideas that elevate it above cliché, using clever and (mostly) logical puzzles to keep you entertained for hours. This kind of material usually runs the risk of slipping into tired homages to Neuromancer seasoned with a dash of Blade Runner, but Technobabylon rejuvenates the formula by shifting the focus. Here, you spend much of your time in the guise of Doctor Regis, a member of the Central AI's police force that's sent out to handle all the things that need an actual body. He may have a penchant for covering monitoring cameras in his office, and he may dislike contemporary technology, but he's very much a part of the system. Still, the genr

I’m digging a tunnel. It’s an important part of my sneaky plan: forego the obvious deathtrap of the single, elevated causeway spanning the battleground for a stealthy subterranean insertion into the enemy base. Behind me, a few teammates wriggle along, accomplices to a hopefully glorious flanking action. They wisely let me forge forward first; I’m playing a Cogwheel, the tanky, clanky robot character sporting a deep health pool, a rotary cannon arm, and a permanent grimace. I scoop out an alcove in the tunnel’s wall and place a radar block. Above, enemy players and their ramshackle defenses light up in red outlines. They’re all aimed at the bridge. How tactically passé. I gouge a few more feet into the tunnel before angling upwards. Scant layers separate me from my objective: a thrumming shield cube. If I topple it, the base’s primary power cube would become vulnerable. I scratch a topside hole and jump out, a heroic vanguard of my robot mole army—and run right into an awaiting gas m

Given the origins of the online battle arena genre, in which StarCraft and Warcraft III modifications played a major role, it was only a matter of time: Blizzard has thrown down its hand in the MOBA market. Heroes of the Storm is yet another example of the quality we expect from the developer: ideas that have been explored elsewhere are given a level of refinement and accessibility that makes the eventual result nigh impossible to dislike. Heroes of the Storm is fantastic, assembling Blizzard's colorful characters into a highly absorbing tactical arena game. As with games like League of Legends and Dota 2, two teams of five face off with the goal of destroying the opponent's base. Unlike those games, however, the map upon which teams face off is not a near carbon copy of those from other genres. Heroes of the Storm features seven unique maps with various secondary objectives that can assist a team in their siege of the enemy base. Each of these secondary objectives serves to

It had to happen eventually. The number of times that the words ‘Minecraft’ and ‘Lego’ have appeared in the same sentence over the last decade would likely rival salt and pepper in the global psyche as Most Immediately Obvious Pairing. But while this block-based sandbox takes the familiar Danish toy and rebuilds the seeded worlds of Mojang’s much aped forerunner, there’s much it does differently. There was no cobblestone farming necessary to get me going for a start. Within minutes of playing I’d built a western saloon, ridden a polar bear across a snow-capped mountain range and discovered a race of cavemen parading around on a beach waiting for me to pilfer their minifigure forms. Despite being very clearly in its infancy—the full version is not expected to launch until at least 2016—Lego Worlds feels very capable when giving you excuses to get out and explore. There are constant surprises lying in wait, and each one you discover has its blueprints sucked up into the top left menu ba

INFINITY GETS REBELLIOUS: BRINGING STAR WARS REBELS CHARACTERS TO DISNEY’S HIT GAME IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, LUCASFILM'S HEZ CHORBA AND AVALANCHE SOFTWARE'S JEFF BUNKER DISCUSS THE MAKING OF STAR WARS REBELS TOYS FOR DISNEY INFINITY 3.0 EDITION. Star Wars toys that come to life in a video game. It’s the stuff of dreams for fans, and it’s now possible thanks to Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition. Last month, it was announced that Jedi, Sith, Corellian smugglers, and Rebel princesses are coming to the next iteration of the popular multi-platform series, which allows players to collect figures, place them on the Disney Infinity base to appear digitally in the game, and play as those same characters. The Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition Starter Pack, which includes the Star Wars: Twilight of the Republic Play Set and Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano figures, is set for a fall 2015 release and available for preorder now. So far, we’ve seen toys of the saga’s icons (stunning sculpts

A GUEST OF STAR WARS WEEKENDS, FRANK OZ WILL BE THE LEGENDARY PUPPETEER AND DIRECTOR COMES TO DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS! Are you looking for one of the greatest stars of the Star Wars saga? Well, fear not. After all, fear is the path to the dark side. You seek Yoda. This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Yoda you shall find! Our very special guest this weekend is none other than Frank Oz, the man who brought to life the most powerful Jedi Master of all time. Beyond his portrayal of Yoda in Star Wars, Frank Oz is also a noted director and the award-winning performer behind lovable Muppets Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal and more. This weekend, you’ll be able to see Frank Oz in the “Legends of the Force” celebrity motorcade on Hollywood Blvd. and at Theater of the Stars, where he’ll share stories of his illustrious career during “A Conversation with Frank Oz.” For this year’s final weekend, you will find yourself among a galaxy o