The announcement of Galactic Racer was such a great one for me. Finally, we have a new Star Wars racing game. And just like concepts I’ve done for such a game, it includes more than just podracers. Yet it is also the first original game to be set in the New Republic era. Which got me thinking. What other games would be good to get in this era? What new interactive stories could be told? And so there are three that I have started to concept, putting into words the basics of what I see.

The first of these games I see as a cross between business management simulator and visual novel. Picture something like Coffee Talk, except you aren’t brewing individual drinks for people. You are instead running an entire cantina, trying to attract customers and be highly rated for all the service you provide. Which includes a chat with patrons, whether sat at the counter or elsewhere.

It’s known that the First Order, before being widely known in the galaxy, used diplomacy to convince systems to join them. The cantina you run is on one of these planets. Patrons will include regular citizenry, but also will see members of this planet’s government, First Order representatives, and even a few New Republic officers come for a drink. As long as the cantina’s rating is high enough.

In talking with these important people, rapport is formed. The story unveils. And you can have some influence on how events play out. For instance, a New Republic officer might be interested in learning about the plans of the First Order. They provide a device that you can use should any First Order representatives come to the establishment. Played right, you’ll be able to convince those representatives to place a table reservation, to which you can reserve a nearby table and call the New Republic officer to it.

There’s a lot of openness to influence the story, even to the point where huge chunks of it can be missed. If, for instance, one of those First Order representatives were to be killed while in the cantina, that faction is likely to reduce their visits to the cantina or even stop coming. Though just because one perspective of the story is being missed, doesn’t mean it can’t be influenced. I see this as a game with a lot of replayability, not just with its story, but also from its business management side.

There’s not really been a game where we play solely as an astromech droid. Such brings challenges, such as what they would be good at doing. Well, the answer is Hitman. World of Assassination is a great game, offering up many ways to have fun, and many ways to take out a target. And across various media, we’ve seen astromechs serve a similar infiltration role. So why not make a game about it?

An astromech cannot change clothes like Agent 47, but it can slice into computers to get the right clearance for areas. Suspicion will rise if acting out or being in areas you’re not meant to. People will remember actions taken, and even report activity such as dead bodies. So it pays to get in, do what is needed, and get out before too much heat is on the astromech.

Of course, you aren’t defenceless as an astromech. Much the same as R2-D2 or Chopper, you can fight back, utilising a variety of tools such as ramming into people with jets. Or blasting them with electric bolts. Tools can be more than just for fighting, such as advanced sensors to show enemies at a greater range. Or a dart to track one person no matter where they are on the map. Only a select number of tools can be fitted per mission, so experimentation is key.

Not all missions will involve killing. Astromechs are great for retrieving data, after all. So most will involve getting sensitive information from guarded areas. Some will require isolating a target, so that a delivery can be made. Whether that be a threat of action or information that target could use. I even see one mission being to sabotage a cruiser, having to escape the chaos as it unfolds. There’s many types of missions that could be made with such a stealth focus in mind.

The third concept sets to bridge the gap between the forming of the Resistance and Ben Solo’s turn. A story featuring the original trilogy three of Luke, Leia, and Han. If recasts are out of the question, animated is the way to go. Better yet, why not do so in a video game, allowing for greater exploration of this period of time. Much like Outlaws did for the original trilogy and the criminal underworld.

For this story, Ben Solo has been taken by a First Order faction posing as a crime syndicate. Luke has enlisted the help of Leia and Han, finding themselves on a planet controlled by this syndicate. Gathering information, facing off against threats, they eventually find where Ben is being held, with Luke being the one to save him. Such a save I see as adding to the betrayal Luke feels in himself when his Jedi Order gets destroyed by Ben.

While it is known that Snoke convinced Ben to turn, the details haven’t really been told. The story of this game tells that, as scenes will show the two talking. Already disillusioned with his family for keeping the secret of Darth Vader from him, Snoke feeds on that. Using that and other recent events within the New Republic to show why it is a failing system. Saying that family ties would never matter in a government he ruled. And even when his family come to rescue him, Ben is already convinced of Snoke’s thoughts.

The planet would be split into specific sectors, with each sector being one part of the story. A story that would be pretty linear for its main missions, but diversions can be taken to clear up issues the citizens face. Showing that the Resistance cares about all planets of the galaxy rather than those only under the New Republic. If you choose to take those diversions. Depending on the number of citizens helped, a different ending scene relating to the fate of the planet plays out.

Images Taken From:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars S4.21 | Disney+
Star Wars Rebels S1.14 | Disney+
Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Disney+