Writers have mused about alternate history for centuries, all the way back to ancient Roman historian Titus Livius wondering sometime around 9 BC what would have happened if Alexander the Great had expanded his empire west, rather than east. He imagined a confrontation between Rome and Alexander’s forces, one that he believed his people would have won. In recent decades, a popular subject has been alternative World War II outcomes, including Command & Conquer Red Alert 3’s vision of a 1950s era World War II.

In the world of pop culture, Marvel Comics’ long-running “What If?” series posited all manner of intriguing alternate fates for its heroes. The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition isn’t the first Star Wars story to imagine different outcomes for favorite characters, as Blackman notes: “We’re big fans of the Dark Horse ‘Infinities’ comic book series, which takes a similar concept as our game and portrays a whole new Star Wars.”

The Infinities comics portray a variety of possible storylines, such as one in which Luke Skywalker fails to blow up the original Death Star but cripples it enough to keep the planet-buster from destroying the Rebel base on Yavin IV. In another, Darth Vader and Darth Maul cross lightsabers on a volcanic world. One story even has Luke die after the Wampa attack at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, leaving Han and Leia to continue fighting for freedom without him.

For the main Force Unleashed storyline, however, Blackman says “we tried to stay true to the continuity wherever we could. We have several cameos in the game of characters who have been linked to the Rebel Alliance in novels and comics, for example.”

“The first draft of the script was huge, so we spent a few weeks editing. I think I went through about 20 drafts,” Blackman reveals. “Those of us working on the story were very cognizant of classic mythic structure: we reviewed it when we started working on the story, but then set it aside so it would be in the back of our minds but wouldn’t become prescriptive or box us in.”

He continues: “We made a huge effort to humanize [Galen] as soon as possible so you didn’t feel like you were playing an irredeemably evil character. I felt strongly that we needed to see him as a child to build some sympathy for him. Imagine being raised by Darth Vader: worst father figure ever.

“We also suggest that the Apprentice’s world view has been skewed by Vader to the point where he thinks that the Jedi are the bad guys. The Empire is law and order, and the Jedi and Rebels are trying to tear that down. And very early in the game, we show him hesitate when Vader gives him a morally-questionable order.

“Finally, it was really important to us for him to have a supporting cast that could show his humanity and evolution — within the first ten minutes, you see how he interacts with PROXY, and it’s clear that he’s capable of friendship and even has some sense of humor. Then when he encounters Juno, he doesn’t know how to react to her. Here’s a guy who has been raised in isolation for most of his life and has no context for this new dynamic.”

Bringing it to Life

“Concept art was also a huge part of our process,” Blackman explains. “We had concept artists in every brainstorming session, and often a piece they generated actually drove the story. We were influenced by a wide range of films, including, obviously, The Empire Strikes Back — for many of us on the team, it’s our favorite Star Wars film and we really wanted to capture that same dark tone. Literally thousands of different sources had some influence on us, from comic books to Die Hard.”

The concept art came full circle during the voice-over sessions, when Cully Frederickson, who plays a surviving Jedi General named Rahm Kota, had full makeup applied for his motion capture sessions. “After the shoot, while he was still in makeup, we brought him up to meet the team and he surprised our lead concept artist, Amy Beth Christenson, who designed the character,” Blackman recalls. “It was a great moment: to have this new Star Wars character we created together suddenly step out of the art and hang out with us.”

Blackman also remembers his surprise at Witwer’s intense audition: “The audition script began with the Apprentice meditating while using the Force to assemble a lightsaber. There wasn’t a lot of description about his emotional state of mind because we wanted to see where the actors would take it.

“In Sam’s audition, he started out looking like he was in pain, his face twisting and his body almost shivering from the effort. When we talked to him about it, he explained that he felt that because Galen is such a mess internally and has been taught by a guy who has very little peace of mind of his own, meditating would actually be extremely difficult — almost painful — for him.

“He can wipe out a legion of stormtroopers without breaking a sweat, but make him sit still for a few minutes or try to perform a delicate task, and he starts to lose it. To me, this showed Sam had really put the time into understanding Galen, Darth Vader, and the story.”

Stumped? Then you may need some help, thanks to the cheat codes that are commonly placed in most videogames. They allow you to, well, cheat and change the rules. This sometimes includes activating bonuses, unlocking secrets, and gaining access to new levels of gameplay.

To activate cheats in Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition, select Input Code from the pause menu and enter a code below.