When it come to Star Wars on YouTube, there’s only mask-wearing content creator that takes the hardest issues head on. From lore to discussing the creative minds behind the scenes, HelloGreedo covers tons and tons and tons of Star Wars.
Recently, the masked emcee has been conducting more and more live question and answer sessions, giving more fans the opportunity to interact with him as he learns more about a galaxy far, far away — and explores the intricacies of what makes it tick.
Star Wars gaming may very well be on hold until EA Play in a few weeks, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t lingering questions from each and every Star Wars fan: Where are all the Star Wars games? To find out HelloGreedo’s take, we recently sat down with him for an hour long.
you can read the transcript provided below or watch the following video to see what he had to say.
Next In Star Wars Gaming
When we asked HelloGreedo what EA and other game studios making Star Wars video games should do with the franchise, HelloGreedo said he’d love to see a return to more unique and open worlds. Although something that’s typically found in RPGs like The Elder Scrolls Series, world building is often an overlooked and under-developed aspect of many Star Wars games on the market today.
HG: Like an open world Skyrim, Oblivion, or Morrowind kind of thing. That would be kinda’ my dream game right now, where you get to pick your path and profession. My all-time favorite Star Wars game is Star Wars Galaxies. What I loved about [the game] is that you weren’t just playing Star Wars, you weren’t just running around swinging lightsabers and shooting blasters. You were actually living in the universe, like you could be a doctor and all these random professions.
That kind of stuff; living, as opposed to running and gunning with a blaster. While that is fun, I want to experience a more broad look at the universe.
Of course, most gamers want expansion options, but many are often concerned that the progress of Star Wars gaming will be held back by EA (and their notorious decision-making process). Currently, EA holds the exclusive rights to create Star Wars games. And while it so far seems that the universe will have an FPS focus for the short term and stay in EA’s hands, much to the ire of many SW fans, HelloGreedo doesn’t understand the disdain for the company and the work they’ve done.
HG: Every time I post a video about Battlefront — or any Star Wars game videos — that’s the first comment. It’s crazy. ‘Why are you buying Battlefront? EA Sucks, EA Sucks!’ I know there’s probably some big justification for everyone’s dislike of these giant gaming corporations, but I don’t know.
Moving away from large developers, we asked if indie developers should get a piece of Star Wars pie. Greedo agreed, saying that indie gaming is one places Star Wars should go.
HG: I think that would be smart if they did that. That’s such a huge, untapped marketplace for Star Wars games. You could get some really creative stuff, and that’s never been done before. Star Wars is a big sandbox — we all want to play in it — and to give indie developers a chance to play in that sandbox would be incredible. That would be such an awesome money-making endeavor for them, too, these cheap games being made by these people who have a real passion for developing.
What Should Be in Battlefront 2 and What Shouldn’t
Battlefront 2 is already shaping up to be a lot better than the current Battlefront, and HelloGreedo agreed that there’s room for improvement in the new installment of the series — like most SW gamers believe. We asked what should be in the next game, but more importantly, how should EA Dice balance what launch and DLC content.
HG: I also felt like every piece of DLC that we got [for the latest Battlefront game], it didn’t feel completed, it didn’t feel like it was that much content. What I hate about the current Battlefront DLC is, I play on the PC, and I have a really hard time finding a game at peak times for any of the DLCs. I don’t know how you will work around that. [For example] where the payment [for DLCs] should not be an issue is with the maps. You kind of separate your gaming community when people don’t like one DLC pack, so they buy another. It’s a fine, delicate balancing act that they have to do.
Moving forward with the idea of performing a content balancing act, we asked HelloGreedo about the “3 times larger” reveal from EA’s last earnings. While a big proposition to make, HelloGreedo felt the earnings call wasn’t the best time to release that information.
HG: I think, ultimately, it was a bad idea for them to say [it]. That gets everyone’s mind wondering. People say, well the original game wasn’t even [that big].
Longevity of the Game and VR for Star Wars
An important focus of the new Battlefront game is this: Will players continue to play it long after release? HG agreed that increasing longevity was essential to the sequel’s success.
HG: I think the two biggest factors — and maybe this is me just looking at other games and seeing what works — but like having a server browser for people who can create their own custom server. So I’ll give Counter-Strike as an example. I used to host a Counter-Strike source server, and I created a little community. The same people that would continuously come back to my server, we’d talk on the chat and it created a community within the broader Counter-Strike community.
You’re not just wanting to come back to Battlefront: you’re coming back to your friends. I hope I get this when the next Battlefront comes out, to host a HelloGreedo server where 40 of us can hop in and play together continuously. I think that would be incredible.
With all the customization and features of the new game, we asked about the game’s new characters and what really excited Greedo about it from a macro perspective. More importantly than the game’s features, we asked about the possibility of virtual reality in Star Wars gaming.
HG: The way I see VR is, to me, it’s almost as inventive as the internet itself. We’ve just put our toe into the water of this vast ocean that is virtual reality. I think Star Wars is perfect for VR, but maybe the technology just isn’t there yet, and we’ve got to give it 10 years or so. I mean, that is a piece of technology that I really think will absolutely change the world. That might sound a little idealistic, but I really believe that.
Final Thoughts and Quickfire
We also asked HelloGreedo about what should be left out of the new Battlefront, and although he agrees there are some things to move away from, it doesn’t mean that Greedo wants to scrap it all.
HG: See, there’s a lot of stuff that I love about Battlefront. It’s a really simple game. I don’t like the vehicle system or the hero pickup system. I don’t like any of that stuff. It’d be neat to fly your TIE fighter out of the Death Star and fly down to Endor. My dream is to have an AT-AT walking around the battlefield where you can actually control the movement.
Really the only type of game mode that I’d love to see is a completely open map with capture points. I initially said I want it to be exactly like Battlefield, and I got a lot of hate for that, and I still stand by that — those games are fun, that’s what I want to see.
Afterward, we moved into some quick questions that rounded out our talk. While we thought they were fun, Greedo warned that he isn’t good at this sort of thing.
GS: If you had to redo A New Hope, who would shoot first?
HG: Han would absolutely shoot first — I would redo the redo!
GS: Which do you prefer, old Luke or young Luke
HG: Young Luke.
GS: If you had to live in one trilogy era — the original trilogy, prequels, or sequels — which would it be?
HG: It’s hard to say. I’m gonna say originals.
GS: If you had to be another Star Wars YouTuber, who would it be?
HG: You know, I’m gonna say Star Wars Explained, Alex and Mollie. I met them up in Atlanta, and their dedication, their scheduling of videos — it’s really infectious and neat to see how their channel has exploded. I love seeing other creators reach this insane level and have fun doing it.
GS: If only one can exist for the rest of Star Wars who would it be: Jedi or the Rebellion?
HG: The Rebellion. When I think of Star Wars, I don’t think of Jedi and Sith. I think of the grit and the grime. The fight and the Rebellion — that’s what I think of, so definitely the Rebellion.
From all of us at GameSkinny we want to extend a thank you to HelloGreedo for taking the time to speak with us. And remember, the full interview is available on YouTube (with a link at the top of the page).
To support Greedo, make sure to go to HelloGreedo.com.
Published: May 25, 2017 12:15 am