SOE Fan Faire 2011: The future of Clone Wars Adventures with Senior Producer Todd Carson

Clone Wars Adventures is a unique MMO that links together a children's game with the TV show on Cartoon Network. Todd Carson, the Senior Producer of CWA, sat down with Massively to talk about some of the new content that's coming for fans, as well as a new storyline in game that will complete the transition between season three and four of the TV series.

Read on for highlights from the interview, including a closer look at the Battle for Iceberg 3, new housing items, and even some new mounts!

We first asked Carson to talk about the new content for CWA. He said that Dave Filoni, the supervising director of the TV show, approached the team and wanted to do something that ties in season three and four using the game. He sent over the lead designer and he came up with a story about how the separatists are getting ready to invade Mon Calamari. Mon Calamari asks for help, so Plo Kloon and Commander Wolffe, part of the Wolfpack, go in and try to rescue the inhabitants of Iceberg 3, in the Mon Calamari system next to the planet. It all leads up to what starts beginning of season four. When players watch the first three episodes of season four they'll recognize that it fits with what happens in the game.

Players will start by playing a Starfighter mission, trying to break through the Separatist blockade. Then comes a Republic Defender mission, which tasks players with stopping the Separatists from invading this town while the inhabitants are trying to evacuate. There's also a Dark Side dueling game, because player will run into one of the darker powers in the storyline. In the end, you don't necessarily succeed in driving back the Separatists, but you did your part to allow for Anakin and Senator Amidala to come in and take on a role in the TV series that completes the storyline. For players who are familiar with the Geonosis Saga, the Battle for Iceberg 3is similar. Rewards for completing the storyline challenges will include a unique in-game title, "Hero of the 104th," and a special ability called the Wolfpack. For any Republic Defender mission after completing Iceberg 3, players can activate Commander Wolffe and his commando army, who will charge into the enemy and do a lot of damage.

Next, Carson talked about the new focus on multiplayer games in game. He said the recent addition of new multiplayer games was based on player's requests. The games were also designed to be challenging not only to kids but to adults who are fans of Star Wars or who play the game with their families. Along with that, there was the addition of Squads in game, which let players create in-game teams and give themselves a name. This allows players to find each other and talk to each other even if they're not in the same place. They also have lots more planned for Squads. One is a new gameplay element that will come at the beginning of Season Four. After that, there are plans to add Squad housing and even Squad vs. Squad dueling towards the end of the year.

Housing came up next, and Carson said there are plans to add jump pads and track timers into houses, which lets players create even more amazing obstacle courses. They also want to make use of speeders with player-made tracks. There are lots of physics issues, to prevent people from crashing or getting stuck falling through the world, but they're working on ways to allow players to make their own games.

Springboarding from there, Carson said that starting with Season Four, the team has plans to add mounts to the game, which will be available in the cash shop. And he elaborated on the new McDonald's promotion, saying that players who purchase a Happy Meal will get a code that can be redeemed for a C-3P0 droid pet. There are additional plans for another promotion with Hasbro, including a flash game. But when asked about the trading card game, he said it will depend on what the player demand, but right now there aren't plans to add new packs or expand upon it. Also, when asked about classic outfits that were once available on the Marketplace, he said they prefer to keep items connected with the Clone Wars TV show, so they don't have plans to add new classic outfits or bring back retired ones.

Lastly, Carson talked about the fact that Clone Wars Adventures is one of the few games that does not use player-to-player trading. Instead, they use a wish list that allows players to select items they want, and other players can gift those items to the player. The intention is to prevent scamming, and so far it's worked well. He added that they might add specific items that can be traded, but that overall, they're happy with the wish list system and plan to stick with that.

Battle for Iceberg 3 goes live on July 15th. All players will have access to the first stage, and members will be able to play through the entire storyline.