Andrew EdwardsOne of the few places where...

Andrew Edwards

One of the few places where the sight of a Jedi battle is just part

of the daily grind, the Collective is a Newport Beach video game

studio that was tapped by LucasArts to develop a video game based on

the upcoming “Star Wars” movie, “Episode III -- Revenge of the

Sith.”

The Collective was founded in 1997 by three video game developers

who felt a pull to start their own company. Douglas Hare, 37, Richard

Hare, 34, and Gary Priest, 37, said they had done freelance work in

the United Kingdom before coming to Orange County in the early 1990s

to work for Virgin Interactive, now Avalon Interactive.

“Being in control of your own business, being in control of your

own destiny, it’s hard not to go back to that after doing it for

awhile,” Priest said.

Before video games became work, the company’s founders were game

players and fans.

“We’re all pretty much hobbyists. We love games,” Richard Hare

said.

The Collective has about 100 employees, Douglas Hare said, and is

working on two games in addition to the “Star Wars” title. One,

“Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure,” is billed as an urban game

influenced by graffiti art. The project is a collaboration with Atari

and fashion designer Mark Ecko.

The third game, Douglas Hare said, is a project for the new Xbox

and PlayStation consoles, but the details are being kept under wraps.

The developers described the game-design process as a challenge to

combine new technologies and the diverse, creative ideas of a design

team.

“It’s very hard to coordinate many artistic people working toward

one artistic goal,” Priest said. “It’s like multiple authors writing

a book.”

The challenge is magnified by continual technological

developments.

“Every day, you’re looking at something new,” Douglas Hare said.

The “Revenge of the Sith” game is set to come out on May 5, two

weeks before the movie’s release date. Though the game is based on

scenes in the film, Richard Hare doubts the game will spoil the

movie’s surprises for fans of the series.

“I think people know what direction Anakin Skywalker’s going,” he

said.