14 DAY TRIAL // Immersion is one of the main things that developers stride to achieve when working on a game. Stunning graphics, a moving soundtrack and a touching story are only the building blocks needed in order to make gamers feel like they're not just pressing buttons, but actually making decisions and influencing the game world and the life of the characters involved. So, every time when even the smallest element of a genuine experience can be brought to a game, developers jump on the occasion like mobsters on a sure horse bet.
The genuine experience element is something not very often stumbled upon in the gaming industry, but when a licensed title is involved, things get a little simpler. In case of a sequel, all you have to do is keep the original cast and when the game is inspired by a movie, for example, it's as easy as using the voice of the film's actor to bring the game character to life. But as surprisingly as it may sound, with all the Star Wars movies out there and the popularity of the Force protégé, Mark Hamill has not lent his voice to a single SW video game so far.
For all you youngsters out there, Hamill is the one that played Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, so if the name didn't sound familiar, you should be well in the loop now. What makes his absence as a voice actor in any Star Wars game even stranger is that his career as an actor is far more rich and diverse in the voice acting department, as he has provided a lot of cartoon, as well as game characters with a voice to share their thoughts with.
His most recent game contribution was to Batman: Arkham Asylum, in which he played the ultimate villain of the game, The Joker. And as far as his presence in Star Wars games goes, while talking to PC Zone, Hamill said that "When I played Luke from 1977 to 1983, games were in their infancy. I talked about turning a page and starting a new chapter. Those movies had a beginning, middle and end, and everyone sort of moved on.”
When asked about why he never voiced Skywalker in a game, he replied that “I don't really know how to answer that, because I've never been asked to do it. That's fine, though. If you're playing Luke the way he was in the films - from his late teens to mid-'20s - I've outgrown the role. In the story, Luke is so boy-next-door farm boy, it's like Dorothy in Oz. All the other characters that surround him are fantastic.”