Star Wars: Jedi Challenges

Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is an augmented reality (AR) experience created by a joint effort by Disney and Lenovo. It has some canonical elements such as planets and Force powers, and features three different modes: Lightsaber Battle, Holochess, and Strategic Combat.Star Wars: Jedi Challenges The experience debuted October 26, 2017.
A major Dark Side expansion was released in November 2018, bringing with it new hardware and software. It focused primarily on lightsaber combat, and allowed the player to assume the role of Kylo Ren using both. A combat strategy mode—"Ship Battles"—was also included with this update, in which the player could command a ship for either the Rebellion or the Empire. Support for the app ended in June of 2022.
==Gameplay==
===Vanilla Experience===
Initially, the game contained six locations, all accessed via a holomap displayed from a Jedi holocron which took the place of the IRL tracking beacon when in AR mode. The majority of these locations were elected from various popular Star Wars projects, including Naboo from Episode I The Phantom Menace, Hoth from Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, Takodana from Episode VII The Force Awakens, and both Lothal and Garel from Star Wars Rebels, as well as one "new" location found within the "Core of the Galaxy" which remains technically unidentified.
Each of these locations, when selected, featured three game modes referred to as Lightsaber Battle, Holochess, and Strategic Combat, each tailored to their respective setting, era, and project (excluding the Core) with the appropriate factions, vehicles, conflicts, etc. For example, on Garel, the Epic stage of the Lightsaber Battle mode is set against the Seventh Sister, while the Strategic Battle features a skirmish between Alliance and Imperial forces at the Garel City Spaceport, though the Holochess stages remain essentially the same across the galaxy.
The first person Lightsaber Battles, also called "Combat Challenges," were the primary and most expansive mode within the game, separated into three distinct stages on each world known as the "First," "Second," and "Epic Encounters." The first two encounters were set against waves of enemy foot soldiers, consisting of both a generic and special unit (i.e. B1-series battle droid and B2-series super battle droid, Stormtrooper and Scout trooper, etc.), while the Epic encounter saw players up against a Dark side boss in a prolonged, one-on-one duel, each possessing a unique skill or trait. Prior to each encounter, players have the option to equip two "Passive" buffs, as well as one active "Force Power" ability, all of which can affect combat to various degrees. Clearing all three stages on each world progressed a "Trials" triumph card specifically designated the "Trials of Combat," increasing in rank from "Jedi Initiate" all the way to "Jedi Master" as more encounters are successfully completed.
At launch, the Holochess mode allowed players to experience the classic in-universe game Dejarik, again, in sets of three stages across six planets, for a total of 18 unique matches. Each Holochess encounter had a prearranged game board, forcing players to solve how to complete each match with whichever of the eight distinct, unlockable creature pieces they've been provided for that particular game. Matches would feature stronger and more numerous units as the encounters became harder, and victories help fill the triumph card titled the "Trials of Insight."
Strategic Combat was described as a tower defense mode where players could place and control units, turrets, and vehicles while attempting to accomplish tasks such as defending astromech droids attempting to hack into systems or protect outbound evacuation vessels from being intercepted. Players could take control of the Grand Army of the Republic, Alliance Military, or Resistance Army to fight against incoming waves of their respective enemies by placing various squads or singular ground units, different turrets with specific utilities, air strikes from fighter squadrons, and both ground and air heroes in the form of some of Star Wars' most popular characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sabine Wren, and Poe Dameron, among many others. Enemy factions had access to the same selection of units, including hero units of their own, and waves would grow increasingly difficult as players progressed through the three difficulties on each world, completing their "Trials of Leadership" triumph card as they pressed on.
As the player makes their way world-by-world from the Outer Rim to the Core, they continually encounter an enigmatic individual who simply identifies themselves as the "Archivist," a self-proclaimed Jedi Master, Archivist, Scholar, and Holochess expert endorsed by the Jedi High Council to test up-and-coming Jedi learners by curating all of the simulated games that make up the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges experience. They guide the player early in the game, offering tutorials for each of the modes and serving as the players' opponent throughout all of the Dejarik matches.
Waiting for the player at an unknown location at the very Core of the Galaxy, the Archivist serves as the game's final boss in each of the base modes, hosting an incredibly hard Holochess scenario, engaging in Strategic Combat by utilizing a combined army of all enemy factions in the game, and most notably, having only a First and Epic encounter. The First is a generic duel against the Archivist, however, in the Epic encounter, they create a false scenario where the player sees them as a Dark Side Force user who goads them into executing them after winning and taking their place as the "Master of the Holocron." When the player displays their restraint and loyalty to the Jedi Order and Light side of the Force, the Archivist bestows upon them the rank of Jedi Master and grants them access to the coveted purple Kyber crystal, which remains unlocked, alongside the default green and blue, from that point forward.
Every encounter within each game mode also came with a checklist of "Performance Ratings," special conditions that could be met within fights, such as "Get hit no more than 5 times" in Lightsaber Battles or "Win without losing any creatures" in Holochess. Completion of all of these ratings was required to 100% Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, though there was no special reward for doing so.
The game also included a multiplayer feature that allowed two players, as long as both owned the Lenovo AR headset and lightsaber controller, to connect their systems via Bluetooth and compete against each other in all three game modes, even allowing one player to utilize the previously enemy-exclusive factions in Strategic Combat though they still could not use red lightsaber in Lightsaber Battles.
===The Last Jedi Tie-In===
Both the Strategic Battle and Lightsaber Battle modes received fresh content to accompany the release of Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi in theaters. The new Strategic Battle stages allowed players to defend against the First Order on the surface of Crait, who now utilized All Terrain MegaCaliber Six walkers and Kylo Ren's TIE silencer, while the player could summon units including MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 heavy bombers and an older Luke Skywalker. Additionally, the new Lightsaber Battle encounters pitted players against First Order riot control stormtroopers and executioner troopers, as well as two Elite Praetorian Guards at the same time for the Epic encounter. As a reward for completing both of the new modes, players were given access to a "trophy" room in the form of a small, personal Ahch-To island which is home to five Porgs, as well as a number of eggs. These Porgs are interactive, and players are capable of feeding them fish and watching them live. Unlike other locations, completing the Crait activities does not affect the progress of moving towards the Core in the base game, and, while implied to be another of their tests, does not involve the Archivist.
===Control the Dark Side===
The "Dark Side Expansion," also referred to as Star Wars: Sith Challenges, added the option to select from four major menu options upon launch, vanilla Jedi Challenges represented by the Archivist, Jedi Challenges - Dark Side Expansion represented by Kylo Ren, and updated Lightsaber - Versus Mode, and the newest multiplayer game mode, "Ship Battles". When selecting the new expansion from this menu, a Sith holocron would appear, surrounded by dark, steel platforms instead of the bright holo-map present in the base game. From this menu, the player is able to select from the different Combat Challenges opponents, those being Yoda, Luke Skywalker, and Rey, each encounter have three difficulty settings of their own, for a total of nine distinct new duels. Prior to dueling each of these Light side combatants for the first time, Kylo Ren and the Sith holocron would initiate a combat tutorial for the player. Following each victory, the player earns either a Dark side Passive skill or active Ability, the expansion offering a total of 6 new Passives and 3 new Abilities to be used only within replays against these three opponents.
As for multiplayer, alongside the ability to wield Kylo Ren's red lightsaber against a friend, the Ship Battles mode brought a new level of competitiveness to the experience, allowing players to helm either an MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruiser or Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, with the intention of destroying the other player's capital ship. The goal was to disable four distinct portions of the opposing ship: the Turbolasers, which affected a ship's rate of fire, the Shields, which affected incoming damage, the Hangar Bay, which affected the speed at which smaller ships could be deployed, and the Comms, which affected the rate at which in-game reinforcements would arrive. Players were able to choose which of these systems to target with their artillery during combat, and could also periodically summon and control both standard starfighters/bombers as well as a hero vessel/special attack for a short period of time. Additionally, there was a tutorial that could be launched that was narrated by Admiral Gial Ackbar.
==Development==
===Initial release===
Star Wars: Jedi Challenges was announced during D23 2017 alongside the promise that players would be able to experience events pulled straight from the Star Wars movies, including the ability to play Holochess as if players were right onboard on the Millennium Falcon, as well as the feeling of swinging a lightsaber hilt, with players able to watch the blade ignite right before their eyes.
Pre-orders began on August 31, 2017, with the game officially launching on October 26, though shipping to some countries reportedly would not happen until November of that year. The AR experience required two elements to play, a free Star Wars: Jedi Challenges mobile app for Android and iOS, and a physical technology bundle including a Lenovo Mirage AR headset, a replica lightsaber controller modeled after the classic Skywalker hilt, a "tracking beacon" used for mapping the game to a physical environment, and a shared device charger. Players would need to set-up the mobile app and calibrate it to both their lightsaber controller and tracking beacon, before slotting it into the headset's retractable tray. The equipment launched at $199.99 per unit, and could be ordered directly from Lenovo's website, as well as most major technology retailers and the official Star Wars: Jedi Challenges website.
===The Last Jedi Update===
The first of three major expansions for Star Wars: Jedi Challenges was announced on December 14, 2017, revealed to be a tie-in promotional update for Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi, which premiered in theaters the day after this announcement. This free expansion went live on January 25, 2018, bringing with it a new location, Crait, which boasted all new stages for two of the three base game modes (the expansion featured no new Holochess challenges).
Employees at Schell Games said they were only given a brief and strictly controlled glimpse of early footage showcasing the climactic fight featuring the Praetorian Guards in The Last Jedi, and were then forced to recreate their fighting style from memory for the Epic Combat Challenge in the The Last Jedi Update. Star Wars: Jedi Challenges managing producer, Caleb Arseneaux, revealed the team was forced to choose the Praetorian Guards as the final encounter as there were no other qualified enemy combatants featured in the film that were not already in the game, a fact that originally frustrated the developers.
Fortunately for the studio, Arseneaux came up with the idea for the Epic encounter to have two enemies at once, which Schell Games became excited to test and implement. They also intentionally made sure both guards were different variants with their own armor, weapons, and fighting styles, adding to the uniqueness of the fight. After seeing the film, Arseneaux stated, "It felt great. After seeing that moment in the film, you're like, 'Oh my gosh.' Some of the moves that we never saw before in the footage they showed us early, we animated anyway. It really feels authentic. It feels like those characters."
===Holochess Update===
The game's second major update released on April 18, 2018, though it exclusively affected the Holochess game mode on Apple products, adding ARKit support to digital applications running iOS 11 and up. For those who met these requirements, all 18 stages within the game were made available to play directly within the app without the need for the headset, controller, or tracking beacon, making it immediately accessible to everyone for free. This mobile Dejarik feature still required access to the camera of the device it was installed on to utilize its simple AR mode.
===Dark Side Expansion===
The third, final, and largest expansion to the game, dubbed the "Dark Side Expansion," was announced on August 30, 2018, set to release for free for all players on November 14, 2018, though there was also an additional, optional piece of hardware available for purchase. A brand new lightsaber controller modeled after Kylo Ren's lightsaber was distributed for $99.99, adding to the experience of utilizing that same lightsaber within the expansion as well.
In an interview with StarWars.com, Jonathan Hsu and Seth Davis, a senior mechanical engineer and director of product management at Disney respectively, both stated that designing and producing the Kylo Ren's lightsaber controller was much more difficult than the base game's Skywalker lightsaber version. "One, it's very worn down, but two, it's kind of this mashed together piece of hardware," Hsu said, "There's a balance between 'How can we produce one that would do the actual Kylo saber justice' but also if we can afford to do it justice and keep it affordable." After experimenting with color, simulated damage, 3D printing, injection molding, decorative elements, and more, across numerous meetings and prototypes, they finally settled on a design they were proud of, Davis stating, "in this case you're holding it in your own hands and that was a pretty satisfying experience to see that come to life."
===End of Life===
Despite the Lenovo admins staying active on the official Star Wars: Jedi Challenges until early 2021, even commonly entertaining suggestions for future content updates from fans and seemingly teasing more to come, both the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges app and gear were officially retired June 1, 2022, with product support remaining available until the following month on July 6. The official Star Wars: Jedi Challenges website was also made defunct, now just redirecting users to the VR Headsets product page on Lenovo's website.
==Continuity==
The continuity of Star Wars: Jedi Challenges has been consistently brought into question, specifically when it comes to the Archivist and their seemingly omniscient view of universe and its various eras. This confusion was addressed directly by Lucasfilm Story Group member and Sr. Creative Executive at Lucasfilm Ltd., Matt Martin, who worked on the game in some capacity. He explained, "The whole thing is sort of a simulation but I suppose there are elements of canon if you care."
==Reception==
Shortly after launch, the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges AR Headset won the "2017 – 2018 Golden A' Design Award" in the "Digital and Electronic Devices Design Award" for its ergonomic design and maximum immersion factor.
At the 2018 Webby Awards, Star Wars: Jedi Challenges won in four categories. The game won in the official categories of Technical Achievement and Best Use of Augmented Reality. It also won in the People's Voice categories of Technical Achievement and Best Use of Augmented Reality.
==Media==
===Gallery===
File:JediChallenges-Logo.png|Jedi Challenges logo
File:Jedi Challenges Launch Cover Photo.jpg|Jedi Challenges Launch Poster
File:Jedi Challenges The Last Jedi Poster.jpg|Jedi Challenges The Last Jedi Expansion Poster
File:Jedi Challenges Launch App Icon.jpg|Jedi Challenges Launch App Icon
File:Jedi Challenges The Last Jedi App Icon.png|Jedi Challenges The Last Jedi Expansion App Icon
File:Jedi Challenges Dark Side Expansion App Icon.png|Jedi Challenges Dark Side Expansion App Icon
==Credits==
==Appearances==
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
*Official website
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Category:Virtual reality games