Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Darth Vader joined the Imperial Fleet in their invasion of the Wookiee home planet, Kashyyyk, driven by rumors of a renegade Jedi defending the Wookiees. After fighting through a horde of fierce Wookiees, Vader arrived at a small dwelling, the residence of the Jedi, Kento Marek. In an attempt to shield the planet and his young son, Galen, from Vader, Kento engaged the Sith Lord in combat. Kento lost the duel and was killed by Vader using a Force choke. However, during the confrontation, it became clear that Kento's son possessed remarkable Force abilities. The boy's power was so significant that Vader killed his own officers and stormtroopers to safeguard him, rather than allowing them to harm the child.

The young boy, now in Vader's care, is trained in the ways of the Sith. He is raised as Vader's secret apprentice, tasked with perilous missions to assess his skills, and given the alias "Starkiller".

Galen's initial assignment involves locating and eliminating a former Jedi General named Rahm Kota at the Nar Shaddaa shipyard. Before embarking on this mission, Galen meets Juno Eclipse, the new pilot of the Rogue Shadow. Together with PROXY, they depart for the shipyard and immediately encounter a space battle upon exiting hyperspace. Galen is deployed within the TIE Fighter Construction Facility, where Kota is concealed. He battles through Kota's Troopers and Stormtroopers alike. Upon finally confronting Kota, they engage in combat, with Galen ultimately emerging victorious, sending Kota plummeting towards the planet, presumed dead. Before returning to his master, Galen retrieves Kota's lightsaber as instructed by Vader.

Following his victory over Kota, Galen's next mission takes him to the junkyard world of Raxus Prime, where he must find and assassinate the deranged Jedi, Kazdan Paratus. He fights through hordes of Rodian scavengers and discarded droids before reaching the makeshift Jedi Temple constructed by Paratus. The insane Jedi Master, determined to defend his mannequin representations of fallen Jedi Masters, confronts Galen, who eventually defeats him.

Before they could confront the Emperor, Vader instructs Galen to defeat someone even more powerful than the other Jedi, Shaak Ti. On Felucia, she trains an army of Felucian Force-sensitives. Upon spotting the Rogue Shadow, she instructs her Zabrak Padawan, Maris Brood, to hide while she lures the assassin to the site of sacrifice, the massive sarlacc's nest. However, even her strength and connection to the sarlacc are no match for Galen. Before her death, Shaak Ti warns him that the Sith are inherently treacherous.

Galen returns to the Executor, only to discover that the Emperor's fleet has arrived. However, Vader had not lured them; his spies had followed Galen from Felucia. Without warning, Vader stabs Galen in the chest while Palpatine orders him to kill his apprentice. The Emperor, observing the supposed death of the former apprentice through PROXY, delights in seeing Galen being defeated, exclaiming, "Yes! Kill him, Lord Vader!" After overpowering the formidable Dark Jedi, despite his pleas for cooperation, Vader throws Galen out of the window. Vader later sends a droid to retrieve his body.

Galen awakens on Vader's science vessel, the Empirical, his injuries treated and healed. Via PROXY, Vader instructs Galen to distract the Emperor's spies by gathering the Empire's enemies. After ending the transmission, PROXY informs Galen that he has programmed the Empirical to crash into the nearby sun. Despite the holodroid's pleas, Galen rescues Juno, who has been imprisoned and labeled a traitor.

Remembering Kota's statement about his future, Galen tracks him from Nar Shaddaa to Ziost, eventually finding him – blind, skeptical of the Empire's downfall, and intoxicated in the Vapor Room, an industrial cantina situated on a construction platform near Cloud City. Galen persuades the former General to assist him as they evade the Imperials searching for them.

Kota mentions a contact who has been providing him with information on Imperial targets, but requires Galen to find something on Kashyyyk. Galen travels to the planet, discovering an old hut that feels strangely familiar. He experiences a vision in which his father expresses his disapproval of Galen's path. Galen then rescues Princess Leia Organa, who is being held captive by Captain Ozzik Sturn. She refuses to leave until the skyhook is destroyed. Galen proceeds to destroy the skyhook and kills Ozzik Sturn, who attempts to eliminate Galen in his personal AT-KT.

After Darth Vader, his master, killed and resurrected Marek, Starkiller is compelled by the Force to visit the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Navigating through the temple to the High Council quarters, the Sith apprentice makes his way to the lobby of the High Council Tower. Here, he blasts an ancient Jedi statue, using it as a bridge to reach the Council Chambers. Inside, Marek faces Jedi trials, tests designed to challenge the Force users' abilities. After passing these trials, Starkiller confronts his next adversary: a Sith Stalker. Using the Force and other techniques to subdue the Sith phantom, Marek eventually defeats it. However, before departing, the Sith is revealed to be none other than Galen Marek himself.

Kota reveals that, feeling useless to Bail Organa, he sought out Shaak Ti. Galen then returns to Felucia, where the Empire has been battling the inhabitants, who have turned to the dark side, and studying the Sarlacc. Galen manages to locate Bail, who is being held prisoner by Maris, who intends to use him to gain leniency from the Empire. Galen defeats Maris and her pet bull rancor, holding her at his mercy. She begs him to let her go, promising to abandon the dark side. Galen releases her; when Bail questions his mercy, Galen responds that Maris will have to live with her choices for the rest of her life.

Organa suggests that to rally other dissidents, they need to demonstrate the Empire's weakness. Vader proposes destroying the Star Destroyer construction yard above Raxus Prime. Upon attempting to contact the planet's sentient computer core, PROXY's mind is immediately taken over and he attempts to fulfill his programming by killing Galen, but the apprentice defeats him. After using the ore cannon to destroy the construction yard, one of the Destroyers crashes down through the atmosphere. Kota instructs Galen to use the Force to bring the Destroyer crashing down. After he succeeds, PROXY is found, his mind restored, and he regretfully informs Galen that he no longer remembers his primary function.

On Corellia, Bail, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis convene to establish a Rebellion to overthrow the Empire. However, as soon as the Alliance is declared, the Empire attacks, capturing the Senators and Kota. Vader then reveals to Galen that he has been using him and never intended to kill Palpatine with him. He attempts to kill his apprentice, but PROXY, disguised as Obi-Wan Kenobi, saves him, sacrificing his own life. Galen, whom Vader presumed dead, is rescued by Juno. He realizes that Vader only wanted to draw out the Empire's enemies.

Using the Force and his knowledge that the Rebels are to be executed by Palpatine, Galen and Juno travel to the incomplete Death Star to rescue Kota, Mon Mothma, Garm Bel Iblis, and Bail Organa. After being discovered by Palpatine, Vader is sent to deal with Galen. They duel, leaving Vader injured and with damaged armor. Kota, after a failed attempt to attack the Emperor, is struck with Force lightning, and Galen intervenes. He defeats Palpatine in a duel but chooses not to kill him; Palpatine, as in his duel with Windu, is feigning defeat. To save the Alliance from Palpatine as they escape, Galen sacrifices himself. Later, the Alliance is formally established, and they choose Galen's family crest as their symbol.

Galen Marek and Juno Eclipse journeyed to the Death Star I to rescue Rahm Kota and the Rebel leaders, who were captured by the Emperor for execution. Before the apprentice departed the Rogue Shadow, Marek and Eclipse declared their love for each other. Fighting his way through the battle station, Marek reached the throne room, where he encountered Darth Vader, and they dueled. Marek crushed Vader with several metal girders before throwing him into the throne room. As Darth Vader lay clinging to life before him, Palpatine attempted to influence Marek to murder Vader and become Palpatine's new apprentice. Rahm Kota, sensing the mind trick, attempted to distract the Sith Lord. However, it was not enough to distract Marek from his bloodlust, and Marek struck down Darth Vader in anger.

Returning to Palpatine, he found Kota lying at the feet of the Dark Lord, charred from Sith lightning. Palpatine decreed that Marek's final test was to kill Rahm Kota, thus severing all his ties to the Jedi. Instead, Marek turned to attack the Emperor. Palpatine deflected the attack easily and said he had foreseen the attack. He threw Marek through the observation window. Marek saw the bodies of Bail Organa and the other rebel leaders. Juno Eclipse attempted to save Marek with the Rogue Shadow. Palpatine gripped the ship with the Force, and with Juno Eclipse still inside the ship, he threw it on top of Marek. The last thing Marek saw was darkness. The next thing Starkiller saw as he woke up was the Emperor, standing over him. He was on an operating table. Starkiller looked down at his hands. To his horror, they matched the vision he had at the Jedi Temple. He had been clad in his own suit of life support armor. And so, Lord Starkiller was born.

These versions have slight variations, including additional levels in the Jedi Temple and on Cloud City. The most significant difference is the location of Rahm Kota, who is found on Nar Shaddaa instead of Bespin.

After Starkiller defeated Rahm Kota at the TIE fighter construction facility, Darth Vader sent his apprentice to the ruins of the Jedi Temple in order to prepare for his next mission. Within it, his presence activated the Holocron of the long-dead Sith Lord, Darth Desolous. Leeching off of Marek's fear, Desolous began his attack, wielding a cortosis shield and a red lightsaber. Starkiller successfully fended off the Sith's lightsaber blows and used Force lightning to send the Sith reeling. Near defeat, Desolous made a final attempt at destroying Marek, and failed. Starkiller then used the Force to hurl Desolous' Sith Holocron towards the main statue at the top of the hall, and up along the statue's surface. The Holocron was then cast down from the statue's face and hurled into the stone floor. With a final pull of the Force, the giant statue of Palpatine came crumbling down on the hologram of the ancient Sith Lord, defeating him and ending the Trials program.

After Starkiller assassinated the deranged Jedi master Kazdan Paratus on Raxus Prime, Darth Vader sent his apprentice to the Jedi Temple once more. While Darth Sidious had ordered the library's protection during Operation: Knightfall, the Jedi protecting the four main wings of the Archives brought down the ceiling in the central atrium and a few of the archive's wings. It was within one of the damaged wings that Starkiller encountered an incarnation of the ancient Sith Lady, Darth Phobos. Engaging each other in lightsaber combat, Phobos often changed her appearance to that of one of the few people Starkiller cared for, Captain Juno Eclipse, believing that would hold him back. However, the young Sith apprentice was unrestrained by the illusion, and savagely battled the Sith apparition. Hurling busts and holobooks around towards his opponent, Starkiller eventually pushed the Sith illusionist through four bookcases. Wounded, Phobos once again attempted her disguise in order to spare her defeat. Not fooled by the image before him, Starkiller stabbed Phobos through her back.

After Marek's master, Darth Vader, killed and resurrected him, Starkiller felt compelled by the Force to return to the Temple a final time to finish the Trials. Winding through the High Council quarter, the Sith apprentice made his way to the lobby of the High Council Tower and entered the ancient turbolift that would transport him to the summit chamber. When the turbolift stopped and emptied into the Council Chambers, Starkiller gazed upon his next adversary; a robed Jedi, yet another opponent selected from the Trials program's memory bank. Using the Force and other techniques to subdue the Jedi phantom, Marek eventually pulled the Trials' ghost down and impaled him with his saber. Before the program cut out, the Jedi revealed itself to be Kento Marek, Galen's father.

After destroying the shipyard above Raxus Prime, Marek traveled to Cloud City to find Senator Bel Iblis. With his assistance along with Bail Organa's, there would be enough people to help in the creation of a resistance against the Galactic Empire's rule. Upon reaching Cloud City, which was still under construction at the time, Marek encountered the administrator of the floating platform, which was Lobot. He informed the cyborg that master Rahm Kota had sent him to meet with the senator. However, Lobot informed him that the senator was unavailable, as he attempted to negotiate with a criminal gang led by Chop'aa Notimo, who's mercenaries were assaulting the city. Mounting the Basilisk war droid, Chop'aa fought Marek and after a long battle the droid was defeated when Galen used the Force to send it crashing into the ground. From the flames, Notimo's helmet rolled out and he came charging at Starkiller ready to kill him. After a lengthy battle, Galen slashed his lightsaber across Chop'aa, thus killing him. Now that Chop'aa was dead, Starkiller came before Bel Iblis and told him that he was safe. Galen attempted to inform Garm that Rahm Kota sent him, but Bel Iblis was already aware of this and knew of his plans for a rebellion. When Starkiller asked the senator if he was with them, Garm replied by stating that he had spoke out against the Emperor too many times, which resulted in Palpatine issuing death warrants against him and his family. He then said that he was of course going to join Marek and told him to meet him with Bail Organa in order to discuss their next move.

The Nintendo DS version, developed by N-space, closely mirrors the plot of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. However, the opening crawl and certain plot elements differ from the other console versions. It also excludes Garm Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma. Additional differences include the utilization of Feel the Force events in specific missions, such as Darth Vader's encounter with Kento Marek on Kashyyyk, the use of text and boxes beneath character icons in cutscenes instead of cinematic sequences, Captain Ozzik Sturn piloting an AT-RT instead of an AT-KT, and Trandoshans guarding him.

The cellphone version, The Force Unleashed Mobile, developed by THQ Wireless, restricts player control over Starkiller's movements. Instead, players must trace patterns of numbers appearing above enemies' heads to eliminate them. Starkiller can also employ Force push, Force drain, Mind trick, telekinesis, and Force lightning by tracing specific patterns. The plot loosely follows that of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, with significant deviations. Rahm Kota is entirely absent from the plot after his initial encounter with Starkiller. Instead, after Starkiller is resurrected, Vader immediately dispatches him to Kashyyyk to liberate Organa. Following her rescue, the Princess sends Starkiller to liberate several Wookiees, including a local leader. After completing his objective, Organa tasks Starkiller with infiltrating an Imperial prison and freeing more Wookiees. Inside the prison, Starkiller confronts and defeats an Imperial commander wielding a lightwhip. Later, instead of sending Starkiller to Raxus Prime to demonstrate the Empire's weakness, Vader sends him to destroy the TIE fighter construction facility above Nar Shaddaa, where he confronted Kota.

THQ developed two additional versions of the game: one for the N-Gage service for Nokia smartphones and another for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Both versions utilize the same combat system as the mobile game but feature 3-D graphics. In these versions, Starkiller rescues Organa from a group of escorting stormtroopers in the forest of Kashyyyk. Unwilling to leave while the planet's population remains enslaved, Organa sends Starkiller to liberate Wookiees from a nearby prison compound. After freeing the slaves, Starkiller faces off against an electrostaff-wielding Sturn inside the prison. The captain is also assisted by two AT-STs. Starkiller, however, manages to push the AT-STs out of the prison building and closes the doors through which they have come. When Sturn charges him with the electrostaff, Starkiller kills him with a discharge of Force lightning.

Additionally, in these versions, Starkiller's initiation as Vader's apprentice occurs on the Death Star instead of the Executor, and the duel with Maris Brood takes place inside the wreckage of a starship. Similar to the cell phone version, Starkiller goes to the TIE fighter construction site instead of Raxus Prime. There, after destroying the core, he duels a Shadow Guard. Also, Vader does not kill Starkiller aboard the Executor; instead, when the Rebels have been rallied, he tells him to go to the Death Star to confront the Emperor. There, Starkiller discovers that Vader has betrayed him and duels his master. They fight through the Death Star, eventually reaching the Emperor's throne room. There, Marek uses the Force to collapse a nearby Star Destroyer into the Death Star, thus creating a distraction for the Imperial troops stationed inside and allowing Bail Organa and the other Rebels—who are unidentified in these versions—to reach the Rogue Shadow and escape. After their escape, Starkiller tells Vader that without him he will never be free and deactivates his lightsaber, and Vader deals a mortal blow.

LucasArts made the announcement of an Ultimate Sith Edition for The Force Unleashed at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con; this edition was exclusively for the 360, PS3, PC, and Mac. This edition contains all the original game's missions, in addition to three extra missions. Notably, the three bonus missions are downloadable for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the original game.

Within the three bonus missions featured in this edition, one takes place within the Jedi Temple. The other two continue the narrative of Galen Marek after he assumes the role of Palpatine's apprentice, stemming from the game's Dark Side ending. In this alternate scenario, Galen does not rescue Kota; instead, he defeats Vader by impaling him with two lightsabers, thereby taking Vader's place at Palpatine's side. His ultimate trial involves striking down the helpless Kota, but Galen instead directs his attack toward the Emperor. However, Palpatine anticipates this betrayal and thwarts Galen's attempt. Palpatine effortlessly subdues Galen and causes the Rogue Shadow to crash down upon everyone in the room, resulting in the deaths of all except Galen and the Emperor. The concluding scene depicts Galen, lying on a table, fitted with a mechanical suit, which mirrors Anakin Skywalker's transformation in Revenge of the Sith. In this non-canon iteration, fans often call Marek "Darth Stalker" due to his position as Sidious' new Sith Apprentice and the designation of his armor, but in the game, he is referred to as "Lord Starkiller".

The initial mission within this new storyline involves Marek's assignment to Tatooine, tasked with uncovering information about the stolen Death Star plans. After battling through numerous Jawas and Tusken Raiders, Marek infiltrates Jabba's palace, eliminating numerous thugs in an attempt to secure a meeting with the crime lord. Jabba is impressed by Marek's destructive display and agrees to meet with him. Marek inquires about two droids—a protocol droid and an astromech droid—believed to possess the plans. Jabba initially denies any knowledge of these droids, but his current translator droid inadvertently reveals his deception.

Incensed by this revelation, Jabba throws Marek into the Rancor pit. However, Marek defeats the Rancor and escapes through the palace incinerator, encountering a salvaged and damaged PROXY along the way. PROXY assists Marek in bypassing the garbage disposal security, allowing him to escape to the Palace hangar, where he faces Boba Fett, who seeks to collect the bounty on Marek's head. The two engage in an extended battle, but Marek ultimately triumphs by telekinetically redirecting one of Fett's rockets back at him, apparently killing the bounty hunter. Following the information unintentionally disclosed by Jabba's translator, Marek proceeds to Mos Eisley and storms Docking Bay 94 just as the droids, accompanied by Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, are boarding the Millennium Falcon. Kenobi remains in the bay to confront Marek, who is delighted at the prospect of finally defeating the "real Obi-Wan Kenobi," having spent much of his training under Vader battling PROXY's combat simulation of the Jedi.

After an extended lightsaber duel with Kenobi, Marek finally defeats the Jedi. However, before he can board the Falcon, he is suddenly attacked by Kenobi's Force ghost. Following another prolonged duel, Marek manages to vanquish the spirit just as the Millennium Falcon is taking off. Leaping onto the hull, he successfully plants a tracking device before falling off.

Despite Marek's success in attaching the homing device to the hull of the Millennium Falcon, the Rebels still managed to destroy the Death Star. After the battle, the spirit of Obi-Wan began training Luke in the ways of the Force. Years later, Marek tracked down Luke Skywalker and the other Rebels to Hoth. After taking down a snowspeeder with his lightsaber and disembarking from his AT-AT, Marek initiated his assault on Echo Base. Captain Keenah, designated as Marek's attack group liaison, devised an infiltration route for the dark lord to enter Echo Base through ice caverns adjacent to the base. These caverns were infested with wampas, which Marek swiftly eliminated. As the ice columns the Sith was using to cross began to collapse, Captain Keenah contacted Marek via comlink to inform him of the cavern's instability, attributing it to the walker invasion force. Despite the captain's claim that the error was unintentional and Marek remained unharmed, the dark lord used the Force to strangle the captain for his failure. Lieutenant Marsen then took over as Starkiller's liaison, assisting the Sith throughout the remainder of the invasion.

The ice caverns connected to the Rebel base, and to prevent attacks from Wampas and other threats from the cave, the Rebels had set up an automated sentry turret defense. This defense proved inadequate against Marek. After Marek destroyed a generator, disabling the door shield, Rebel troops investigated the disturbance but were easily defeated. Marek continued his violent advance into the base, slaughtering Rebels and wampas that entered during the battle. Lieutenant Marsen informed Starkiller of a group of Rebels ahead, likely including an officer—which proved correct, as Marek finally located the young Force-user he sought. Upon confronting Luke alone, Starkiller revealed the truth about Luke's father, attempting to provoke and confuse him, though Luke denied it. Despite the chaos of the invasion, Luke remained composed during the ensuing lightsaber and Force duel. Luke even attempted to sway Marek from the dark side, sensing the good within him, but his efforts failed, and Luke released three wampas to cover his escape. This did not deter Marek for long, as he continued his pursuit through the base to trap Skywalker.

When Marek disabled the force field generator protecting the Millennium Falcon in the Echo Base hangar, the blast doors were sealed to safeguard the ship and Princess Leia. Starkiller attempted to force the doors open with the Force, but Skywalker, waiting for him, Force pushed him away, stepped through, and resealed the doors. Luke declared he would not flee from Starkiller or his destiny. Another duel ensued, amid the ongoing battle between Rebel and Imperial forces in the hangar. Starkiller overpowered Luke, drawing him closer to the Dark Side. As snowtroopers moved to capture Skywalker, he tapped into the passionate energies of the Dark Side to defeat them, reinvigorating himself for the battle against Starkiller. Skywalker began using red Force lightning and wild lightsaber attacks, boasting that he could defeat Marek, even if Obi-Wan could not. Despite Luke's aggressive and damaging powers, Starkiller absorbed his opponent's lightning into his lightsaber and redirected it back at him throughout the battle, ultimately defeating him in lightsaber combat. Marek threw Luke into the path of an oncoming snowspeeder. Luke then charged at him, and after a series of strikes, Marek disarmed Luke and severed his right hand with the lightsaber. As Marek prepared for the final blow, the blast doors protecting the Millennium Falcon opened behind him, and the ship sped out of the hangar, ready to escape the planet. Starkiller quickly reacted, using the Force to catch the ship. Marek told Luke that only the Dark Side could save his friends, and the now-fallen Jedi complied by unleashing Force lightning once more. Marek blocked it with his lightsaber and pushed the lightning back at him. Although Luke's attack distracted Marek, allowing the Millennium Falcon to escape, he was defeated and had embraced the power of the dark side. Marek then congratulated Luke and addressed him as his new apprentice. Luke looked up at his new master, his eyes and teeth yellowed from using the Dark Side, filled with anger.

The game also incorporates an in-game encyclopedia. As players progress, entries about various objects and characters are unlocked. This feature is similar in functionality to the encyclopedia found in the video game Star Wars: Rebellion.

• TIE Fighter
• TIE Fighter Construction Facility
• Imperial Senate Sentinel
• MAAT
• Executor
• Darth Vader
• The Secret Apprentice
• Emperor Palpatine
• Wookiee
• Kashyyyk
• Rahm Kota
• Kota's Militia
• AT-ST
• Stormtrooper
• Imperial Navy commando
• Imperial medic
• Imperial Heavy Trooper
• Jumptrooper
• Shadow EVO Trooper
• Shadow Trooper
• Shadow Guard
• Maris Brood
• Shaak Ti
• Sarlacc
• Rancor
• Bull rancor
• Felucia
• Raxus Prime
• PROXY
• Juno Eclipse
• Felucian shaman
• Felucian warrior
• Rodian heavy defender
• Rogue Shadow
• Imperial Ore Facility
• Jedi Temple
• Junk Jedi Temple
• Jedi Trials
• Darth Desolous
• Darth Phobos
• Purge trooper
• Heavy Tactical Fighting Unit
• Chop'aa Notimo
• Kleef
• Cloud City
• Lobot
• Bail Organa
• Princess Leia
• Garm Bel Iblis
• Mon Mothma
• Death Star
• Empirical

Around August of 2004, the video game's development team was assigned the task of crafting a significant new addition to the Star Wars mythos. During the initial stages, various concepts were proposed, including narratives set centuries before the films, an open-world game focused on smugglers, a game featuring Darth Maul or a Wookiee protagonist, or a story about "the first Rebel". Some concepts revolved around game mechanics, such as an open world, highly customizable weapons or ships, or the introduction of newly discovered exotic Force powers and Force-imbued weapons.

While George Lucas was typically uninvolved in video game development, The Force Unleashed received his attention as the next major installment in the saga. In the spring of 2005, the developers met with him at Skywalker Ranch, presenting pitch boards and concept art. Lucas emphasized comedy, drama, and redemption as central themes of Star Wars and shared both reservations and enthusiasm for the team's ideas. He expressed interest in the "Underworld" and "Rise of the Rebellion" concepts, granting them the freedom to create the origin of the Alliance. He also approved a new interpretation of Force powers from another concept.

Following the meeting, the team chose to concentrate on the "Rise of the Rebellion" concept. Recognizing the gaming audience's preference for Jedi characters, they decided to make the main character a Jedi, leading to the "Rebel Jedi" concept. The protagonist was conceived as an archetype inspired by spy fiction and Westerns: a former Imperial soldier betrayed upon the revelation of his Jedi heritage. Operating from a secret base, the Force-sensitive vigilante would use his expertise in customizable weapons, gadgets, and exotic vehicles—along with loyal contacts—against the Empire and its bounty hunters. His personal quest for vengeance would inspire Bail and Leia Organa to form the Alliance.

Despite the lack of clear direction regarding the game's gameplay features, storyline, and protagonist, the team had already developed development tools and technologies. A concept animation depicted the Rebel Jedi igniting a Stormtrooper and using the Force to set others ablaze, or freezing one with a carbonite gun before destroying him with the Force.

The LucasArts executive team rejected the disparate elements of the "Rebel Jedi," leading the team to strip the concept down. They focused on the Jedi protagonist's villainous origins, his reliance on lightsaber combat and Force powers that would showcase abilities never before seen in a game. Starting as an evil Force-sensitive would position him as an Emperor's Hand or even Darth Sidious's secret Sith apprentice. Ultimately, it was decided that the Emperor would not be a compelling figure to serve, and the Apprentice was instead assigned to Darth Vader: a Dark Jedi secretly trained to overthrow the Emperor. The secret nature of the Apprentice (and his eventual redemption) would necessitate him killing both enemies of the Empire and Imperials, ensuring extensive action.

An investigation into potential new Force abilities discarded many outlandish ideas (like conjuring the spirits of Jedi/Sith warriors, instant transmission, becoming a different person, or scaling walls) and instead focused on reimagining the core Force powers. A piece of concept art displayed a Stormtrooper being propelled by the Force with incredible strength, crashing into pillars; this sparked the concept of unrestrained Force powers: While Jedi undergo training to regulate their feelings and limit their power, the Apprentice was intended to be unburdened by such restrictions; rather, he was to be encouraged to wield his abilities in raw and untamed ways that would appear "amped up". By the autumn of 2005, the protagonist and the vision of the Force were firmly established.

Haden Blackman envisioned the protagonist's powers as so unbridled that he would be capable of wrenching a Star Destroyer from the heavens. An artwork concept portrayed a Star Destroyer collapsing before the protagonist, an image that became the quintessential representation of the inspiration that followed. Further concept art explored well-known Force powers pushed to their limits, and their expansion into novel abilities, such as "Force repulse".

To present their concept, Blackman and Omernick joined forces with animator Patrick Przybula and effects artist Eric Antanavich to produce a pre-rendered visualization animation, known as "Force Power Pre-Vis". The animation showcased a character using classic powers to push, throw, and slam Stormtroopers, even using one as a projectile to obliterate an oncoming TIE fighter. In the Pre-Vis animation, objects warped and shattered, and the Stormtroopers struggled to grasp onto nearby structures, or each other, shielding themselves or evading impact.

The initial story draft, presented to George Lucas, featured a different scenario that initiated the Apprentice's redemption, centered around his ultimate adversary: The Apprentice eliminates Shaak Ti on Alderaan, who serves as the guardian of the Royal Family; although young Princess Leia witnesses the event, the Apprentice finds himself incapable of killing her. Subsequently, Vader, accompanied by a mysterious Dark Jedi, launches an assault on the Apprentice. The narrative reveals that Vader had been secretly training two separate apprentices concurrently, intending to select the superior one and task him with eliminating the other in case of failure. The Apprentice is rescued by his droid and placed in a comatose state, during which he encounters the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn. Awakening ten years later as a cyborg, he embarks on a quest for vengeance against the Empire, guided by Qui-Gon's spirit.

His journey leads him to the early leaders of the Rebellion and brings him into proximity with the Organa family (who remain unaware of his identity). He assumes Shaak Ti's role in safeguarding Leia, seeking atonement for her murder, and ultimately defeats the Dark Apprentice. He participates in the Battle of Toprawa and facilitates Leia's escape aboard the Tantive IV with the Death Star plans, eliminating his rival. Vader then attempts to corrupt him once more, revealing that he betrayed him to fuel his hatred and desire for revenge, inviting the Apprentice to rejoin him. The player's decisions would determine the fate of the Rebellion.

The second meeting with Lucas occurred in late 2005, and he expressed enthusiasm for the Pre-Vis animations and certain aspects of the story. He contributed ideas regarding the dynamics between Vader and his Apprentice, suggesting that Vader should be both cruel and offer promises of future power, including the overthrow of the Emperor. Lucas dismissed the notion of Leia as a known Rebel, as well as her connection with the Apprentice, and questioned the specific timeline of the story. He also expressed skepticism about the rival Apprentice, preferring the Emperor and Vader as the primary antagonists: the Emperor's influence stemmed from greed, not fear; and the Apprentice's climactic battle to save the Alliance did not necessarily require killing either of them. Lucas proposed that the Emperor discover the Apprentice and betray him, suggested a more ambiguous timeframe, and introduced new characters, including a living Jedi mentor, a new love interest, and a comic relief sidekick. Lucas also concurred that Bail Organa could be portrayed as one of the Alliance's founders.

In an early stage of writing, Obi-Wan Kenobi was intended to be the protagonist's mentor, with the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn guiding him to Tatooine to meet him.

As the core concept began to take shape, the team faced the more complex task of defining the target platforms, the necessary assets, and the team size; technological planning was a crucial yet adaptable element. Around this time, the team relocated from Skywalker Ranch to the Letterman Digital Arts Center, where they were joined by additional members. In Presidio, they shared a workspace with ILM employees, exchanging techniques and insights to develop both a game editor and a graphics renderer.

Blackman also concluded that the narrative required a significant plot twist that would rewrite the established timeline. Vader's motivations were explored, including a potential scheme to resurrect Padmé; the inclusion of Plagueis was considered in various roles, such as Plagueis controlling Vader, being reborn as the Apprentice, or serving as the Apprentice's mentor. Lucas also provided insights into Vader's character during the period between the trilogies: portraying him as a tragic, broken figure, forever transformed and under the Emperor's control. Since Vader's loyalty to the Emperor had to be maintained, his "conspiracy" with his Apprentice to overthrow him would be merely a component of a larger plan orchestrated by the Emperor himself: while the Apprentice lived and honed his skills to overthrow him in the future, his actual role is to hunt down the Emperor's enemies, and consolidate the Empire's hold. Vader's "betrayal" that would enable the Apprentice to secretly form the Alliance, was part of the Emperor's plan to concentrate all his enemies, and destroy them.

As the final storyline was refined, so too were the archetypal characters--Kota as the mentor, Eclipse as the love interest, and PROXY as the comic relief--and on February 10 2006 the team presented Lucas with a memo containing the story outline, the character roster, and several questions. These questions related to the Organa family's visibility within the Rebellion and the Emperor/Vader's awareness of them; as well as the latter's involvement in the Alliance's formation. Lucas responded via fax, approving all the ideas, answering the questions affirmatively, and offering additional suggestions, such as the existence of other Rebel leaders besides Organa.

The narrative of The Force Unleashed was set to unfold across diverse and recognizable locations that would evoke the familiar Star Wars atmosphere, incorporating planets from both trilogies alongside entirely new worlds. The selected planets would accommodate Imperial presence, facilitating the progression of the plot concerning the Empire's dominance over the galaxy following Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The specific environments were designed to incorporate various natural hazards and an abundance of destructible objects.

During the drafting and early writing phases, Tatooine was considered as a potential setting, given its iconic status within the saga. Guided by Qui-Gon's spirit, the apprentice would have to pass through a bantha graveyard, a Jawa fortress and Chalmun's Cantina, in order to find Obi-Wan; this concept was abandoned when Lucas suggested an original character as a mentor. Alderaan also held significance in early versions of the story, serving as the location where the Apprentice would confront Shaak Ti, encounter young Leia, and begin his path to redemption. The Aldera Royal Palace was envisioned as a prominent feature, housing a vast natural history museum. Haroon was an original location considered as the source of the crystals that power the Dearth Star superlaser, and where the Apprentice would liberate the slave Gial Ackbar; this concept was abandoned as Ackbar's liberation was established already in earlier sources. Despite this, Haroon made its way to continuity by later publications.

Kashyyyk was a favored location from the outset, recognized for its familiarity and the popularity of the Wookiees; its natural landscape would illustrate the devolution in the timeline under the Empire, transitioning from a vibrant, colorful world to a scorched, dystopian environment. The foliage and fur of Wookiees would demonstrate the mechanics of the game engine. Another location proposed from the start was Raxus Prime, that had appeared in The Clone Wars video game; rich in objects and props with which the player could manipulate with the Force, but also in "natural" hazards such as acid streams and avalanches. The landscape was designed so as not to be an overwhelming maze, but the playable area was defined by huge objects, like turbines and derelict spaceships. The strata of junk created geological-like formations such as canyons and hills. Felucia, a colorful planet seen briefly in Revenge of the Sith, was a popular choice to be included, and extrapolated from what was seen in the film.

The Cloud City appeared in an early stage of development, still under construction. This new but familiar setting was based on Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back concept art by Ralph McQuarrie. Originally it was envisioned as a pirate stronghold under Maris Brood, until she was made the apprentice of Shaak Ti. A new role was sought for the location, such as a Jedi survivor sanctuary, an Imperial stronghold, or the birthplace of the Alliance.

Corellia was selected as the site for the Rebellion's declaration, in accordance with established canon that has referred to it as the "Corellian Treaty" since 1990. A secluded, abandoned watchtower was chosen as the location for the Treaty.

The ruins of the Jedi Temple were considered in early stages as a location for the Apprentice to explore, interact with Force ghosts of former Jedi, and unlock more knowledge and stronger powers. In the final game, the powers are unlocked automatically between levels. However, missions to the Jedi Temple still appear in some versions.

The Death Star appears in its yet-unfinished form. From early on, Blackman wished to use the superlaser and its shaft as an environment for gameplay mechanics, where the player would throw adversaries to their death; as such, the firing tube was one of the first sceneries for that level produced, consulting scenes and production stills from A New Hope. the inner workings of the superlaser creation was also extrapolated and new areas were designed for the otherwise familiar Death Star. New sceneries include a "laser convergence room" where one of the Tributary beams is formed. Another important new location is the Imperial throne room.

Darth Vader played a pivotal role in all iterations of the story and required careful development during the period between the trilogies, a time frame that had not been extensively explored in the Expanded Universe. His motivations and allegiances toward the Emperor underwent several changes until Lucas provided his insights: although subservient to the Emperor, his loyalty is tested when he suffers from his master.

Concept art heavily influenced the appearance and characterization of the new characters. Some drafts explored the presence of Darth Plagueis, potentially marking the character's first appearance in any medium. Concept art explored who he was, envisioned him as a human, sometimes reminiscent of undead, vintage or occult figures, even mechanically clinging to life.

Characters from the original trilogy, in addition to the Emperor and Vader, served to bridge the continuity between the game and the films, including a young Princess Leia and Mon Mothma. Leia and Bail Organa (one of Hayden Blackman's favorite characters) almost always featured in the most prominent drafts, with Bail consistently opposing the Emperor and Vader. Young Leia's role in an early draft would trigger the Apprentice's redemption, as explained above. In another abandoned concept, Leia would lead a small rebel group of Mandalorians on Alderaan, ultimately against the Empire. Leia was intended to serve as the Apprentice's love interest, but her young age in the timeframe, her known fate with Solo, and Lucas's preference for new characters, created Juno Eclipse. With Leia's role diminished, Bail's became larger and more important. Blackman solidified him as a brave, passionate and strong-willed, yet rational idealist of freedom.

Another reused character was Garm Bel Iblis from the Expanded Universe. Garm and Mon Mothma were already established in the EU as being two of the founding members of the Rebel Alliance. Lucas had personally agreed with the developers that Bail Organa was also present in that event.

Characters and sprites, such as Wookiees and Stormtroopers, were based on the movies; the Wookiee warriors were based on those seen in Episode III, whereas the Imperials represent an intermediate stage between the Clone troopers of the prequels to the Stormtroopers of the old trilogy with visual elements from both. Except the familiar Imperial Gunners, new types of Stormtrooper were introduces sich as EVO, Incinerator and Shadow Troopers that offered richer gameplay. Giant robotic Dark troopers were also considered.

Given that the game would utilize high-resolution motion capture and the likenesses of actors, the casting choices were guided by the characters' visual representations in concept art. The casting process spanned nearly four months: talent agencies, based on information and concept art, provided photoshoots to Blackman and Darragh O'Farrell, the Senior Manager of Sound and Audio of LucasArts, to choose among hundreds of candidates. Darragh O'Farrell, sound designer David Collins and their voice team, auditioned the candidates in a Los Angeles studio. Sam Witwer, a friend of Collins's, expressed his wish to participate, and filled the role for The Apprentice. Adrienne Wilkinson also was chosen for Maris Brood from the initial audition.

An actress with British accent was needed to fill the role of Juno Eclipse, consistent with the speech of the Imperial characters of the original trilogy. The team travelled to London, where casting director Kate Saxson helped in selecting a number of candidates before choosing Nathalie Cox.

Of the sixty mintues of cutscenes, many would focus on their characters and their relationships and maintain a Star Wars feeling. Acting performances and body language would minimize the need for lengthy dialogues for the exposition. Scenes began as storyboards of every shot, made by a storyboard artist with director Martin Stoltz. The storyboards then were made into rough 3d animations with the character models, the final dialogue lines by the actors (or recorded on the spot by a crew member), determining the layouts, camera angles, movement and timing. This stage underwent most of the revisioning and tweaking, as they experimented on details such as line delivery and cuts. At that point big changes were determined, such as rewriting of dialogues, to improve the pacing.

ILM collaborated with LucasArts to deliver movie-quality special effects in real-time for the game. The Force Unleashed represented the first comprehensive collaboration between the two subsidiaries. This partnership originated with a visit by LucasArts employees to ILM's 2003 Research and Development open-house event, a showcase of visual effects (notably, the previous year saw the release of Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, whose cinematics were the result of collaboration between LucasArts, ILM and Skywalker Sound). The exhibited Zeno toolset caught the attention of LucasArts's senior engineer Nick Porcino, who envisioned it as the next step for cutting-edge video games; that year he started discussing with ILM's R&D director Steve Sullivan, about technologies that could be shared between the two companies, and the integration of technologies into a single tool pipeline.

One point or feference was the Pre-Viz video shown to Lucas, whose elements were accepted by him. Although the events in that animation (the realistic behavior of characters and objects under the Force powers) were pre-rendered, new technology would be required to display all these with A.I. in real-time.

For the game engine, leading engineers inspected both previous LucasArts code, and third-party technologies, but weren't deemed adequate to accomplish their plans, neither externally developed software would allow close collaboration with ILM technology. The company decided to proceed with the development of Ronin, a brand new engine by late 2004. Meanwhile, discussions for the new game development pipeline was made between engineers of LucasArts and ILM.

The next year both companies relocated to Letterman Digital Arts Center and collaboration became more focused. LucasArts worked with ILM's Zeno tool framework and helped ILM build its Zed game editor. Lucas said having the two companies working together in the same building was "a great collaboration".

A large team of ILM animators created the sixty minutes of cutscenes, which introduce locations, bosses, progress the story and the character's relation, and give context. ILM's face- and motion-capture "CloneCam" technology (previously used for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) recorded actors' voice and physical performances.

Visual effects played an important part in the aesthetics of the game, made to have a necessary impact and also fit in the environment. Some were used to guide the player e.g. to object interactions, away from dangers, or just blaster shots; more elaborate effects had to visualise the Force energies, giving the "unleashed" feeling while staying inside the established aesthetics of Star Wars. Some effects, such as Force Push, underwent many iterations before finalization. Zed was used to give motion to the effects, and designers worked a lot on creating their textures. During development, more motion tools and advanced shading techniques were used.

Havok is a system also used in the famous Halo series; it allows the game to know the dimensions of objects and how they would work against each other.

The use of euphoria, developed by NaturalMotion, gives characters advanced bio-mechanical A.I. (DMS Behaviors), allowing characters to realistically respond to changes in the environment without having to be scripted by the designers.

In late 2004, Lead Engineer Nick Pavis searched about NaturalMotion's "Endorphin" technology to create CGI stuntmen for movies. "Euphoria" was an early run-time development of the same concept. Pavis and Steve Dykes of LucasArts worked with NaturalMotion to integrate "Euphoria" in the game engine.

DMM was developed by Pixelux Entertainment. It aims to create truly interactive environments that behave as they do in real life, and avoid the necessity of an artist to animate the behavior or destruction of an object; especially in video games, the destruction of interactive objects uses a pre-determined, repetitive animation.

By taking into account the physics of an object's material, mass and density, the technology simulates real-time the way they would break, shatter, cut, snap, splinter, squeeze or ruffle, according to an external force, in unique ways, as in the real world.

Since the concept of The Force Unleashed revolved around the idea of destructive, over-the-top Force powers against an interactive environment, Pavis and other senior engineers discovered Pixelux when DMM was still in prototype stage. The two companies worked jointly to develop tools for the creation and editing of DMM objects and integrate the technology into the Ronin engine.

A demo video was released, showing a wooden panel within a 3d environment; the narrator threw R2's against several points of the panel, showing different mechanics of breaking, according to the distance and angle whence R2 is thrown.

• The PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 versions were developed by LucasArts and are essentially the same. They all feature Ronin , the game engine developed by LucasArts. It integrates the physics engines Havok , euphoria , and Digital Molecular Matter .
• The Switch version is a port of the Wii version, with an option to use button controls instead of motion controls.
• The DS version was developed by n-Space and features a touch-screen combo system and a four-player death match mode.
• The iPhone version was developed by THQ Wireless. This version is controlled by pre-determined movements on the touch screen that must match what is shown for successful attacks with the Force. The playable character moves to areas on his own while the player simply has to destroy the obstacles in the way, enemies and non-organic alike.

The music was composed by Mark Griskey, who also scored Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. The 90-minute soundtrack was recorded by the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and was both mixed and recorded at Skywalker Sound on September 23 and 24 trough October 2007, and was released as a promotional album available for listening here.

When asked in an interview about whether or not he thought the soundtrack would be released for sales, Griskey replied, "I can always be hopeful! I don't have much control there. That's really up to the legal and PR folks to decide."

During some of the action sequences and boss battles, stock music by John Williams was used.

The game was the feature of a full multimedia campaign, with accompanying novel and comic.

Advertisement for the game included the smartphone app Lightsaber Unleashed, which allowed owners to view the lightsabers for the characters.

• The Wii, PS2, and PSP versions were developed by Australian developers at [Krome Studios](/article/krome_studios] , but each version is slightly different. They all have characters and locations not featured on the other consoles, such as a bar on Nar Shaddaa and the ruins of the Jedi Temple .
• The Wii's control scheme allows players to "wield" a lightsaber with the Wii Remote and use Force powers by moving the Nunchuk. The game also features a two-player duel mode with nine arenas and 27 characters to choose from.
• The PSP version features three quick play modes – Order 66, Force Duel, and Historic Missions – and three multiplayer modes – Force Frenzy, Rule the Galaxy, and Force Out; which can be played by two-four players in Ad Hoc mode.
• In the first mission ( TIE Fighter Construction Facility ) the LucasArts developed versions (PC, Xbox 360 and PS3) have Galen Marek fighting an AT-CT . In the Krome Studios developed versions (PSP, PS2 and Wii) this is an AT-ST which is captured by a soldier of Kota's Militia .
• Some story elements for the various versions also had various differences. For example, in the opening level, the Imperial commander who greets Vader, depending on the version, is either a fully-armored stormtrooper commander, or an Imperial officer, and Vader's treatment on him in the opening is also slightly different: in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, the officer was explicitly shown to have been spared of Vader's wrath for his incompetence (though only because Vader didn't care about the outcome for the battle anyway due to his own personal mission), while in the PS2, Wii, and PSP versions, his fate was handled a bit more ambiguously because the scene immediately cut to behind Vader when releasing him from his grip.
• The skin for Kento Marek in the PSP version refers to him as "Kento Nion".

On December 12 at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, LucasArts revealed The Force Unleashed II with a teaser trailer showing Galen Marek, battling a huge creature in some sort of arena. From the voice over on the trailer, Vader and Yoda can be heard.