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This excerpt is classic:
In 2006, LucasArts teamed with Day 1 Studios to bring a new intellectual property to market. The vision for this new title was a first-person shooter that allowed the player to shape a battlefield's terrain by use various science-fiction weapons. The ambitious design became Fracture, a game that was announced on May 3, 2007.
The plan [for Fracture] was turned completely upside down in a meeting," a LucasArts dev who worked on the title says. Although the team was far into development, a decision was made by LucasArts executives to turn it into a third-person shooter. "We were told to 'pull the camera out.' We had to make a character model, create animations, plot the levels differently. It was a nightmare for everyone involved."
When Fracture was revealed to the public, the protagonist was a character named Mason Briggs. By the time the game launched, his name was changed to Jet Brody. A person who helped give this gun-toting rebel his original name recalls going through weeks of naming conventions. "Literally, whole teams sitting together, brainstorming what looks good - the first name, the last name, etc. Done, good to go."
But then a phantom menace struck. George Lucas would periodically check in on the status of the games his company was making, lending creative input and advice. The developer I talked to sighs, and agitatedly says, "In one viewing of Fracture, [Lucas] said it look really good, but he didn't like [Mason Briggs'] name. We're like 'What do you mean, George?' He responded to the effect of, 'It doesn't really fit. When he jumps on stuff, he moves pretty fast. I like B.J. Dart.'"
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