As Lucasfilm focused on Return of the Jedi and the computer division weaved their magic on the Death Star graphics for the briefing room scene, plans to enter the video game market were being laid and Lucasfilm look back at the development of a game that would eventually arrive on the market in 1984 as Rescue on Fractalus!.
A self-described pacificist, Fox had elected not to include a fire button with the ship’s controls, deciding that instead players would attempt to outmaneuver enemy craft and force them to crash into the mountainsides. But when George Lucas was given a demonstration of the game, he asked Fox to include a fire button. He also recommended that when players landed their ship to pick up a downed pilot, it would be exciting if sometimes it was not a fellow pilot, but instead an enemy alien in disguise.
The team created a green-skinned alien – which Fox dubbed the “Jaggi” in reference to the block-like graphics common at the time – that would only appear once players had reached the advanced levels of the game. In earlier phases, they’d land and see the friendly pilot run up to their ship. Only after advancing to the more difficult stages would they find a random surprise when the terrifying Jaggi suddenly appeared in their cockpit windshield, erupting with a menacing scream as it banged on the window.
With the working title Behind Jaggi Lines, the game was released in 1984 as Rescue on Fractalus! The fateful alien surprise became of the first “jump scares” in the history of computer games, creating unforgettable memories for players young and old whose hearts skipped a beat when they encountered the green-skinned enemy. For years to come, David Fox would receive messages from players whose imaginations had been pulled into the story of one of Lucasfilm’s first video game adventures.
