View source for Wing Commander III

[[File:Wing Commander III.jpg|thumb|''Wing Commander III'' cover]][[File:John Rhys-Davies and Mark Hamill in Wing Commander III.webp|thumb|[[John Rhys-Davies]] and [[Mark Hamill]] in ''Wing Commander III'']]

'''''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger''''' is the third main game in [[Chris Roberts]] [[Wing Commander (series)|''Wing Commander'' series]], developed and released by [[Origin Systems]] on December 8 1994.

Choices during combat as well as conversation choices can improve or lower a character’s morale. For wingmen, the lower their morale, the worse they will perform during missions, flying more recklessly, missing more shots, or making them less likely to follow orders. This, in turn, makes the crew behave differently towards the player. The player can choose which wingman to fly with, as well as their fighter and loadout.<ref name=":0" />

Mission branching features winning and losing tracks. If the player loses enough missions, he ends up in an inescapable losing track that ends with the destruction of humanity.<ref name=":0" />

== Live Action ==

It was remarkable for its extensive use of live action full-motion video to add an interactive movie-style presentation to the space combat gameplay, emphasized by its advertising slogan, "Don't watch the game, play the movie!". The aim was to get the subtlety of a performance or emotion out in service of the experience and the immersion and the game, which wasn't otherwise possible at the time with the rudimentary animation.<ref>[https://youtu.be/8ej6u1h7ZEg Star Citizen Chris Roberts at BAFTA LA Januari 2015], YouTube, 21 Jan 2015</ref><ref>[https://paullicino.tumblr.com/post/140850063441/paul-dean-as-i-understand-you-were-born-in-the The forgotten interview with Chris Roberts by Paul Dean], March 11, 2016</ref>

The game's more than two hours of video featured a number of prominent movie stars including among others [[Steve Colton|Mark Hamill]] as Colonel Christopher "Maverick" Blair, [[Randall Graves|John Rhys-Davies]] as James "Paladin" Taggart and Thrakhath nar Kiranka.

The budget for ''Wing Commander III'' was around $4 million, which at the time of its release made it the most expensive game ever made. Its predecessor for that title had been ''Doom'', with a much more humble $200k.<ref name=":0">[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/wing-commander-iii-heart-of-the-tiger/ Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger], hardcoregaming101.net, September 25, 2024</ref>

== Legacy ==

''Wing Commander III'' was a huge technological leap forward for the ''Wing Commander'' franchise. It proved that FMV games could be more than a gimmick, that they could be done right as Chris Roberts had said. It was a massive production with an enormous staff list on both film and game development sides, and the funding to match. Adjusted for inflation, its budget of $8-10m USD was enormous for a PC game at the time. ''Wing Commander III'' embodies the spirit of the modern blockbuster game: a star-studded cast, ambitious use of new technology, graphics that pushed current PCs to the brink, and an expansive list of new features.<ref name=":0" />

==Trivia==

*It was the first time Chris Roberts directed live action.<ref>[https://download.wcnews.com/files/infoburst/show4.mp3 Wing Commander Combat Information Center Chris Roberts Interview by Hadrian], 1999</ref>

*It was Electronic Arts first million-seller on DOS.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140914215106/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/chris-roberts-star-citizen-profile The Stars His Destination: Chris Roberts from Origin to Star Citizen], 2014-09-13, archived</ref>

*[[Rob Irving]] worked on it.<ref>[https://youtu.be/d9dc6lD3kcM?feature=shared Wingman's Hangar ep010 . March 1, 2013], Star Citizen, YouTube, 1 Mar 2013</ref>

*One of only two ''Wing Commander 3'' Flight Jackets belonging to Chris Roberts was won during a [[Star Citizen]] competition.<ref>{{Cite RSI|url=https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/13438-Foundry-42-Opening-Contest|text=Foundry 42 Opening Contest|accessdate=2013-12-20}}</ref>

==Outside Links==

*[https://youtu.be/CpjreO8W2G8 Wing Commander 3 Funny Tape]

*[https://youtu.be/abY_ksXaAzs Wing Commander 3 - Today Show Feature]

*[https://www.gog.com/game/wing_commander_3_heart_of_the_tiger?pp=f38cfe2e2facbcc742bad63f91ad55637300cb45 Wing Commander 3 Heart of the Tiger on GOG]

==References==

<references />

[[Category:Video games by Chris Roberts]]

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Wing Commander III''}}