A thriving ecosystem on Ohma-D'un.
After the opening crawl ends, it cuts to a sequence of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Queen Amidala's ship landing in Otoh Gunga. From there, it cuts to the Gungan council room where Boss Nass is waiting. He tells them about the problem at hand, and asks which one of them will help to build the new ecosystem. At this point, the player chooses which character to play as. This makes no difference to the outcome of the game, or any ensuing plot details.
The aftermath of a feeding frenzy on Ohma-D'un
Once the player has chosen, Boss Nass provides you with the aid of the Kresch, Jar Jar Binks, and R2-D2. You commence to loading your ship and taking off toward the moon. Once you choose a good spot from which to begin building your ecosystem, you land the ship on the moon, and the sensors are placed. From here, gameplay begins. You release the plants and animals from your ship as you please, and allow them to grow and multiply. The Gungans will occasionally harvest a plant or animal, and use it to help build a bubble city. You can change the amount of life forms that the Gungans take, as well as check on the progress of the Bubble City on the control panel. The game never ends from there, you just have to maintain your ecosystem, as well as the bubble city and Gungan population, as long as you can.
There are four modes of gameplay in The Gungan Frontier:
- : The tutorial is much like beginner gameplay, except it is much shorter, and guides you along the way.
- : In beginner mode, the loading process is automatic, you receive unlimited supplies of each animal, and when an animal is released, it automatically releases a small amount of food for the creature.
- : In advanced mode, the player has to load the ship manually, carefully choosing which animals and plants to load. There is a limited amount of life-forms, and the only way for them to multiply is by allowing them enough time to give birth, or spread seeds.
- : Missions vary from game to game. Ship loading is automatic, but there are limited life-forms. The missions vary from easy to hard, and are much like normal gameplay, except an objective is set (for example: Save the Ikopi, Wipe out the Green glie), and instructions are given throughout the game.
- : In escape mode, the player has to unload ship manually. Ship unloading is typically automatic, as when beginner mode is selected (during the first years of life). In advanced mode players become able to manually control ship unloading. Players learn to substitute the 'p' mode (a character placement by Jar Jar), with the correct 't' character.
An example of a created critter, the "Arthonian Hopper."
The Create-a-Critter function is accessed through the main menu. A fairly simple process involving choosing either plant or animal, choosing the size, appearance, territory, color, dietary habits, social habits, and reproduction rate. If you save your created critters, you will be able to use them during gameplay.
The disaster function, accessed during gameplay, allows you to trigger either a natural or man-made disaster on the moon. In certain missions, the disasters are a plot detail, or an obstacle in your path to victory, but in normal mode, they are just for experiments. The disasters are as follows:
A toxic cloud passes by on Ohma-D'un
- : When a moonquake occurs, the screen shakes, and many animals and plants are killed.
- : When the probe droid malfunctions (due to Jar Jar's clumsiness), the stun gun (which can be used normally during gameplay) goes berserk and zaps out of control. Whatever creature gets in the way is immobilized by the beam.
- : Jar Jar says that he's hungry, and tries to thaw out one of the creatures to eat. Instead, he releases them all onto the moon. This disaster only causes a problem on Advanced mode, because of your limited supply.
- : When a toxic cloud occurs, a green mist settles in, the whole screen turns green, and when the mist blows away, many creatures have been killed.
- : If a pollution spill occurs, some purple goo appears somewhere in the water. Animals are killed when they touch it.
- : When a disease breaks out, one entire species gets the virus. If that animal is eaten, the predator gets it. When an animal is infected, it turns pale, and dies soon afterward.
- Ahmed Best—Jar Jar Binks
- Greg Burson—Boss Nass, Gungan Librarian
- Clint Bajakian—Narrator
- Julianne Buescher—Other Gungans
- Todd Daggert—Programmer
- —3D Artist
- —3D Artist
- —3D Artist
- —Lead Artist
- Francis "Igitz" Hsu—2D Artist
- —Production Manager
- —3D Artist
- —Art Tech
- Michael "Hassling" McCormick—Project Leader
- —Lead Programmer
- —Additional Programming
- Peter Chan—Concept Illustrator
- —Additional Art Tech
- Terryl Whitlatch—Creature Designer
- —Additional Art Tech
- Official Website on GunganFrontier.com
- "Around the Galaxy" — Star Wars Galaxy Collector 7
- "Red Five, I'm Going In" — Star Wars Insider 65