The Birmingham News gave The Force Unleashed 2 an A+ review and the reporter contacted me about doing an interview. While telling him my story, I mentioned how, as a designer from Birmingham, David Jaffe (also from Birmingham) had inspired me. Hearing this, he decided to write an article about my work and contacted Jaffe to comment. The resulting article was an excellent piece and talked not only about the work I’ve been doing but also about the importance of support from friends and family.
“If you unwrapped the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II on Christmas, you’re probably already acquainted with Ben Retan’s handiwork.
Retan, a Birmingham native, is a systems designer for LucasArts, where he’s worked for about two years. He was part of the team that created the newest game about Darth Vader’s apprentice, Starkiller. In one of the “boss fights,” Starkiller faces a gigantic, cranky beast called a Gorog that eats rancors for lunch. Retan looks nothing like the monster, but the Gorog borrows some of its brains from the smiling young designer.”
“Supportive parents who allowed their children to follow their passions is the common denominator, not geography. If more parents were like Ben’s dad and my parents, then we’d have a world full of people living their dreams. And to me, that’s what it’s all about. That’s why we are here.” – David Jaffe
Ben Retan 
Lovely bllog you have here