Star Wars Outlaws Interview- Handcrafting an Authentic, Enjoyable Playground

Working with an established IP can be a conundrum. How do you go about creating something unique and fresh while simultaneously trying to stay true to the source material? For Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment, that meant plenty of variety but also adding in the small details that draw the players into the world of Star Wars Outlaws.

For Benedikt Podlesnigg, art and world director, it was important to “stay true to what the IP is.”

“You have to set the tone with something familiar, something unfamiliar, and get something exotic into these locations. From the experience side, it’s to make sure that everything supports exploration. There are a lot of things that stand out, and all of that is supposed to make sure the player sees something interesting to explore.”

“And I think when we’re talking about variety in these spaces, it also comes into play when we are adding a very granular level of detail to make a world feel really lived in,” added Samuel De Vos, lead concept artist. “For example, in a place like Toshara, if you really stand still and look at the details, you have a chance to see meaning behind the smallest words written in Aurebesh, which we’re excited for everyone to start translating.”

“It’s also simple things like clothing patterns, for example, that are unique to different cities on different planets. So that wide range of visuals allows the team to put a lot of care into creating these details that make the world feel really immersed on a very local level.”

The likes of Tatooine, Akiva, Kijimi, and Cantonica would already be familiar to hardcore fans, but that doesn’t mean that they have to stay the same. And with new locations like Toshara Moon, the team had plenty of opportunities to create enticing playgrounds for protagonist Kay Vess and her companion Nix to explore, as we did in our preview.

At the heart of it all is the scoundrel Vess, a character archetype that doesn’t necessarily have the chance to shine just yet across various mediums but was clearly a character that Massive Entertainment felt made sense for Star Wars Outlaws.

“It’s a satisfying and engrossing character archetype to create gameplay for. The base here is the underdog that defies the odds with ingenuity, wit and style, which is something that can be very exciting for anyone to get to play,” shared Federik Thylander, lead gameplay designer. “That foundation of the character archetype made it very natural to write for Kay as a character, manoeuvring her way through the underworld and staying clear of the Empire.”

With that comes freedom as well, both from a narrative standpoint as well as how the game governs progression, which has more to do with gear and skills rather than a traditional levelling system.

“You can ask the player to find their own story within that world. How did you explore or what did you find? Like a hidden cave somewhere? What did you get there? That’s why I think that when you look at the progression systems with the experts, for example, they’re not a skill tree where you unlock your things, but you have to actually go out and find the people to connect with. And then every subsequent skill also has something that connects you with an action, something to do in the world, which I think enriches even more the kind of storytelling,” explained Podlesnigg.

“The way the player progresses should ideally feel like just part of the adventure and journey of a character setting foot in the larger galaxy, learning from others, gaining new gadgets, building up some credits to purchase new gear and generally fulfilling that fantasy of ‘what would I do if I were an up-and-coming scoundrel in that era’,” added Thylander.

Then again, if you much rather stick to the story and go down the golden path, that flexibility is very much yours as well. The team made sure to create a dense experience for those who want that, but even for those who prefer not to, there are still valuable experiences to be had in Kay’s life in this part of the galaxy.

Another key part of the Star Wars Outlaws experience is the presence of distinct factions, with players having to make choices about who they ally with or ultimately betray. It is an excellent way of layering tension into the gameplay, with your choice also having a tangible impact on future developments and even access to certain areas of the world.

How these factions came to be was a key focus for Massive Entertainment. As De Vos stated, this was “a great opportunity for us to work together with Lucasfilm Games” to add them into the galaxy. While the other factions already existed in the IP, the Ashiga Clan is a new creation from the team. Residing on Kjimi, the faction takes plenty of inspiration from Southeast Asia, and that can be seen both from their attire and the architecture.

More interestingly, this is a blind species, so there is much tactile functionality around their home. While they cannot see, they can feel, and the Ashiga Clan is another clear indication of how contrasting the factions can be, even if they all vie for control in Star Wars Outlaws.

It remains to be seen just how the fanbase will take to the universe created by Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft, but there is no doubt that plenty of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into reimagining and refreshing the IP for a brand-new adventure. Sticking true to what people love but adding something new to it—that’s definitely something we can get behind, and hopefully, that will be the case for many others when Star Wars Outlaws launches this coming August 30 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Jake Su Editor-in-Chief

Jake is a full-time trophy hunter and achievement gatherer on consoles, and a part-time Steam Sale victim. He has been writing about games for more than 15 years, covering news, previews, reviews, and guides, and can be found across continents and time zones to provide the key info gamers need to enjoy their games even more.

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