Ubisoft’s Process for Creating a Genuine Universe in Star Wars Outlaws

Star Wars Outlaws: A Deep Dive into the Galaxy’s Underworld

"Star Wars Outlaws" is an immersive game that encourages players to explore its richly detailed environments at a leisurely pace. As you navigate through its various locations, including orbits, bustling cities, and quiet homesteads, you’ll notice an array of meticulously placed props and unique details. These elements are designed to offer a fresh perspective on the Star Wars galaxy through the eyes of Kay Vess, a scoundrel navigating this expansive universe. The game features a mix of familiar and lesser-known locations from the Star Wars lore, each crafted with a high level of detail.

One of the standout locations in "Star Wars Outlaws" is Toshara, a newly introduced savanna moon that serves as a hub for criminal activities. Designed by Massive Entertainment in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, Toshara adds a fresh dimension to the Star Wars galaxy. The creation of a new location within such an established universe is no small feat, and we had the opportunity to speak with two designers from Massive Entertainment about the process of bringing Toshara to life. This includes its inhabitants, wildlife, and even the local flora.

The Crafting of Toshara

Massive Entertainment had to carefully select which existing locations in the Star Wars galaxy would best serve the narrative of Kay Vess and her companion Nix. The team aimed to showcase a diverse range of environments, from iconic places like Tatooine—the desert home of Luke Skywalker—to lesser-known planets such as Kijimi, briefly featured in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" as a snow-covered refuge for rogues. There’s also Akiva, a jungle planet described in the Aftermath series of Star Wars novels but never visualized on screen.

However, Toshara is entirely original, designed specifically for "Star Wars Outlaws." After escaping her home city of Canto Bight on Cantonica, Kay finds herself grounded on Toshara. This moon is a haven for the Pyke Syndicate and various other syndicates, ambiguous characters, hidden treasures, and numerous opportunities for an aspiring outlaw.

"We wanted to bring something entirely fresh to Star Wars that had never been seen before and really embrace that as our playground for telling this exact story," says Matthieu Delisle, Lead Systems Designer on "Star Wars Outlaws." "This was the place where we could experiment the most and set a benchmark for the rest of the game."

Toshara is a melting pot where different syndicates of the underworld converge. Although the Pyke Syndicate primarily controls it, the Empire turns a blind eye to some activities in exchange for credits. Points of interest on Toshara include Mirogana, a bustling city with several syndicate districts, and Jaunta’s Hope, a smaller settlement. Off the main paths, players can discover flyer nests with valuable items, fields of grazing wildlife, and pirate camps ripe for looting.

"This is where we had the most freedom to define what feels good in terms of an open-world experience," Delisle adds. "We considered the speeder distance between different activities, how we could create points that will catch your eye and lead to something interesting."

An Authentic Star Wars Experience

Toshara is not just a new experience for Star Wars fans; it also represents the first truly open-world area in a Star Wars game. From the moment you land, Toshara feels like an authentic Star Wars location, complete with dusty vistas and a rich variety of flora and fauna. All of this has been meticulously designed by Massive Entertainment in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games.

"Since we designed Toshara from scratch, we could create its entire history, from when it formed to when it was first settled, and how that fits into the wider Star Wars timeline," says Benedikt Podlesnigg, Art and World Director.

"We created all of the wildlife, the architecture, what Toshara’s inhabitants eat, what they wear, their relationship to the Empire, and how all of these things are connected to each other. If you look really close, you’ll find food that characters are eating growing out on a tree somewhere, for example."

Massive Entertainment also considered the planet’s gravitational forces and surrounding solar winds, making it challenging for pilots to navigate and land their ships without crashing. This detail adds to Toshara’s role as a hideaway for criminals with minimal Empire presence.

"It’s really in the DNA of Massive to create this logic of a world where things make sense," Delisle elaborates. "There’s always a reason for something existing, and that’s really a trademark for us—to try and establish all of these locations and details to make them as believable and lived in as possible."

Exploring Kijimi

As the story progresses, Kay Vess will travel to Kijimi, a dark, frigid planet that houses the Crimson Dawn and the Ashiga Clan, another criminal syndicate. Developed by Massive Entertainment in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, Kijimi is largely anarchic but has a significant Empire presence. Unlike Toshara, Kijimi has appeared in previous Star Wars media, providing a foundation for Massive Entertainment to build upon.

"We worked closely with Lucasfilm on Kijimi—we were given access to a big bank of concepts and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as the references they used for the location, these Japanese mountain towns that served as inspiration," Podlesnigg explains.

"We also got to see the 3D model of Kijimi that they used as an overview shot of Kijimi City in [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker], to also get a sense of orientation—where buildings are placed, for example."

Kijimi City is a densely packed area, a stark contrast to the open vistas of Toshara and Tatooine. The urban environment is filled with narrow streets and alleys, creating a sense of unease and anticipation.

"There’s a struggle here between The Ashiga Clan and Crimson Dawn, and there’s this mood of cloak and daggers going on throughout," Delisle adds. "We’re telling some of the main story here, but what was interesting for us was the smaller stories we could tell about people that ended up on Kijimi. It felt like a nice palette cleanser compared to the other more open environments in Outlaws."

The Underworld Connection

Each location in "Star Wars Outlaws" serves to depict the galaxy’s underworld. From the moment Kay and Nix embark on their journey, they encounter a variety of dubious characters and situations. Kay herself hails from Canto Bight, an Outer Rim gambling destination shown in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." This location is a hotbed for the wealthy to squander their fortunes, a situation Kay has learned to exploit as a thief.

The contrast between Canto Bight’s opulence and Kay’s upbringing sets the stage for "Outlaws." This story aims to show the Star Wars universe from the perspective of a desperate and hopeful scoundrel. In the sandy dunes of Tatooine, Kay is not focused on the legacy of Jedi Luke Skywalker; she’s looking for opportunities, skulking down alleys and surveying buildings for anything that might give her an edge.

"One of the big ambitions when we started [Outlaws] was to show what is behind the curtain," Delisle says. "Our generation grew up watching those movies and wondering ‘what would it be like to go there? You see things in the movies, but you never really get off the rollercoaster to really look at the world, see the wildlife, talk to the people that live there, and it was really important to us all to let players be someone that can just live in this world.”

“Every time I step out of the Mos Eisley Cantina and jump on my speeder, I just have a big smile on my face,” Podlesnigg adds. “This is just a love letter to everything Star Wars.”

In summary, "Star Wars Outlaws" offers a fresh and detailed exploration of the underworld of the Star Wars galaxy. With meticulously crafted locations like Toshara and Kijimi, the game promises to be a rich and engaging experience for fans of the franchise. Whether you are a long-time fan or new to the Star Wars universe, "Star Wars Outlaws" provides a unique perspective that is both exciting and immersive.

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