TheStar Warsfranchise has no shortage of iconic elements, but its planets may be some of the most important and well-known in all of Sci-Fi media. From the desert plains of Tatooine tothe ice fields of Hoth to the forests of Endor,Star Warsis home to a wealth of iconic planets, many of which feel like a character unto themselves due to their excellent world-building and detailed environmental design.Star Wars Outlaws' developers know just how important planets are to theStar Warsuniverse.
Upon its August 30 launch – or August 27 if players upgrade their edition to get early access – players will be able to explore four distinct planets (plus a moon) inStar Wars Outlaws: Tatooine, Kijimi, Cantonica, Akiva, and Toshara. A handful ofStar Wars Outlawsdevelopers recently spoke with Game Rant about their approach to adapting these locales for an open-world action-adventure game, including Benedikt Podlesnigg, the game’s art and world director.
How Star Wars Outlaws' Devs Approached Recreating Iconic Planets and Creating New Ones
How Star Wars Outlaws' Devs Made Sure Pre-established Planets Feel Authentic
Some ofStar Wars Outlaws' fully explorable planetshave already been seen in various pieces ofStar Warsmedia over the years. Of course, the most well-known planet inOutlawsis Tatooine, the iconic desert planet that’s appeared in countless movies, TV shows, novels, comics, and video games over the last few decades. But far less well-known are Kijimi and Cantonica, two planets that appear in theStar Warssequel trilogy, and ones that Podlesnigg briefly spoke about adapting:
“For both Kijimi and Canto Bight, we had resources available to us from Lucasfilm that were used when crafting the locations within their respective movies, which helped us to stay very authentic to the established layouts of the locations.”
WhileStar Wars Outlaws' devs could use Lucasfilm’s extensive library of resources to map out the layouts of Kijimi and Cantonica, they needed to get a bit more creative with Akiva, a planet that’s only appeared in a handful ofcanonStar Warsnovels, such as theAftermathseries andResistance Reborn. Podlesnigg gave some insight into how the development team went about adapting Akiva for a new medium:
“For Akiva, we dove into the books… really digging deep into the descriptions of the world and creating a visual language that would fit that description. For example, the book described the buildings having a thick stucco material, so when you look in the game you can see a rough, thick layer of painted stucco on buildings.”
How Star Wars Outlaws' Devs Approached Creating A New Star Wars Locale
What’s arguably more challenging than adapting a location only seen in novels is creating an entirely newStar Warsworld from scratch, which is the case withStar Wars Outlaws' Toshara. An arid moon that’s a completely new addition to theStar Warscanon, Podlesnigg took the time to explain its influences:
“For Toshara, we wanted to create a location that feels real and still fits right into Star Wars. It’s all about the one biome in Star Wars locations. We used the African savanna as our biome and Amberine as our exotic ingredient. We added the wind to it and imagined how all these elements would interact with each other and influence flora, fauna and culture.”
In the brief glimpses fans have been given of Toshara inStar Wars Outlaws' trailers, this African savanna influence is fairly clear, with the moon’s surface being littered with dirt trails, small shrubs, and plenty of jagged rocks. As Podlesnigg mentioned, Toshara is also home to some canyons that are filled with Amberine, a valuable resource for any smuggler types.
