At the very heart of Star Wars Outlaws is the fantasy that all sci-fi fans dream of: the ability to adventure across the stars. Five different moons and planets await you, from Rise of Skywalker\u2019s chilly Kijimi to the classic deserts of Tatooine. But while fans will recognise many of Outlaws\u2019 locations, there\u2019s one that they definitely won\u2019t: Toshara. <\/p>\n
A brand new moon crafted especially for Star Wars Outlaws by the development team at Massive Entertainment, Toshara is inspired by the East African savannah. But while it has uniquely beautiful landscapes, it is \u2013 aptly for a game called \u2018Star Wars Outlaws\u2019 \u2013 a criminal hive. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s run by a corrupt imperial governor,\u201d says Navid Khavari, Outlaws\u2019 narrative director. \u201cAnd while the Empire is in charge, this is also a hub of scum and villainy, and you have all the sorts of major syndicates trying to vie for a stake of Toshara.\u201d <\/p>\n
To ensure Toshara is as immersive and authentic as possible, Massive approached the moon from all angles. \u201cWe had to work out the demographics of the planet,\u201d Khavari explains. \u201cWe had to work out what the major hubs are. We had to work out fauna, flora, all of these sections that needed to come together and also be weaved by narratives.\u201d <\/p>\n
But before all that, Massive had to pitch Toshara to the custodians of Star Wars: Lucasfilm. Because Toshara isn\u2019t just a location for a video game; anything in Star Wars Outlaws is canon, and so whatever Massive made would need to be fully approved by the people behind the films, shows, and Star Wars universe at large. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s like they’re giving us a box of toys, we take the toys out, play with them, but then we also create our new toys and put them back for somebody else to play,\u201d says Benedikt Podlesnigg, art and world director on Star Wars Outlaws. <\/p>\n
While the Empire is in charge, this is also a hub of scum and villainy.<\/p>\n
A major player in such a process is Steve Blank, director of franchise content and strategy at Lucasfilm. \u201cMassive came to us with the idea of a savannah planet,\u201d he recalls. \u201cOnce we sort of knew the high level intention behind the story and where we wanted to go, we let them ruminate on what does that mean? What would you like to see? What do you feel like you haven’t seen before?\u201d<\/p>\n
The result of those conversations was a collection of unusual and familiar ideas. Massive wanted Toshara to be a world where the Star Wars mythology\u2019s pirate-inspired elements could live \u2013 think Jabba\u2019s barge and Luke being forced to walk the plank over a sarlacc pit. This had to be a place of high risk, high reward treasure hunting. And so was born the so-called gem of the underworld; a moon ruled by a corrupt division of the Empire and largely controlled by the galaxy\u2019s crime syndicates. But it wasn\u2019t enough to develop lore. The team had to start with the look and feel of the very ground itself. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe approached Toshara in terms of the general Star Wars design tenets, where it has to be familiar but with a twist,\u201d explains Julian Gerighty, creative director of Outlaws. The familiar is the landscapes of Tanzania, which Podlesnigg says would be the shooting location for Tosharan scenes if Outlaws were a movie. Layered on top of this is the twist: \u201chuge mountain outcrops that have been carved so that a city can take place within those rock walls,\u201d describes Gerighty. And then, within that rock, is Toshara\u2019s most distinct characteristic: amberine. <\/p>\n
Amberine is an orange, crystal-like material that runs through the crust of Toshara and juts out through its surface. Inspired by an old Austrian fortune-telling tradition in which molten lead is poured into cold water to create shapes that reveal what\u2019s to come, the Amberine forms into a variety of striking forms. It is Blank\u2019s favourite part of Massive\u2019s new world. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou find [amberine structures] sort of wherever you’re going,\u201d he says. \u201cThey’re inside caves, they form plateaus […] and they also react beautifully to the sun over Toshara, so you get these gorgeous reflections in the lighting.\u201d <\/p>\n
Unusually for Star Wars, amberine isn\u2019t a precious resource like spice or Beskar Steel, and so Toshara\u2019s population has left it untouched and intact. That\u2019s not to say the crystal is useless, though. The moon\u2019s climate is incredibly windy, and those winds erode away rocks, cliff faces, even mountains \u2013 a process that gradually reveals the incredibly resilient amberine within. It made sense, then, that Toshara\u2019s main metropolis, the city of Mirogana, would be built within an amberine structure to protect it from the winds. <\/p>\n
Basking within the orange glow cast by sunlight filtering through that amberine shield is the Pyke Syndicate, the most dominant of Mirogana\u2019s criminal organisations. But don\u2019t let them put you off visiting; the city\u2019s busy streets are full of opportunities for both a galactic scoundrel scouting for gigs, and a player looking to diversify their experience. <\/p>\n
The first thing that you should do as a scoundrel is go to the cantina.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single location we had to choose had to be a den of scum and villainy, right? And in Mirogana you can do a lot of things,\u201d says Gerighty. \u201cThere’s the first thing that you should do as a scoundrel, as an outlaw, is go to the cantina. And in the cantina you’ll find lots of shady characters that’ll offer you jobs. Or you can just relax, eavesdrop, pick up some intel, play a couple of games of sabacc, bet on the Fathier races, play some arcade games\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n
Beyond the cantina you\u2019ll find a city split into several regions, each with their own flavour. The gambling district is constructed using different architecture and signage to the central market, while the Imperial checkpoint is built out of the Empire\u2019s instantly recognisable flat panels and grid vents. No matter where you find an Imperial base on Toshara, it\u2019ll stick out like a sore thumb. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey come in, they don’t care about their environment, they just stamp down their base wherever they need,\u201d says Podlesnigg. He paints a picture of a time when the Tosharan landscape featured a colossal amberine archway, but when the Empire arrived they simply demolished the arch to make way for the base. In the game, you\u2019ll be able to see that very base flanked by two amberine pillars \u2013 all that remains of that historic arch. \u201cIt creates a really interesting visual that’s seen from far away that you can really use as a landmark.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond the city\u2019s borders, the aforementioned winds have eroded away the moon\u2019s rock surface to reveal even more unusual amberine formations. A resourceful outlaw with a speeder bike could use such formations to hit even greater speeds during hot pursuits. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s very orange glowing, so it stands out very naturally in the environment,\u201d says Podlesnigg. \u201cSo we could make ramps where you can jump off [while riding the speeder bike]. We made the wind tunnels where you can see [how they have been] carved out by the winds. I think one of the references was surfing underneath waves.\u201d <\/p>\n
In the process of planning out Toshara\u2019s geography, Massive went as far as establishing that the moon\u2019s wind currents all run north to south. This dictated the map\u2019s population density, road networks, audio design, and \u2013 importantly \u2013 the formation of the speed-boosting wind tunnels. And so while the amberine ramps and tunnels may be a gameplay-first element, it\u2019s all created hand-in-hand with world-building. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor every location, no matter how small, we want to think about what happened here, what is happening now, and what is the location in general? What [do] people do here?\u201d explains Podlesnigg. \u201cSo we have a very clear idea of the history of the place and what the place is.\u201d<\/p>\n
For every location, no matter how small, we want to think about what happened here, what is happening now?<\/p>\n
A skilled outlaw can harness the moon\u2019s winds for their benefit, but not everyone is prepared to tackle such a climate. Echoing the derelict Star Destroyer on Jakku in The Force Awakens, Toshara is littered with crashed starships. They\u2019re the remnants of those who tried to fight the winds and lost. It\u2019s a smart bit of environmental storytelling, but the tale doesn\u2019t end there. Those shipwrecks have become part of Toshara\u2019s history and economy; with nothing but rock and amberine available to the moon\u2019s population, the crashed ships were harvested for metal which was then used to construct many of the buildings you\u2019ll see and explore. <\/p>\n
With so much of Toshara\u2019s environment being made up of harsh rock, crashed spaceships, and strange amberine structures, the finishing touch had to be something much more alive and endearing. While the crime syndicates may be the planet\u2019s apex predators, there are plenty of other creatures in the wilds to discover and befriend. Podlesnigg describes a magpie-like flying creature that\u2019s \u201cattracted by everything that sparkles, and they steal everything.\u201d It\u2019s an amusing trait, but one that folds directly into gameplay: \u201cWhen you see them circling somewhere, maybe you can go there and find something of value.\u201d<\/p>\n
A cuter friend can be found in Toshara’s weasel-like creatures, small pettable animals that will follow you around in groups. We can only hope that we\u2019ll be able to round up a dozen and cause chaos in a cantina\u2026 <\/p>\n