Star Wars Outlaws Wants to Be Your Dream "Open Galaxy" - IGN First

making games is really tough making open World Games is really really tough and making Star Wars open World Games is the next level of difficulty Julian gy creative director at massive entertainment is up for a challenge for the first time ever we're getting a fully open World Star Wars video game it's been a long time coming but after back-to-back successes with both the division and the division 2 gu was in the mood to take a risk this may be just my Approach but even if it's scary you've got to do it you've got to lean into it what's the downside to pitching a Star Wars game at Lucas film games in George Lucas's old office I mean what's the downside to that if it doesn't work it doesn't work but you still have that experience fast forward several years after that meeting a massive entertainment is less than 2 months away from releasing Star Wars Outlaws a fully realized version of the original pitch described in that office an open world of dual Ambitions maintain the Cinematic Legacy of the films and create immersive scoundrel Gam play that grants you the freedom of the Galaxy I think it's taken this long to get an open world Star Wars game because of how excuse the pun massive it is to build a game like this there are only so many studios in the world who build games of this scale the do is then open for massive to come to us and say this is what we're interested in doing this is the type of game design and gameplay we want this is what we're thinking about in terms of an archetype where does that fit it's the outlaw player fancy and it's open world those were the two main pillars that we pitched why open world because the outlaw fancy really needs that to live and breathe It's a combination of I think our DNA as a studio our background when we think okay what what do we have a lot of experience doing what do we think we're good at and this fantasy the the scoundrel in in Star Wars begs for Freedom massive was fully confident in its abilities to create engaging open worlds the division offered a bullet field action playground while last year's Avatar frontiers of Pandora displayed an ability to work well within a Disney license by building a near unmatched visual Paradise but Star Wars was the new challenge that this team yearned for of course deciding what kind of experience would live inside a Star Wars open world was the first thing that had to be decided we took a step back of course and thought okay Star Wars open world what an opportunity uh what does that naturally want to be and it wants to be the full scale from the very small to the very big meaning sitting inside a Cantina playing sabak being able to walk through the street jump on your speed or drive across the planet surface Park literally your bike in your own ship take off into space seamlessly that vision of full scale helped secure a green light from Star Wars custodians but getting Lucas film's blessing was just the key in the ignition translating the Cinematic spectacle of the original Star Wars movie trilogy into an open world set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi two of the most iconic films of all time was the actual challenge one that massive set out to address in every aspect of Outlaws from the way it looks and sounds to the type of action adventure gameplay IT Supplies fire up the hyperdrive the sort of cinematic ambition that we had was in presentation so that doesn't mean cinematics necessarily what I care the most about is the interactive part right what we did was take a lot of inspiration from the original trilogy but with today's technology so very similar to what Rogue one did what its aim was to do was to replicate a lot of the the sort of filmic effects of those lenses of the 1970s so you'll see Barrel distortion on the sides vignetting film grain chromatic aberration and of course all wrapped up in a Ultra wies screen presentation it's a key point for open world games at large uh but I I think very much for Star Wars as well and not always scale in that it needs to be grand but it needs to be conscious the scale of twine needs and should and does in our game feel very different it breathes you know open sand dunes long sight lines you see it's easy to pick up any little anomaly on the horizon and there might be an opportunity for you compare to the dense streets of kijimi scale is something written into the very DNA of Star Wars we seen on on the big or small screen Greg Fraser Rogue one's Director of Photography recently told IGN that if you watch any Star Wars film that's what it's all about it's you know knowing how big a human is going into this massive Millennium Falcon you know how big the Millennium Falcon is going to this massive dead star like you know it's scale upon scale upon scale it's a philosophy G and the team at massive took into Outlaws when crafting the introduction to its open world one of our intentions was for the beginning of the game to make it feel very small and then bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger so beginning of the game you start off in one room and it's claustrophobic and it's meant to make you feel a little bit trapped you open up and it's city streets but it's contained and then some narrative stuff and you steal a ship and you explode into the Galaxy and all of a sudden you crash land on this planet which is wide open world that sort of sense of everything growing for you and not just the scale of the the Galaxy but the the scale of the possibilities for you as a character as a rookie Outlaw k v the underworld's favorite news scoundrel Outlaws campaign tells the tale of cave S A young scoundrel looking to build a team from across the stars in order to pull off one big space Heist and remove the death Mark placed on her by the zerich B crime syndicate it's the basis of a story that evokes many other Adventures from across both games and film I love Mass Effect 2 it was one of is one of my favorite games I think there were so many influences everything from Oceans 11 oceans 8 to Star Wars itself you know the the previous films like that Heist feeling was always kind of in the fabric to just tonally the films of kurawa those original influences to George Lucas knowing what sort of story you want to tell is one thing telling an engaging story in an open world setting is another task altogether and one that cavari is well aware of having written for Far Cry 4 5 and six as well as the division one of the things you always have to keep in mind is how are we going to weave a narrative and an open world together so that we're telling the story but also giving you the freedom to sort of go wherever you like we had a really clear approach on Outlaws which was there was K's Journey we called them sort of lighthouses there were key points that we knew you we want her to hit these and then that makes her story kind of part of the wider Star Wars narrative but between those moments we knew early on that if you got distracted by curiosity the world had to react to that it had to expect that the player is going to go off the beaten path the things that lie off the beaten path are built in accordance to something massive refers to as the 3 second rule where within a few blinks of an eye you can instantly understand the nature of a location or car character and the story behind them before you even put life in them they need to visually tell a story about what kind of place it is what's happened in the past what type of life and events have taken place in them so they get that lived in feeling and that lived in relatable substantial field I think is a Hallmark of any good open world but also very Star Wars Star Wars aesthetic has always been rooted in the idea of the used future where everything from the largest spaceships to the tiniest droids have that instantly recognizable layer of grime those small details build up into authentic cool and bespoke spaces something massive has always managed to build into its open Worlds the division and its sequel are packed full of memorable levels ranging from New York landmarks to Washington DC museums and that philosophy is being transferred to Outlaws many planets its main missions promis to take us to iconic locations such as Imperial bases and Jabba's Palace we can lean into the virtual tourism aspect of hey what is the distance between the moisture farms and Moss icely and the Cantina there is a linear roller coaster story golden path if you will and around that of course there's the open world that's the the dream I know I had as a kid that is what I've always wanted from a Star Wars game is that you know when I'm on a journey when I'm entering into a quest it might start on foot they might start navigating a high Republic Cruiser that's crashed but I want to be able to jump into my speeder and Blast Off hop into the trailblaze or take off into space Maybe land in a space station and meet some characters that factor into my quest or Journey along the way and so that sort of connective tissue of planet or moon to space was crucial because that's kind of the fantasy that I think players are hoping for that fantasy and freedom is evidently at the core of Outlaws and while all five planets and moons won't be instantly available to hyperdrive between G claims it won't be long into Cage's Journey until the Galaxy opens up there's a very structured intro that leads you to crash land on Tashara which is a moon that we created with Lucas film games and once you finish the the sort of linear narrative on Tashara the other planets open up and there it becomes completely nonlinear and you can choose to tackle those in any order you want exploration of these worlds is highly encouraged with maps that are not at least initially flooded with icons and points of interest because you're seeing these places from a fresh perspective K as a character hasn't seen the Galaxy so the first time K comes to Tara is the first time you come to Tashara and it's not an unknown Uncharted place so you'll have a map of where you can see mountains over there and stuff but Discovery is what G gives you more information you're going to have to take some risks you're going to have to go to a Cantina and you can EES drop pick up on some conversations that will lead you to another location that reveals a location within the open world that you have to get on your speeder to go uh and find there will be a fog of war that you'll be able to clear up and that's really where your curiosity will open things up even more each of Outlaw's worlds vary in size Tashara Mass's newly created moon is around the same size as the jungle planet of AKA but a little smaller than the vast desert of ttin it was less about how big but more about how long in terms of traversal with the speeder it would be four or 5 minutes non-stop which doesn't sound like a lot but once you're committed it's a fairly large amount and you're always going to be distracted Assassin's Creed Odyssey which was one of the the games that we were looking at while creating this you have different zones so it's two or three of those together and that doesn't even take into account the vast areas of space that surround each planet and serve as entirely different areas of orbital exploration and opportunity we'll cover that as well as the Starship side of the game in Greater depth later on in this month's IGN first I said [Music] run in terms of mission design we've seen action ranging from stealth infiltrations frantic dog fights High highs speed chases and intense Blaster battles with some quests even evolving to include all these elements at different stages Star Wars Outlaws is thus perhaps better thought of as a single player narrative action adventure in the wrappings of an open world something more akin to Marvel Spider-Man than dense RPGs like The Witcher or ubisoft's recent Assassin's Creed games its mixture of popcorn action and Blockbuster narrative ambition is a departure from massives gear-based experience on the division it's a new chapter in the continued evolution of a studio that started Life as a realtime strategy developer I think if you look at the the evolution of open world between Division 1 and division 2 there's a life a dynamism a systemic quality to division 2 that we didn't have in division one I'm not talking about the presentation the soft values at all I'm talking about pure gameplay experience uh single player or cooperative that was very very important to us to have as a living breathing element that engages players while they're playing Outlaws it's an evolution of what massive has been doing in their games for years now keeping world's feeling bustling and Alive even when set against post-apocalyptic backdrops or in the midst of Galactic Wars we in both division games but especially in the second one developed what we called Living World Systems so same thing here we have systems that make sure that the world is always alive of with movement traffic know speeders uh sipping around the Empire patrolling the syndicates have know footholds out there sometimes more substantial events happen and it's really up to you if want engage perhaps Outlaw's most interesting method of breathing life into its open world is its approach to character progression there's no leveling up or incremental stat boost to drop experience points into instead K's ability and Equipment are linked to experts people you'll meet across the Galaxy who Grant you upgrades in exchange for work I heard you're the best shot of on the planet oh and you want to be second best they are full-on characters you don't know exactly who they are what exactly they have to offer you and how to reach them from the very beginning so there's this journey of Discovery here as well Intel Clues okay I think there's a guy or gal or something that can do good things to my speeder here meaning this are really strong incentives for you to move around and journey through the world and expose yourself to other fun things on the way and once you reach them there's a character there to interact with and an adventure to go on cuz they want instantly just oh here you go right and then they essentially open up a little Regional progression for you where the nature of unlocking those things is also very tangible for example after finding a Jawa by sourcing their location from overheard Intel at a Cantina you can complete a mission for them in order to gain a new skill in this case it's to venture into a dead sarac to find a pristine tooth from its second mouth which you can then exchange for a laser turret for k Starship the Trailblazer it's a smart way of blending gameplay progression with Narrative befitting of the Star Wars criminal underbelly you can go on a journey with a character such as a an expert who is going to teach Kay a new skill a new give her a new upgrade you know to her Blaster that skill that upgrade definitely ties into K pulling off the heist but it's also very much its own Journey which is in the Star Wars tradition as well another system aiming to marry gameplay with narrative is how Outlaws tracks K's reputation with each of the criminal syndicates her bond with each of the Huts Pikes Crimson Dawn and as Shea Clan will strengthen or weaken depending on your choices in dialogue and mission objectives I'm going to finish it shame your reputation moving in the positive direction unlocks a lot of things for you everything from actual access to territory that they control where you might have been be able to sneak in other wi to Landing paths in the open World Discount with Traders affiliated with The Syndicate unique really exotic rewards etc etc but if you if you really get on their bad side that's another thing that you will feel dynamically in the game because they actually send hit squads out for you in the open world the reputation system doesn't just sit inside of missions though smaller opportunities regularly present themselves to boost your relationships among the syndicates these might be smaller skirmishes where choosing to get involved can benefit you and the organization you side with and a strong bond may even help you out with the bigger threat looming over the Galaxy this is getting bad all right if you've for whatever reason ended up wanted and you're being chased by Empire and you cross paths with a Syndicate that you have really good reputation with at the moment they might join in and help you out Outlaws directly follows the events of the Empire Strikes Back and sees the Imperial forces at the peak of their powers in gameplay terms the Stormtroopers are basically like GTA's police and adopt a similar wanted system find yourself in a restricted area or accidentally fire a stray laser Bullet at a stormtrooper and you'll quickly find yourself in hot water it's by no means a revolutionary system when it comes to open world design but one that is made all the more exciting thanks to a lick of imperial black and white paint it has a good range of escalation and deescalation it's it's really up to you if you want to try and hide or maybe bribe an imperial officer that's a bit corrupt in a city somewhere or try to jump to a different space region but you will feel it and let's just say there are death Troopers for re hang [Music] on beyond the main missions expert side missions and the reputation system at the core of it all many other stackable activities exist in Outlaws open world these range from Quick contracts such as smuggling and stealing gambling in saac to playing asteroid field arcade shooter games and betting on Kanto by Favia racing all of these activities bolster your ever growing supply of credits which can be used to purchase new customization and gear options for K her pet-like alien companion nycks and the Trailblazer and yet there's more emergent events frequently take place throughout the open world whether on land or in space every 2 3 minutes there'll be something that's happening whether it's an ambush or the Empire arresting some civilians or combat with some criminal syndicates and it's up to you whether you want to engage or not so with so much to do in Star Wars Outlaws how does massive go about avoiding open world bloat with a near endless Galaxy of opportunity there's the worry that things may spiral feature creep sets in and everything just gets too big the studio had a clear plan from the start though leading with variety over size quality over quantity if you will we don't want things to be just big for big sake we need it to be contained always fun always proposing different activ it's about calibrating size to substance when you see something that breaks pattern that stands out for whatever reason when you go there and look there's something there to do and that that repeats frequently enough and that the quests the bespoke kind of content of the game makes use of it so that it doesn't feel like a separate experience but it's all one of course no matter how much there will be to do in Outlaws one thing that can be expected is a healthy helping of nods to the largest Star Wars Galaxy Lando is set to make an appearance and we've already seen a glimpse of hand solo and Carbonite but it sounds like they might just be the tip of the iceberg there's Easter eggs there's characters that you'll meet along the way across the main quests and across whether it's the experts or you know the wider stories you're going to stumble across August 30th is a really great date I I recommend uh bookmarking it in your calendar August 30 is right around the corner a short wait for many players for whom an open world game set in a galaxy Far Far Away has been a long-held dream I could feel a similar passion for Star Wars coming out of each person I spoke to at massive and for them I can't help but get the sense that that dream is a shared one making open World Games is tough and bringing open world to Star Wars May well bring an extra level of difficulty but for G and the team it's been a challenge worth taking on I'm not as young as he used to be and I'm getting to that point where I think I can count the number of games I can do till I'm put out to parure on one hand and it becomes more and more important to me to choose what I do because it's really important for me to do quality work with people that I love working with and uh Star Wars is definitely bucket lists so where do we go next anywhere we want we'll have more exclusive looks at Star Wars Outlaws for you throughout July and for everything else stick with IGM [Music] got

Channel: IGN

Views: 338,970

Keywords: Massive Entertainment, PC, PlayStation 5, Star Wars, Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, IGN, IGN First, Star Wars Outlaws Gameplay, Star Wars Outlaws Game, Star Wars Game, Star Wars Open World Game, Open World Star Wars Game, Gameplay, Gaming, Games, Video Games, Outlaws, Outlaws Game, Outlaws Gameplay, New Star Wars Game, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Open World Games, Star Wars Games, Star Wars Outlaws Interview, Behind the Scenes, Star Wars Outlaws Dev

Id: U6nCdIslajQ

Length: 21min 8sec (1268 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 09 2024