Star Wars Outlaws is less than two months away from its August 30 launch date, and Ubisoft Massive has partnered with IGN to unveil even more details about the open world game throughout the month of July.
The first feature is a video interview with Game Directors Julian Gerighty and Mathias Karlson. The duo confirmed, among other things, that the studio decided to go for quality rather than quantity.
Julian Gerighty: We don't want things to be just big for big sake; we need it to be contained, always fun, always proposing different activities.
Mathias Karlson: 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 repeats frequently enough and that the quests, the bespoke kind of content of the game, make use of it so that it doesn't feel like a separate experience but it's all one.
In our own interview with the Star Wars Outlaws team at Summer Game Fest, we were told that the game size would essentially double if considering the side content, which ranges from expert missions (in which protagonist Kay Vess helps other NPCs to get something from them), quick contracts for underworld factions, playing Sabacc or the Asteroid Field arcade shooter game, and more. But there are also emergent events happening throughout the whole game, as Gerighty told IGN:
Every two or three 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.
The video interview also goes over the process of gathering more information and unlocking more of the planets' maps, which does not happen through old-style Ubisoft towers. Massive went with a far more organic approach instead, as discussed by Gerighty:
You're going to have to take some risks. You're going to have to go to a Cantina where you can eavesdrop and 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 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.
Interestingly, Ubisoft Massive tried to make the universe Star Wars Outlaws feel alive. For example, if you're in good standing with certain criminal factions and they happen to be nearby when you get into a fight with the Empire, they will help.
Star Wars Outlaws is already 'gold', so there won't be any delays. For a comprehensive overview of the game, check out this article.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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