Star Wars Outlaws Is Using Tech to Emulate Look and Feel of Original Trilogy

Star Wars Outlaws takes place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. And because of that shared period, Massive Entertainment trying to emulate the look and feel of those films for its upcoming open-world game.

Star Wars Outlaws will have tech to help recreate that style

Creative director Julian Gerighty spoke about this to Edge Magazine (as noted by The Loadout). He said that it is “set between Empire and Jedi, so [the studio] wanted to emulate that feel.” This meant Massive had to make technology that could convey the style of a 1970s camera. Because of this, Outlaws’ lens has the “vignetting, film grain, lens breathing, the curvature of a thicker lens, [and] the slight lens flares” that is meant to evoke camera lenses from that time.

Gerighty admitted that these features are subtle, but “come together to give [players] a more cinematic experience.” He said that everything goes through a “process of reduction” in order to get it down to its “essential properties,” seemingly saying that these types of small nuances help make Star Wars what it is. This also comes down to what tech protagonist Kay Vess uses, as it needs to look like it was created on a set from nearly a half-century ago while still not being stuck in any one era.

“I can even come down to something as granular as the industrial design of Kay’s binoculars,” said Gerighty. “There’s a shape language there that is inspired by the ’70s or ’80s but is fundamentally almost timeless.”

However, he also stated that this attention to detail was difficult since there are other factors that go into making something in such a long-running and valuable license.

“You can’t understand the constraints, the design philosophies, and principles that go into creating something like a new gadget, or a pistol, or a creature,” said Gerighty. “That’s something we’ve had to learn.”

Star Wars Outlaws is still slated for 2024, so there’s much more Massive has yet to say about the game and how it relates to the film franchise it is part of.