Star Wars Outlaws Dev Says Making Kay Vess A “Scrappy Street Thief” Is More Relatable

It was a great day for Ubisoft Forward this year as it highlighted some stellar upcoming games that left most of us wanting our hands on them right away. Between Assassin’s Creed Shadows gameplay reveal and the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake announcement, gamers are certainly eating well.

One title from the event that blew the socks off Star Wars fans was getting a deeper look into the mechanics of Star Wars Outlaws, which provided stunning visuals as Kay Vess flew around on her bike and planet-hopped with her adorable little companion. Set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Outlaws is billed as Star Wars’ first proper open-world title. While it’s obvious Outlaws is different from other Star Wars games, its creative director wanted to make sure Kay was perceived as an average person rather than a Jedi.

Speaking to Game Rant, Star Wars Outlaws creative director Julian Gerighty talked about developing the game with an average person in mind rather than a heroic figure, like a Jedi so that they could be relatable to players and, in turn, provide a more immersive gameplay experience. Even though Gerighty wanted a “normal” citizen of the Empire, he also wanted Kay Vess to have some kind of powerful reach but not superhuman powers, per se. This is where Kay’s adorable sidekick was introduced.

“The core initial idea was ‘How do we give Kay extra-human reach, but not superpowers? A long third arm that can distract, attack, set off smoke bombs, and grab a weapon?’ Very quickly we went, ‘Okay, what if it was a companion?’ said Gerighty. “Then the soft values came in: The cuteness, the fierceness, the look and feel, everything that makes him adorable and more than just a gameplay mechanic. But it always starts with, ‘How do we give players more control over the situation? The battlefield? The location?'”

Discussing Kay’s narrative, Gerighty explains that they went down the path of an average person because it allowed them to be more flexible with their creativity, as well as it being more of a relatable story, and character to play.

“We chose that this be an outlaw story. This is not about Jedi, it’s not about the Empire, it’s not about the rebels. It’s an outlaw story, and from that point on, it really allows you to be extremely creative within a framework. Very early on, I would say maybe by day two, we knew that that’s the direction we wanted to go in” expresses Gerighty. “This is a character who falls into this adventure. It’s not planned out from the start, and it’s just one bad decision after another that leads them into reckless moments. It’s much more relatable than having a grand plan and being a master thief. This is a scrappy street thief who falls into something.”

Star Wars Outlaws is set to release on August 30, 2024, and will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and PC.

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Star Wars Outlaws’ Kay Vess Isn’t A “Fully Developed Scoundrel” Like Han Solo

Star Wars Outlaws’ creative director Julian Gerighty gives a nod to the “great scoundrels of cinema” while discussing Kay Vess.