Topic: The Planet Selection Process
posted 10-08-2001 02:23 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Poster Challenge: In order to be considered the first poster, you need to answer this question: What is my favorite alien costume in the Star Wars films?
Several months ago, as we began announcing our player species, I wrote a post about how we selected those species. At that time, I promised to post a similar message explaining how we developed our list of ?explorable planets.? At long last, here?s that post? I?ll start with a quick update on our world-building progress and recap what we?ve announced thus far, then go on to describe the planet-selection process from a high-level perspective. Finally, I?ll discuss the criteria that we found important in determining which planets we wanted to recreate.
RECAP
Here?s what we?ve revealed, and where we?re at now:
*Star Wars Galaxies will include several explorable worlds. We haven?t announced the final number yet because we don?t want to paint ourselves into any corners. We have said that we?re hoping to include somewhere between four and twenty worlds, but I can now safely say that it will be between five and twenty worlds . As soon as we complete one full world ? including terrain, building placement, etc. ? we?ll be able to narrow that range a bit more. I wouldn?t expect a final, hard number until next year.
*We have announced that the game will include Naboo, Tatooine, Yavin 4, and Corellia. Again, we do not expect this to be the extent of our worlds ? you will see others added to that list in the coming months.
*We currently have four planets in full development. Naboo is the furthest along, with Yavin 4, Corellia, and a fourth unannounced planet right behind it. We?ve also done quite a bit of work on Tatooine, but it (and a few others) are scheduled to be completed after the other four.
*City-building has also started. The world designers are beginning with Theed on Naboo and Corellia?s Coronet, focusing mainly on layout and using temporary buildings to establish the proper traffic flows. After the initial layout is established, the designers simply walk around in the environment to see if it feels right. Coronet has been redesigned about six times because we really need to find the right mix of complexity and ease of use for our cities ? cities should be interesting, but you shouldn?t necessarily get lost every time you visit.
*Maps for our full list of planets have been completed and are in the middle of the approval process. World designers are hard at work creating missions, fleshing out points of interest, and developing other information for each world.
THE PROCESS
Step One: Make a List
This seems pretty obvious, but coming up with a list of planets in the Star Wars Universe takes quite a bit of work. We obviously started with the film planets (Tatooine, Endor, Hoth, Bespin, Naboo), and any planets mentioned in the films (Kessel, Dantooine, Sullust, Taanab). Then we added all the planets from the Essential Guide to Planets and Moons. Because that EG was published a few years ago, it had to be updated ? we sat down with all our other sources, including the comics and video games, to add any worlds that we found compelling. We also reviewed the map on the inside front cover of Vector Prime (and a more detailed version of that map that I have) to see if we missed any important worlds. This list easily surpassed 300 individual planets. Obviously, we needed to cut?
Step Two: The First Cut Pass
Before we could even prioritize the major planets, we needed a more manageable list. One of the designers was tasked with putting the planets into an spreadsheet, listing the types of terrain and any reference sources. If neither field could be filled out, then the planet was cut. This allowed us to drop a bunch of planets that are ?one-liners? ? mentioned somewhere, but never really detailed or fleshed out in any significant way.
Step Three: Gut Instinct Pass
With the excel sheet in hand, we debated which planets gave us any kind of positive feelings. There were some planets that seemed bland because of their descriptions or use in the fiction, so we dropped those.
Step Four: Spirited Debate
By this point, we still had several dozen planets on our list. During one of my trips to Austin, we hammered on that list until the ?final? candidates remained. The discussion was very interesting because, for whatever reasons, we all had ?favorites.? At any rate, as we went through the list, each planet was unofficially tested against a set of criteria to determine whether it would remain? See the criteria section below.
Step Five: Sanity Check
After we had a list that we felt pretty good about, we went back and reviewed it from a high-level perspective. We wanted to make sure that the list represented a diverse range of planets ? they couldn?t all be desert worlds, for example. We also wanted to ensure that the workload seemed reasonable: Not every planet on the list could be time-consuming or difficult to implement; some had to be fairly straight-forward. After deleting a few more planets and swapping others out in favor of worlds cut in Step Four, we had what we considered a fairly solid list. Of course, there have been some minor changes, but the list has been pretty stable for about six months now.
THE CRITERIA
Following are some of the things that came into play when we were discussing each planet. They are listed in no particular order, and not every planet will fulfill every ?requirement.? Finally, some of the elements below are double-edged swords: it?s great if a planet is seen in the films because it?s recognizable to even casual fans and we have plenty of visual reference; at the same time, if all of the planets were from the films, we?d be restricted creatively and wouldn?t be offering hardcore fans anything new to discover. The final list of planets should represent a fairly balanced collection.
SOME OVERALL RULES
I?ll start from the high-level perspective. If you?re looking at our list, it should represent the following:
*Diverse Experiences: Your experiences on Tatooine should be different than your experiences on Naboo.
*Diverse Environments: As I stated before, we didn?t want a series of desert planets or swamp planets.
*Range of Familiarity: We want our final list to range from well-known (Tatooine) to relatively obscure. This allows us to recreate some very familiar locations, but also surprise players and introduce new sites.
*Varying Degrees of ?Wildness?: Some planets should be safer, in general, than others. Some should offer several settlements; some might have very few. Some will be more prominent in the factional conflict, others might avoid it entirely.
*Varying Faction Status: In the continuity, some worlds are definitely aligned with the Empire or the Rebels, others are under the Empire?s thumb, and still others are entirely neutral. We want that same range, if possible.
*Varying Access to Resources: It doesn?t make sense to allow rampant resource gathering on every planet, nor should every planet have the same types of resources. At the same time, resources are a large part of the game, so there must be planets where they are abundant.
*Varying Access to Real Estate: As we?ve already stated, there will be ?zoning rules? in place for the construction of installations and buildings. We don?t want the jungles of Yavin 4 clear-cut to provide room for dozens of player cities, for example. At the same time, we want to encourage players to build and congregate where appropriate. Our final list needs to have planets with both strict and relaxed zoning rules.
*Range of Continuity Implications: Some planets will bring with them various continuity restrictions, others are wide open and will allow us more freedom in terms of developing new content.
*Spread Across the Galaxy: We actually made a conscious decision to include planets from the Core, Mid-Rim, and Outer Rim. We wanted you to really cross the galaxy while adventuring.
PLANET-SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS
When debating whether or not a planet should make the list, ask yourself these questions:
1) Does the Planet have diverse terrain?
Our worlds are fairly large, so some planets should have multiple terrain types. Even within a ?desert world,? like Tatooine, it?s nice to know that we can include expansive dunes, rocky canyons, and dusty cities. Planets with underground or underwater areas are also appealing in this context.
*2) Is there enough to do on the planet?
Some planets are fairly limited in the types of experiences they offer. If a world is totally defined by one experience or type of gameplay, then it might not be a good choice for us. Each planet should offer several different opportunities for exploration, combat, advancement, community interaction, etc.
*3) Does the planet have a unique personality?
Hopefully, each planet has its own feel and personality. If a planet hasn?t been well-developed in the continuity, this might be difficult to extract, unless we find something keen to grab onto. In some cases, an important event, NPC, or site adds the character we're seeking.
*4) Is there room for expansion?
We?re not capable of building an entire planet ? a globe that you can circumnavigate ? at this point. However, we do want to select planets that would be interesting to expand later. We want to know that we can add new continents, regions, etc.
*5) Is the planet accessible?
You need to be able to reach the planets through fairly standard means. Planets can?t be too remote (or undiscovered) or otherwise inaccessible. That doesn?t mean that it will be easy to reach every planet or that you won?t need to fulfill some requirements first?
*6) Is there reference material for the planet?
We need some reference to build virtually any planet, although the amount can vary. We are creating many sites from scratch, but it?s nice to know that we have Tatooine mapped out and well-documented.
*7) Has the planet appeared in one of the films?
This ties in with references, but it?s also connected to a sense of immersion and familiarity. While not every planet will be drawn from the films (that wouldn?t leave us with very many), this does weigh in heavy. We want players to visit places that they recognize.
*8) Can we reuse assets created for the planet?
We?re developing a ton of art assets, and it would be great to reuse them when appropriate, possible, and logical. This could include architecture, textures, special effects, etc.
*9) Are there creatures on the planet?
Many of our wild worlds should be populated by a wide variety of creatures, ranging from docile herd animals to voracious predators. If the continuity describes a world as ?barren and lifeless,? it might not be appropriate for our use at this point.
*10) Are there NPCs on or connected to the planet?
Although creatures are important, NPCs are even more so. NPCs might range from nameless stormtroopers to a named character like Jabba. The more detail we have about the types of sentient beings inhabiting a world, the more resources we have for creating ?theme park? areas, missions/quests, and special touches.
*11) Does the planet have compelling points of interest?
Commonly referred to as simply ?POIs,? these are areas that provide exploration and quest opportunities. Jabba?s Palace and Fort Tusken on Tatooine, the Great Temple and Exar Kun?s temple on Yavin 4, and Theed Palace and the Gungan Sacred Place on Naboo are all examples of POIs. Each planet should have at least two or three POIs. If compelling POIs don?t exist in the continuity, then we need the freedom to invent them.
*12) Does the planet have cities?
Not every planet will be considered ?civilized? or even ?settled,? but we need cities in this game as places for players to congregate, buy what they need, train, rest, gather information, etc. A large number of our worlds should have major cities (Mos Eisley on Tatooine, Theed on Naboo, and Coronet on Corellia). If we don?t have a full-fledged city, at the very least we need some type of settlement for re-supply and a spaceport so you can actually travel to and from the world.
*13) Is the planet free of continuity restrictions?
This is a major consideration for us. We need freedom when developing these worlds, and in some cases, the continuity has tied our hands. We can?t use Alderaan because it has been destroyed by our starting point in the timeline. Other worlds are inappropriate because they haven?t been discovered yet, they?re described as uninhabitable by most of our species, the local government doesn't allow visitors to arrive or leave, etc.
*14) Does the planet have any historical context?
We also considered the ?historical context? of a planet, trying to determine how important it is not just to fans but to the overall history of the Star Wars Universe. Obviously, Tatooine is prominent in this regard.
*15) Is it technologically feasible to build the planet?
There are some worlds that we simply can?t faithfully recreate due to technological limitations. Planets that require a great deal of geometry packed together in small areas would be very difficult to build, for example.
*16) Does the planet have interesting factional implications?
Worlds with an Imperial or Rebel presence were appealing to us because they offer a wider range of experiences and possibilities. Not every world will have an Imperial base, but we do want the Empire to be a constant presence and stormtroopers should be visible throughout the game.
*17) Does the planet fill one of the criteria that I listed under the overall rules above?
A planet might give us a totally unique terrain type or fill a void by providing a place for criminally-aligned characters to congregate, for example.
*18) Is the planet cool?
This is a totally subjective question, and something that I think is cool might seem very interesting to the world designers, or vice versa. But there is definitely something intangible about some planets that makes them compelling to us. On the flip side, other worlds just didn?t spark our imaginations. Oh, and you know what's really cool? The Jabba "costume" from RoJ. That's probably the best creature effect in any movie, ever.
In the event that you want to actually use this list of questions, here it is in a more manageable format:
1) Does the planet have diverse terrain?
2) Is there enough to do on the planet?
3) Does the planet have a unique personality?
4) Is there room for expansion?
5) Is the planet accessible?
6) Is there reference material for the planet?
7) Has the planet appeared in one of the films?
Can we reuse assets created for the planet?
9) Are there creatures on the planet?
10) Are there NPCs on or connected to the planet?
11) Does the planet have compelling points of interest?
12) Does the planet have cities?
13) Is the planet free of continuity restrictions?
14) Does the planet have any historical context?
15) Is it technologically feasible to build the planet?
16) Does the planet have interesting factional implications?
17) Does the planet fill one of the criteria that I listed under the overall rules above?
-Does it offer some new experience you can find anywhere else?
-Does it have an environment unique to that planet?
-Does it have a unique resource?
*18) Is the planet cool?
I?ll follow this post with another (here) evaluating our four announced planets in relation to these criteria.
Haden Blackman
LucasArts Producer
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
