I'm fascinated by how they made Nix in Star Wars Outlaws

A screenshot of Nix from Star Wars Outlaws
(Image credit: Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft)

As we noted in our Star Wars Outlaws review, Ubisoft's new game features a beautifully designed world and plenty of treats for fans of the Star Wars franchise. The game's big breakout star is Nix, a lovable axolotl-like merqaal sidekick whose adorable personality provided a memorable gaming experience.

The behind-the-scenes video below reveals some of the work that went into creating the character, using a surprising technique. Motion caption puppetry. 

Star Wars Outlaws Behind-The-Scenes: Nix's Motion Capture Puppet - YouTube Star Wars Outlaws Behind-The-Scenes: Nix's Motion Capture Puppet - YouTube
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For cutscenes in Star Wars Outlaws, Humberly González had to portray the game's player character Kay Vess with a tiny fictional companion in tow. It can be difficult to act with nothing there. The solution found was to use a googly-eyed puppet with fake gills, and Humberly says it proved to be invaluable.

The puppet was made and piloted by Camille Loiselle-D'Aragon and was designed to allow Humberly to react naturally and do things like pet Nix on the head.

Star Wars Outlaws is out on Friday 30 August. You can learn more at Ubisoft. See prices on the best games consoles below. For more behind-the-scenes gaming, see the comparison of the Black Myth: Wukong real actors with their characters.

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Joe Foley
Freelance journalist and editor

Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.