Starfinder: Afterlight Dev Talks Making “Baldur’s Gate 3 in Space”

by

Starfinder: Afterlight, a video game based on Paizo’s Starfinder tabletop role-playing game, recently started a Kickstarter campaign. Developed by Epictellers Entertainment, the game is planned for Early Access in 2026 and will be a story-driven RPG set in a vast outer space environment. Players will gather a diverse team of characters to fight against the dangerous Afterlight, a force that threatens to extinguish all light in the galaxy. The developers drew inspiration from games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as their passion for tabletop gaming.

Ricard Pillosu and Albert Jane, the creators of Starfinder: Afterlight, recently discussed the game’s development with Game Rant. They covered topics like designing and voicing the companion characters, the difficulties of translating Paizo’s detailed tabletop rules into a video game, and their collaboration with voice director Neil Newbon, known for his work on Baldur’s Gate 3. This interview has been lightly edited for easier reading.

Bringing The Galaxy To A Video Game Format

Okay, so I’ve been diving into Starfinder, and wow, it’s a really intricate system. Honestly, it feels even more complicated than D&D or Pathfinder when it comes to character classes. I’m really curious – from a design perspective, which class was the biggest headache to actually *make* work in the game? What class gave the developers the most trouble mechanically?

Absolutely, Witchwarper is proving to be quite something. We’re still developing it, and figuring out its full potential is a challenge – what *can’t* it do? Plus, we’re paying close attention to how opponents respond to it. It’s been difficult, but also really rewarding.

Game Rant asked: Instead of traditional races like those in *Dungeons & Dragons*, *Starfinder* uses something called “Ancestries.” There are several non-human Ancestries, including the Skittermanders and the Barathu. How difficult was it to bring these Ancestries to life in a video game?

We did consider Starfinder, but honestly, it gave us pause. We really like the system, but producing it would be a huge undertaking. It would be much simpler to stick with more traditional fantasy races like dwarves and elves. (Laughs)

When you first see the Kasatha, the immediate impression is, ‘four arms!’ Then you look at the Skittermander, which is much smaller, and it has six. What’s really interesting is the Skittermander can even use its lower arms to walk with a certain ability. It just makes you wonder how many animators will be needed to bring these creatures to life!

We’ve been working for the past six or seven months to create a very adaptable system for controlling our character. Our technical director, Noa, designed a rig that can handle six arms, a tail, antennae, and other features. While a human would only utilize about half of these components, the important thing is that we can now map out animations. Creating the models themselves isn’t difficult—the real challenge lies in the animation process.

Surprisingly, one of the biggest hurdles is crafting compelling stories. When you have characters, especially ones players control, their dialogue needs to reflect who they are. Take the Lashunta, for example. They primarily communicate telepathically, and while they experience a wide range of emotions, how do you translate that into gameplay? Or consider the Shirren – they *can* speak, but they prefer telepathy and are reluctant to talk. This creates design challenges, but it’s also what makes *Starfinder* unique and worth the effort.

In *Starfinder: Afterlight*, the main plot revolves around stopping a mysterious force called the Afterlight, which is extinguishing all light in the universe. This is a new element introduced to the *Starfinder* universe. When during the game’s development did the idea for the Afterlight first emerge?

We didn’t start with the small details. Instead, we focused on the core elements of the game first – what we call the ‘pillars.’ When you design a game, you identify the most important aspects – what’s number one, two, and three. For us, that number one priority was the companions. Even someone like me, who loves strategy and optimization, won’t spend much time with a game if I don’t feel an emotional connection to it. So, getting the companions right was crucial.

Developing the story took a lot of work – we spent many long days collaborating in person, really pushing to get it right. We started by fleshing out the characters and their roles. Once we had them all together, we realized we had a wonderfully chaotic group – a kind of wild, *Starfinderesque energy.

Let’s think about the main conflict. People often don’t remember the final boss in a game, but they *do* remember the characters they journeyed with. Looking back at the six months of development, creating the characters took about three months. After that, we focused on the overall story – what big challenge would the players face? We wanted something huge, like saving the galaxy, not just dealing with smaller problems. *Starfinder* offered that scale. We asked Paizo how ambitious we could be, and they were fully on board.

Game Rant: When you first began working with Paizo, were you surprised to learn you’d be developing a completely new story? Or did they ask you from the beginning to create one?

Everything happened for a reason. As I was explaining, companions are really central to our game. In games like Pathfinder or Starfinder, your fellow players *are* the companions. So, when we designed our companions, we started by thinking about what interesting challenges would be fitting for them.

So, it actually happened by chance. Paizo announced Starfinder Second Edition, and they asked if we wanted to bring something over from the first edition. They quickly decided against it, though – they wanted something fresh for the next set of adventures. That’s when we pitched the Afterlight story. It felt right, and we really needed an original tale. Jenny over at Paizo loved it – she was totally enthusiastic! We asked her what specifically she liked, and she just said, “Everything! Let’s do this – what are we waiting for?”

Crafting The Companions Of Starfinder: Afterlight

That’s great to hear! Since you began by designing the characters players can recruit, which one did you create first, or did you work on them all simultaneously?

We have two writers, Felix and Isabel, developing the companion characters. They’re working on them at the same time as we create challenges for those characters. Interestingly, two new characters appeared right as we were starting this process.

So, it all started with my partner, Kole. She was watching these super cheesy 80s action movies – like *American Ninja* with Michael Dudikoff – and she just loved how over-the-top they were. She immediately thought we *had* to bring that vibe into our *Starfinder* game. I initially thought it was a crazy idea, but she convinced me we could totally pull it off. We started brainstorming who would be the most unexpected actor, and it hit us: a Vesk! Seriously, a Vesk actor! And honestly, that core concept hasn’t really changed since then. When we pitched it to the team and Paizo, they absolutely loved it and gave us the go-ahead. It just clicked with everyone.

Felix quickly secured the character Lu, likely because we’d been discussing using the *Battle Angel Alita* manga as inspiration. Lu is a character who doesn’t know her history and is focused on creating her own future. A key element we wanted to establish was the question of whether someone is defined by their past, or can forge their own path – and she’ll grapple with that question throughout the game.

Without giving too much away, the character discovers she was created to be a spy and to manipulate people for information. Her main goal is to break free from that control and discover her true self. She constantly questions her own actions, wondering if they’re genuine or just a result of her programming – even when it comes to romantic feelings. She’s determined to figure out what’s truly *her* and what’s simply the influence of her past. Ultimately, she’s exploring how much our origins shape who we become.

Lu’s character resonated well with the ‘free will’ theme, but designing her appearance was challenging. We explored many different visual options before finally capturing the right emotional tone. She’s a complex character – powerful and dangerous, yet ultimately compassionate. It took about a month of work with concept artists, constantly refining her design, to get it just right.

We’ve been sharing trailers of the companions in *Starfinder: Afterlight* in pairs as we get closer to the Kickstarter launch. How have fans been reacting to these trailers?

People are really drawn to the character Tycho. We find him cool, but the audience seems to love him even more than we anticipated. He has a strong personality, which really resonated with viewers – we were a little surprised by that reaction. A lot of people commented on the great chemistry between Tycho and Kole, and asked if we were planning an animated series featuring them! Their dynamic reminds us a bit of *Guardians of the Galaxy*, which wasn’t our original intention, but we’re ultimately pleased with how it turned out.

I’m really excited about Sterling – he’s quickly become my favorite companion! He just seems like such a charming and sophisticated character, and I’m already hoping to pursue a romantic relationship with him.

Creating the character Sterling, who appears in Isabel, has been challenging. We wrestled with how to portray a traditional gentleman – a ‘Kingsman’ type – in a space setting. It wasn’t simple! We had a lot of discussions internally, as the concept of a gentleman feels a bit old-fashioned in today’s world.

Audiences are looking for a character who embodies the skills of a former special operative, but remains genuinely kind and respectful. He’s not arrogant or unpleasant – just a true gentleman. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to portray this type of personality, and explored many different ideas. Isa then suggested incorporating a romantic storyline inspired by *Starfinder*, and decided to offer it to the players, thinking it would be a fun addition.

Game Rant praised the voice acting in *Starfinder: Afterlight*, highlighting talents like Fred Tatasciore and Carolina Ravassa, as well as voice director Neil Newbon. Can you describe how you chose the voice cast, and how did Neil Newbon become involved with the project?

We realized we were pretty inexperienced when it came to voice casting. Albert and I have worked on large projects before, but this was always handled by someone else. So, we reached out to Enrique Garcia at ICO Partners, and he was a huge help. He suggested we connect with Neil Newbon to see if we could collaborate. Honestly, I was a little starstruck when I actually spoke with Neil! [Laughs]

He’s a genuinely kind and talented person. We admitted we were new to this, but emphasized how crucial voices were to the game. He immediately connected with us, offering to guide us through the process and work with us as a team. That’s what makes him such a great mentor – he’s patient and helpful, and it’s impossible not to like him.

When we started looking for actors, we intentionally avoided being swayed by famous names. I specifically remember the weekend we cast Lu and Sterling. We auditioned sixty actors for each role, and we listened to them repeatedly – with our eyes closed and without knowing who anyone was. It was just the writers and us, going through take after take.

Eventually, we narrowed it down to ten actors we liked and discussed them with Neil. He’d point out who had more vocal flexibility for different characters, who had a wider range, and practical considerations like studio access or time zone differences. When we were down to three or four finalists, Neil encouraged us to trust our instincts. That’s exactly how we chose Melissa – she just *felt* like the perfect fit for the role of Lu. The whole process has been really unique and enjoyable for us.

We hadn’t tackled voice acting before, and it’s been incredible to learn the process. We’re experienced game developers – we’ve been making games for eight years – so we’re used to working in stages and refining things as we go. But voice work is completely new territory for us, and it’s fascinating to see how it all comes together and how the voices are integrated into the game.

When we were casting for Tycho, we didn’t have much time, so we only auditioned about five or six actors. We ended up with some really well-known voice actors, and when we received the audition files, most were small – around half a megabyte. But one file was huge – 20 megabytes! I mentioned it to Neil, thinking something was wrong with the file, but he said the actor just really loved the character and was giving it his all.

We started performing, and this actor, Inel Tomlinson, just launched into the character of Tycho. He kept rambling on about what Tycho would like and dislike, constantly muttering that he didn’t care for the guy. I pointed out that, yes, that *was* Tycho’s personality! Neil introduced us to Inel, who’s a really talented actor – he even does stand-up. Once he started playing Tycho, it was incredible. He’d just say, “Okay, I’m Tycho now,” and stay in character for a full hour, even when Neil was giving him direction. Neil would tell him what to do, and Inel would respond *as* Tycho, never breaking character. Most of Tycho’s dialogue was actually improvised – all we had to do was tell him to go for it, and he’d nail it.

[END]

Read More

2025-10-13 23:38