When the reveal trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor hit, internet speculation was ablaze about one very particular element of it. Specifically, a short bit at around the 44 second mark, in which a very large and imposing alien in a suit of armor looks Cal up and down with a bemused smirk on his face, before ordering his henchman to remind Cal of why the Jedi are supposed to be dead.
Fans were quick to point out that this could be a Gen’dai, a race of intergalactic nomads that are nearly indestructible and live for thousands of years. Those who watched the 2003 Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars series may be familiar with a character named Durge, who is probably the most famous representative of the Gen’dai race currently in Star Wars canon.
Well, let’s put an end to the speculation right now: Yes, that is a Gen’dai; no he is not Durge. His name is Rayvis, and he is just as menacing as you would think. To find out more I talked with Respawn Cinematic Director Dori Arazi and Lead Writer Danny Homan to learn all about the Gen’dai race, who Rayvis is, and why his presence in Jedi: Survivor is such an important element of the story.
Who Are the Gen’dai?
First off, let’s go into a little more detail about who the Gen’dai are. As I mentioned, they are a race of intergalactic nomads that are almost impossible to kill and they live for thousands of years, but the reason why they’re intergalactic nomads is because their peaceful home planet was ravaged and destroyed hundreds of years ago. With no place to call home, the surviving Gen’dai mostly took to bounty hunting, no doubt due to their incredibly tall stature and imposing nature.
Perhaps the most notable thing about them from a biological standpoint is that their bodies are made up entirely of a giant mass of regenerative tentacles. Those impressive suits of armor you see aren’t so much meant to protect the Gen’dai, but rather to keep them from spilling out. Obviously, this has some pretty interesting potential for cool boss battles from a gameplay perspective, but for Arazi and Homan, they’re also a super interesting race to explore narratively – for a bunch of different reasons.
In their own mind and their own world, they’re very chivalrous.
“What makes the Gen’dai so interesting, in my own opinion at least, is that in their own mind and their own world, they’re very chivalrous,” Arazi said. “They have a code they adhere to. It binds them to a certain code of honor for their conduct. It also binds them to their history and what’s left of their people. So Rayvis is not just this ‘gruff grunt #7’ who can take an army down. He’s got a long past. He’s seen a lot of history. He could be a thousand years old. He’s seen empires rise and fall, he’s seen the Jedi rise and fall, he’s seen the rise of the actual Empire itself. So he’s got a lot of tragic history and a lot of depth that we try to explore.”
Homan agreed and added “There’s a perspective to this species that’s so long-lasting. Seeing the Republic turn into the Empire, and you know, when we’re thinking about Cal’s journey and his own experience, any character he meets provides a new perspective on the Jedi and the republic. And Rayvis has seen it all. And so he knows, as any adversary might, the weaknesses of his enemies and how to exploit them.”
A Warrior Knows a Warrior
There are some interesting parallels between Cal and Rayvis that the team at Respawn was excited to explore. For one, they both share the experience of being part of a people who have largely been wiped out. As Arazi puts it, “There’s something really charming about the juxtaposition between how Cal as a Jedi takes his struggle with his history and the history of his people, or let’s say his kind, versus how Rayvis takes his history versus his kind. Cal has struggles and questions, and he tries to find his place while Rayvis comes in very confident with who he is and what he is and why he’s doing what he’s doing. And that conflict is very sparky. It allows both of them to have a lot of reflection on who they are and where they’re at and what they’re doing.”
A warrior knows a warrior, and even though they’re very different in stature, there’s a mutual respect for that strength.
I asked if it’s accurate to say that Cal and Rayvis are foils of each other and was told that while it is true in some ways, in other ways they’re very much not. Speaking of their relationship in the game, Homan adds that “A warrior knows a warrior, and even though they’re very different in stature, there’s a mutual respect for that strength.”
Bringing The Gen’dai to the Forefront
As someone who hadn’t seen the Tartakovsky Clone Wars series, I had little idea of who the Gen’dai were, outside of a Wookieepedia entry. What I did know was that a Google search for “Gen’dai Jedi: Survivor” brought up a bunch of results of YouTube videos and Reddit threads of fans that were very excited about the idea of a Gen’dai being at the forefront of a major Star Wars story.
I asked Arazi and Homan what it was like to be able to shine a spotlight on this race that’s so beloved by those who know about them, but is generally unknown to the more casual Star Wars fan. Homan told me “I remember when I started working on this team I cried [to my mom] because she grew up with Star Wars and it was like this franchise that was just so important to her. And she would have never dreamed that I would get to work on a game where we could expand canon and lore.”
They almost have this vampiric sense of time and place.
Homan continued, “Rayvis and the Gen’dai are a perfect example of this, where there’s a lot of really interesting species in Star Wars history, but Gen’dai are so interesting. They almost have this vampiric sense of time and place. And I think for Jedi Survivor, that’s really important, because this game takes place during these dark times. The rebellion is years and years away and people feel lost. And so, other than the empire, to find a character that feels sure of himself and his place in the galaxy is like a really interesting opportunity. And it’s by virtue of his species attributes, being long living and his fortitude, but also kind of his… I think his survival mentality. You know, it takes a lot to remain true to yourself through the ebb and fall of a civilization, in the rise of an empire, and he’s been able to do that. And I think that’s such a cool opportunity to be able to play with a character whose species are such survivors.”
Arazi added, “From a visual perspective, and a character to character perspective, Gen’dai are just fun because… what do you do to them, right? ‘Oh, I’m a powerful Jedi, I have a lightsaber, I’m going to slash you…’ it does nothing. The dialogue of the violent construct of this galaxy is completely different with this character.”
To close things out, Arazi left me with this regarding Rayvis and the Gen’dai: “We’re all heroes of our own story and Rayvis is the hero of his own story. He doesn’t perceive himself as a bad guy. He’s a chivalrous knight in his world.” Homan added: “Which is something you can respect in a time period where people are so uncertain of the next day, let alone the next year, he kind of walks through it confidently and proud. And there’s just something really kind of mystical about that.”
Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit
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