SWG: Rage of the Wookiees Designer Diary #1

GameSpot's first designer diary for Star Wars Galaxies: Rage of the Wookiees is now online, in which concept artist Arnie Jourgenson explains how they're bringing the Wookiee planet from Episode III to an MMORPG. Here's a taste:
We started the designs for Kashyyyk with an area called Rryatt Trail, an ancient rite of passage for young wookiees to attain adulthood, which has been long unused due to the high loss of life incurred there. It's a long path that begins at the top of a massive tree and winds its way down through treacherous canopied caverns to end at the floor of the forest far below. Along the way, players will encounter a myriad of bloodthirsty creatures, like the massive pack-hunting mynstyngar and the swift but deadly walluga, which have both kept the trail unconquered for many generations. We tried many different visual ideas until we settled on the final look. The uppermost level floods players in sunlight as they look down upon the roof of the forest below them. It's a level of bright yellows and greens, where the sounds of footfalls are lost in the deep foliage floor. As the player descends, the levels become darker, and the leafy green gives way to long vine tendrils. Each successive level of the trail is darker and more dangerous than the one above, with a completely different look and feel. Needless to say, only the most "über" of parties will be able to reach the end of the Rryatt Trail!