BioWare has announced its second playable planet in the Old Republic universe; the Hutt homeworld of Hutta. Who could forget characters like Jabba the Hutt? Though I for one wouldn’t really want to see where a creature like that came from, knowing that I at least have the opportunity is quite nice. Hutta (known also as Nal Hutta) means “Glorious Jewel” in the native language of Huttese, but from the screenshots it’s hard to identify with that image. I’ll let you decide. This is what the official site has to say:

“In Huttese, the name translates into “Glorious Jewel” [told you], and the planet more commonly called Nal Hutta is considered a paradise to the gluttonous tastes of the Hutts. To anyone else, though, the planet is a living nightmare—a disgusting and dangerous place to visit, and an unthinkable place to live. Current Underworld slang has shortened the name to a simple ‘Hutta’—a place where more civilized people threaten to send their children if they misbehave.

Before the creation of the Republic, Hutta was controlled by the native Evocii, a relatively primitive race who made the mistake of engaging in extensive business deals with the Hutts, ignoring rumors of their legendary greed. Centuries later, the Evocii realized their mistake too late—their entire civilization was mortgaged. When the Hutts’ home-world of Varl later became polluted and uninhabitable, the Hutts collected on the Evocii’s debts, becoming rulers of the planet.

In the thousands of years since, the Hutts have subjugated the Evocii—they live in slavery and squalor while the Hutts’ insatiable pursuit wealth pollutes the planet. Hutta has become the breeding grounds for the powerful Hutt families who control competing crime cartels that operate across the galaxy. Though petty vendettas keep them in constant conflict with one another, the Hutts have remained neutral in the long-running war between the Republic and the Sith Empire, keeping their world exactly as they like it.

The Hutts are the lords of Hutta’s demented society, and all other races, even official foreign emissaries, are seen as expendable fodder in the Hutts’ bloated, wormlike eyes. Even the most infamous bounty hunters are hesitant to venture on the Hutts’ home-turf, and no sane person would ever come to Hutta willingly without the most crucial need.”

Phew. Sounds like a handful. I somehow get the idea that Hutta won’t be a particularly safe place for a picnic. Not that you’d want to picnic there of course. It looks to me that the player will be aiming at allying him or herself to one of the cartels, and performing missions for them. Or, you know, taking them all on single-handedly. I can’t imagine a whole lot of peaceful trading and socialising will be done here, but I CAN imagine that there will be a whole lot of moolah for the taking. That’s MMO style: why put the rarest and most precious resources in the middle of Joy Canyon, surrounded by fluffy bunnies, when you can stick one measly deposit in the middle of an upside-down volcano spewing thunder and lightning, guarded by pissed-off dragons on anabolic steroids? It’s just more fun that way.

And listen up, Bounty Hunters. Yeah, I’m talking to you. We all know that Hutts are one step up on the food chain from you guys, and you pretty much exist to do their dirty work. I get the feeling that you’re going to be seeing an awful lot of the Glorious Jewel. Might want to invest in a noseplug. Those gases look stinky.

But then again, maybe Hutta isn’t so bad after all.