According to executive producer Josh Rimes, two different ideas were pitched to take place in the same world. Originally, there were going to be ten shorts produced for the first season, with Production I.G. providing two of them. By combining them into one story, this became the longest of the nine original shorts at 22 minutes.
Takes place in "Legends" continuity, not bound to any of the existing Star Wars films or TV series.
The planet of Hy Izlan is the frozen equivalent of Tatooine. It's design was inspired by Finland.
Lah Kara's helmet was designed with an opening at the side for her ponytail. It is symmetrical, so her ponytail can go on either side.
The book "The Art of Star Wars Visions" reveals that the alien characters are all original designs, but were inspired by established Star Wars types. For instance, Hanbei was inspired by Yoda, Toguro by Boba Fett, Niizo by Asajj Ventress, Hen Jin by Plo Koon and Homen by Chewbacca.