In the third issue of the Star Wars Galaxy Magazine, published in 1995, the "Design An Alien" competition was launched, asking Star Wars fans to create new aliens based on the original trilogy films. 23-year-old Martin Schlierkamp entered his creation of Shao to Gok into the competition, and although it was not showcased alongside the winners of the competition in the magazine's seventh issue, released in 1996, it was published in the tenth issue in 1997 as an "honorable mention." Leland Chee, who maintains the Holocron continuity database, later stated that the successfully published "Design an Alien" material was considered canon.
In the third issue of the Star Wars Galaxy Magazine, published in 1995, the "Design An Alien" competition was launched, asking Star Wars fans to create new aliens based on the original trilogy films. 23-year-old Martin Schlierkamp entered his creation of Shao to Gok into the competition, and although it was not showcased alongside the winners of the competition in the magazine's seventh issue, released in 1996, it was published in the tenth issue in 1997 as an "honorable mention." Leland Chee, who maintains the Holocron continuity database, later stated that the successfully published "Design an Alien" material was considered canon.