Yiorgos Bereveskos

Quest Structure

I built the quest and narrative design of Talon’s Blade upon the idea that players progress linearly through a series of non-linear levels. Each level would have an overarching main task that the player could choose to complete at any time, surrounded by smaller side objectives. These optional side objectives are part of the broader narrative of a level and can provide a boon that aids the player in completing the main objective. Completion of specific side objectives, such as character quests and rescue missions, can have an impact on future levels.

Above is the quest chart for the Occidan Vale, the third level of Talon’s Blade. Green nodes indicate main quests and orange node indicate optional quests.

Above is the quest breakdown for the Of Wolves and Ravens quest. This quest has three endings depending on what the player chooses.

Quest System

To effectively build out multiple side quests, I designed a quest system that assigned each quest step a unique 3D vector code that would be saved and loaded to determine if a specific quest step had been completed. The X component stored the mission step, the Y component stored the quest the step was a part of, and the Z component stored the level number.

I found that by breaking up the information of a quest step into vector components, I could more easily visualize and construct quest chains.
The system could rapidly check the saved codes and tell which quests the player had started, completed, and not yet begun.
I could also use the codes to load or remove world events as players completed quests. Allowing me to create specific quests that took into account player choice to influence how the world reacted.

I realized that I needed a way to quickly test quest chains without having to play through the entire quest, so I added a debug tool that allowed me to type in a quest code and set it as the active quest code. Using this system allowed me to skip steps of a quest to test specific quest interactions, dialog choices, or events quickly.

Dialog System

I also created a branching dialog system that allowed players to select from multiple dialog choices.
This dialog system used Unreal Engine’s behavior trees to select different dialog options depending on the player’s chosen response.
At first, this system was rather cumbersome because I would need to duplicate entire dialog branches every time I needed to have repeatable dialog or collapsing choices. I eventually found a solution that allowed the system to get out of a branch and back to a main conversation without mass duplication.

Narrative Design

Talon’s Blade is a revenge quest where the main character, Marcus, must discover who has betrayed him and his company of assassins.
The narrative takes place over the course of 7 levels and takes Marcus from being a prisoner in a derelict mountain citadel to facing the traitorous Lord War in the Imperial throne room.
I wanted a major thread of the story to be Marcus rebuilding the Talons from the ashes. So, each major level has a character whose personal quest can be completed, unlocking them as an option for recruitment into the Talons.

I was interested in the idea of choices having definitive gameplay consequences. Depending on the quests that are completed during the levels before the final conflict of the story, the final conflict can be approached with or without allies, a siege engine, or a larger military force.
For example, the player can help an inventor in the Cybrus River Valley in level 4. If you do so, she will be able to repair siege engines that the player can find in level 5. If these two things happen, the player will be able to call upon flaming catapults in the final level to destroy enemies blocking their path to the final boss.

Narrative & World Design

The world of Project Horizon is inspired by the mythos, romance, and tragedy of the American West in the mid-19th century. The country was changing and expanding into an environment rife with conflict. I chose to focus on the clashes between nature and industry that were occurring during this time period. Project Horizon takes place in an abandoned coal mining town. A place of industry, slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding desert.

For the visual style of Project Horizon, I was inspired by the hand-drawn, Sobel-style found in games such as Borderlands, The Walking Dead, and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine. A style that uses a strong black line to indicate form and texture. A scouting trip I took to Utah influenced and inspired the scene I built for the gameplay prototype. During the scouting trip, I compiled photos of the landscape, structures, and history of Carbon County, Utah, to use as reference when building out Project Horizon‘s prototype. I chose to exaggerate the warmth of the color and the depth of the shadow to draw the player’s attention to the unnatural green candlelight on the board

Photographs from a location scout in Carbon County, Utah

Narrative & World Design

Lost Machines is a linear narrative about a robot’s quest for enlightenment. I focused primarily on the obstacles and enemies she would have to overcome on her journey. I drew inspiration from Judeo-Christian concepts of angels, heaven, and the Garden of Eden. I thought the tension and juxtaposition between ancient concepts like angels and the seven heavenly virtues and a far-flung future of robots and artificial minds would act as an interesting frame for the story and its exploration of free will and purpose.

Nier Automata was the primary inspiration for the visual style of Lost Machines. I really wanted to use cold industrial forms reminiscent of giant computer chips, motherboards, and heat sinks. I used a muted color palette to evoke the sterile nature of the setting, Eden. The color I did use was, in large part, reserved for threats, rewards, and the player character herself.