Galyre
Personal Project in Unreal Engine 5, 2024 - World, Level and Quest Design
I originally planned this project for an interview test and am building on top of it, since I found the world to be interesting to expand upon. The test was originally focused on Quest Design, so I designed a quest that had multiple endings and a catch to it, where I could demonstrate my skills writing characters and depth to the world. I additionally wrote dialogues for World NPCs scattered around the map that could provide a sense of context and further develop the world, immersing the player into the storyline.
My approach focused on granting the player agency to decide what to do and where to explore.
I implemented the Quest in a custom-made map in Unreal Engine 5.
Read the Quest Design Document
The quest focuses on the arrival of our character, the Whiteguard, to the isolated town of Luperne, where he meets a Pastor by the name of Lorindo and hears of his ordeals becoming the community’s priest, and everything he has done for its people. NPCs in the area reveal the Pastor’s profound sense of community and sacrifice, and the unearthly ordeals he had to overcome in order to become the town’s leader. He is seen as somewhat of a saint.
There are, however, hidden details that pertain to the job he has given the player: to execute a drunk man who commited murder. His secretive nature, along with some of the town’s gossip and lack of evidence in the scene, will make the player suspect something is amiss.
Through this side quest the player can choose to explore the town of Luperne and its surroundings, learning more about the town’s particular nature and its people, or to simply judge the accused without evidence. What can be discovered following either path is up to them to decide. There is a double trick at play here: ignorance is easier, as the player will get the reward either way, but there is the choice to explore and learn the truth.
If they explore deeply enough the Whiteguard will discover, through a series of hidden letters and interrogations, that the Pastor is the culprit. Here, there is a second chance for player agency: to spare Lorindo and kill the drunk man to mantain the pillars of the community, or to impart justice and possibly wreak havoc.
With the Lore Document I created a gritty world where famine and disease are a daily ocurrence. Moral choices in this plain are secondary to the instinct of survival, and its not a matter of whether something is right but whether or not it is perceived as correct.
The dialogues pertain to:
All main characters in different instances of quest progression: Lorindo, Bertholda, Norfsgord, Grecia
NPC characters
Items and letters found inside the map
