14 DAY TRIAL // The team at the Paradox Development Studios is delivering yet another developer diary for its upcoming Runemaster, which is designed to talk about the way quests are designed and implemented and about the way they will feel fresh no matter how many times the title is replayed.
The company explains in an official forum post that, “Every quest counts toward the goal at the end and the game mechanics will make sure that no quest is made in vain. But how will these quests work? With triggers, configurators, stages and dialogue - among other things Welcome behind the scene for a sneak peak.”
The company says that scripting for Runemaster quests is more difficult and more fun than for the grand strategy titles that Paradox usually focuses on.
A variety of triggers will allow developers to custom create quests for a range of races, classes and the level of a player-created hero, which ensures that each adventure is unique and reflects the point in the game that a gamer has reached.
The team then uses configurators to refine the location of the quest, and other parameters and stages are then used to actually run the various elements of the adventure and to introduce new locations and new characters to the action.
The Paradox developers offer in-depth info about how they are creating content for Runemaster using the newly revealed tools.
The dialog of the game is also scripted, for both the protagonist and the various NPCs he will encounter during his adventures.
The team adds, “Depending on the traits (which we talked about in an earlier dev diary), triggers and the player's own choices, the dialog can develop, change and progress, both in terms of text and quest. Those of you who has taken a look “behind the hood” of Crusader Kings II or Europa Universalis IV will recognize the scripted options, which are the text choices the player will be able to take.”
More information on the quests and on the way they are designed will be offered in future developer diaries.
Runemaster will be launched on the PC in 2014 and is designed to allow gamers to choose between Thor and Loki and either prevent or bring about the events of Ragnarok.
The game will combine traditional tactical battles, including units based on Norse mythology, with role-playing mechanics, and one of the unique selling points of the entire experience is how replayable it will be.