Building upon the innovative role-playing experience that they had presented in the original Fallout, the founders of Troika Games wanted their first release to have a unique setting, interesting systems, rich storytelling, and almost unlimited player choice. The result was Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, a deep and engaging RPG that took place in a steampunk-fantasy setting where the forces of magic and technology are in perpetual conflict.
We were a small team, and we all wore a lot of hats. Along the way I learned a lot about solid design principles, creative storytelling, and quality game writing. The final product is still lauded as one of the deepest and most interesting RPGs ever made.
CONTEnT DESIGN
The world of Arcanum was massive - and as one of just a handful of game designers on the team, I was responsible for creating quite a bit of the content that we needed to fill it. I designed and implemented entire quest hubs, used our world building tools to lay out and populate dungeons, and wrote detailed and complex scripts for puzzles and NPC interactions. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. It was often a daunting amount of work, but it served as a great primer for my career in design and creative development.
STORIES and Characters
I was also involved in high-level narrative development on Arcanum. Early on in the project, I did a lot of work with the company's founders to write the game's main story arc, crafting a compelling story that immersed the player into Arcanum's rich, steampunk-fantasy world. Players explored the subterranean depths of ancient dwarven clans, walked the grimy streets of human cities in the midst of an industrial revolution, and explored mysterious ancient ruins with world famous adventurers.
I also did quite a bit of character design for the game, developing detailed backstories and unique personalities for many of the game's primary NPCs and followers - and then writing deep, branching dialog trees for all of them. As many of these characters were voiced, I was able to cast and direct the talented actors that brought them to life.
WORLD BUILDING
Soon after I came on to the team, the founders felt that the project needed a foundational piece of fiction to flesh out the world, its history, and its base conflict of magic vs. technology. I was given this task. The result was a short story titled "An Unfortunate Affair" - a tale a young mage's exciting adventure in a new and unfamiliar world.The entire story was later released to the community in order to introduce them to the universe, and I think it serves as a great example of narrative world building. Many of the story's characters and locations found their way into the game.
During the project, we were able to leverage game systems - such as newspapers, books, and technological schematics - to further flesh out the world and its unique characteristics. This was a great experience in how to reflect your game's IP consistently and compellingly through content.
