Greetings Wanderers!
It's Pawel again, Game Director of The Night Wanderer, a game based off of amazing novels written by Jarosław Grzędowicz; this time around I want to talk about how we’re taking the Soulslike genre into an all new, exciting direction, making a contribution to its further evolution.
1. Altered Gameplay Loop
Take a game like Elden Ring or Dark Souls; the quest flow usually looks something like the following:
A) Interact with an NPC - Average length of 2 minutes~
B) Receive an instruction or a quest item - 10 seconds~
C) Explore & take part in combat encounters - 1-3 hours
D) Interact with an NPC again / make use of a quest item - 2 minutes~
E) Quest is complete!
While I consider these games to be amazing experiences, with The Night Wanderer we’re looking to shift the pacing a bit and make the quest flow an integral part of the gameplay flow, more akin to other story-driven RPGs.
The combat itself will definitely remain tactical, methodical and meaningful (resulting in an immense feeling of accomplishment albeit be more accessible) with exploration playing a pivotal role, not spelling out everything for the player. We really want to avoid having an excessive amount of player guiding via map markers etc., leaving no room for actual sense of discovery.
With that being said, quest design itself will greatly differ from the example I provided earlier in the post. Our quest flow will be consistently interwoven into the gameplay flow, utilizing such structure:
A) Encounter and activate a quest trigger (can be an NPC, doesn’t have to be) - 2 minutes~
B) Explore & take part in combat encounters - 10-30 minutes
C) Come across a scripted narrative sequence or a gameplay event that progresses the quest state - 5minutes~
B and C will occur multiple times interchangeably with varied time range
E) Quest is complete!
To be fair, there are literally no games on the market that mix the integral soulslike experience of that specific combat formula with metroidvania type exploration AND quest design structure of a narrative-driven RPG. Which is why we’re still experimenting with various solutions and not everything is set in stone. Our goal is to craft the best possible, fresh type of experience.
We’re looking for many different ways we can diversify the gameplay loop and have other things already in the pipeline such as trying to fit different genre components into the soulslike formula - not quite ready to talk about that just yet though! Also, polishing the fundamentals and making sure the combat system feels intuitive and responsive comes first.
2. Cyphral as a Companion
We live in strange, at times scary yet very interesting times; our world shifts at a pace never seen before right in front of our very eyes. The progress of AI technologies such as various language models is a significant part of that and in turn we want to reflect the very aspect of such frightening reality within The Night Wanderer through Cyphral.
As you embark on your adventure into Midgaard, Cyphral will start out as a really basic AI tool, a piece of technology if you will rather than a living being with its own thoughts and motives.
As you progress and together with Cyphral take part in various activities, making crucial choices - Cyphral constantly observes you, soaking in everything that occurs in the world around you. Given its capabilities, it is probably much more effective at analyzing the new, bizarre alien world you have found yourself in. Yes, it does relay information to you but... well, lets just say that might change in time.
Eventually, Cyphral will transform into something else, potentially something with a form if you will that only you can experience since it is an integral part of you (Cyphral is a biological, fungal implant that was inserted into Vuko's very body - since its activation, it exisits with its host in a symbiosis). Its voice might change, turning from emotionless and robot-like to somewhat human. Same goes for Cyphral’s extent of abilities, its self-awareness and influence on you. Does that sound alluring? Weirdly amazing? Scary perhaps? Well, it's all those things and more.
What if your goals and morals are at odds with that of Cyphral which it has developed? Will you go against its wishes? If so, you might have to face the consequences, potentially very dire ones.
On the other hand, what if you become overly attached to your brand new AI companion? After all, you are trapped on an alien planet, completely isolated from the world you know. While Vuko was never a big fan of human civilization, he sure thought it had its perks - holidays, hot dogs and access to medical care to name some. He sure as hell will miss Deidre, despite the facade he likes to put on.
This all ties into actual gameplay and there might come a time when you have to choose between being able to complete a quest or losing Cyphral’s actual functionality, perhaps linked to supporting you in combat.
Cyphral plays a big role in our game and is an integral part of The Night Wanderer experience - we truly can’t wait for you to be a part of that experience and share your personal journey with us. We're trying really hard to envoke very powerful emotions that will stay with you for a long while.
3. Taking Player Hub to the next level
Player Hub plays a pivotal role in many RPG games, including all From Software titles (Majula being my absolute favorite). Our hub, the Viper’s Throat will be very much the same but we’re taking it up a notch.
We’re big fans of what Supergiant’s Hades did with its hub - given its game structure most of the narrative occurs within it and obviously that will not be the case with our game. A lot of narrative content within the Night Wanderer will be placed in the hub BUT most of the crucial story beats occur outside of it, within the game world.
"Go to the port they call the Viper's Throat. There, where three fjords meet. Autumn is coming. Ships are returning to their winter berths from southern routes. There will be a great autumn fair and assembly. Wherever those you seek went, if they came from the Fright Wastelands, they must have passed through there at some point. After that, I don't know. They either boarded a ship and sailed away, or they journeyed through one of the three fjords southward to the land of Fire, or took the paths through the Salty Mountains, or along the coast, to the land of Thongs. Perhaps into the wilderness. But they certainly passed through the Viper's Throat. Go there and search for them. I don't want to play anymore. You always cheat anyway." "Less than you." Drakkainen replied" Fragment of Lord of the Ice Garden, Book 1 by Jarosław Grzędowicz
Still, the hub’s significance in context of the entirety of the gameplay loop might be on a similar level to Hades. The hub will change its state dynamically as you play the game and progress through its flow, gaining access to additional districts of Viper's Throat - we want to showcase how it is an actual city, living its own life. Within these districts you’ll gain access to side quests, additional activities, new unlockables linked to player progression and more. You won’t be able to get everything though and the choices you make will determine the reward (and hindrances!).
Stay tuned for more updates as we reveal new details about the game, with a very brief glimpse at gameplay on the horizon (possibly early next year)!
Be sure to join us on our discord server to discuss the contents of the dev log with the community. Also, in case you missed it, check out our previous dev log entry: Creative Vision behind adapting the best-selling Polish fantasy classic.