2-01.png)
Thirdborn
Town in the Shatterscarp Region
The Context
Thirdborn was originally meant to be a wild west kind of town, a ramshackle, run-down backwater town. But over the course of development, it evolved into the nautical hub of the Living Lands (the island of Avowed). With that, the theming of the town became more martial as well. Now, Thirdborn is the town where traders and merchants dock to sell their goods, where weapons are manufactured, and a town that's also been recently attacked by dreamthralled (zombified-ish) people.
This last bit was a major change in the story that affected many quests and set dressing around Thirdborn. This eventually became the first region where the player would encounter the dreamthralls in their deadliest stage of the disease, so expressing that danger was a major focus of not only this town, but the entire region.
My initial molecule map of Thirdborn was focused mainly on the overall vibes and making sure we had locations for all the quests that were already slated to originate in the town. This involved a lot of me coordinating with each of the quest designers to make sure we were finding places that both suited their needs and fulfilled their desires for introducing their characters and quests.
David Gigliello and I also paid special attention to make sure the story of the town was being communicated. This was conveyed through water pipes connected to an oasis, which supplied the town with water.
We had also originally envisioned this town so small that it wouldn't need to be a hard load, but between character counts, changing needs that involved a major dreamthrall attack on the town, and technical limitations, we opted for higher walls and an expanded city gate.
Matthew Loyola, who designed the main story quest that takes you to Thirdborn, did an excellent job of selling the assault on this town. He created a ton of unique enemy encounters and scripted multiple waves that really made the town feel like it was being beseiged. As the player approaches, they can join the fight.
When the player gets inside, I set up injured people, and others talking about the recent attack. For this town, there are fairly open sightlines, so I also worked with a programmer to make a new loading system that keeps the town feeling fresh even after multiple visits. Essentially, after each in-game day, the town would go to the next cycle of NPCs, where there are new conversations and vignettes.
We leveraged this same system to achieve full-town reactivity.
For example, after a large player-chosen story event where many of the townspeople can be killed, we had a version of the town where we had far fewer NPCs, all the vignettes are very somber, and there are even piles of coffins around.
I set up all of the vignettes and conversations, created around 100 NPC characters, and created basic versions of probably around 30 different conversations.
All along the way, I was collaborating with the writers, quest designers, and artists to make sure that each vignette made sense, was contextual, and had all the set dressing it would need.
For the design of Thirdborn, I created it with this main market area in mind underneath the leviathan skeleton, and I built the rest of the town around that central core. I wanted the player to enter and immediately find themselves in a bustling bazaar, with people bartering, selling, and jockeying for attention. Due to low NPC counts, this full version couldn't be realized, but I think you still get that sense when you enter. This skeleton is also a key component in one of the town's main quests, Heart of Valor.
In this area, the player can see cannons and artillery being made, as well as the entrance to the tavern (on the right through the shark's teeth), where the workers go after a long day of work.
On the other side of town you have the residential district, which was meant to feel much more idyllic and cozy, although here too there are vignettes of loss and worry.
The tavern was meant to feel a bit seedy, so we kept the lighting low. It was David's idea to have a boat for the bar, and there are all kinds of these cool nautical touches.
One of my favorite vignettes that I created here is a storyteller that only shows up at night. If the player talks to them, the player can tell them the story of what happened to them at the beginning of the game, choosing how to dramatize or embellish it.
At the back of the town, you have a huge cannon, showing Thirdborn's might and one of its main exports, as well as docks, cranes, and the Thirdborn lighthouse (which is featured in the quest One Last Drink). I worked very closely with David Gigliello to design this and to make sure that each area within Thirdborn had a purpose and felt lived in.
Thirdborn was definitely one of my favorite spaces to work on in the game. It's brimming with so much life and unique flavor, thanks in large part to the amazing writers and artists, as well as the programmers who helped me work out the technical issues.
Environment Artist, David Gigliello
Writers, Kate Dollarhyde and Katie Tenney
Programmer, Dan Spitzley