Game Director explains ‘Radical Content Generation’
Ludomotion, the small development team behind Early Access title Unexplored 2, “is aiming to create a new kind of RPG”, says Game Director Joris Dormans. “Unexplored 2 is what you might call an adaptive RPG. It’s not just your character that ends up reflecting your choices. Through our legacy system, the entire game world adapts to your choices and style of play.”
Talking about the generative nature of the game, Dormans explains: “We’re way beyond exploring content generation techniques at this point, what matters now is the impact it has on the game’s design. Something I call Radical Content Generation. We’re using it so that the experience is always novel and the player is always driving their own story. It’s almost like engaging with your own virtual D&D Dungeon Master.”
It’s very complex and to get all the systems right on an individual level and have them work together to create this one giant game has been quite an undertaking.
“We’re a small team and we’re trying to figure out how all these systems should come together whilst we’re creating them. We’re slowly getting there, so it’s absolutely great to see the response so far. A lot of players, press and streamers seem to genuinely understand, embrace and enjoy the freedom the game offers. They set out on quests of their choosing, they craft their own tools, and they decide themselves when they are ready to face the challenges the end-game offers. Combined with more traditional roguelike elements, this makes the stakes of their adventures very, very real.”
Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy is available now in Early Access on the Epic Games Store. It’s priced $24.99, and is available with a 10% launch discount for a limited time. An additional $10 discount can be applied at checkout by using the Epic MEGA Sale Coupon, which is available until 17 June, 2021.
About the game
One quest. Unlimited adventure. Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy is a challenging roguelite RPG with a table-top feel, procedural node-based open world, and a cool twist on permadeath. Leave the Dungeon of Doom behind and venture into a vast, wondrous world as you embark on a heroic quest to destroy the mysterious Staff of Yendor.
Explore beautiful landscapes and discover hidden marvels. Encounter magical creatures and dangerous foes. Make brave choices and put your faith in good fortune. Featuring a unique legacy system, advanced procedural generation technology, and rich, generative storytelling, Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy is an adventure like no other.
Key features
- Legacy system: the actions of past heroes impact the fortunes of those that follow in their footsteps. Use your legacy wisely to give successive adventurers greater hopes of completing their quest
- Permadeath in a persistent world: when a hero dies, they stay dead. But you can choose to return to the same world with a new adventurer, forearmed with knowledge of what lies ahead. Or, if you prefer, begin a new adventure in a completely uncharted world
- Generative storytelling: there is no premeditated script in Unexplored 2. Every adventurer’s ultimate goal may be the same – to destroy the Staff of Yendor – but every hero will have their own unique story of the events and encounters that happened along the way
- Procedural generation: Ludomotion’s proprietary technology generates content that feels designed by humans, not algorithms, and can create a near infinite number of new lands, new places, new stories, and new challenges to discover
- Orchestral adaptive soundtrack: an intricate system allows Unexplored 2‘s music to be arranged reactively, making subtle changes to the score at appropriate times, whether a moment of high emotion, or to provide foreshadowing
Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy is available now as an Early Access title on the Epic Games Store. Xbox versions are also confirmed, and will launch in 2022.
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