In one memorable quest, I found myself dealing with a group of xaurips who had forced a local settler out of her home. This quest offered a range of potential outcomes. If you prefer a direct approach, you could simply take on the xaurips head-on, right there in her home. Alternatively, a stealthier strategy lets you snoop around and gather intel to report back. Yet, as is often the case with Obsidian’s quests, there’s an unexpected layer if you’re willing to dig a little deeper. In my case, I stumbled upon a surprising spiritual link to the xaurips, adding a fascinating twist I hadn’t anticipated. This reflects Obsidian’s core philosophy: the more effort and curiosity you put into the game, the richer the rewards you’ll uncover.
Narrative Designer Kate Dollarhyde shares, “I always try to create as much room as possible for players to make discoveries on their own. When everything is neatly laid out, it takes away that element of mystery we really value. Our goal is to make the content understandable so players know what’s happening and can navigate through quests smoothly. However, I believe the right path shouldn’t always be crystal clear. It’s this ongoing dialogue between us as designers and the players. We set up a scenario as an invitation to a conversation. We want you to dive into that dialogue just as much as we have. We give you the tools, but leave enough space for you to express your own style.”
In terms of choice design, the narrative team takes a layered approach by categorizing decisions into short-term, medium-term, and long-term impacts. Short-term choices are the ones you make in the heat of a conversation. These might reveal new details, open up alternative ways to wrap up a quest, or provoke a negative response. Medium-term decisions play out over the entire quest. As for long-term choices, they can ripple through multiple quests or even affect the whole game. Dollarhyde elaborates, “Whenever we’re sketching out the main story, regional narratives, or side quests, we’re thinking about those short, medium, and long-term impacts. Figuring out how they all fit together can be a bit tricky, but that’s where the iterative nature of design comes in handy.”
