On the latest episode of Guild Chat, host Rubi Bayer was joined by Game Designers Anthony Ordon and Keaven Freeman, and Content Programmer Alina Chadwick, to talk about the most recent episode of Living World Season 3, A Crack in the Ice.
Keaven worked on the Precocious Aurene story instance, in which the commander bonds with baby Aurene and teaches her important life lessons (hopefully before she’s big enough to eat them). Keaven studied different codes of chivalry, as well as bushido and child development, to decide what Aurene should learn through play.
Anthony said that the Beacons of Koda event came from the idea of ancient magic, so he spoke with Narrative Designer Angel McCoy about the history of the kodan civilization and their stewardship of natural spiritual forces. The team wanted to make sure Bitterfrost Frontier felt like a frozen tundra without creating a mapwide survival mechanic, and they also wanted to encourage players to cooperate to use Koda’s Flame.
Bitterfrost Frontier was the first map Alina had worked on as a designer. She said that the map is very organized, with distinct stories being told in each of the areas. Those stories are then woven back into a larger narrative.
Regarding Braham Eirsson’s behavior in the story, Alina said that she sees him as something of a revolutionary figure who believes the pace of progress is too slow. That makes him want to take things into his own hands. Keaven pointed out that the player character has killed two dragons, and yet cautions Braham against taking action, which might strike him as hypocritical.
When discussing their favorite prerelease bugs, Keaven said that the team came in to work one day and found that Aurene had somehow grown to many times her normal size! Alina described how the ice-encased quaggans in the Bitterfrost Frontier map originally wouldn’t stop moving when they got stuck, so they kept waddling around with blocks of ice on their heads.
If you missed the livestream, you can watch a recording below!