The Divinity Engine 2 - Custom Campaign (WIP)
Introduction
Currently I am working on a stand-alone custom campaign in The Divinity Engine 2, which has turned into a passion project. My plan is to create the whole campaign from ground up, including quest design, level design, encounters, level art and scripting.
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Story and Quest
”On the surface, it is a usual village. But at a closer look, one can see the sinister details. The whole village has been overtaken by a Vampire Lord and his entourage, who took residence in the local rich man’s mansion. The villagers are few and far between - some already eaten, some are marked, like cattle, for future dinners. You wake up in a dark cellar, stripped of your belongings and clothes. The last thing you remember is going to sleep with your thiefly partner-in-crime in your camp. Seems like you were kidnapped… You need to find a way to secure your and your partner’s safety, either by siding with villagers and cleansing the village of the malady, or by siding with vampires and sacrificing the villagers for your life. “
When making the quest, I established design pillars to help me:
No filler NPC characters, each character has to have a role in the quest.
Majority of subquest have 2 sides - pro-villagers and pro-vampires. They also have 2 entry points - one from vampire side, one from villagers side.
The choice funnel happens at the end of the subquest, meaning the player can explore and experiment until the end of the subquest, where they need to choose how to resolve it.
A special “mechanic” of this campaign lies in how vampires work. When vampires find a human to feed on, they apply Vampire’s Mark, a status effect that blinds and immobilizes the target. Several villagers are affected by this effect, but the player can figure out how to heal it during a playthrough (with a special potion).
High level design of the quest (opens as PDF):
NPC cast:
The Herbalists:
Prisoner - an unfortunate villager that has been caught by the vampires and is being help captive. He is worried about his mother, who is left behind in their house. Affected by Vampire’s Mark.
Mother - a wise herbalist. Knows how to cure Vampire’s Mark. However, she is extremely proud and doesn’t want to give her body to the vampires and would rather die on her own terms by poisoning herself.
The Farmers:
Runaway lovers - the only surviving farmers. They decide to take their chance and run away outside the village, to the area where they would run away while dating. However, they get ambushed by the monsters outside.
The Bakers:
Father - he barely managed to save and hide his family once they were spotted by the vampires. He is extremely angry, but feels helpless, since he is affected by Vampire’s Mark and unable to do anything.
Mother and toddler - the mother is dead worried about her children and wants to prevent at least her children from being marked.
Daughter - while running away, she caught a glimpse of vampires and is mesmerized by them. She has been visited by Vampire Priestess in her dreams, who promised the daughter she could become one of them.
Vampires:
Vampire Lord - the main Vampire that is keeping the village in his grasp. He is in the process of establishing his power, which is why he took over the village, and in the process of establishing his family, which is why he allows Player to join him.
Vampire Thrall - a man of few words and a strict servant to Vampire Lord, doing all dirty work. He is the one who will be verifying all Player’s work, in case player will decide to join the vampires.
Vampire Priestess - ethereal woman and a priestess to her Goddess. She is an advisor to the Vampire Lord, and the one maintaining Vampire’s Mark effect.
Level design
From the Level Design perspective, I needed to create an enclosed space from which player cannot escape, so I settled on a village at the foot of a mountain, with a single exit road that has been destroyed, so the area is cut off from every side.
My Level Design approach was to create a simplified representation of how villages look in real life. For this, I borrow such ideas as villages built nearby water source, and radiating layout from a main castle on the hill. It also echoed with media about vampires, which often has vampires inhabit a mansion on the hill, overlooking the village.
When building the level, I used these techniques:
BUBBLE DIAGRAM
As the player explores the level, I wanted the primary activity of the player (collecting supplies, dialogue, combat, puzzle) to change. To make sure there was variety or breathing space between same activities, I used bubble diagram of activities to map out what each section would be dedicated to. This is also helpful when building the level further, as it makes me ask, What is the purpose of this space? when it comes to gameplay needs.
ZONING
Since the quest will require the player to return to specific areas, I wanted the player to make a mental map of the level in their head. For that, I planned specific zones of the level by assigning each house a unique craft - farmers, herbalists, bakers, blacksmith. This craft influences not only the house interior, but surrounding exterior as well, providing visual and thematical differences.
ENVIRONMENTAL STORYTELLING
A lot of the story can be told through the environment. To help with the immersion and curiosity, I put a lot of care into environmental story of the village, giving each area distinct personality. What’s interesting in this campaign is that there are two layers of environmental story - how village lived in peaceful time, and how it changed after the vampires took over.
LANDMARK
To help players with orientation in the village, I introduced a landmark - a lake in the middle of the village. A landmark is also great for mental mapping, as you can remember the position of areas relative to the landmark. However, a good landmark looks different from each side and I solve this by having different elevation. The closer you are to the mansion with vampires, the higher you are.
Player starts in a cellar with wine, repurposed to be a holding cell.
During exploration in the cellar, player can find a secret exit outside to sneak out through.
A barn that has been repurposed to hold prisoners outside.
A blacksmith house. There are signs of a struggle.
The blacksmith family thought they would be able to hide from the vampires and protect themselves with garlic. However, that myth wasn't true, and they were caught.
The eccentric herbalist's house is coming together.