Lou Hayt 01.30.2006
Design document: The Heart
NeverWinter Nights module, written for the Bioware writing competition.
The design process:
First, I wrote the journal entries. Then I wrote the character descriptions. Then I learned how to use the toolset with the tutorial and web resources. Built the level, wrote the script files and conversation trees. Finally I wrote the level description and the rest of the design document.
Executive Summary
High concept:
“I just woke up coughing on my own blood. It felt like war drums were raging behind my eyes as I emptied my stomach onto the cold stone floor.” –these are the first lines in your character’s journal. Find out where you are and how you’ve got there… even more important then that, find out how to get out of there.
Game genre:
Single player RPG with isometric real time battles.
Platform:
PC – NeverWinter Nights.
Primary target audience:
The NeverWinter Nights community.
Secondary target audience:
Fans of RPG games.
ESRB rating:
T for teen (for some gore and graphical descriptions).
Key features:
· Four possible endings.
· Fits any character of any level.
· Dynamic repercussions for your choice of words during a conversation (Lora may join you or not, her reply’s may vary, the merchant in the level may change his prices or refuse to sell to you etc)
· May be played in a short or a medium length session (if you linger to read all of the journal entries).
· Engaging characters and story that could be easily expanded with sequels and prequels into a larger epic story.
Treatment
Dust jacket story:
You take on the role of an adventurer trapped in a deadly crypt, your party members have abandoned you in a dark pit after you fell through the floor of the very first room that was explored. You gather the segments of your old journal and attempt to remember how it all started. Outside of the pit there is a morning-light lit chamber. Master Owen whom you recall from your journal is camping at its roof entrance but he refuses to lower the rope ladder for you until you recover the ancient relic known as the Heart and bring it to him. Your adventure begins as you follow the tracks of your party through the rotten, wooden trap door.
Character Descriptions
Ralf Smithy:
“Keep your voice down”
One sentence description:
Ralf is an old rouge, he learned the hard facts of life first hand.
Appearance description:
Ralf is tall and thin, his pitch black long hair is never tied. His dark brown eyes are like locked chests holding riches. He wears tattered black clothes.
Back story:
Ralf was a servant boy, living with his mother in their master’s mansion. One day he witnessed his father, the baron, cursing and hitting his mother repeatedly. In a surge of rage he killed him and escaped. He ran away, crossed the border to King Ronald’s kingdom and thrived where normal people would be afraid to walk at night.
Attributes:
· Ralf is a capable rough-fighter.
· Ralf’s will power is weak and therefore he will be easily affected by the Heart’s corrupting powers.
Behaviors:
Ralf would be the first to try quick ways to get rich and the least reliable team member when big money is involved.
Character purpose:
Ralf is fueled by his greed but he is your friend, he will join you wherever you go.
Relationships with other characters:
· Ralf met the player on the streets and introduced him to the local thief guild; he adopted him as an apprentice and used him for his personal gain.
· Lora is Ralf’s wife, he does not respect her.
· Owen is the opportunity Ralf was waiting for. The fact that he waited for it for so long dulled the suspicion and precautions he would normally take before trusting such a man.
Lora Corlone:
“Let’s do it! I don’t care if it is forbidden”
One sentence description:
Lora is an enthusiastic young merchant’s daughter who is experimenting with the dark side of society.
Appearance description:
Lora is attractive; she has long red hair and big blue eyes. She is short and slender.
She wears comfortable but classy garments.
Back story:
Lora used to think that her life is boring, that her common urban family is not as exciting as the shady characters she finds herself tangled with. At first, Lora was into experiencing her first adventure with a brave smile, but after her dreamy quest had begun she realized that it’s not as romantic as she thought, after several days underground without bathing and watching her party members getting shredded to bits she will break down.
Attributes:
· As a middle class lady, Lora was trained in the magic arts, history and science.
· Lora is not used to an adventurer’s life style and therefore she will break after witnessing the death of most of her party members.
Behaviors:
Lora will not be persuaded by her husband Ralf to venture into the deeper chambers of the crypt and attempt to recover the Heart for Owen, the player may convince her if he has superior charisma and persuasion skills.
Character purpose:
Lora became determined to survive this mistake and get back to her family. She may join you and also serve to trigger the argument with Ralf that leads to the four possible endings.
Relationships with other characters:
· Ralf is her husband, she loves him.
· The player is Ralf’s friend. Later she realized that he is in love with her, after Ralf pointed it out it seemed obvious. The Player is too plain to interest her.
· Owen is perceived by Lora as a respectable character… she can’t really point out why, he seems familiar (she had seen him in one of the city events).
Owen Yilth:
“All in time”
One sentence description:
A mystic, he is gathering a party to explore the forbidden mountain for the lost relic known as the “Heart”.
Appearance description:
Owen is a short bald man with long purple and yellow robes. He carries a crude wooden staff and a scruffy general look. His eyes seem as though they are yellow.
Back story:
Born to a rich family, Owen was trained in the arcane arts from a young age. Being a well known and able mystic he was selected to serve in the council of advisors for King Ronald. The King has been secretly wishing for the lost relic for years but he could not go against the old kingdom rule and explore the forbidden mountain’s crypt. Owen suggested to the king a new way to approach the problem.
Attributes:
Owen is a powerful magic user and a sage of ancient lore.
Behaviors:
Owen will only lower the rope ladder and allow the party to escape the crypt after they retrieve the ancient relic known as the Heart for him.
Character purpose:
Owen wishes to study the lost relic. With it he could acquire legendary powers and understand the mystery of profound secrets.
Relationships with other characters:
Owen treats the player, Ralf and Lora like pawns in his plan. After getting the relic he has no intentions of paying the rest of the reward as promised.
The player’s character (“Player”):
“Why don’t you buy a round of ale for all of us! Eh, what do you say, eh?”
(Note: this character description does not fully correspond with the actual module.)
One sentence description:
The player had found himself trapped in the deadly crypt of the forbidden mountain with limited supplies. To escape he is willing to unleash the relic known as the “Heart” to the world, in the hands of Owen.
Appearance description:
Player has brown curly hair, a thick mustache and a little hole in his chin; his light green eyes are intelligent and penetrating. His leather boots and jacket are beaten with dust and mud.
Back story:
His childhood is a faint memory of running through narrow streets, heralding drugs and stolen goods. Player does not remember anything from the family that has been deprived from him. His mother died from the plague and his father fled with his sister, leaving him to fight the disease on his own. Ralf found him and took him as a thief apprentice.
Attributes:
The player is a member of good standing in the guild of thieves.
Behaviors:
The player will never give up on the mission.
Character purpose:
Fame is not the objective of cynical rouges like Player. He would prefer silent approval by his fellow thieves in the guild and the wealth to live without materialistic restrictions.
Relationships with other characters:
· Player is secretly in love with his best friend’s wife Lora.
· Ralf is Player’s best friend; they are accustomed to working together as a team.
· Player trusts “Master Owen” against his own instincts; Owen’s powerful charisma prevents Player from trying to resist.
Level Description
Name:
The Heart
One sentence description:
The party was tricked by an old mystic and trapped in a dangerous crypt until they recover the ancient relic known as the Heart for him.
Main theme:
Despair.
Verbal map:
· The level starts in a dark pit with scattered clues that imply that the player’s character fell through the ceiling. A torn part of the player’s old journal can be found (Journal entry number 1) which will reveal some of the events that led the player into this situation. There is a big boulder in this room that could be climbed on.
· Outside of the pit there is a crypt chamber with a hole in the ceiling from which a bald, old men peeks (Owen Yilth). Owen will shout to the player and inform him that the only way out is by retrieving the Heart for him. There is a bush in the room whose fruits could earn the player some experience points when he talks to Lora later on. The other section of the old journal is there too.
· After the player follows his companions’ tracks down the trap door in Owen’s room (Journal entry number 2) he finds the dead body of Khaz (Journal entry number 3), one of his companions. Then he falls into an ambush of green skins and discover the bodies of two additional party members (Journal entry number 4). Ralf, one of the party members and an old friend of the player’s character helps him during the ambush and leads him to the rest of the surviving party members.
· The player will reveal that the other survivors gave up on the mission to retrieve the Heart and decided to dig their way out through a collapsed entrance (Journal entry number 5). Ralf will join the player to go to the deeper chambers and recover the relic. His wife, Lora may or may not join (she also keeps a positive or negative attitude towards the player according to his choice of words). The player will have the opportunity to buy items from one of the survivors (there are three price ranges or a refusal for business according to the player’s choice of words). Talking to Lora will unlock the trap door to the deeper chambers.
· (Journal entry number 6) the player recovers the Heart and get some more conversation lines with his group, the decision if to let Ralf carry the Heart does not matter. It is obvious by this point that the Heart is a powerful evil artifact (Journal entry number 7).
· (Journal entry number 8) You go back after taking the Heart and you notice that the walls are shaking, there is a high pitch sound that started just about when you picked up the Heart from its resting place (slowly disturbing the parties mental state). You find the torn camp (Journal entry number 9) with everyone dead except Lora (if she did not join you, she will be there). If you talk to Ralf you could directly choose between the four different endings, when you find Greg’s body (Journal entry number 10) – the last party member, Ralf will initiate the conversation with you.
· Ralf will flip out on Lora under the Heart’s influence. From this point there are four different endings:
o You pacify Ralf (all three of you are alive and well).
o You kill Ralf in order to defend his wife from him.
o You let Ralf kill his wife in his mad rage.
o You fail protecting Lora and kill Ralf immediately afterwards.
Appearance description:
Note: I do not describe the ambient sound and sound affects of the level in this document because I am not sure which of them actually work, I have encountered difficulties using the sound features of the toolset.
· You start the level in a dark pit, your blood is on the floor beside debris from the fallen ceiling. There is a little plant near a big boulder and a drip of water above it.
· After you climb the boulder you reach a morning-light lit room with a ray of light representing Owen to the player, there are butterflies flying behind it near a bush with fruits. The water is coming from the roof entrance.
· The corridors of the crypt are poorly lit and littered with blood and dead party members.
· The trap door leading to the deeper chambers looks like it is omitting red light.
· In the survivors camp there is a camp fire and everyone sit around it, none of the survivors is actually digging, they are all aware that it is hopeless and they are afraid.
· The chamber with the Heart looks like a cross between a laboratory and an evil shrine.