Doctor’s Orders - Starfield: Creation Kit
Trailer
Details
In “Doctor’s Orders,” the player is asked to help a research station that is being ravanged by pirates, but find more than what they bargained for.
I focused on developing the central characters and a major, branching choice that changes the world around the player.
Team Size: 1 Developer
Software: Starfield: Creation Kit
Development Time: 315 Hours / ~4 Months
Level Focus: Narrative Design, Quest Design
Design Goals
Environmental Storytelling
Believable Characters
Player-Driven Storytelling
Believable Characters
I wanted the main characters believable and realistic, each with their own goals and flaws. I created a character sheet for all major NPC’s — highlighting their goals, personalities, and relationships to other characters.
These character sheets translated in NPC’s different ways, such as distrusting the player initially or changing how they spoke to the player and other NPC’s.
Environmental Storytelling
Another goal was telling as much story through the environment and help the overall design. I wanted the research station to feel like it was taken over by the Crimson Fleet. This room shows what it was used for while also pointing the player to the NPC they talk to.
Dead doctors and researchers can be found in almost every room and medical supplies are readily available throughout the interior. For this room, the player is drawn to the data slate which the NPC was “dragged” away from.
Player-Driven Storytelling
Creating a level with a diverging choice towards the end sets a large goal for this level. Depending on the choice the player makes, there can be:
More hospital beds filled with sick patients,
More people waiting in line to check in, and
Previously met NPC’s can still be there or have passed because of the illness.
Post-Mortem
What went well?
Finding a tile set from the get-go Whitebox for the interior and exterior saved me a lot of time searching, altering, and changing any placeholder walls and ceilings in later milestones.
Focusing on one aspect of the project to hone in on at the very beginning. Choosing quests to develop and understand made sure my quest didn’t break through development.
Taking feedback and iterating quickly from playtester feedback.
Had a strong foundation early on so got feedback early to change and pivot where needed.
I struggled when it came to enemy NPC’s leveling and their timing. Spending more time on the death counter to make it where when half of the enemies are dead, then the next wave appears would have made the function much better.
I had to keep adding to my interior as I developed the narrative, which took time away from iterating. Having a better idea of scope and what is feasible now after working in the engine will definitely improve the pipeline and ideation phase.
What needs improvement?
What did I learn?
I learned how to develop for open-world levels, taking into account different player levels, entrance and exit points in a level
How to create dialogue trees and various NPC’s and altering both as needed
Having pinch points, narratively and literally, is crucial for pacing a good quest.
Having local landmarks to orient the player is vital for the player to remember where they are.
