Summary
With Once Lost’sThe Wayward RealmsKickstarter campaign now funded, fans looking for a deeper, more role-play-focused sequel toThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimmay have another star of hope on their horizon. AlthoughTed Peterson, the lead writer at Once Lost Games, has described the game in “pre-pre-production,” the gameplay trailer, released alongsideThe Wayward RealmsKickstarter bid, offers a tantalizing look at what may come.
Having overseen the creation ofThe Elder Scrolls: Arenaand its sequel,the developers behindThe Wayward Realmsseek to bring back the ambitious spirit of the open-world, “grand” RPG adventure. The game is many, many years away, andits release is no guarantee. However, assuming that former Bethesda alumni Ted Peterson, Vijay Lakshman, Julian LeFay, Eric Heberling, and the rest of the Once Lost staff can secure the funding, stave off scope creep, and pull together to the finish line, there are many incredible details in the trailer to keepTESfans (and RPG fans broadly) excited for the future.
Player Agency, Build Viability, & The Virtual Game Master
Non-Linear Quests And AI-Guided Emergent Storytelling
The Wayward Realmsgameplay trailer showed off a vertical slice of gameplay via a quest, which is set to be one of the main gameplay loops players can expect to experience. LikeDaggerfall,The Wayward Realmsis set to include hand-crafted environments, NPCs, and quests, but alsoprocedurally generated contentbased on the latest machine learning technology. According to the information onOnce Lost’s Kickstarter page, quests will play out quite differently than most RPGs. UnlikeDaggerfall, there will be no one “main questline” to follow. Instead, players will be able to create their own journey by following whichever story captures their interests.
As well as following human-made stories, players can also partake in quests cultivated by a “Virtual Game Master” (VGM), a background director that takes into account the player’s history on the Archipelago, including their playstyle, list of completed quests, prior choices, favored factions, enemies, and more. The VGM will plan ahead 5-act stories for the player to follow (or ignore) at their leisure. Once Lost also promises “no failed quests,” only “consequences” that will make themselves felt as the player makes their way across the islands.
Sandbox Simulation & Combat
Environmental Interaction & Guided Slices
Just like any other open-world sandbox game, part of the fun in anElder Scrollsgame comes from finding ways to exploit the AI or engine. A great example is the “fus ro dah” dragon shout, which sends enemies flying, or using a dungeon’s traps inOblivionto take care of monsters without so much as drawing a sword. InThe Wayward Realms, realistic simulation is built in for the same effect: doors (and enemies) can be smashed with a stern kick; an enemy’s lantern can be knocked dark with arrows; a gloomy dungeon’s unused candles can be lit with a finger-snap fire cantrip.
Combat, too, looks to be more involved than launching a light or heavy attack, something whichDaggerfallandArenaexperimented with its mouse-drag weapon swings. The Wayward Realms will feature traditional “click to attack” combat as well as a “precision mode,” a morerealistic take on combatin which players can bring their steel down in a specific direction; players will be able to switch between instantly or stick to one mode depending on their preference. Sword and board are not the only tools of war available, as, according toThe Wayward Realms' Kickstarter page, a plethora of fantasy-style weapons, including spears and polearms, are in the works.
Deep NPC Interaction Systems & Factions
More Than Just Passing The Occasional Speech Check
While the definition of a “role-playing game” might be stretched to include any game with buyable stat or skill increases, a standard assumption players might have about a game that describes itself as an RPG is that there should, ideally, be an option to talk past human obstacles rather than only leveraging the tools of mass-murder. Part of the charm of exploring an exotic fantasy land is meeting and learning about its inhabitants. FromThe Wayward Realmsgameplay trailer, it appears that speech will be an integral part of the game, at least for those who choose diplomacy as part of their build.
The topics on the left-hand side and speech options on the right are reminiscent of old-schoolElder Scrollsgames likeMorrowindandDaggerfall. Although only hinted at in the trailer (with mention of the “Inquisitors”), Once Lost plans to includea variety of joinable factionsacross the Archipelago, each with its own quests and characters. Even more excitingly,The Wayward Realmsplans to populate towns and cities with large crowds, and, should the player single one NPC out of it, the game will generate that NPC’s personality, attributes, skills,and more, and save them for the player to meet again.
Magic, Enchantment, Alchemy, And Spell Crafting
Mixing & Matching Mysterious Magic
The Elder Scrolls has been a champion of player freedom and customization maximization in video games, historically allowing players to find fun ways to mix and match various effects for fun and often game-breaking results. Sadly, a series fan-favorite, spell-making,didn’t make the cut fromObliviontoSkyrim(likely for balance). Magic and lore-keeping were front and center inThe Wayward Realmsgameplay trailer, but spell mechanics remain as mysterious as the art form itself. However, one of the mechanics mentioned on their Kickstarter is the ability for players to come up with their own spell effects.
This customization is also planned to extend to enchantments and alchemy, although no specifics were dropped in the trailer. A few spell effects were shown off in the gameplay trailer (fireballs, necromancy, and runecraft), but a larger view of magic mechanics is currently unknown. However, as Once Lost is building what they consider to be a spiritual sequel toDaggerfall, it is likely some of those old classics will make a return, albeit in a world where magic is much less commonplace to everyday folk.
Readable Books & Short Stories
Telling A Story Within A Story
The secret ingredient to good lore is secrecy, and frontloading the history of the world via a random passerby NPC is a good way to disinterest players. The best middle ground to satisfy both “lorebeards” and first-time players (or those uninterested in reading short stories about noble thieves or scaly maids) is by providinga selection of in-game booksto delve into.The Wayward Realms' gameplay trailer presented a readable tome complete with old-timey fonts and tastefully turnable pages.
The concept of abridged fictional histories and short stories spread over multiple volumes should not be “novel” to fans of RPGs orThe Elder Scrolls. In-game, readable books first featured inDaggerfall, and many were penned by Once Lost’s lead writer, Ted Peterson (who someElder Scrollssuper-fans may know as the alter-ego of the mad Daedric prince, Sheogorath). As such, players should expect to be able to accumulate a library’s worth of hardbacks on their adventures.
Immersive Features & Diversions
Gon' Fishin' (And Other Immersive Side Activities)
Elder Scrollsfans are famous for their love of immersion, as some of the series' most historically popular mods reflect. The designers behindThe Wayward Realmshave cottoned on to this by prominently showcasing immersive features such as the player being able to see their character’s body in first-person (even during climbing and combat animations), high-fidelity visuals, dynamic, diegetic lighting, a realistically-scaled world, and finally, fishing. Once Lost seems to recognize that while following a tight, cinematic narrative can be fun, many role-players wish to live out a fantasy life or engage in immersive side activities such as catching fish.
Lead writer Ted Peterson has also mentioned that, as well as other RPGs, Once Lost is paying attention to the utility ofpopular mods forDaggerfall Unity, many of which exist to perfect one of the game’s incomplete ideas or mechanics. While there is a risk of ballooning the game’s feature wish list until it grows out of scope, players who appreciate immersion tend to enjoy a variety of distractions, andThe Wayward Realmslooks to fill this desire.
