Wildstar

Wildstar Website

Wildstar is a sci-fi MMORPG, set on the mysterious planet Nexus. The fleeing Exiles, seeking to turn the planet into their new home, are pursued by the Dominion, who seek to conquer both the Exiles and Nexus under their (eventual) galactic empire. As the two factions battle one another, however, they come to discover that Nexus is far more mysterious, and dangerous, than either ever anticipated.

Release Date: June 3, 2014            Platform: PC            Developer: Carbine Studios

Role: Systems Designer (Dungeons and Raids)            Team Size: 10             Company Size: 200+

Duration: 18 Months (May 2013 – April 2014, Contract) (May 2014 – October 2014, Staff)

Engine and Scripting Language: Proprietary, C# based

At Carbine Studios I was hired to work as a Systems Designer on the Dungeons and Raids team.  I worked on almost every piece of dungeon and raid content, whether in the forms of bug fixing and debugging, initial design and prototyping, implementation and iteration, or polish and live response.   I focused specifically on creating highly difficult content and challenges intended to push players to the limits of their skills and help them further improve.  Near the end of my time with Carbine, I was one of the principal designers on the Protogames Dungeon, having built the back end event and point manager, as well as three event rooms and a boss fight, and was the lead for the final boss fights of the upcoming raid currently in development.

Responsibilities:

  • Building and balancing bosses, events, and basepop creatures through the use of AI, spells, and scripting.
  • Reworking, cleanup, simplification, balancing and refactoring of older bosses, events, spells, AI, and scripts.
  • Ensuring fights and events met required levels of quality and difficulty.
  • Controlling the flow of progression and events through the use of a proprietary objective system and scripting.
  • Prototyping, designing, and implementing new dungeons and raids.
  • Communicating with art, programming, and production for environment layout and prop placement, bugs and required features, and issue prioritization and live response.
  • Selecting and hooking up art and sound assets.
  • Assisting other teams with implementing and debugging spells, AI, scripts, and general bugs.
  • Additionally assisted creature combat team for two milestones to create 30 generic overworld creature and boss combat kits.

Specific work examples:

Curious about the design process for how a boss gets made in Wildstar?  Click here!

Click the links below for player made videos!

Lessons and Experiences:

  • Improved general scripting ability, as well as ability to script within resource and system constraints
  • Improved ability to try and get the most out of resource constraints and push existing systems to the limits of what they could do
  • Improved ability to rapidly prototype and parse feedback
  • Improved ability to debug issues with varying levels of information
  • Improved ability to recognize where potential bugs and pitfalls may arise
  • Improved focus on combat mechanics, systems, and challenges, such as:
    • Pressuring player’s spatial awareness and movement options
    • Reinforcing communication by dividing the group’s focus
    • Providing mechanical choices that allow players to flex their decision making skills
    • Allowing players to display and improve skill via objectives with multiple degrees of success
    • Providing stat checks that can be overcome by players expression of item and ability builds
    • Applying the usage and differences of overly punishing vs. challenging obstacles
    • Understanding the effects of varying player iteration times on player skill growth
    • Balancing combat effects to provide intense risks and obstacles

What are Dungeons and Raids in Wildstar?

Dungeons and Raids in Wildstar are focused on challenge and difficulty first and foremost. They are not content you run in a relaxed fashion, nor are they something run with your friends who are brand new to the game (unless you’re highly skilled or overleveled). These are places where you must understand your class and Wildstar’s combat mechanics, be constantly aware of your surroundings, and work successfully with your group. Wipes will be frequent, but with persistence and observation, progress will be made, until the current obstacle is overcome and a more difficult challenge can take its place. Dungeons and Raids in Wildstar are about persistence, growth, skill, and group coordination.