Pirates of the Burning Sea blog update: Secrets of content development revealed
Trade secrets are often so strictly guarded, getting to them would be a lot like that opening scene in the original “Indiana Jones” movie. But the team behind the Pirates of the Burning Sea must have been sipping some of them pirate whiskey when they posted their secrets on their official blog site. In a spasm of spirited (probably 70% proof) generosity, Bert Harvey, one of the mission designers on Pirates of the Burning Sea blabs about how they make their content.
On the storyline:
The content department uses various approaches when it comes to the story. According to Harvey, some come from the game’s writers, although individual designers do pitch in every now and then. How does one begin to write a storyline? Harvey says you take the kernel of a good story then you nurture it in your head. “You figure rolling it around to figure out if it would be fun and if it would fit with the overall theme well.” Sounds like hard work? It is. But Harvey says the process is both challenging and highly enjoyable starting from the brainstorming session.
Read the rest of the behind-the-scene secrets after the jump!
Trade secrets are often so strictly guarded getting to them would be a lot like that opening scene in the original “Indiana Jones” movie. But the team behind the Pirates of the Burning Sea must have been sipping some of them pirate whiskey when they posted their secrets on their official blog site. In a spasm of spirited (probably 70% proof) generosity, Bert Harvey, one of the mission designers on Pirates of the Burning Sea blabs about how they make their content.
On the storyline:
The content department uses various approaches when it comes to the story. According to Harvey, some come from the game’s writers, although individual designers do pitch in every now and then. How does one begin to write a storyline? Harvey says you take he kernel of a good story then you nurture it in your head. “You figure rolling it around to figure out if it would be fun and if it would fit with the overall theme well.” Sounds like hard work? It is. But Harvey says the process is both challenging and highly enjoyable starting from the brainstorming session.
What’s story brainstorming really like?
In the movies, thinktank pow-wows are often set in rooms with a conference table and glass walls. And every meeting has a bully crushing everyone else’s ideas to smithereens. The Pirates of the Burning Sea team pack up and set out for an undisclosed location. Once they reach their secret destination they set up and fire up their brain cells. “We pitch ideas, critique each in turn, form new ideas, re-write old ones, and generally have a blast. What may have been a cool idea that was a small side mission may end up becoming an epic chain after bouncing around and building between us all,” says Harvey.
The brainstorming usually takes all day, and during that period, massive amounts of soda and pizza are devoured. People run on caffeine, carbs and nicotine. “ItÂ’s much like an avalanche. A designer will start going through a pitch, putting out the various story ideas theyÂ’ve been specÂ’ing out. Along the way everyone starts pointing out cool twists, interesting locations, new person as to use. The ideas and suggestions start building in tempo, spawning new suggestions and spin-off ideas.”
If you’re wondering why they call it “brainstorming”, it’s because ideas are flying around fast and furious.
What happens after the storm?
The following day, all the ideas the men managed to capture on paper, or managed to remember, are put together like a jigsaw puzzle. “As we organize all of these ideas and suggestions, the mission takes shape and we start creating the actual bare bones of it in our toolset,” says Harvey. It takes about two days before the brainstorm ideas take shape and becomes ready for internal testing.
How are ideas tested?
The team look for bugs, check for balance, and offer suggestions. Key questions are asked: Is It Fun? Does It Work? Some ideas may look great on paper but suck during execution. Ideas are polished, bugs are fixed and plots re-written. When everything checks out, story-wise and technology-wise the content then goes to the next level of beta testing. This is where the beta players come in.
“The process doesnÂ’t stop there, but I think itÂ’s a good place to stop for now,” says Harvey. “Hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse into the lives of the content designers!” The effect of the alcohol must have worn off.
Via Flyinglab