Constantinople Level Design and Quest Concept - Jack Lawson (1701239)

Mission Design Types

Silk Road is a MMORPG that gives players the chance to create their character and give their character an “origin” story that will decide their starting missions, gameplay and skillset first available to them and as such, there are only a few types of mission, but several different mission paths, all of which will be detailed below.

There are 5 core mission types, each with their own basic principles that can be expanded upon to add complexity and depth to any single quest.

Extermination – This is a classic “kill the enemies” style mission, the player will be tasked with exterminating a certain number of “trash mobs” to complete their objective, though as they progress in level and in the story, the enemies they are tasked with exterminating will increase in difficulty, sometimes including more than the usual mobs, but bosses too.

Capture/Rescue – This mission type involves the player hunting down and capturing a high value target, both enemy and friend. This allows these missions to play out differently depending on the story path each individual player has chosen, as some characters are more likely to be allies to the gifted than the tech users and vice versa.

Gathering – Much like every MMO before it, Silk road makes use of the classic “gather supplies” mission type found in RPGs and MMOs, however, it does come with one key twist. In Silk Road, every gathering mission has the player entering areas with incredibly powerful monsters, forcing them to either take on said monsters, often requiring the help of allies OR use a more stealth based approach in an attempt to sneak past the monsters guarding the objective and back, rather than force the player to run around picking things up.

Mastery – The Mastery missions are special mission types only available to players after they reach certain levels and they are only active once, meaning upon first completion, the player will gain the rewards and never be able to do that mission again. In addition to this, they are forcibly solo missions, meaning the player MUST be able to complete the mission themselves without any help. The mastery missions change depending on the character. If the character has followed the gifted path then the mastery missions will take on a mystical element as completing each one brings the character closer to true mastery of their gift whilst those characters that picked the technology branch are given the opportunity to obtain more powerful tech via completing challenges assigned to them by groups interested in the removal of the gifted entirely. Upon reaching the level requirement for one of these missions, the player will be locked from progression until the mission is completed and upon completion, the player will receive a permanent buff and powerful new skills.

 Strike Missions – Strike missions are Silk Roads version of dungeon runs, where the player can gather a team or go solo to try and complete one of the games several dungeons, each providing their own challenges and focus, with dungeon specific puzzles and enemies. However, certain dungeons will require the player to group up with others, simply due to complexity and difficulty. If the player and their team is successful in clearing a dungeon and defeating the boss in a Strike mission, the entire team will be given rewards SPECIFIC to that strike mission, rather than the dungeon enemies and boss dropping rewards themselves, eliminating the need for possible arguments over who gets what, as the players can pick their strike mission to get what they want to begin with.

Raid – There are several raids present within Silk Road, each focusing heavily on a single, incredibly powerful monster that is key to the overall narrative of the game, with each one further uncovering the secrets of the world the players are in. The most notable of these raids takes place in the Atlas Ranges, which involves players entering the mountain's elaborate labyrinthine cave system which changes constantly. Within this raid, the players must clear multiple dungeon like areas, each increasing in difficulty as the players complete each one, until finally they discover that the ancient Greek Titan “Atlas” is in fact holding up the Mountain range himself, and his movements are what cause the constant changes in the structure of the cave systems. Whilst the Atlas Ranges raid is the peak of the end game and also the final point in the narrative, there are several other raids in Silk Road that players can undertake, with each giving “raid specific” items and rewards upon completion that – in a similar fashion to dark souls – have detailed item descriptions that help further flesh out the world for the players and give information on the secrets and mysteries of the world.

Player Vs Player – In Silk Road, players are able to enter a special arena and complete PvP quest-lines given to them by characters in the world, depending again on their chosen path, though both the gifted path and the tech path give players options to take, either entering the PvP arena to “further hone their skills” so they can better defend the world, or entering to be given the chance to better perfect their ability to kill gifted or tech users, allowing the players to take a more villainous stance if desired. In addition to this arena, players are given the option to further the villain role by enabling a “Player Kill” or PK mode outside in the PvE areas, and kill other players within 3 levels of them, with each kill lowering their “karma” and making them a target to the other side of this coin, PK Hunters that are given great rewards for taking out low karma players, whilst the low karma players are given the option to steal loot from their victims to balance out the risk and reward.

 Quest Design – Concept Example

Hook: Travel to the top of Olympa and decide which path of magic to follow

Number of Quests: 3 of 6 possible. Start, 4 possible options, end.

Story Summary: As the quest is only available to characters who follow the gifted path, the following will focus on a low level character who has just chosen their first mastery path. The player arrives at the foot of Olympa and meets with a spirit, assuming at first that the spirit is a Daemon, the player attempts to attack it only to discover that it is actually a manifestation of their own Mata. The Mata spirit informs the player that they have been drawn to the foot of Olympa because their power has reached the peak it currently can, and they must make a sort of pilgrimage to a lower section of Olympa and meet a man called “The Pilgrim” to expand their capacity for growth via choosing a form of magic to specialise in. As the player climbs the mountain, they fight several hostile Daemons that have been drawn to them to feed off of their Mata before it can grow too much. Upon reaching their destination, the player is once again faced with their Mata spirit and is given an option to choose a special magic school that will become their primary magic.

Special Content: As this quest chain exists as one of the Mastery quests the player will be faced with, it presents an opportunity for the player character to focus on a specific character build. Upon completion the player will find themselves with a new skill tree and their existing skill tree will be expanded upon, as the level lock is removed.

Locations: Olympa base, Spirit World (Changes depending on selected Element speciality) and the Olympa Pilgrimage path

Region: Mount Olympa

Factions: The Gifted

Important NPCs: The Mata Spirit, The Pilgrim

Related Items:

Elemental Rock – Enchanted Rock believed to be a piece from the crystal that held all magic within it before the Re-Enchantment. Becomes a Charged Crystal

Charged Crystal – A piece of the crystal that held all magic within it recharged with a specific elemental mata of the players choosing.

Elemental Conduit – A core that must be infused into a weapon or piece of apparel to fill it with Mata and give it the ability to absorb the chosen element.

Background: Upon reaching the peak of their power attainable without specialist training, the player feels a calling to Olympa and is met with a spiritual manifestation of their own magic power. It quickly becomes clear that the magic power within them, their Mata, is in fact it's own being and not simply a form of magic energy, that has a sort of symbiotic bond with it's host, the player, and exists in it's own plane of existence, with the goal of improving the power of the player character to in turn improve it's own power.

In Game Information

Summary: A being spoke to you from within, drawing you to the base of Olympa with the promise of newfound power. Travel there and seek out this power and learn more about your abilities.

Description: You heard a mysterious voice speak to you from within, intrigued by it's similarity to your own voice, you follow it's instructions. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, you come face to face with an ethereal being with your own face, that tells you how to further grow your magic power and instructs you on what to do.

Level: Available at level 15, recommended level 17, locks levelling above 20.

Rewards: Levelling unlocked, new specialist skill tree.

Quest Category: Mastery Quest/Exterminate Quest combo