Gameplay & Progression

In this week's post I want to address the question of what you will actually do in the game, or rather what the goal is in terms of gameplay and progression. I've previously listed a bunch of features that I want to add, some inspirations, and the overall genres, but there hasn't really been a clear picture of how it all fits together into a cohesive experience (partially because I hadn't figured out all the pieces yet). So in this post I will put into words roughly how I imagine the early-mid game plays out in chronological order. I think that's the best way to convey it because I can't really think of any other game to compare it to, so I'll just spell it out. This is gonna be a long one, buckle up.

After starting a new game, there will be a cinematic of some kind to explain the setting and lore, and then you'll go straight to the character and dragon creator. Some customization options are available at the start, while others need to be unlocked in the game (mainly for the dragon). There may also be the option to choose a background, a bit like in BG3 or M&B, but with a greater focus on the motive of the character that gives unique options and rewards. There's a lot to say about that one because it's a really interesting idea, so I'll save it for a later post.

Once the character and dragon are finished, the game transitions to an in-engine cinematic that ends with the player soaring through the skies of the first region and the dragon flight tutorial starts. At the start of the game, the player has nothing but themselves and their dragon, so the first quest is to find shelter. This is how you find the Lair, which will become a kind of upgradeable base of operations throughout the game. If the game features dismounted combat (not set in stone), there would be a small tutorial clearing out the lair of some hostile creatures that reside there. Then you end the day by going to sleep.

The next day, you are given a high level quest of capturing the region by gaining the allegiance of the lord that owns it. The role-playing reason for doing this is explained by the background motive I alluded to previously, so let's just say you have a good reason. The quest can be completed in several ways depending on the morals of your character, which are added as optional objectives. The most straightforward way would be to fly to the region capital and start spitting fire until they yield but their defences are strong for the player level and you are unlikely to succeed. Another route is to make contact with the neighbouring villages and learn that the region is on the brink of an uprising due to the lord being an unpopular tyrant. You can then fly to the surrounding villages and organize a rebellion to gain a small army of peasant militia to besiege the capital with. A third way would be to gain an audience with the lord and learn that he will swear fealty to you in exchange for a display of power to incite fear back into the region. You are then tasked with hunting down dissidents and squelching any thoughts of rebellion among the peasants.

Of course you are also free to not pursue the quest directly and just fly around on your own. There would be things to discover in the region, as well as side activities and random events like caravans, bandit camps, sites of power that give bonuses, etc. However, you can not access the rest of the world map (other regions) until you capture the starting region, whichever way you do it.

Once you have managed to capture the region, local artisans are available to upgrade the Lair. The first upgrade is free and gives you a war table with a map of the world. Interacting with the war table opens up the world map where you can see the currently discovered regions in the world. Aside from being able to travel to neighbouring regions, it also features the strategic mode where you can manage your owned regions, raise armies, invade or defend other regions, etc. After interacting with it for the first time you can also open it at any time like you would a regular map in most games.

At this point you are pretty much done with the early game and have all the game mechanics available to you. Now it's up to you to pursue your goals, whether it's engaging with the strategic mode and conquering new regions, upgrading and customizing the Lair, exploring distant lands, growing and levelling up your dragon and unlocking new parts, building the biggest treasure hoard the world has ever seen, or (most likely) a bit of everything.

It goes without saying that this is a very ambitious vision, but if you never aim for the stars you'll never get there. This is the goal that is being worked towards currently, but it is possible that some things change or don't make it into the final game depending on the budget and how long it takes to get there.

The development aim for the coming early access builds is to focus on the first region and everything that is needed to play through the full introductory quest line up until the war table. Character/dragon creation, landing/ground locomotion, settlement/NPC interactions (and destruction), lair, side activities, battles and sieges, and developed roughly in that order as well. In terms of mechanics that includes almost everything except the strategic mode, so it will take a while to get there.

I hope this overview has given you a better idea of what the plan is for the game, and if you made it this far thank you for supporting the development!