As we all can see that in Path of Exile's Ultimatum Expansion, we have already introduced The Trialmaster, a quite mysterious immortal character that searches for challenging Exiles on behalf of his master, the Vaal entity which is known as Chaos. Therefore, our narrative designer, Matt Dymerski, has written an overview of creating the Trialmaster in Path of Exile: Ultimatum.
And here comes the general storyline, you are a gamer of Path of Exile. And now, you are entering a brand new expansion. You are going to come across the expansion NPC (Non-Player Character) in every single area. As the Narrative Designer, How should I, help make that amazing experience more entertaining rather than just repetitive? However, the answer might just involve leaning into this iteration rather than attempting to avoid it. Just like that, the Trialmaster was forged.
This Trialmaster in Path of Exile: Ultimatum is not the Path of Exile's first foray into creating personalities that keep in mind what you, the gamer, have already done. Have you players still remembered that Path of Exile Betrayal Expansion had a one-step system in which the NPCs said different things based on the very last interaction they had with you guys. But, the real issue is, I am pretty sure that their memory did not extend beyond that, cause just keeping track of relationships with 19 different characters would have already been a total mess. On the other side, Trialmaster in Path of Exile: Ultimatum has a very personal relationship with you guys, and you are far more likely to keep in mind the thrill of your very own victories such as acquiring massive Path of Exile currency, as well as the sting of your very own defeats.
The key over here is "your" victories and defeats. Some gamers have already noticed that the Trialmaster still remembers your past record once you switch to another character. That is just because he is not talking to your character. If you have already seen my talk about our Narrative Design philosophies at ExileCon, there is a bit here where I talk about how gamers are 'entities of just pure chaos'. Amongst the population of gamers, if something is possible, then you can easily notice that someone will do it. Moreover, all the possibilities must be considered, cause you know, they can and, of course, will happen, for sure.
Does that sound familiar? The Trialmaster serves a Vaal entity which known as Chaos, who views all possibilities. The Trialmaster tells you straightforwardly that he is right now challenging some other exiles in other outcomes, even as he is speaking to you. In their possibilities, they survived the initial shipwreck, not you. Chaos is the very first (and probably the only) entity in the world of Wraeclast to be aware of our timelines structure, where all of you, the players, have different parallel adventures.
The part that was the most fun to write: This isn't, as a matter of fact, a breaking of the fourth wall in the traditional sense. Chaos and the Trialmaster have no idea of what you really are, they just know that a much higher-dimensional entity roughly like themselves has already started to operate on Wraeclast. Sometimes you're a Ranger. However, from time to time, you're a Marauder. Your willpower sometimes leaps back in time from a god-killing veteran raging in Atlas back to awakening once again as someone new on the beach. Long words in short, you fascinated by chaos, which is very subtly conveyed in the intentionally hidden relationship between the Trialmaster and his invisible boss. Observant players might notice hints that the Trialmaster isn't exactly satisfied with his situation...
The Trialmaster is voiced by the very gifted David de Lautour, who knocks the nuances of the character out of the park. There are thousands of years layered behind the Trialmaster's emotions, which leads to a certain structure of things he just has to accept, things he despises, and some things he can still enjoy, just like seeing an exile fail in spectacular fashion. Also, there are always have moments of sincerity in his otherwise fatalistic and tortured existence, such as when an exile who has lost countless times eventually wins one. All of these factors make it clear that the Trialmaster is an antagonist, but not an enemy - whether the same is true of Chaos, however, still remains to be seen.
Comments
Post a Comment