The Silent Swan is a first-person open world narrative expertise throughout a monolithic, derelict world.

Summarized, that is The Silent Swan at completely different ranges:

At a gameplay degree, you’ll be coming into a large, deserted, walled-off land, with many places, all of which manually handcrafted, of distinctive design and structure, all of them with inside areas. Bringing the that means of “open world” into city places for a really first time on this scale. Featuring the City within the Mist, a large, non-procedural, interiored, and interconnected, brutalist-gothic metropolis. You will carry alongside you a pocket book, the place you’ll preserve monitor of the objects, codes, and keys you receive, in addition to archiving the mysterious letters of she you search. Some of this stuff embody a flashlight, a telescope, and film reels.

At a narrative degree, you might be coming into this zone within the following of the footsteps of your spouse, who at some point disappeared, abandoning a letter that solely you realize of. Throughout the journey, the participant will study concerning the nature of this zone, the hazards it entails, the tales that occurred inside it, in addition to concerning the participant character themselves.

At a conceptual degree, its biggest purpose is to turn out to be an exponent of freedom for many who really feel caged when they’re offered with huge constructions and landscapes in videogames, solely to seek out out that almost all of it’s gated away by invisible partitions, or is just a facade with nothing behind. The Silent Swan presents a quite simple proposal: the Wall surrounds and defines the playable space, whereby every thing will probably be navigable. If you possibly can see it, you possibly can go there, and it’ll all the time reward you with traversable interiors, and distinctive landscapes. If the story, or any lead gathered from the lore, leads you there, then additionally, you will discover some merchandise or collectible.

Despite the scale of the world, and the time it takes to maneuver round (which is finally not as a lot as I personally would’ve braved to attempt), we wished to just remember to do not feel as if you might be dropping your time, and by no means consider “if only I could activate the cheats and increase the movement speed”. For that goal, now we have taken the next measures:

You won’t ever stroll the identical path twice:

On the skin, each main location of the world will comprise a zeppelin station, with a plaqued quantity (which you will want to seek out by trying round), containing the code that you must insert to make a reasonably silent zeppelin flap its approach there (thus making it to be able to solely fly to locations whose code you already know). If it weren’t sufficient, the zeppelin will comprise a button with which you’ll be able to fast-travel a route you have got already flown via at the least as soon as.

In the City and cities, we’re ensuring so as to add as many pathways and roads to maneuver inbetween any two places as attainable. This approach, if that you must return to any sure place, you possibly can all the time choose a distinct highway, and sight one thing completely different alongside the best way.

In the buildings, the identical precept is utilized. We attempt to add as many rooms, walkways, terraces, and such, with which to make every go to a tad extra attention-grabbing. Samewise, after reaching the heights of any constructing, you will not must undergo the ordeal of strolling again down, as a substitute with the ability to merely drop down and survive because of the anti-fall navy stilts.

The story strikes you on:

The very development of the story will guarantee that there’s all the time a brand new, subsequent location to maneuver on to, with minimal backtracking. Though the door for additional exploration, lore, collectibles, and storylines of characters, will stay elective and open always for many who would take pleasure in extra of what’s being offered.

You is not going to must guess the place to go:

An excellent, ridiculously massive share surpassing the 99% of all the world will probably be devoid of something sport associated. The causes it’s there’s for freedom and “sense of world” functions. Thus, make it in order that the participant is aware of the place will probably be one thing they need to try, and the place it is not going to be, in order to not make them examine each nook and cranny to seek out their subsequent step? Fairly easy: the story and surroundings will lead you. If there isn’t any visible or story clue that you need to go to the forty eighth ground of a sure constructing, then there will probably be nothing there.

We perceive that with these design ideas we’re putting ourselves upon a really skinny, and harmful line, however we belief that via correct balancing and testing we are going to hit the proper equilibrium we search.

You can observe the sport on Twitter for the quickest updates and overviews of the sport, whereas what’s talked about there’s mentioned extra in depth right here.

https://twitter.com/The_Silent_Swan

During the upcoming weeks I might love so as to add extra posts relating to the specifics of the sport, and the design ideas with which completely different selections have been made. As properly as extra detailed details about how one strikes throughout this world, the challenges they may face, and maybe most essential of all, the characters and their storylines you’ll encounter.

Looking ahead to your suggestions.