Vapourware Wyrdsong - open world historical fantasy RPG set in medieval Portugal from former Bethesda, Obsidian and BioWare devs

[RepHope]

Codex’s old friend Eric Fenstermarker joins the team

 

[Roguey]

Didn't want to go back to Obsidian then? Feargus must be crushed given the prefential treatment he allegedly received.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

https://www.techradar.com/features/...ts-templar-initiation-sites-for-their-new-rpg

Ex-Bethesda devs explored secret Knights Templar initiation sites for their new RPG​

By Elie Gould
published October 12, 2022


RPG pilgrimage

(Image credit: Something Wicked Games)

Climbing over gates and through farms, traversing the Portuguese countryside, the Something Wicked Games team is on a pilgrimage. They finally arrive at their destination, the Castle of Tomar. Before them stands the ominous and monumental military construction that boasts a history spanning hundreds of years. The castle has seen more than they could ever know, and it is every bit as exciting as they had hoped it would be. No stopping here; the Something Wicked team ventures forth into the dark corners of the fortress. This is no ordinary trip, it’s an expedition in the name of RPGs – led by veterans of Bethesda and Obsidian.

It is in these ancient ruins that the idea of Wyrdsong was cemented. Set in the Middle Ages, it will focus on an alternate history of the Knights Templar. You may think of the Templars as the bad guys from the Assassin’s Creed franchise. But Wyrdsong is set to explore them in depths that we haven’t seen before, and I, for one, am very excited.

Historical additions​

While historical accounts place the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Jerusalem, an alternative history claims that Portugal was one of the order’s most significant bases in Europe. Rather than create its own world, Something Wicked Games is using all of the country’s dramatic landscapes, awe-inspiring castles, and diverse history. The country is a “blank slate”, CEO and founder Jeff Gardiner says. By rooting Wyrdsong in the familiar, the team can expand upon smaller details to create expansive and beautiful areas to explore.

The country has felt the influence of several civilizations, religions, and ethnicities. “It's a mixing pot of different cultures”, Gardiner says. “What fascinates me is how to make a game in that setting and to represent all those things in a positive way”.
When the devs embarked on their pilgrimage across Portugal, they were met by countless megalithic and immense structures, but the Castle of Tomar stood out among the rest. Not because of the broad walls that engulf the skyline, but because underneath its intricate architecture lies a secret.

(Image credit: Something Wicked Games)

Impenetrable except for a secret passageway that cuts through the mountain beneath the castle into its foundation. This fortification was never meant to protect the townsfolk living below. Instead, it may have been used by the Knights Templar to complete “their initiation rituals”, Gardiner says.

Some believed that the Templars incorporated mystical Sufi elements into their initiation rites, combining catholicism with Islam and being inspired by the ‘assassins’, Islamic warriors. Others thought that the Templars worshipped an older form of Christianity behind closed doors, one that the Catholic Church despised, Cathar Heresy. But no one knows what really happened within the walls of Tomar, maybe we will find out in Wyrdsong.

But there is more to Tomar than Templar initiations, the site sits across a ley line. "The Templars went to existing local populations, existing sacred sites and built their churches there," Gardiner says. "Now did they do so because they had some kind of mystical elements?" It's a question you may explore in the final version of Wyrdsong,

Gardiner and his team have shown nothing of Wyrdsong besides the atmospheric teaser above, and he’s keeping tight-lipped on specific details about how the game will play. For instance, while his time at Bethesda working on Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Skyrim may suggest a first-person RPG, the team is also made up of ex-Obsidian developers, so there is form isometric RPGs, such as Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny, too. Gardiner also nods to games like Elden Ring as we talk, so perhaps it will be a third-person RPG. For now, we only know the inspiration, not the game it’s forming.

Endless possibilities​

All we know for sure is that Something Wicked Games wants to make the most of its open world. With everything that Portugal offers, Wyrdsong will be full of wonderful possibilities. However, that’s not to say that more is better.

(Image credit: Something Wicked Games)

I find the maps in games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla become stuffed with markers, signposting every secret, taking away my role in discovering them. With so many ancient sites and ruins dotted across Portugal’s landscape, Wyrdsong runs the risk of being overcrowded with Templar mysteries. Gardiner is all too aware of the issue, saying, “often, I don't even get to the end of a game because I've already played 90 hours of sidequests.”

The team is looking to Elden Ring’s map for the solution – “That game didn’t do any of that crap,” Gardiner says. “You had no idea what you were getting into." That was the beauty of it. Sometimes you got your ass handed to you and sometimes you smashed your enemy into tiny, tiny pieces. But you were always surprised by the challenge that you were met with.

Wyrdsong isn’t going to be a game when all you are doing is “checking off tasks”, Gardiner says. He hopes that with the help of Portugal's magnificent sites and histories, the team can build a world that encapsulates the weird and engaging stories of the Knights Templar and their alternative histories.

Seems the the open-world is going to lean more into Elden Ring's style than the nu-Assassin's Creed games

 

[Old Hans]

Seems the the open-world is going to lean more into Elden Ring's style

that was the biggest weakness of elden ring. It may not have had map markers, but most players probably treated it like a check list as they rode by everything on their horse, clicking on loot and grace teleports, with zero danger to themselves, as they ride by the same ruin props for the 800th time

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.eurogamer.net/rpg-veter...led-not-threatened-by-baldurs-gate-3s-success

RPG veteran developer Jeff Gardiner is "thrilled, not threatened" by Baldur's Gate 3's success​

And how his next game Wyrdsong will stand out.


Image credit: Something Wicked Games

Jeff Gardiner, veteran RPG developer, said he's "thrilled, not threatened" by the success of other RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3.

Eurogamer spoke to the ex-Bethesda producer at Gamescom and discussed the current state of RPGs: why they're so popular and how the success of Larian's latest game was raising expectations of the genre.

"I am thrilled, not threatened by great RPGs," said Gardiner, when asked about Baldur's Gate 3. "I love playing them. I would never be upset by this. I think it brings more people into the fanbase of RPGs. As an RPG creator and player I really believe in RPGs - I always have since I started playing them when I was a kid until now... I will celebrate their success, I'll be their biggest fans forever. I am absolutely thrilled by it."

He continued: "This is a daunting task taking on these games. They're huge. They have a tonne of game mechanics and a lot of lines of VO. But me and the team have done it over and over again. So I see that as, if that's the new bar, that's great. We'll take our shot on that too."

That team in question is Gardiner's new studio, Something Wicked Games, which comprises staff from Bethesda, Obsidian and BioWare. Gardiner himself worked on both the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series from 2005 until the creation of Something Wicked Games in 2022. Its debut game will be Wyrdsong, a new RPG with preternatural and occult themes.

But in such a crowded market of RPGs, how do you stand out?

Gardiner believes that's "sort of a trap". "I think you should definitely define yourself and make yourself stand out from the crowd," he said. "You do that stylistically both with the visuals of the game but also the way we're really focused on narrative in a way that's unique, not to the point where the game gets too bogged down by it - I think that's a danger too - but where it accentuates the gameplay and it's the pauses between excellent gameplay."

What really makes the studio stand out, though, is the blend of talent from other studios and learning to make narrative focused games more action-packed for a wider appeal.

For Gardiner, RPGs are "the true promise of gaming", which is part of why the genre has become so popular in recent years. "They are the one [genre of] games where you can immerse yourself in a world and really feel like you're able to participate in things that you cannot in the real world," he said. "I love the fact that they are exploding in popularity now. To me it just means more RPGs are going to come out and that's what I want."


Concept art from Wyrdsong | Image credit: Something Wicked Games

So what can we expect from Wyrdsong? Gardiner explained the studio is in what it calls "the beautiful corner" where the tone for the game's art and play space has been set. The team intends to have the first playable section shortly.

"It's definitely going to have the Bethesda vibe," he said, but as a third-person open world game set in mediaeval Portugal. But its occult elements will differentiate the game from Elder Scrolls, which was more Tolkien-esque fantasy. "We're definitely targeting the Bethesda and Obsidian audience who love RPGs," he added.

However, Wyrdsong will be a smaller, more focused experience than what developers from the studio have previously worked on. "Our target is about 75 percent of Skyrim," said Gardiner. "We want to focus a little bit more on the quality of the gameplay itself, the tactical nature of combat, the interactions you're having. We feel that because the studio is small and it is our first game, we're targeting something a little less than what we've done before but in a more focused way.

"It's still a big, open world. We're still going to pack it with all the things people love, and a lot of extra surprises. We're really playing with the nature of reality in this game, so as you progress through the story the way you interact with the world will change. Things will change around you based on the decisions you're making and - we believe - in unique and compelling ways."

Procedural generation is a topic that's been debated in the build up to Bethesda's Starfield, with regards to both randomised and handcrafted planets. It's something that will "absolutely" be used in Wyrdsong, though Gardiner admitted it will be employed carefully.

"In these big open world games it's difficult to handcraft everything. I think there has to be some mix, it depends on where your focus is," he said, explaining the use of randomised encounters in previous Bethesda games.

"The danger to me for Wyrdsong is that you can lean too heavily in on that and then games don't feel as good. Even the best procedurally generated stuff feels procedural in general, if that makes sense. I think you have to be careful with that. Even landscapes in some Bethesda games, you can place every single tree or you can procedurally generate the forest and then handcraft within that. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for, this blending between them."


Wyrdsong will have a dark, occult tone. | Image credit: Something Wicked Games

Another major concern with open world games is the amount of bugs. "Gamers have the right to demand that their games work," said Gardiner, before explaining the two major types of bugs: the fun simulation ones, and the game-breaking bugs.

"There's always a war at the end of making games: should we keep putting content in to flesh this out? Or should we stop and start fixing bugs? I feel, having shipped seven games, it is a very difficult decision, because you always want to add more, but you don't want to keep going until you can't fix it."

But what's the solution to help these huge RPGs release in a less buggy state? "There's a good quality QA pass that's able to fix the bugs, and there is making sure as you build the game you're not ignoring huge issues until the very end - it's called technical debt," said Gardiner. "You put a system into the game and then you're like 'that sort of works, we'll fix that later'. You can maybe do that here and there, but if you do that to everything in the game that 'fix it later' comes with what I would call opportunity cost. At the end of the game, when you're trying to close it, there's an opportunity there - if the game is in a decent state - to add the little touches that put that game to another level.

"The onus is both on people making the decisions whether or not to time games - oftentimes the publisher, not always - and the developers also making smart decisions along the way to make sure their setup was successful."

Wyrdsong is yet to receive any kind of release date, but it seems as if Gardiner and his team are learning from any mistakes of the past to ensure their game is a success others can be thrilled - but hopefully not threatened - by.

 

[Mebrilia the Viera Queen]

Let me guess would be one of those countless first person rpgs?

 

[Old Hans]

tiny untested game devs should not be starting off with open worlds.

 

[Kruyurk]

tiny untested game devs should not be starting off with open worlds.

It worked really well for Kenshi. Regardless of the complicated development, the end product is one of the best open world RPG.

 

[Old Hans]

tiny untested game devs should not be starting off with open worlds.

It worked really well for Kenshi. Regardless of the complicated development, the end product is one of the best open world RPG.

something tells me these devs arent gonna try anything that complicated or interesting

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

Why Portugal, out of all places? Is Spain too evil nowadays?

 

[Old Hans]

Why Portugal, out of all places? Is Spain too evil nowadays?

uhhhh because Portugal is cool

 

[Infinitron]

Why Portugal, out of all places? Is Spain too evil nowadays?

Iirc, the lead dev went on vacation there and was inspired.

 

[Kruyurk]

Why Portugal, out of all places? Is Spain too evil nowadays?

Iirc, the lead dev went on vacation there and was inspired.

He found some generic artworks and Eric Fenstermaker stranded on a Portuguese beach and decided that this was off to a good start.

 

[luj1]

the only reason this was posted is because the janitor from Obsidian is on it

 

[luj1]

Why Portugal, out of all places? Is Spain too evil nowadays?

Iirc, the lead dev went on vacation there and was inspired.

he sucked too many cocks on a beach in portugal

 

[luj1]

tiny untested game devs should not be starting off with open worlds.

It worked really well for Kenshi.

kenshi is a passion project from an original creative vision

meanwhile this is hot g-g-garbage

 

[Roguey]

Let me guess would be one of those countless first person rpgs?

"It's definitely going to have the Bethesda vibe," he said, but as a third-person open world game set in mediaeval Portugal.

Don't skim, dahling.

 

[Infinitron]

https://somethingwickedgames.com/something-wicked-games-hires-ex-bethesda-design-director-will-shen/

Something Wicked Games Hires Ex-Bethesda Design Director Will Shen as Lead Content Designer on Upcoming Preternatural Open World RPG, Wyrdsong​

Following launch of record-breaking Starfield, Shen brings his quest designing skills to a new team

Alexandria, MD. (Oct. 16, 2023) – Something Wicked Games, the globally dispersed AAA studio founded by former Bethesda Project Lead Jeff Gardiner, announced the addition of another former senior Bethesda developer to its team today: Will Shen. Shen comes aboard Something Wicked Games following the launch of Starfield, which he worked on as a lead quest designer. Bringing a wealth of AAA RPG experience, knowledge and guidance, Shen’s onboarding as a lead content designer is a valuable addition to the already stellar all-star team developing Something Wicked Games’ debut title, Wyrdsong (www.somethingwickedgames.com).

Shen brings more than 16 years of games industry experience to the ever-growing team of veteran developers on Wyrdsong. His latest adventure before joining the development of Wyrdsong was at Bethesda Game Studios, where he operated in a senior position as a design director. Prior to working on the astonishing recent release Starfield, Shen accrued numerous credits on Bethesda games, including as a quest designer and writer for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Fallout: 76, as well as a credit as the lead designer for the critically acclaimed Fallout 4 DLC Far Harbor. As part of Something Wicked Games, Shen brings a talent for crafting engaging, exciting storylines that hook into and stay with players.

Shen’s onboarding at Something Wicked Games follows the studio’s other recent additions of high-profile talent Robert Land, Jessica Sliwinski and Akil Hooper. In these additions, Something Wicked Games has further bolstered its staff of talented, accomplished creatives, which includes team members with credited roles at Obsidian, Respawn, BioWare and other award-winning AAA studios. Rapidly growing to 38 staff since its reveal in 2022 at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live, Something Wicked Games currently plans to expand to more than 100 staff by the time development is fully ramped in order to deliver a high-quality, new AAA RPG experience with Wyrdsong.

Wyrdsong is a preternatural RPG that brings players to a fictionalized version of Portugal. Set in the middle ages and doused in occult imagery, a quest awaits players that will have them questioning their sense of reality and the choices they make. An ambitious undertaking from the team at Something Wicked Games, Wyrdsong will redefine aspects of the RPG genre as a whole.

Get indoctrinated and keep up on this incredible RPG in development on Twitter, Facebook, Insta, Linkedin, or sign up here to learn more.

 

[The Wall]

This one is about literally transgender, queer black Templars from XV century Portugal, right? Jew keeps spreading his hatred for European civilization

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

This one is about literally transgender, queer black Templars from XV century Portugal, right? Jew keeps spreading his hatred for European civilization

I mean, it's Portugal. They wanted to make their way through Africa instead of going to America through the non-retarded way.

 

[VerSacrum]

Medieval Portugal - fine, but why the name that heavily implies Northern Europe?

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Medieval RPG with some occult to spice things up? Count me in.

 

[Abu Antar]

As I expected: Down the drain it goes.

Something Wicked Games has reportedly laid off most of its staff.The studio was founded in 2022 by ex-RPG veterans from Bethesda, Obsidian and others who worked on games like Fallout: New Vegas and Skyrim and are (were?) working on AAA RPG
@wyrdsong

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/busin...-wicked-reportedly-lays-off-majority-of-staff

Mass layoffs have allegedly taken place at Something Wicked Games. Over the weekend, senior animator Eric Webb claimed the studio laid off "most of [our] staff."

Programmer Andrew Woloszyn and writer Jessica Sliwinski confirmed they were among those affected. "Even though it was short, I was lucky to work with such extremely talented people," wrote the former.

Layoffs are damaging for all studios, but it's particularly hard on newer developers. Many close down before they can get their debut title out the door.

Without a project to show for it, that staff is unable to add whatever they worked on to their portfolio, to say nothing of the cost of relocating fairly recently.

 

[lukaszek]

staff is unable to add whatever they worked on to their portfolio

huh? i bet there are linkedin profiles full of dead projects as no one can validate.

 

[Infinitron]

Huh, what a dumpsterfire. They hired that programmer guy in January: https://twitter.com/SomeWickedGame/status/1752422011694133309