Of Three In One
Interactive story quest for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim â—¦ 8 weeks â—¦ 2014
Design Achievements
This project was our first introduction to working in a 3D game engine at The Guildhall. It initially had a six-week time frame, with two weeks of additional visual polish added a year later. From the start, its design focused on delivering a compact and self-contained narrative experience.
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Narrative - Created an immersive story with subtle and interconnected choices.
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Level Design - Made use of the assets of Skyrim to effectively create a compelleing dream world.
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Scripting - Utilized scripted events to help communicate an unconventional narrative.
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A full play-through video covering the content of the quest can be found below. ⇓
Quest Overview Trailer (03:50)
Quest Summary
This is a narrative-heavy optional side quest designed within Creation Kit for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The quest traces some in-universe themes such as a family living off the land and military life in the Imperial Legion, as well as more overall mature themes including same-sex marriage and sexual assault in the military.
The quest concerns two men, Charles and David, who are on the path to betrothal. They have met a priest, Amerus, who has concocted a potion that allows multiple people's mind to blend into one psychic vision quest. The priest recruits the player to act as an objective guide for the two men on their spiritual journey.
Once combined with the minds of David and Charles, the player literally becomes them in the vision quest, making choices that both determine and reveal the character and history of the two men throughout the vision. The quest moves through three "chapters," the first two exploring each of the men's pasts, and the final one reconciling them.
Despite being a short side quest, Of Three In One offers a unique narrative conceit that allows the player to have a large impact on the lives of the characters they encounter. The story touches on mature themes and perspectives within a small breadth, and the level spaces display compelling environments and set pieces to sell the concept of a magical vision quest exploring the minds and memories of those involved.
The player makes critical decisions that define the characters in the quest
Subtle and interwoven choices come to life in a short but dense story
All of the quest's stages, events, and variables are manipulated using Creation Kit's Papyrus script
The player makes critical decisions that define the characters in the quest
Full Quest Narrative Play-Through (33:58)
