Diablo 4 is an isometric ARPG set in Sanctuary: a grim, gothic world created by the unlikely alliance of angels and demons and fought over by both sides. In this entry, Lilith, daughter of the prime evil Mephisto and Mother of Sanctuary, has returned to manipulate humanity for her own ends. The player takes on the role of a random adventurer who stumbles into Lilith’s larger plot and must thwart it.
What I worked on:
I was the design owner of four of the campaign arcs: Eldhaime Keep/Ruins, Guulran, and Volcano. Additionally, I created 19 sidequests ranging from major quest chains to minor quests.
The gameplay beats in the last Crone quest. It was fun using a woodwraith for a follower as that’s not something we do often. Originally, we had combat at all three stops but pulled it from the first stop as it shares locations with the first quest in this chain, and we didn’t want the encounters to overlap. I added the shadow infected shader to the familiar’s statue at the end as a little detail for observant players to wonder about.
Sidequest Design Example
Below is my design document for The Crone major quest chain in Scosglen.
Sidequests are categorized as:
Major Quest Chain: 3-4 quests of around 15-20 minutes with multiple gameplay beats. Involves a unique character model and heavier narrative emphasis. May include a unique side dungeon. Quest designer does initial writing pass, but a narrative designer is expected to do final dialog writing
Standard Quest Chain: 2-3 quests of moderate length with multiple gameplay beats. No unique character models. May involve narrative design for final dialog writing, but this is not guaranteed. No unique dungeon but may inject content into standard dungeons and/or use a quest cellar.
Standard Quest: Single quest of moderate length with multiple gameplay beats. Generally no narrative design support. May inject content into a standard dungeon or use a quest cellar.
Minor Quests: Single quest with 1-2 gameplay beats and limited dialog. Generally sends the player to a single location in the world or a standard dungeon to collect an item or kill a unique elite enemy. No narrative design support.
Micro Quests: Single quest with 1 gameplay beat and no or very limited dialog. Examples of this is the emote quests and the quests where a quest item drops in the world, and the player is instructed to return it to an npc.