Radiator Blog

MAY 5, 2021

Whenever an NPC is about to dump backstory and exposition on you, they'll ask you to take a seat. This is a convenient diegetic way of locking the player in-place for a cutscene, while also priming the player for an extended cutscene. Diegetically, the NPC has to prepare a machine or potion, or get supplies, or whatever.

Open World 52

Open World NPC Cutscenes Terrain 52

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

NOT telekinesis, only works on NPCs / PvP) Havoc (temporary shield / damage buff), very useful for people who keep dying (i.e. me) or PvP buff but conceptually rather boring Aether (cloak + invisible to laser sensors, attacks cancel it, can be upgraded to only consume mana while moving). It would feel terrible.

Fighting 52

Fighting NPC Puzzle AI 52

Radiator Blog

JANUARY 16, 2022

Some games do all their cutscene scripting and even enemy AI in Yarn Spinner, because really, it's just a simple scripting language that does whatever you tell it to do. Nothing stops you from adding more commands, functions, markup tags, or new ways to process the script. // custom NPC AI script example?

Scripting 52

Scripting Code Localization Engine 52

Raph Koster

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

It was like resetting a little stage-play; the NPC actors hit their marks and reappeared at their start location. The scripting on WoC made for better combat too, because you weren’t stuck with just the built-in combat AI for your enemies. Breadcrumbs, dialogue trees, cutscenes, progression paths.

Sandbox 59

Sandbox Simulation Content Scripting 59

Keith Burgun

JULY 29, 2022

Part of what makes them so soulless is their lack of specificity: we aren’t seeing the feelings or aesthetics of any particular human, but rather the almost AI-generation-like amalgamation of what the marketing department thinks others will like.

Fantasy 52

Fantasy AAA Concepts Cutscenes 52