The Design of DEATHLOOP Developer AMA Highlights

What inspired the sweeping landscapes of Blackreef?

How do Trinkets impact Colt’s combat abilities? What role do Slabs play in DEATHLOOP? On July 30, members of the Arkane Lyon Development Team joined the Arkane Discord Server to answer these questions and many more in our second live Developer AMA: The Design of DEATHLOOP. Following up last June’s art-focused AMA, this gave Arkane fans the opportunity to learn more about what really makes DEATHLOOP tick. Joining this AMA was a stellar cast from Arkane Lyon, including:

Dinga Bakaba – Game Director
Gauthier Roussel – Lead Game Systems Designer
Jerome Braune – Game Systems Designer
David McClure – Game Systems Designer
Dana Nightingale – Campaign Designer
Yoann Saquet – Lead Level Designer

In case you missed July’s Developer AMA, we’ve got you covered. Read on to see highlights of some of the best questions and insights from The Design of DEATHLOOP AMA!

How much can a singular Trinket change a weapon? Can Trinkets be combined to make a weapon act in a completely different manner?

David McClure: We have two things that modify how your weapons behave, Weapon Perks and Weapon Trinkets. Weapon Perks are set on a weapon when you collect it and can't be changed. Each gun has access to a specific set of Weapon Perks - some are shared, some are unique to that specific gun. They are often larger effects, like converting your pistol so it creates clouds of gas wherever you hit. In contrast, Weapon Trinkets can be socketed on any gun and they have different rarities. Weapon Trinkets are build tweaks for your guns, like a faster fire rate - there's some unusual stuff in there too, though, like the ability to burn some of your target's mana when you hit them. Of course, there are natural synergies between some Weapon Perks and Trinkets, but you're free to use whatever combination you want to.

How is it decided which powers make it into the game? Are there specific niches that each power needs to fill?

Gauthier Roussel: Obviously, abilities should be useful, ideally in several contexts (as sneaking or fighting) and should not do something that you can already do with something else (e.g., a magic bullet ability is useless as you can do the same with a gun, but a power that makes you invisible is nice for stealth players and players that have difficulty with stealth). Apart from that, if you can have some nice synergies with other game mechanics and abilities it is even better.

How do you even begin to actually create a complex, multi-layered level with various player approaches like the ones you're famous for?

Dana Nightingale: Well, we begin with the simplest ideas: Where does the player enter this area? What white rabbit catches their eye? What threshold must they cross? What do the last meters before the goal look like, and how do you get back out? We may only know a few of these things when we begin, but once we approach the map as if it could be a functional place where normal people could live or work, ideas to flesh it out will come. Again, emphasis on begin. Creating these locations is a long iterative process with every discipline involved. The most important thing from there is to be always open to new ideas and trust your team.

(Check out our feature on Arkane’s approach to level design.)

Are there trinkets that augment stealthier playstyles? Like a trinket that silences certain weapons, for example?

David McClure: There definitely are Trinkets that support stealthy play styles, and there are also Trinkets that support you when it's time to go loud - and of course, you can mix and match them freely for a hybrid build.

It was said previously that all Visionaries have either a unique Slab or weapon. So far, only Frank was shown carrying a unique weapon around. Are there other unique weapons we haven't seen yet, and does "weapon" specifically refer to guns, or do the Visionaries have unique gadgets as well?

David McClure: All of our Visionaries have a unique weapon or Slab. If they don't have a unique weapon, they will have a weapon with a unique Weapon Perk. The only way to get hold of these unique items is to defeat them (or Julianna!). Apart from guns and Slabs, the only gadgets the Visionaries use are grenades. Visionaries aren't the only source of unique items on Black Reef, though – there are Weapons, Trinkets and Weapon Perks that you can only find by exploring the island.

Will all guns jam in DEATHLOOP or just specific ones? How often will Colt swear when a gun jams?

Jerome Braune: Actually, all low tier "crappy" weapons are prone to jamming. They will jam with a “controlled randomness.” We can go a bit behind the scenes here: Those jamming weapons start with a very low chance of jamming. Let’s say, 3%. And for each shot fired, we increase this chance. 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, until a max of let’s say 20% is reached. And once the weapon has jammed, we reset the calculation. So we ensure it won’t happen too often but will still be occurring. Colt will swear almost every time the weapon jams. Honestly, who wouldn’t in this situation?

Is DEATHLOOP's (level) design focused more on vertical or horizontal traversal?

Yoann Saquet: We try to still use both. As in our previous games, the player has cool movement abilities (whether it's powers, Trinkets or just basic climb abilities), so we try to build environments where it's fun to navigate with these. This means having verticality is always nice, and it generally comes with interesting choices: Climbing a building can be fun by itself, and generally gives you a good observation point or a good route to avoid some enemies, but you may need to get exposed in order to get there. (So be careful if a Julianna is lurking nearby) But I would say we have a little bit less verticality than Dishonored in general, so that it doesn't become too annoying for the PvP (imagine if Julianna was camping the top of Kaldwin's Bridge for example, which could be fun for her but probably frustrating for Colt). Personally, I love the feeling you have when reaching places you feel like nobody is supposed to get to (which is part of why I love games like Mirror's Edge for example), so I don't see us creating very horizontal/flat spaces.

As Julianna the NPCs are friendly with you?

Dinga Bakaba: Yes. They will even alert you if they detect Colt, and vice versa, you can ping Colt to rally the Eternalists on his position. But gameplay aside, the fact that they are friendly with Julianna allows you to see the world a little bit differently, get close to NPCs to look at their crazy designs from up close...

How is the game structured? Are there real definite missions or are we free to roam around and deal with targets the way we want?

Dana Nightingale: Blackreef is divided into four districts, which you can visit during four time periods. The Visionaries are scattered across these four districts and times, making each of them vulnerable at one place and time during the day. You can visit any district you'd like at any time of the day you'd like. You can follow your curiosity, or focus on one location or one Visionary, mastering it. You can follow a lead, wanting to discover (for example) how you could possibly kill Frank when there's obviously not enough time in the day to do so. This could take you all over the game world, with one clue leading to the next. But maybe you saved Frank until last, because you care a lot more about what's going on with Fia and her mystery. You could hear a rumor about a unique weapon and descend into an obscure new area that you only discovered by happening upon the right clues.

You're really crafting your own campaign, tackling each part of the mystery in the order you're most interested in, or ignoring it completely and losing yourself in the loop. Sometimes a "mission" is "This Visionary has a slab that I want, so I need to go get it." Sometimes it's "The next clue in my lead is in a dangerous area – but with the right tools I can pass through easily, so where do I find them? I think I saw a gun with a perk that is useful here in a safe three loops ago. But to open that safe I need..." Sometimes it's "I want to fight Julianna, so let's visit Aleksis' party and see if she invades me." But it's always up to you :).

Want to check out The Design of DEATHLOOP in its entirety? Join the Arkane Discord Server and read up on all the DEATHLOOP insights, straight from the Arkane Lyon Development Team!