In Expedition League, Path of Exile game received several interesting changes including the Kalguurans who came from far away continents. Here is an overview of how a story of a new league has been created, written by Matt Dymerski, who was one of the authors.
The League stood out from others by an absolutely new culture which initiated new mysteries. Logbooks replaced Sagas. Sagas which have a special story format bring a flavour of Norse mythology in Expedition League. The players can find an ancient style of storytelling in texts they will encounter in the game. A special focus is made on lineage or individual martial, economic and heroic actions.
Equipment is the other distinguishing feature in POE Expedition League. Kalguurans don't have neither virtue gems, nor sockets on gear, nor armor, nor shields. They have their own defence system called wards. They also use runes instead of virtue germs. And there are no gods in Kaluguran culture but they have priests who perform the role of spiritual engineers. Different culture, different architecture in several sites, and different equipment bring absolutely a new feel of the game.
We have four types of merchants: a Dealer, a Haggler, a Gambler, and a leader of the group, a wildcard. These are not typical NPCs, but battle-tested people who would not risk themselves for simple money which is expected from a merchant. Their currency is relics that have huge importance.
Our players can also see Ezomytes, warriors discovering the past of their culture which is of high significance for them. These NPCs want to find Sagas of their ancestors which were erased by the Eternals.
At the beginning of a new League user interface was improved and our team had to proceed with working hard. We have never had any experience with creating interactions regarding trading with NPCs, so it was quite a challenge to make some structure which could help us show trader`s traits by means of an interesting dialogue. I cannot say that we did it right, as some dialogues appeared to be too long with current updates. For example, Gwennen's and Tujen dialogues were made shorter when the characters were improved. However, Rog`s line was left unchanged and can be applied as audio tips for gamers.
Bosses such as Vorana, Medved, Olroth, and Uhtred were less talkative than new Kalguurans, so it was also a challenge to integrate them in the story. Some found texts included the descriptions of their attacks, so their dialogues should also contain some tips.
Be careful while listening to the words of NPCs in the Expedition League of Path of Exile game, they mean much more than you may expect.
