2022 introduced us quite a few wealthy narratives in video games. Whereas heavy hitters like God of Conflict: Ragnarok, Elden Ring, or Future 2’s The Witch Queen enlargement are prone to have their praises sung the loudest, there have been additionally video games like Obsidians’ Pentiment which can be equally deserving of our consideration.
Pentiment is a piece of interactive historic fiction and although the sport could be essentially the most rewarding for historical past wonks, its historic grounding and well-written NPCs (who by no means really feel like they exist simply to spout historical past classes) make it one in every of this yr’s greatest storytelling accomplishments. We sat down with Josh Sawyer, Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and Pentiment’s director, to talk about how the staff wove historical past and narrative so seamlessly into its characters.
Pentiment is a homicide thriller set within the late sixteenth century. The historic premise and detective plot is interesting by itself, however it’s the pure interactions with numerous NPCs that maintain me glued to this recreation. Everybody feels distinctly actual, with objective and information, and serve to sketch the historic background of the fictional city of Tassing particularly, but additionally late medieval Europe. It’s each a historical past lesson and a personality research, and engrossing the entire method via.
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Talking with Kotaku, director Josh Sawyer describes the method of selecting who to ship what historic classes as an necessary side of world and character constructing. It wasn’t sufficient for Pentiment to easily be certain that every character would have a justifiable motive for his or her information. A personality’s private pursuits and who they’re on the earth can also be taken into consideration, and that shapes, when, the place, and the way they inform their tales
“It’s truly been a problem for lots of my profession, and so one thing over the previous couple of video games that I’ve labored on is when characters are going to basically interact in exposition, my query normally to the author is ‘why is that this character the character to inform the story?’ As a result of if the reply is ‘properly, we’d like somebody to inform it,’ that’s not a great reply.”
Sawyer continues: “The [exposition] that’s being instructed has to imply one thing that’s actually necessary to the individual telling it. And I feel that’s most likely why folks really feel prefer it feels extra pure than, for instance in case you’re in a historical past class, or a social research class, and somebody’s form of lecturing at you.”
An instance Sawyer offers is Til Kreutzer, one in every of Pentiment’s characters who readily talks of the world’s historical past—significantly that of the Romans who predate this era.. However that information should come from someplace necessary to the character. Via the sport we study that he had been given entry to the church’s library, entry that he not has. Mixed with the place he works, Til turns into a pure supply of worldbuilding for Tassing (establishing his historical past with the church) in addition to the historical past of the area.
“[Til] works within the discipline. And he seems to be on the Roman ruins on a regular basis. He’s a shepherd. And he’s like ‘I really like books and I really like the tales concerning the Romans’ and I feel it comes throughout that that is one thing that he actually cares about and is all in favour of. When Andreas sees the determine leap throughout the aqueduct, [that’s why Kreutzer says] ‘oh yeah, who is aware of what number of Roman [spirits] are right here.’”
The scene Sawyer refers to is one the place the protagonist, Andreas, spies what’s assumed to be a ghost close to the Roman ruins (although it’s not fully clear what it’s). Til is a pure match to offer the context and add to the spookiness of the scene, due to his realized information and proximity to the ruins themselves. This scene, and former conversations with Til, paint a portrait of a dwelling historical past inside Tassing. That historical past is each seen and unseen, within the ruins and tales folks inform. It’s what makes the sighting of the apparition all of the extra spooky, though there doesn’t seem like something supernatural occurring within the recreation in any respect.
Had Til simply been a lavatory customary NPC who delivered traces of dialogue about ruins, and never one thing with a private curiosity and a little bit of a backstory as to how he developed that curiosity, this scene wouldn’t land with the identical weight.
A recurring theme in Pentiment is the historical past of paganism within the area. Whereas the city is completely Christianized and lots of characters embrace that religion, previous beliefs and customs usually are not simply forgotten. As you’re unfolding an increasing number of of Pentiment’s story, you get a larger sense of the trail that lies between totally different historic eras, and the way that feeds into the day by day lives of those folks. For this, Sawyer described In poor health Peter as an efficient conduit for an understanding of how issues have been earlier than the church.
“In poor health Peter is likely one of the repositories of pagan information throughout the group and he resents that the brand new abbot doesn’t actually respect their traditions. So that is one thing that’s necessary to him. He believes it’s necessary to proceed practising [older traditions] and he form of resents the abbot and is just a little bitter that younger folks don’t keep in mind these previous methods.”
Pentiment’s characters aren’t merely delivering “summary” historical past classes, Sawyer says, and that’s what makes them work so properly as the first story movers. The person pursuits of every character affect your work as you examine potential motives and unpack the sticky intersectional cloth which may have led to the homicide in query. Every part is inherently tied up in historic and political connections. Chatting with nearly any character is a chance for the sport to indicate off the historic analysis that went into its improvement, whereas additionally offering numerous hints about different characters, giving Andreas what he must piece the homicide thriller collectively.
However none of that may resonate, whether or not it’s fictional or not, if these characters didn’t have private investments in what they’re speaking about or didn’t really feel like actual folks. Sawyer’s in depth work to ascertain them as plausible figures is what makes Pentiment’s characters so fascinating.
Greater than the rest in Pentiment, I loved my time with these characters, studying about their lives, and sharing meals with them. What they need to say concerning the world, each the broader one which exists outdoors of the bounds of Tassing and their day by day lives as properly, is what pulled me into the homicide thriller. Nobody felt like a generic NPC townsperson tasked with strolling round in circles delivering historical past classes.
“These are all tales which can be necessary to those particular person folks” Sawyer mentioned, “and I attempt to guarantee that the writers talk the connection of the story to the individual, not simply the story itself. As a result of in case you don’t talk each, it’s gonna not really feel good.”
Pentiment is a novel recreation. One which will not be for everybody. However in 2022, it stands as a stellar instance of how intentional selections over who tells what story satisfies the utility of educating the participant concerning the world whereas additionally presenting characters who’ve an funding on the earth round them. That impact is contagious, resulting in you the participant in flip caring concerning the world of the sport and the time you spend in it.
