Project Challenges:

Adjusting Sea of Thieves gameplay to fit with existing external IP:

• We had to adjust the world of Sea of Thieves to match the vision and values of the Monkey Island games
• Several elements of the design were reworked based on the prototyped flow
• When designing for this project, we had to be considerate of the narrative elements and style of the world of Monkey Island games

Balancing difficulty for a multiplayer gameplay experience:

• Combat sequences were scaled depending on crew size and offers a cinematic experience
• AI Ship pathing systems were used to tailor an experience that utilizes the terrain in interesting ways to create epic moments for the players to enjoy and share with each other
• Through frequent playtests, level changes were addressed by collaborating with the environment team

Creating a new combat experience within Sea of Thieves:

• Sea of Thieves combat was adjusted to offer more control over the old systems
• Worked closely with engineering teams to update the combat system
• New systems were implemented to weave narrative elements into fights, such as bespoke cinematic sequences that reflect what is going on in and around the fight

Prototyping flow without systems and content:

• Implemented the general flow outlined in the high level design document using existing content
• Adapted Sea of Thieves gameplay features to fit the needs of the prototype
• Created new blueprints to support areas of the flow

Translating the required design ideas to other content teams:

• Worked with content teams to allow iteration in the workflow based on design requirements
• Discussed presentation of key locations for the flow with the content teams (for example, have landmarks visible from specific locations to help with navigation and the clarity of the objective)
• Analysed use of reactive environment elements with the content teams (for example, opening a stone mechanism will trigger an animation and reveal lights to invite players inside)