Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
Quest: A Delicate Secret
Introduction
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This page will contain spoilers for the quest.
The overall goal of this expansion was to create a small quest for players to play after completing the main storyline of the game.
In this quest, the player will follow a series of clues and travel to a number of hidden locations across Amalur to procure a very delicate item left behind by an assassin called Alyn Shir, who plays a crucial role in the main storyline of the game.
You can find a gameplay video here.
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My Responsibilities​​​
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Designed and blocked out two distinct dungeon levels, focusing on layout, pacing, and player flow
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Created and maintained level documentation to clearly communicate design goals and implementation details
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Implemented 3D assets, visual effects, and lighting to bring each dungeon to life
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Conducted quality assurance testing on both dungeons and the full quest, identifying bugs and areas for improvement
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Produced short gameplay videos and GIFs to support marketing efforts and visually showcase key features
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Personal Goals
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For the dungeons, the goal was to create a gradual difficulty curve in combat, building tension and leading to a final confrontation with the White Palm assassins - Alyn Shir’s persistent pursuers.
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One of my main design objectives was to reflect Alyn Shir’s character through the structure and atmosphere of the quest. Keywords like "assassin", "secret", and "mysterious" helped define the tone and direction of the experience.
To support these themes, I introduced environmental storytelling elements such as booby traps, hidden doors, and secret rewards - reinforcing her enigmatic nature and giving the dungeons a layered, dangerous feel.
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Environmental Storytelling​
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Environmental Storytelling is always fun because the player can see and discover past events through one of my favourite rules, show don’t tell.
Restrictions and Limitations
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Before starting to work on my concepts, it was crucial to play around in the proprietary Level Editor. Since the game originally released in 2012 and re-released in 2020, all of the Art Assets, VFX, Traps, Enemies, … were already created.
Therefore, it was not possible to ask artists to create or change 3D models since actual production for the game and its DLC’s had already been finished.
As a result, I had to find new opportunities to use the existing assets to craft new exciting gameplay situations for the players.
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