Fallout 4: "Semi-Mutant"
"Semi-Mutant" is a single player Fallout 4 mod where the player is approached by a drug smuggler named Diana to help solve an issue. Diana wants the player to go to the biomedical production company RAPHAEL to find its head researcher Blanca. Blanca feels that using semi-mutant humans for experimentation is cruel and wants to free the ones in the lab. The management however, feels that semi-mutant humans are less than and should be used as experiment fodder. Players will explore in an unfamiliar environment, choose his a side, and get different experience based on his choices.
Parameters
• Walkthrough is about 20 minutes.
• An interior space.
• A main quest.
• Including two story lines and two story endings.
Trailer Video
Postmortem
What went well?
• Two Story Lines – Successfully constructed a dual story line quest that allowed players to clearly understand the ideas of both parties before making a choice.
• Unique Actors – The characters in the levels have unique personalities and have motives that relate to their personal backstories.
• Different Gameplay – The levels are designed to suit different types of players, and the gameplay is switched according to his choice.
What went wrong?
• Initial structural confusion – In the white box stage, the gameplay and plot of the level were chaotic. Players could not clearly feel the difference between the positions of the two sides and the gameplay.
Solution: Make a clear plan, clearly list the characteristics of both parties in a table, and then think about how to convey to the players.
• Lack of emotion at the end – The communication with the quest giver at the end lacks interest or emotional involvement, so the player is not deeply affected.
Solution: Set the quest giver to a role related to the task they request, so that the player's decision can affect him, too.
What I learned?
• How to clearly express the views of both parties before a branch – To make a meaningful decision, the player needs to understand the experiences and personalities of all characters involved. This allows them to empathize with these characters, giving their decision more weight.
• Fix bugs in a way that does not break the rules of the world – Use scripts or rules in the game world to restrict players instead of forcing the player to do nothing.
Level Map
Overview Map
The internal space includes the first floor and the basement floor. The first floor includes Blanca's office, Martin's office and the laboratory. The basement floor is the company hall and prison. The hollow structure allows players to see the situation from one floor to the other.
Interior Space
Create opposing actors
There are no purely good or purely bad people in "Semi-Mutant". They just stand in different positions.
Blanca is the head of the company's research department. She advocates fairness and respect, but since she is relatively young, she has illusions about a perfect peace.
Martin is the company's manager and has extensive experience. He insists on the supremacy of rules and strict management of the company.
These two characters represent two different types of players. Blanca represents the plot-type players who like peace, and Martin represents the killing-type players who like fighting.
Create two story lines
Because Blanca and Martin have different ideas, there was a dispute at the beginning of the story. Blanca wants to use communication to deal with the problem, and Martin believes that suppression by force is effective.
When a guard is taken prison by a semi-mutant, Martin wanted to use force to suppress it immediately, while Blanca wanted to solve the problem through discussion. The player's choice will determine his role as a killer or negotiator in the game and as a result, he will experience different gameplay.
Killer
If you choose Martin's approach, you will kill the rebelling semi-mutant, and you will fight the glowing ghoul when you take the serum.
Negotiator
If you choose Blanca's approach, you will negotiate with the Semi-mutant and learn that he actually wants to rescue his wife. Then you will talk to his wife, fully understand the situation, and finally resolve the conflict at the lab.
No bad choice
No matter which solution the player chooses, the company will be better managed. If you choose Blanca, she will treat semi-mutants equally and handle conflicts peacefully.
If you choose Martin, he will continue to strictly manage the company to avoid incidents involving semi-mutants like the one the player intervened in.
