In this GDC 2018 session, Guerrilla Games’ Blake Rebouche discusses what it was like finding a happy medium between the systems-driven content of open-world RPGs like The Elder Scrolls and the action focused level design of games like Killzone while developing quests for Horizon Zero Dawn using his own experiences.

Rebouche explains that prior to developing Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games didn’t have a quest design team.

To meet the vision of a vast open world filled with narrative-driven quests, studio leadership identified early in production that a new group of designers would be necessary to supplement Guerrilla’s existing design expertise. 

Then came Rebouche, who was brought on to be part of that new team. He goes on to illustrate how his level design experience contributed to the development of quests for Horizon Zero Dawn.

It was an informative talk that’s definitely worth watching, so developers shouldn’t miss the opportunity to do so now that it’s freely available on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas.