00:12Grazie a tutti i nostri spettatori
00:30Returning to Ilona in Crystal Desert is something that we have been planning for from the beginning of the launch
00:35of Guild Wars 2.
00:36We're bringing back old gods. Why not visit old places?
00:40It was a pretty easy decision to go back to Ilona to give players a little dose of what they've
00:44had before but expanded and to perpetuate the story we've begun and to address some of the major questions players
00:50have had.
00:52You do want to present your players with mysteries. You want them to go on a journey with you in
00:57exploring and answering these questions.
01:00They want to know what happened to the gods. They want to know what happened in the last 250 years
01:05in the Crystal Desert.
01:06And most of all they want to know what happens to their character.
01:11It makes more sense for us to go down the road less traveled and find things that make players question
01:17their actions as opposed to simple answers. Our players are smarter than that.
01:22It's a pivot. Players have been contesting against Elder Dragons since the game launched. We have beaten two of the
01:27Elder Dragons of a possible six.
01:29And as a result of beating these two cosmic scale entities we're starting to see the repercussions.
01:34It seems very much like we shouldn't kill any more Elder Dragons. But lo and behold here comes Balthazar.
01:40The Crystal Dragon Kralcatorik is one of the only viable targets left.
01:43We've received a vision from the Eye of Janthir that showed Balthazar active in the Crystal Desert, apparently hunting Kralcatorik.
01:50I think the fact that we're fighting a god this time around is pretty heavy stuff. And not just any
01:56god, mind you. This is the god of war.
01:59He is so consumed by his purpose. That kind of character is exciting to write for because he never gives
02:05up.
02:05There's a problem in front of me. I'm going to beat it into submission, stomp over its broken body and
02:09move on to the next thing.
02:10But he's always moving forward. So players know what Balthazar's objective is, but we don't know his motivation.
02:15We have to make sure he doesn't make things worse in an already bad situation.
02:19We have an enormous list of interesting characters and it's challenging to have them all involved at once.
02:24We knew what the player's goal was. We knew what our antagonist's goal was.
02:28We chose those characters who could help the player achieve their objective.
02:32In terms of story arcs, we have Rytlock. He makes his return to the team.
02:38He is one of the few party members that has been in the Crystal Desert before.
02:42Rytlock gets to confront his past and the things that happened here.
02:46And for me, that was a great opportunity to connect with players over this beloved character.
02:52There's also Kazimir, who I find a very interesting character.
02:56Exploring Kazimir's crisis of faith was enormous fun. As a writer and a narrative person, it's a really meaty issue
03:01to dig into.
03:02One of her gods has come back and is walking the desert. It's really hard to ask her, hey, yeah,
03:07fight against someone that you've believed in all your life.
03:11The strength of your team is based on the strength of your teammates.
03:14And because of that, we have focused quite a bit on the relationship with these characters.
03:21How are they going to solve the problems that confront them while following you?
03:27Going down that lore rabbit hole can be a total trip.
03:32For me, a lot of it is relying on my teammates.
03:36Story is absolutely a collaborative thing.
03:39We talk about what is this person's internal struggle.
03:43Would it be believable if this character used this weapon in this fight?
03:46And once we all agree, then it can be really awesome in that we all hit it at different angles.
03:52We ask art support, we ask the writers to support us, we make gameplay that supports that.
03:56So we all try and reinforce one vision for the story.
04:01Path of Fire is a more complex story than we've told before.
04:04Once you enter the desert, you're not going to want to leave.
04:06And that's what I'm hoping the genuine reaction is.
04:08I really want players to feel excited about being in this new part of Tyria, finally.
04:14I want them to feel an even greater, deeper connection to these characters.
04:19That they're growing alongside them.
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