MAGIC HAPPENS WHEN STRONG NARRATIVE MEETS EMERGENT GAMEPLAY
Martin Hultberg, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Sharkmob, explains why games are at their best when designed around letting those ‘watercooler moments’ happen
THE THREE RS OF WORLD-BUILDING: RESONANCE, RELATABILITY, AND RELEVANCE
Emergent gameplay is thrillingly uncontrollable. For developers who like to craft and hone every moment, it may feel daunting, yet it’s precisely this unpredictability that creates those unforgettable “watercooler” moments players love - stories they construct themselves and keep coming back for.
Our job as developers is to provide the
playground for these stories and, for that playground to feel meaningful, it must be framed by a narrative context. The ‘secret sauce’ relies on three key ingredients; worlds need to resonate with the audience, they need to be relatable for players on a personal level, and they need a long term relevance by speaking to something bigger than the game itself. This philosophy has shaped my career -
from my time on The Division, to Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt, and now Exoborne. In all three, emergent gameplay and narrative come together to create dynamic, player-driven experiences.
THE DIVISION: RESONANCE IN A POST- PANDEMIC WORLD
In The Division, we built a gripping post- pandemic world that felt eerily plausible in 2015 - and even more so after 2020. Within this carefully designed world, players found surprising freedom to tell their own stories, especially in the infamous Dark Zone. The Dark Zone transformed the game
from a structured third-person shooter into a psychological thriller. Every encounter was tense: will other players help you or betray
Players were encouraged to indulge in cinematic, unplanned moments. The faction- based nature of the meta-game ensured that stories extend beyond individual matches, with players forging alliances, rivalries, and building their reputations.
Indeed, Bloodhunt serves as yet another testament to how a well-established world, rich in history and culture, can feel instantly relatable whilst still offering fresh, emergent gameplay opportunities to the players who experiment with the environment.
you? Should you trust the squad signaling peace or take your chances alone? These unscripted moments of risk and
reward were beyond what the development team could fully control, yet they became the beating heart of The Division, expanding the world far beyond its core narrative.
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODHUNT: RELATABILITY THROUGH SETTING AND LORE Bloodhunt couldn’t be more different from The Division on the surface. Set in Prague’s gothic streets, it builds on the rich lore of Vampire: The Masquerade, and yet at its heart, Bloodhunt thrives on the very same emergent gameplay.
EXOBORNE: RELEVANCE IN A WORLD ON THE BRINK
Exoborne, our latest project, builds on these lessons. In a world nearly destroyed by apocalyptic forces of nature, players take on the role of exoborne warriors fighting against overwhelming odds in a brutal, high-stakes world that provides immense opportunities for player-driven storytelling. Dynamic environmental forces shape gameplay
in real-time. Extreme weather isn’t just a visual effect here, it’s a gameplay mechanic that can turn the tide of battle. Fluid traversal and powerful Exo-Rigs add depth to combat, creating a unique experience within the high-risk, high-reward shooter space. Yet beyond its mechanics, Exoborne taps into something deeper; humanity’s complicated relationship with technology, bonds forged in adversity, and our primal instinct to rise against the odds. This relevance grounds the game and makes it resonate on a deeper level. The overriding lesson from all three games is that tone, context, and world logic aren’t just the domain of writers - they’re integral to every component of a game. When every detail, from environmental cues to gameplay mechanics, supports the game’s core narrative, players feel it. That’s how we create worlds that resonate, that players relate to, and that remain relevant long after the credits roll.
February/March 2025 MCV/DEVELOP | 45
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