An interview with our game writer: how the plot of Knock on the Coffin Lid was created
Hello everyone! Today we’ll talk about His Majesty — the Plot — and the lore of our game! We’ll talk about what gives the motivation to continue, what makes the surrounding game world open up! Our story will revolve around Knock on the Coffin Lid. And so we give the floor to the Redboon’s game writer!
Did the concept of Knock on the Coffin Lid’s plot change during the development?
The world in which the game takes place was invented before the game itself, at the dawn of the studio’s existence, during our creative searches. The game itself doesn’t aim to tell everything about its world; it only exists in this world, obeying its laws and logic. The concept of the game’s world remains unchanged throughout the development.
The game’s plot concept was practically not rewritten, but it was expanded and fleshed out at a dramatic rate. First there was one character, and then we decided to make three. Then we had an idea to make unique texts for all the characters, and if you need to rewrite the texts, then why not tell three stories at once instead of one? Or we could at least show the same events from different points of view, add some details, tell more about everything that’s happening. As it turned out later, this was just the beginning.
When we started thinking about the endgame content, it was decided not to limit ourselves to the game mechanics — the story should also go on. Since the characters are locked inside a time loop, “continuation” in the classical sense of the word is impossible. But the plot doesn’t freeze; it lives on, acquiring new details. The main task at this stage is to give the player a complete idea that all the events are interconnected, and that all the characters that the heroes meet along the way are not there by accident — they are part of the global picture that unfolds in front of the player. Fortunately, this task isn’t as difficult as it may seem at first, because, from the very start, there were no events and characters “detached from reality” in the game.
You are the best person to be telling us about the world of the game. Tell us where we find ourselves at the time of the start, and what is happening in this world.
The plot develops as a mosaic — a different presentation is hardly possible in a rogue-like. First, there’s a resurrected hero who will obviously try to take revenge on his killer. Everything is simple, understandable, and even banal. But as the heroes learn more about what’s happening around them, the player gradually starts to realize that the story is not strictly about revenge and maybe not even about revenge at all. Any new information is an element of the puzzle, a piece of the mosaic that makes up the overall picture.
I should be careful when talking about specific things, because acquiring knowledge about the game world is not mandatory, but is an interesting part of the game play, and we receive positive feedback on the plot from players who like this approach.
I’ll try to tell you only what our first hero, Persival, knows himself. He is the bodyguard of Ingvar, Lord of the Northern Gate. He’s in the northern part of the continent which is inhabited by elves, dwarves, and outcast humans, on the border of their lands, where the interests of the three races intersect. The relations between them are tense, but Lord Ingvar, thanks to his power and influence, maintained order and was the guarantor of peace in this region. Now Ingvar is killed, poisoned, and it starts a chain of events… A chain of events :)
A strange man (?) Mortis resurrects Persival and doesn’t demand anything in return, but he’s also in no hurry to answer questions. All the hero can do is to return home, to the south, to the Northern Gate. BY THE WAY! The Northern Gate fortress is located to the south of Persival, but it was built and named by people who live even further south, beyond the Northern Ridge. Therefore, they are Northern :)
On his way south, Persival will have to pass through the steppes inhabited by warring orcs and goblins, to get into the swamps, and reveal the secret of its inhabitants. Well, at the end of his journey he is to find out if everything is quiet in the Northern Gate (SPOILER: it isn’t).
Events are intertwined in a tangle of cause-and-effect relationships, which Persival cannot unravel completely. Maybe the other two heroes will handle it better?
What works were you inspired by?
I like the principle on which the Warhammer 40,000 universe is built: small stories are woven into global events, and global events are divided into small stories.
In other words, everything scales easily from the fate of a person to the fate of humanity, and we look at the same picture whether we’re zooming in or out.
Of course, Warhammer is not unique in this regard, but it’s a very bright representation of this idea and there’s lot to learn from it.
I can also mention the Might & Magic universe, in which everything is theoretically possible. Going from classic fantasy to sci-fi is something. You shouldn’t be afraid of going beyond and limiting yourself to classical concepts about the genre.
It’s worth mentioning the Strugatsky brothers’ Noon Universe. Although I’m not a fan of their work and have a very general idea of the Noon Universe, it’s one of the inspirations; we have to just admit it.
All of the above applies more to the world in which the events of the game take place. As for the plot itself, the main source of inspiration were the requirements and wishes of my colleagues :)
So you mean that the team has influenced the writing of the plot? Or do you completely control this process?
All the team members can influence all aspects of the game. One of the artists creates a cool character — I say that such a character has no place in our world. I come up with a cool story — but the game designer says it won’t be interesting to play. The game designer comes up with an interesting game situation — the artist says that they won’t be able to draw it well. Together we decide how to redo these things so as not to give up on them altogether. Sometimes it’s possible to solve problems amicably; sometimes someone hogs the blanket a little — it depends on the circumstances.
So how does this concern me? If I had full control over the plot and its development, it would be a different plot :):):) But it doesn’t upset me at all. I understand perfectly well that coming up with a game plot is not the same as writing a story. It’s just a different type of job.
Tell us about creating Persival. He seems to be a very trivial person, which makes it more interesting to know why you chose this type.
I wanted Persival to be something like an alter ego of the player. They both know practically nothing about anything that’s going on, they have a lot of questions, and they are trying to figure out the situation. For the sake of experiment, they can do evil, but doing good is always more pleasant.
The big problem is that Persival can do good or evil things but he doesn’t have a split personality. Starting the game anew, we don’t reset the character’s personality, as is customary in games with freedom of choice. It’s the same Persival who remembers his past incarnations. He can’t deeply sympathize with a character that he coldly condemned to death half an hour ago, or even killed himself. He is what he is, and the game, in particular, gives an answer to the question of why he is exactly like that — if you search a little. The more Persival talks, the more real and understandable he becomes.
As for the rest of the characters, they are much less neutral. Being neutral would be plain boring. The game should definitely get more interesting, otherwise why continue? The new heroes have fewer questions about what’s happening around them, which means more opportunities to unravel their personalities.
Therefore, Bjorn does have a split personality, roughly speaking :) And it suits him perfectly. Vanadis is also not simple at all. Her story develops through revealing her identity — no spoilers.
How did you come up with Mortis? Is this a collective image?
In our game universe, there were already templates for characters like Mortis and Millenis. When the game designer needed them, I just dragged them out into the light of day and filed them down a bit.
They’re sort of “Illuminati”; their task as characters is to conspire. They know much more than ordinary mortals, they want to learn even more and they really don’t like to talk about themselves — this makes it more interesting for players to get information about them.
Is something changing in the game’s plot right now, or is it completely written and sitting on the shelf?
As I said, the story is locked inside a time-loop and can only go deeper. The plot is ready; there’s a complete idea of how EVERYTHING will end. The canonical ending is waiting in the wings to please and surprise everyone. But as for the details, the work is in full swing. It depends on how detailed and multifaceted the plot will be, how we’ll bring the players to the final, how many answers they’ll get and how many questions they’ll have left.
The world of Midian is capable of giving us many more stories. Have you thought about what could happen in the game world after the end of the story, which no one knows yet?
It would be cool to answer this question when everyone already knows the ending. It would make everyone smile :)
We could dedicate the next story to the Brothers of Fire, the Mite Cult, move the setting to the other side of the Northern Ridge, into the past, or into the future… There are a lot of options.
The world of the game has a core around which a lot of places, events and characters revolve, so all the stories will somehow be woven into the main idea, touch the global plan, reveal the fate of the world — because in general it is not accidental, it has its original meaning and the ultimate goal. As I said, it will only get more interesting, otherwise why continue? :)
Blitz poll
What literary works inspire you?
I read mostly classics, giving preference to foreign literature of the XX century: from Camus to Houellebecq, from Kafka to Vian — it’s hard to say how it inspires me, but it does :) :)
Three best fantasy/sci-fi movies in your opinion?
1. The Matrix trilogy;
2. Sucker Punch;
3. Sunshine.
What games do you like to play when you’re not at work?
Classic RTS and horror games, tons of TRPGs, energetic shooters, ancient platformers. Monster Hunter (I played all the games, but currently I’m playing Rise, of course). Oh, many games. Today I played Icewind Dale and Red Faction Guerrilla. I finished the first BioShock the other day. I’ll start the second one after I take a break from shooters. I’m a gamer to the core, but I don’t really keep track of novelties. For me, there are no old or new games — there are only bad and good ones.
We’ve already asked our game designer, so we’ll ask you: what game genre would you like to work with in the future?
The classic RPG would give me maximum opportunities.
That’s all! We hope that everyone found this interesting! By the way, ask questions in the comments, we’ll try to answer them below or in future interviews.