This week, we’re handing the mic to Simon S., our quest designer and narrative systems specialist here on 100 Lives. Simon’s work sits at the intersection of story and structure, crafting the systems that make Kingstown feel full of possibility, while also writing the moments that surprise, delight, and occasionally derail your carefully planned life path.
In this devlog, Simon shares how we’re designing for deep replayability, why freedom of choice is central to the experience, and what happens when you try to live life as a sports-obsessed egghead (yes, really).
What did you work on last week, and what’s next?
I worked on a narrative system that ensures there's great replayability in the game. Usually, once you know the story of a game, there's little motivation to experience it again and again (and again and again), so I had to come up with some exciting concepts I can't wait for players to experience. While we have plenty of story content to enjoy, replayability is key for players who want to sink hundreds or thousands of hours into the game! I'll add more of that in the coming weeks, mostly focusing on the early life.
What’s a new feature, mechanic, or piece of content you're excited about?
I'm currently looking forward to a fantastic UI overhaul. We're offering the player so much choice to create whatever life they can imagine, and the UI update will ensure players will know how to do exactly that. Player agency is key, and we've developed everything with so much freedom for the player in mind! I can't wait to see what lives players will come up with and experience!
What’s been the most interesting design or technical challenge recently?
I love coming up with creative narrative concepts like the one described in the first question, but it's always challenging to get down and implement them the first time around. There are so many details to figure out, structures to set up, narratives to develop... It's about putting theory into practice, and the practice is what players get to experience, after all!
Is there anything players might miss if they don’t look closely?
There are quite a few meme, TV show and movie references in the game, so if you stumble upon them - they were no accident. Also, I highly encourage players to try out weird stuff, like an egghead character who wants to do well in sports, or playing a character that's mean to everyone. I'm sure they'll find that, just like in reality, life is complex, and there are infinite ways to live it!
How is your work helping bring the “100 Lives” concept to life?
I write most of the story bits, develop quests and come up with concepts that unite game design with the narrative as elegantly as possible. Also, I'm the spreadsheet guy who keeps all the content organized. My closest colleague develops most of the characters, the backstory and also writes some of the story bits you'll encounter in the game. Together, we've developed a truely unique and fun world for players to explore - but I should probably leave the details about that to him, so look out for Oscar's entry in this series!
Simon’s work is a big part of what gives 100 Lives its endless variety. Whether you're roleplaying a flawless hero or an absolute menace, it's the underlying narrative systems, and the unexpected paths they allow that make each life feel truly different.
We’ll be hearing more from the narrative team soon, including Oscar (who may or may not be the mastermind behind your new favorite NPC). Until then, don’t forget to wishlist 100 Lives on Steam, and start thinking about how you’d live life #27.
More soon!