Quest Summary
- Combat focused fetch quest
Mantisaur Nest is a combat focused location attached to a quest titled Pinching the Pupa in The Outer Worlds 2.
This area is infested with Zyranium mutated Mantisaurs due to the native Zyranium minerals on the planet Dorado. The Nest is located north of the Golden Ridge Landing Pad and southeast of Fort Endurance, where the player can also acquire the quest from Trooper Wentworth to grab the Zyranium Pupa from the Nest for their military "high-ranking Mantisaur, collegaue". After returning to Trooper Wentworth, the player will then have a choice to hand the Pupa to the Trooper, or a willing Biologist that suspects the Trooper/Mantisaurs intentions with the Pupa.
Design Work: I was responsible for blocking out the Nest layout, applying combat encounters/behaviors, cover, stealth routes/grass, loot application, environmental storytelling, examinables, and explosives. Additionally I kept up with all digital documentation throughout the development of the space. The quest owner of Fort Endurance (Warner Schiebe) and I collaborated on assuring that we had all necessary related scripting and content, guaranteeing the quest optimum functionality.
Design |Team Goals
The Outer Worlds 2 is known for it's humor, and this quest was meant to support and further that theme. While the Nest itself isn't comical, Fort Endurance has a silly quest associated with the Pupa the player can retrieve at the Nest, with a funny payoff depending on the player's decision. Ultimately the goal with the nest was to provide a challenging, intense series of combat encounters that felt both worthwhile, but memorable.
Narrative Designer Greg Spyridis and I were tasked with the challenge of figuring out how can we make the Mantisaurs on Dorado different in the early conception of Golden Ridge, so we came up with the idea of the Zyranium infested variants of Mantisaurs that the players see on Golden Ridge (Dorado) in TOW2.
Further more, as a designer, I wanted to capture the vibe of a creepy canyon infested with Ridley Scott, Alien-esque creatures with supporting stealth routes. So if the player wanted to sneak in at night with their flashlight, they certainly could, and if they chose to shoot up the Nest, they could as well, and I believe it was successful.
Role: Area Designer
Responsibilities:
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Blockout area layout
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Combat Encounter setup
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Loot Placement
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Collaboration w/ Art & Narrative
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Visual Scripting/Blueprints
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Digital Documenation & Maps
Pod Team: 3 Devs
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Game Name: The Outer Worlds 2
Platform: Xbox, PS5, PC
Development Time: 2 years
Pinching the Pupa quest work owned by Warner Schiebe
Troop Wentworh & High-Ranking Mantisaur General, Wotjek
Talk with Wentworth
- Quest Start
At Fort Endurance, the most northern Location on Golden Ridge's map, the player will find Trooper Wentworth & high ranking Mantisaur general arguing with a Biologist about the absurdity of ranking a Mantisaur.
To start the quest, Wentworth asks the player to travel to the Mantisaur Nest, southeast of the Fort to retrieve a Zyranium infest pupa. He claims the Mantisaur general needs it for "reasons", meanwhile the Biologist suspects otherwise, and ask you to return it to her instead.
Mantisaur Nest Entrance 🥚
- Quest Progression
After receiving the quest (or even if they haven't), they can visit the Nest, which is a canyon opening, encased in Zyranium crystals with corpses laced throughout to signify the poisonous Mants ferocity.
At the mouth of the canyon, players will also find Mantiwasp lurking around the opening. The goal in this area was to create a visually drawing entrance with digestible environmental storytelling that would create anticipation for the encounter with the mutated specimen.
Concepted by Hannah Kennedy & Bree Guthrie
The Mantisaur species in Arcadia consist of: the Mantisaur, Mantipillar, & Mantiwasp. Due to Zyranium minerals existing on Golden Ridge, the specimen have since evolved, and look slightly different than the images depicted above (more metallic).
Design Work by Nick Carter
Mantisaur Nest Canyon
Mantisaur Nest Canyon
Mantisaur Nest Canyon
An important requirement was to
create a unique visual façade for the Nest.
Objective Marker Location
Character Art by Kory Molohon
Objective Beats
Objective Marker Location
Zyranium Mantisaur Nest Location & its Inhabitants
Mantisaur Nest Interior🥚
- Quest Progression
Design Work by Nick Carter
Mantisaur Nest Interior
Zyranium Pupa View
Deceased AC Soldier with Examinable
Mantisaur Nest Interior
Once the player has fought their way through the swarm of Mantiwasp, they'll stumble across various encounters with the Zyranium Mantisaur species. The Nest eventually descends into a larger combat arena with several other Mantisaurs marching about. Additionally they also will be able to see the corner with which the Zyranium Pupa lies that the Trooper asked for.
Through whatever means, the player can grab the pupa. Upon grabbing the pupa, a 2nd wave of Mantisaurs spawn in reaction to the players actions. Mantisaurs come storming into the combat arena, and Mantiwasps assault the player on there way out the Nest. At least you've got the pupa though...
Design Goals in this space were to guide the player through the canyon with pace, and enough space and opportunity to strategize their plan of attack. Rewarding the player with loot in side-areas was also a necessity in a pure murder hole (combat arena) so that they not only had health and ammo, but also new weaponry they can test out on a new combatant type.
The spawning of additional waved encounters of Mantisaurs after grabbing the pupa was a very much needed add to not only add reactivity to the player actions, but also spruce up the combat, avert players expectations, and turn up the intensity a bit. I intended for this area to feel like a fun challenge, that would leave the player wiping just a little bit of sweat off the brow of their foreheads.
Zyranium
Pupa
Mantisaur Anatomy Study
IGN Review showcasing Reactivity of 2nd wave of Mantisaurs spawning
The Decision
- Quest Conclusion
Pinching the Pupa quest work owned by Warner Schiebe
Following the player's retrieval of the Zyranium Pupa per the quest objective, the player then must return to Fort Endurance to return the Pupa to either Trooper Wentworth & Wotjek, or the Biologist. If the player chooses to give it to the Biologist, she'll take it somewhere safe for further testing/examination. Should the player give it to Trooper Wentworth & Wotjek.... Wotjek decides to eat the pupa. An onslaught of Zyranium Mantisaurs then launch a full on assaults on Fort Endurance. Thankfully the Auntie's Choice faction is present to wipe out the mutated creatures.
Gallery
Early Development Images
