The Eternal City
Game Designer
2024 (Work in Progress)
Video Game - RPG
Unreal Engine 5 / Divinity Engine 2
In-Game View (Unreal Engine 5)
Explore the region of Dranne and uncover the mystery behind the immortality of the inhabitants of Hautoise, the Eternal City. This personal prototype project, built in Unreal Engine 5, is designed to deliver a roughly 2-hour experience set in the universe of Divinity: Original Sin 2. My goal with this project is to apply a wide range of genre-specific skills: Combat Design, Level Design, and Narrative Design. This mod also allows me to experiment with Larian Studios’ Divinity Engine 2.
Unreal Engine 5
Divinity Engine 2
In-Game View (Divinity Engine 2)
Map plan
Level Design
As a mini open world, the player is free to choose their own path, which means they may uncover certain information — or not — in different orders. The map is divided into three biomes, each split into three distinct sections.
The Plains are a peaceful, open countryside biome. I designed this area to serve as a solid starting point, allowing players to get familiar with the game at their own pace.
The City is an urban biome inspired by a fortified mountain town. It appears welcoming on the surface but hides an underlying authoritarian regime. Its three districts, each on a different elevation, create a clearly visible social hierarchy.
The Swamp, once a lush forest, has become a muddy, mist-covered land. Dead trees make navigation difficult, giving the area a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.
Narrative
My goal is to create a branching experience that offers multiple ways to approach situations, capturing the sense of freedom that defines this genre.
The inhabitants of Hautoise have stopped aging and appear to be immortal. To this day, no one has uncovered their secret. According to your information, a Sourcemaster is rumored to be hiding here.
The truth is that the townspeople made a pact with a demon who promised them eternal life. In return, he asked for only one thing: their bodies. The demon separated their souls from their physical forms and trapped them in artificial bodies, free of needs or decay. Their real bodies were buried just outside the city, where the demon cultivated them — corrupting the land and giving rise to the Swamp. The people are now magically bound to the City, unable to leave.
Today, some wish to break free from this curse. These rebels are hunted and imprisoned by the majority, who seek to keep the secret hidden from the rest of the world.
Narrative Flowchart
Blue NPCs lead to the demon’s death, resulting in the liberation of Hautoise’s inhabitants.
Red NPCs lead to the druid’s death, keeping the curse in place.