Scenario System

Title: Senior Technical Game Designer

Role: Tools Designer

Project: Wreck Runners

Company: Disruptive Games 

Platform: PC, Xbox, PS5

Engine: Unreal Engine 5

Release: July 2026

I was tasked with making a tool that would allow designers to quickly make gameplay scenarios without having to go in to blueprinting every time they wanted to make something bespoke for each situation. Up to then, designers had been prototyping puzzles and gameplay with their own methods and it became cumbersome to manage 15 different ways to open a door with a switch. 

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By combining the scenario events and scenario actors with the scenario manager, designers could make thousands of different basic gameplay scenarios

- Traps

- Puzzles

- Combat Encounters

- Quests

- Elevators

- NPC Conversations

I was inspired by the quest system I used when working on Star Wars: The Old Republic. When it comes down it, most linear gameplay sequences involve interacting with an object, picking up an item, touching something, waiting for some time or killing something. My system worked by having a scenario manager that had a series of steps that could be completed through scenario events. When a scenario event like killing an NPC or picking up an item occurred, it would send a message to the manager, the scenario step would progress and scenario actors would then respond to that step progression. For example, killing 5 NPCs might complete a step, and a door would open. The system was set up to allow for replication and designers could flag actors who's movement and status needed to 
 

While the game changed before the system could get widespread use, it was going to be a great way to scale up game content. Look for a more polished version of this system in the fab store in the coming year.
 

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