Having already shared a behind-the-scenes look at Unexplored 2's level generation tech, game director Joris Dormans has put together another dev-focused blog post. This time, Joris goes in-depth with the game's world maps and how they are created. You can read the new post here: Generating World Maps for Unexplored 2

The post goes through the process of how a graph and cells are transformed into attractive maps, creating worlds with distinct regions, full of dangers and opportunities, that are ripe for adventuring and certain to excite a player's inner explorer. Joris also reveals how Tolkien's maps have inspired Unexplored 2's own fantasy worlds.

If you want to experience Unexplored 2's maps for yourself, head to Fig where you can invest and try the latest open access build, which was recently updated to include world generation. For more details, see the Fig campaign page.

In other news, the original Unexplored is one of the games included in the Humble 'Very Positive' Bundle (all the featured games have a 'very positive' rating on Steam), so if you haven't played the first Unexplored, this is a great opportunity to pick it up. As well as the full game, you also get the OST thrown into the deal. For full details, check Humble Bundle.

Matt | Big Sugar

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1095040/Unexplored_2_The_Wayfarers_Legacy/

As so many people have commented on and praised the quality of the music featured in the Unexplored 2 trailer, I thought it'd be good to take a deeper look at the game's soundtrack. So here's some insight (and also some songs from the OST) straight from the game's composer and audio designer, Matthijs Dierckx.

First, though, give the trailer a watch and reacquaint your ears with its hauntingly beautiful song:

https://youtu.be/X-ZSojM7ABI

Question: What overall 'feel' are you aiming for with Unexplored 2's music? How does it differ from the first game?

Matthijs: I like to think that the musical style differs as much as the visual style. Unexplored 1 is a great dungeon crawler, it’s pretty dark, with some explosive moments. The music was there to support the player, to pat them on the back when they did well, or to accompany them in their moments of despair.

Unexplored 2 completely re-did the visual style, moved the whole game outside and suddenly I feel I’m composing for a Ghibli-movie. Which means I’m taking a much more orchestral approach, much more melodic and atmospheric.

The music in Unexplored 2 is becoming part of the world, of the feel. It’s not there anymore to just support the player. It’s there to draw the player in, into this beautiful world, to make them feel the wonder, the mystery, the unearthliness of the scenes.

Although the music is much quieter, it’s also less anonymous. Unexplored 1 had a couple of really cool tracks that you would recognize instantly as Unexplored 1, but it also features some tracks that would fit in just about any game with some action. The music for Unexplored 2 should feel much more distinct, much more linked to this particular game and its stories.

Unexplored 2 'Main Theme':
https://youtu.be/tCHDiR7RSeA

Question: Does the game's procedural content generation technology have any impact on the music?

Matthijs: Oh yes. Working on a procedural game is challenging. Let me give you an example. Say I compose two themes to go with desert levels. Usually, a player will not stay in a desert for hours on end. But what if the generator decides to throw a curveball and the player ends up in a desert-heavy world. Should I make them listen to the same two desert tracks over and over and over again?

These kinds of scenarios need to be solved in conjunction with one of the programmers. We sit down and try to come up with everything that MAY happen to a player and how the music should respond. This works fine. At least until something new is added to the game and the number of potential situations doubles, or triples, overnight.

But we’ll get there. I feel I’m really able to speak the musical language of this game and it’s immensely fun and greatly satisfying to write more and more music for the Wayfarer’s Legacy.

Unexplored 2 'Vignette':
https://youtu.be/ov-HBeAAXOw

Question: Is there anything clever going on behind-the-scenes that may not be immediately obvious to the player?

Matthijs: About half of the tracks are layered and the game decides which combination of layers to play. This way the music adapts to the circumstances in the game. We’re still tweaking the system, which is an extension of what we created for Unexplored 1, but the results are promising.

The only downside is the amount of time it takes to create these adaptive tracks. I like those ingame tracks to be about four minutes. That’s four minutes per layer. So, basically you’re writing twenty minutes of music for a four minute track. But in the end it’s very much worth it.

Example of the basic layer of an adaptive in-game track:
https://youtu.be/_y77joTpTWM

Question: What's your musical background?

Matthijs: I’ve been playing piano since I was six or seven and I was lucky enough my first piano teacher thought I was a complete and utter disaster. After a while he just quit. That meant I basically had to teach myself. And if you do that, you’re forced to come up with your own music. Which happens to be infinitely more fun than just repeating someone else’s music with your own fingers.

I didn’t go to music school, but I never really let it go. For a long time I kind of did grown-up stuff, like being a journalist, a publisher and a conference organizer. However, everything I did was within the confines of the games industry. That’s how I met Joris (Dormans), creator and game director of Unexplored.

I had written music for some bands and student movie projects, but Unexplored was my first real, professional gig as a composer. I do lack some experience, but luckily I met some great Dutch game composers through my previous work. The ones working on games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Arizona Sunshine, and Verdun. Whenever I need advice, they’re always willing to help.

Something else that’s helping me right now is my addiction to soundtracks. I cannot remember listening to 'ordinary' radio. Quite literally all the music I listen to is a soundtrack to a movie, a game or a trailer.

Thanks so much to Matthijs for the insight into the music of Unexplored 2. I definitely can't wait to hear more.

Matt | Big Sugar

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1095040/Unexplored_2_The_Wayfarers_Legacy/

Unexplored 2 on Fig Open Access

If you want to know more about the bespoke level generation technology behind Unexplored 2's procedural worlds, check out this Gamasutra dev blog by game director Joris Dormans: Unexplored 2: Tiles to Curves

It's a fascinating glimpse at the transformation of boring geometry into environments that appear natural, are lovely to look at and exciting to explore.

For some further reading, give PC Gamer's piece on Unexplored 2 a look. It features Joris talking about various aspects of the game, including the content generation technology: Unexplored 2 on PC Gamer.

Have a great day and don't forget to Wishlist!

Matt | Big Sugar

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1095040/Unexplored_2_The_Wayfarers_Legacy/

Unexplored 2 on Fig Open Access

Unexplored 2's distinct visual style is thanks to the game's art director, Hendrik Visser. While the trailer and screenshots offer lots of his wonderful art to marvel at, I wanted to share some of his work with you that you probably haven't seen yet.

These are some of the early Unexplored 2 character concepts that Hendrik created at the very start of the project:







To see other examples of Hendrik's artwork, check out his website: https://www.hendrikvisser.com/

Hope you enjoyed this post – we'll have more soon!

Matt | Big Sugar

Unexplored 2 on Fig Open Access

Now in Open Access on FIG

Thank you for stopping by the brand new Steam page for Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy – we are thrilled that the game has now been announced and you are able to join us for the rest of the journey.

If you missed the E3 2019 announcement trailer, which made its world premiere at the PC Gaming Show, feel free to take a moment to enjoy it now:

https://youtu.be/YR_CXZGECt0
As well as being able to follow the game's progress on here, Unexplored 2 is also on Fig Open Access. By backing the game on Fig, you get access to an early demo and also get to play an active role in helping developer Ludomotion shape and refine Unexplored 2 into something special.

You can find out more about Fig Open Access here: https://www.fig.co/campaigns/unexplored-2

We'll have more news and updates to bring you in the future, but for now we're going to enjoy a night off to celebrate the game's announcement :)

We hope you like what you see so far of Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy. We can't wait to show you more.

Matt | Big Sugar