Sparking Curiosity-Driven Exploration Through Narrative in 'Outer Wilds'

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons

Purpose of the talk

• The speaker explains how narrative design supports Outer Wilds’ specific design goals, using examples of what worked and why.
• She frames this around Outer Wilds being a curiosity-driven, non-linear, knowledge-rewarding game.

Key context: what Outer Wilds is

• Genre/structure: open-world space exploration adventure with a narrative mystery structure.
• World mechanic: the solar system is in a 22-minute time loop; planets/celestial bodies change over time.
• Player role: starts as a member of a space program (first solo launch), exploring freely rather than following missions.
• Core narrative premise: ruins and left-behind writing (from the alien Nomai) are used to piece together mysteries.
• Loop consequence: the sun explodes; the player dies and everything resets.

---

Design goal 1: Inspire curiosity (and how narrative achieves it)

What curiosity means in Outer Wilds

• Players have questions about the world and want answers.
• Curiosity is the sole driving force:
  • No conventional missions/objectives.
  • Knowledge is the primary feedback loop and progression system.
• Since knowledge is the main reward, the design naturally favors players who enjoy learning and reading.

Narrative approach: “pull” information rather than “push” it

• Hooks work best when they are experienced (e.g., dramatic events/physical processes), not merely told via text.
  • Example contrast:
    • Getting “sucked into” Giant’s Deep by cyclones (high excitement).
    • Versus telling the player “cyclones exist” (less engaging).
• Why: the team avoids overwhelming players with forced information.
  • Forced info (cutscenes) is minimized to:
    • Very beginning (to establish setup necessary to launch)
    • Very end (to resolve/wrap up)

How the game makes info available when the player is ready

• Time loop = revisitable knowledge
  • Key text/info can be revisited infinitely (no “miss it forever” feel).
  • Even characters aware of the loop (e.g., Travelers) can be revisited.
• Signaling availability
  • Players must be able to tell that information exists and can be sought.
• Coded consistency in Nomai text
  • Nomai writing categories are designed so they “belong” to certain mystery threads.
  • Re-reading can vary presentation (e.g., different text coloring for previously unvisited loops).

Concrete tools and characters used to stimulate questions

• Physical/interactive hooks
  • Examples include:
    • The Nomai statue in the museum activating and syncing with memory.
    • Cyclones physically dragging the player into relevant exploration areas.
• Travelers
  • One on every planet, located easily via the signal scope (auditory/instrument cue).
  • Function as an info source about where to explore next.
• Hornfels (Curator)
  • Used early to help players who feel unsure:
    • Player can choose if nervous; then the curator gently directs them (not a strict mission).
    • Example safe starter: a guided entry point on the Moon.
  • Tutorials are optional and designed not to throw players into disorienting conditions (e.g., not in zero-g while stationary).

Structuring curiosity: “ask questions” via mystery threads

• The team began with four major initial questions, each corresponding to a major storyline/mystery thread.
• Early in the game, content connects to these mysteries—even if players don’t recognize it immediately.
• The design aim: get players asking, then investigating.

---

Design goal 2: Facilitate exploration (how narrative supports free roaming)

Overall principle

• Narrative has to:
  1. Advance story/mystery threads
  2. Provide some direction to relevant locations
  3. Stay compatible with non-linear order
• The team repeatedly emphasizes that Outer Wilds progression is challenging to script like linear games, because the player can encounter info in many orders.

“Every Nomai text must do useful work”

• Almost no Nomai text is “just flavor.”
• Each piece generally:
  • communicates a clue
  • builds lore
  • and/or advances themes/characterization (often all three).

Branching text + translation tool as integrated gameplay mechanic

• The team uses a translator tool to make reading interactive:
  • The player physically engages with text and chooses to translate.
  • Translations branch (non-linear presentation) based on player interaction.
• Branch design principle:
  • Longer branches often contain more important info.
  • Branch endings/beginnings often carry actionable clues.
• This turns text delivery into a game mechanic, giving players more agency than static reading alone.

Keeping exploration coherent without “spelling everything out”

• The game relies heavily on:
  • inference after gathering information
  • but still ensures players can progress with enough clarity.
• Players may not get the exact answer they want immediately, but the info is designed to:
  • point them in a useful direction
  • and unlock further curiosity.

Ship log as “guaranteed minimum knowledge”

• To prevent the player from getting lost or over-assuming:
  • When writing text, the team ensured each piece of Nomai content conveys an absolute minimum the player can be certain of.
  • The ship log entries reflect only what the team is “100% certain” the player knows.
• This helps progression when players learn concepts out of order.

No “string of pearls” funnel (because there’s no gating)

• Traditional narrative funnels (“by now you know X, Y, Z”) don’t work in Outer Wilds.
• Because there’s no content gating:
  • the player can have any combination of discovered info at any time.
  • the team can’t tailor assumptions for every path.
• Therefore, the design depends on:
  • localized arcs
  • and modular satisfactions that still work in different encounter orders.

Content architecture: arcs within arcs

• The game is described as “all arcs all the way down.”
  • Smaller arcs relate to larger arcs but can be encountered in different orders.
  • Example: vessel crash and escape pods have interrelated arcs and nested story components.

Three “levels” of found text (based on discoverability and payoff)

1. Surface level text
   • Easy to encounter (often on the surface of planets/celestial bodies)
   • Often in media res; doesn’t require specialized knowledge to parse
   • May be ignored if more exciting text is found—this is acceptable because it still triggers curiosity.
2. Mid-level text
   • Found by following clues
   • More complex details; connects mysteries and builds deeper story
   • Less likely to be stumbled upon accidentally, but still possible.
3. Hidden text
   • Requires learning the environment and combining multiple clues
   • Extremely unlikely to find by accident
   • Reveals valuable conclusions; big answers are generally here.
   • The team uses extensive playtesting to calibrate how hidden/hard things are.

---

Design goal 3: Reward exploration (why narrative matters for satisfying progress)

Why knowledge rewards must feel meaningful

• If players feel their effort is wasted, or they don’t get satisfying results—especially when pursuing the wrong thread—exploration breaks down.
• Narrative therefore supports exploration through:
  • regular payoff
  • smaller arcs that resolve locally even if the overall mystery takes the whole game.

Smaller arcs are essential for maintaining reward pacing

• Large mysteries take too long for a single payoff.
• Smaller arcs provide progress rewards that don’t invalidate each other.
  • Example idea: doing escape pod arc 1 first should not ruin arc 2’s satisfaction.

Managing tone: failure as learning (and emotional hooks)

• Tone writing is important because:
  • the game includes devastating stakes (death, sun explodes),
  • but aims to make death/failure feel like progress in knowledge, not just loss.
• Emotional investment comes from:
  • character arcs and payoffs
  • humanizing the Nomai through writing and humor.

Character-driven examples of emotional payoff (Nomai)

• Poke
  • Afraid she can’t successfully recreate something; then she succeeds—player experiences the moment.
• Clary & Nero
  • Relationship develops; playful teasing earlier leads to a sweet payoff.
• Solanum
  • Her growth from childhood curiosity/fear to overcoming fears and completing a pilgrimage (quantum moon).
• The overarching lesson: Nomai characters must feel alive and meaningful so the player cares even though:
  • the characters are not seen directly
  • their story is in the past
  • the player can’t change what happened.

Final integration: parallel “player story” and “Nomai story”

• The speaker describes three intertwined stories:
  1. Player story (present)
  2. Solar system/universe story (present, physical events)
  3. Nomai story (past, revealed via text/ruins)
• The ending payoff depends on empathy:
  • The Nomai invested effort because they believed their work would power a device later.
  • The player’s journey relives their discoveries, failures, and eventual completion—making the ending more emotionally satisfying.

---

Methodology / instruction-like guidance presented

Narrative design methodology supporting curiosity-driven exploration

• Design goals should determine narrative type/structure
  • Align story decisions to:
    • inspire curiosity
    • facilitate exploration
    • reward exploration
• Keep “knowledge” as the primary gameplay reward
  • Remove competitive scoring/timed completion loops.
• Avoid pushing information onto players
  • Use cutscenes minimally (mostly start/end).
  • Prefer hooks that players can physically experience.
• Make information available when the player is ready
  • Rely on the time loop for revisitation.
  • Ensure players can tell where information exists (signaling via mechanics/assets).
• Use interactive delivery to turn reading into play
  • Make text physically interactable via translator tool.
  • Use branching translation to give players control and agency.
• Ensure every piece of text serves a function
  • Generally: clue + lore + theme/characterization (not pure filler).
• Plan for non-linear order
  • Localize satisfaction into arcs that work regardless of encounter sequence.
  • Use inference rather than spelling everything out.
• Support player certainty with a ship log
  • Ship log entries should reflect only what is 100% certain from the text.
  • Avoid assumptions that require knowing what the player discovered earlier.
• Categorize text by discoverability and payoff
  • Surface (easy entry points), mid-level (progress), hidden (big conclusions).
• Use extensive playtesting to calibrate difficulty of discovery
  • Ensure progression can be pieced together.
  • Prevent “too fast/too easy” completion scenarios and confirm typical learning paths.
• Write character voices to produce empathy without direct presence
  • Make Nomai feel alien-but-relatable.
  • Use humor and individuality (not just a group pronoun stance).
  • Build emotional hooks so the player wants to know what happened.

---

Speakers / sources featured (as mentioned)

Speaker

• Kelsey Beacham — writer and narrative designer (speaker of the talk)

Other named individuals (sources/people referenced)

• Alex Beecham — brother; original thesis/creative director; co-lead on narrative decisions
• Lone Verneau — lead designer referenced as co-developer of the core story questions/structure
• Andrew — referenced as doing exceptional music work (name not fully specified in subtitles)
• Jacobson — I. e. iamjacobson, concept artist at Mobius Digital (credited by the speaker)
• John — partner (personal thanks)
• Dan — friend (personal thanks)

Studios / employers referenced

• Mobius Digital
• Obsidian Entertainment
• USC (University of Southern California) (thesis origin)
• GDC (conference referenced)
• Independent Games Festival (awards referenced)
• Seamus McNally (award referenced)