A title that may have slipped beneath many a radar at Gamescom 2022 is Wyrdsong, a historical fantasy set against the backdrop of medieval Portugal.
The newly-formed studio behind the game, Something Wicked, comprises many of the great minds who brought us the likes of Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls.
But the most intriguing thing about Wyrdsong? Its story hasn’t been written…yet.
Something weird this way comes
In a departure from the norm, Bethesda alum-tuned Something Wicked CEO Jeff Gardiner hopes that the short, artistic trailer they debuted at Gamescom 2022 will “attract talent that is going to come in and help us create this.”
“We don’t don’t want to define things and make it too rigid,” he explained in an interview with IGN (opens in new tab). “Instead [we want to] let people give us their great ideas as we’re building this story”.
On the subject of creating a world without a story, Gardiner further detailed his vision to inspire the right people to put themselves up to the task.
“Settings and themes are important in Wyrdsong. In RPGs there are so many stories being told – the main stories, the side stories – and I want people to come and really dictate what they [personally] find interesting and compelling.”
Aside from the fact that Wyrdsong will be a historical fantasy RPG with lots of complex world-building and lore to be shaded into those negative spaces, there really isn’t much else to be gleaned at the moment.
Gardiner is not alone at the helm for now, however. Charles Staples, one of the brains at Obsidian Entertainment before their acquisition by Microsoft, is on board as the design director for Wyrdsong, laying the foundations for what promises to be a true feat of collaborative writing.