Guild Wars 2's Bastion Of The Penitent Raid Inspired By Tabletop, Chess, and The Neverending Story

MMO raiders know how much work goes into besting one of these massive instances. However, not everyone is as aware of what goes into making those raids. Luckily, some devs -- like the Guild Wars 2 raid team -- are willing to offer a bit of insight. The takeaway? Raids start out as table-top models and can be inspired by anything from a chess game to a scene from The Neverending Story. Or, at least the Bastion of the Penitent was.

The most recent behind the scenes post made by Crystal Reid explains the table-top meeting process where the team visualizes what they want to do. It also highlights how concept artist Tsveta Komaticheva set up the idea of an encounter based on a game of chess -- one which uses a 4-by-4 grid and a "statue blast" that will remind players of the Oracle scene from The Neverending Story.

The post also goes over various constraints the developers have to take into account when creating one of these encounters -- such as whether or not the art team has the resources to create everything in time to get them out -- and the types of concessions made. Overall, it's a really interesting read for anyone interested in game development. You can check out the post in full on the Guild Wars 2 site.