With the right care and attention, a game\u2019s hub world can be so much more than the sum of its parts. Taken at face value, the likes of Destiny 2<\/em>\u2019s Tower, Monster Hunter World<\/em>\u2019s Gathering Hub, and Doom Eternal<\/em>\u2019s Fortress of Doom could just be seen as pretty menus \u2013 characters or buildings replacing the buttons you\u2019d be pressing before jumping into a game. But in all those cases, we see storytelling, Easter Eggs, and idiosyncratic choices made, turning these spaces into truly memorable locations \u2013 a home away from home. Towerborne<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, and its beautiful Belfry, are aiming to join that rich lineage.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Belfry \u2013 a gorgeously rickety spire that pokes into the clouds above the world map \u2013 will be the home base for every player (and their characters, known as Aces). From here, you\u2019ll be able to train, enhance your gear, take quests, and party up with other players before heading out on your missions to save the world. But, like the examples above, the team at Stoic don\u2019t simply want to offer you a more interactive menu \u2013 the Belfry will be a true home for the Aces, offering you chances to take in the ever-evolving storyline Towerborne <\/em>will tell, opportunities to meet new friends, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n Across the Belfry you\u2019ll find everything from the Counsel Building (a hub for quests and major NPCs, offering both storytelling and gameplay), to the Forge (where you\u2019ll be able to where you\u2019ll be able to improve your equipment), to the Facewright (allowing unlimited customization of your Ace), and much more<\/a>. Taken as a whole, it all makes the Belfry more of a village \u2013 with the distinctly human feel that entails \u2013 than a simple menu. I caught up with Game Director, Daniel McLaren to find out why the team felt they had to nail the look and feel of their hub, rather than create a simple \u201cSelect Mission\u201d menu:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe want you to feel like this is a world you want to be in, that the NPCs are worth interacting with, that the beauty and the interactions are worth your time. Making a game people love is an art as much as it is a science, and the art should feel<\/em> good. For those that our style resonates with, Towerborne<\/em> should feel like a place you want to be, it should be something you think fondly of, it should feel complete and whole, that the journey you took with us was worth your time. I\u2019m not saying a menu-driven game can\u2019t do that, but, uh\u2026 I\u2019m kinda saying we can do it better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSeriously, that\u2019s the kind of question that, on the surface, makes absolute sense,\u201d he replies. \u201cWhy not just have a game where you select what you want to do from a menu and go and do it? Mobile games have demonstrated that this works quite well when you distill down to a sort-of \u2018perfect\u2019 core-loop gameplay experience. But that\u2019s not what our game is about. <\/p>\n It\u2019s taken some work to get the Belfry to feel that way \u2013 the Belfry is an explorable space, and among other things Stoic have had to tweak how NPCs are arranged to ensure you didn\u2019t spend a portion of your time walking from place to place. But the result is a location the team feels you never need <\/em>to spend too much time in \u2013 you\u2019ll probably just want<\/em> to hang around and see what you can find. <\/p>\n Key to that feeling is that the Belfry has been designed to feel like it\u2019s truly the home of all<\/em> Towerborne players, which means you\u2019ll never be there alone, or even just with your chosen party. It\u2019ll be bustling with other players going about their own business, and offer you chances to meet them (using a communication system of emotes and stickers) and perhaps even go adventuring together \u2013 either through a matchmaking system or by grouping up in the Belfry itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe want the Belfry to feel lived in, and having other players around makes the game feel like it\u2019s alive and worth playing,\u201d explains McLaren. \u201cBesides, what\u2019s the point of a living game if you can\u2019t see others, help new players, make new friends, or even just dance for hours?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The NPCs of the Belfry<\/a> will be as important as other live players, not just for what they offer you, but the wider story of the game. While storytelling will happen throughout Towerborne<\/em>\u2019s world, you can consider the Belfry as the home for the game\u2019s narrative. Quests can be taken on from multiple NPCs (and a job board to offer you extra incentives for playing in certain ways, or heading to certain locations), but there will be more characters who help you understand the world you\u2019ve entered \u2013 and, as a live game, Towerborne <\/em>will continue telling new stories well after launch.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to continue to expand the world of Towerborne over time with new content, new enemies, new locations, and story,\u201d says McLaren. \u201cWhile quests, and by extent quest NPCs, are a surefire way to ensure players are at least exposed to core story elements, they exist to help answer the core \u2018Why am I here? Why am I doing the thing?\u2019 questions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut what fun is an RPG if it doesn\u2019t allow the opportunity for story-curious players to uncover \u2018deep lore\u2019? Rest assured, players will find a variety of narrative NPCs, both on the Belfry and in the world, that have their own tidbits of information to reveal. Over time, who can say who will show up, and where they might be found?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps most excitingly, that evolving story means the Belfry itself will change over time \u2013 the version we\u2019ll see at launch is just the beginning of what this location will be. That evolution will be a physical reminder of the story Stoic has to tell: \u201cThe beautiful thing about the way we\u2019re building and supporting this game is that we want to invest in the future of you, the players of Towerborne<\/em>,\u201d says McLaren. \u201cWe have so many neat ideas, stories, and features that we want to share, and the Belfry is just one place where we can make that happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs for what you might see, who can say? I heard a little rumor that there\u2019s a goat. Somewhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, there\u2019s always a balance to be struck. The Belfry won\u2019t be the place you spend the majority of your time \u2013 there\u2019s an entire game to play, of course \u2013 but Stoic wants it to be a pleasure to spend time between missions, not just while on them:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt its heart, Towerborne<\/em> is an action-RPG using the side-scrolling brawler combat style. We clearly don\u2019t want it to just be a one-note game, and so there\u2019s certainly some story, mystery, things to uncover, and NPCs to get to know, but it\u2019s all in service of a game that\u2019s about collecting loot, upgrading your Ace, and killing bigger, more dangerous enemies. We want to offer players many ways to explore the world of Towerborne<\/em> and be strong enough to do it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ll have much more to tell you about that<\/em> on Xbox Wire before Towerborne<\/em> <\/a><\/strong>arrives later this year.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/xxboxnews.blob.core.windows.net\/prod\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/Tower_Explorer_s-Deck-3dc42469808c6d65d2b3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/xxboxnews.blob.core.windows.net\/prod\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/Tower_Facewright-45c2d100fc1440d4c7a2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/xxboxnews.blob.core.windows.net\/prod\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/Tower_Forge-8def9bdebf097d171266.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/xxboxnews.blob.core.windows.net\/prod\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/Tower_Market-4c20493d052f542f2472.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/xxboxnews.blob.core.windows.net\/prod\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/Tower_Training-Room-70180780c80377146e00.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/xxboxnews.blob.core.windows.net\/prod\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/Tower_Market_02-8f9099fc6dc376998fb3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
![\"Xbox](\"https:\/\/assets.onestore.ms\/cdnfiles\/sfw-service-web-onestore-onerf-2017-11-8-12\/store\/common\/images\/xbllogo_black.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n![\"Xbox](\"https:\/\/assets.onestore.ms\/cdnfiles\/sfw-service-web-onestore-onerf-2017-11-8-12\/store\/common\/images\/xpalogo_black.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n