Curator Collection
THE CURATOR COLLECTION is a hand-picked list of references that our knowledgeable team of volunteer curators have deemed particularly informative about Pantheon and its development. This is a great place to start if you already have a basic understanding of Pantheon, but want to learn more.
The list is organized in reverse chronological order, so the most recent info will always appear first in searches from top to bottom. If you haven't already, we highly suggest opening the Search Guide in a separate tab to assist as you explore the Library:
All of the references below are labeled with a icon in their respective areas of the Library. This list will be updated as Visionary Realms releases new information.
From the Great Hall
You can view references by category and get additional info about that category by clicking on any label in <<angle brackets>> next to the headings (Ex: <<Gameplay Stream>>), which will take you to that section of the Reference Catalog.
2023-Sep 21: Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Art Update <<Video News>>
Chris Perkins on Pantheon's new hand-painted art style [placeholder assets, system requirements, artists]
NPC asset updates
Longevity, sustainability, and marketability of stylized art [development, communication, artists]
Character model asset updates
2022-Nov 18: Parting the Veil - The Pantheon Difference <<Parting the Veil>>
Meaning of The Pantheon Difference
System designs changing without the tenets and vision changing
Fractures and Climates
Environmental challenges having more than one solution [fractures, climates]
No Tier 5 climates at launch
Living Codex
NPC AI Combat Awareness and Tactics Systems
Dispositions and Traits
Dark Foe Disposition
NPCs may have traits and dispositions at the same time
Mana-starved Trait
Radiant Trait
Perception System
Colored Mana System
Mentor System
Situational Gear
Climbing added to The Pantheon Difference list [seamless, exploration, class identity]
Combat pacing and LAS design in PvP
The New Pantheon Difference
Pantheon’s tenets
Player reputation [community, instances, streamers, guilds]
What kind of MMO players Pantheon will resonate with [target audience]
2022-Apr 7: Parting the Veil - E2 - Soloing in Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen <<Parting the Veil>>
Solo vs. group content
How design evolves over time
Designing matchmaking tools
How changes to combat affect soloing
Soloing and different levels of progression
Some classes being better at soloing than others
Learning to play a class before endgame
Content monopolization from solo players and the world opening up as you level [itemization, progression]
Preventing soloing from becoming easier than grouping
Players can level up by soloing, but grouping allows for everything Pantheon has to offer
2021-Nov 25: Parting the Veil - E1 - Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is Not Niche - Part 2 <<Parting the Veil>>
Death penalties don't have to be alienating by design [target audience]
Why people still think Pantheon is an EverQuest "clone" [design, target audience]
Avoiding feature creep [design, implementation, development]
Improving accessibility without decreasing challenge [community, limited playtime, onboarding]
2021-Nov 18: Parting the Veil - E1 - Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is Not Niche - Part 1 <<Parting the Veil>>
Pantheon is not being designed as a Niche game [target audience]
Creating tension with Death Penalties
Designing for a “niche market” limits creativity [target audience]
Pantheon's target audience [Pantheon overview]
Free mounting system [mounts, travel]
Designing with fun in mind
Balancing death penalties with ways to recover
2021-Jun 4: NPC Combat Tactics <<Video News>>
Isle of Infinite Storm introduction
Meaningful decisions for NPC AI
NPC AI custom targeting logic
Logic flowchart for NPC casting stun on healer
Gameplay demo for NPC casting stun on healer
Tuning NPC AI
Logic flowchart for NPC pulling caster in closer
Logic flowchart for NPC purging a crowd controlled ally
Gameplay demo for NPC purging a crowd controlled ally
Logic flowchart for NPC taking advantage of an off-balance enemy
Logic flowchart for NPC casting on an enemy with mana resource
Logic flowchart for NPC casting on an enemy mana user who is not crowd controlled
Gameplay demo for NPC taking advantage of an off-balance enemy and enemy with mana resource
Action twitch combat vs. tab targeting [pacing]
Logic flowchart for NPC choosing between 2 targeting options
Ability flowchart for curse damage with knockback
Gameplay demo for Demise ability (curse damage with knockback)
Definition of challenge
Patch Notes
NPCs running out of mana resource
Abilities to break crowd control
NPC Ability overlap
Dispositions and NPC AI
Traits and Dispositions
NPC AI applied to types manually
Designers using tools without programming team assistance
Intelligence attribute tied to depth of NPC AI
Collision with objects when being pushed back
NPCs working together for strategies and combos
2020-Oct 14: October 2020 Producer’s Letter <<Newsletter>> [Kickstarter, programming, refactor, Project Faerthale, Pre-Alpha testing]
From the Kickstarter Era
IMPORTANT: This section only contains statements from January 2014 to December 2014. Any game-related information therein may no longer be applicable. This information is provided for historical purposes only.
2014-Feb 22: Site Launch Letter from Brad [target audience, Kickstarter, crowdfunding, investors, publishers, team size, website, pledge perks]