Prequels

tim-cain game-design prequels sequels rpg temple-of-elemental-evil original-ip

Abstract

Problem: Are prequels a worthwhile approach to game development, and how do they compare to sequels and original IPs?

Approach: Tim Cain shares his personal preferences and design reasoning, drawing on his experience with Fallout, Arcanum, The Outer Worlds, and Temple of Elemental Evil.

Findings: Prequels are preferable to sequels because they let you show legendary events rather than just tell about them, but they introduce unique constraints — particularly "anti-essential NPCs" who must die because the original game's lore demands it. Original IPs remain the best option for creative freedom.

Key insight: Prequels create an inverted design problem: instead of protecting essential NPCs who can't die, you must engineer the inevitable death of characters the player already knows are doomed.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPUOA8W4Be8

Tim's Preference Hierarchy

Tim's ranking is clear: new IP > prequel > sequel. He loves the fresh canvas of an original IP — no constraints, new ideas, total creative freedom. He's been lucky enough to get that opportunity multiple times: Fallout, Arcanum, Wildstar, and The Outer Worlds were all new IPs. He also worked on Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny, which were new IPs led by others.

But if forced to choose between a prequel and a sequel for an existing IP, he'd pick the prequel every time.

Why Prequels Beat Sequels

Show, Don't Tell

RPGs are rich with lore — famous battles, legendary figures, epic events. Players hear about these through books, dialogue, and cutscenes. Tim prefers optional lore delivery (books you can read at your leisure, replayable cutscenes) over forced exposition. A prequel gives you the opportunity to actually show those legendary events instead of merely referencing them. You can fight in the famous battle, meet the legendary hero, witness the cataclysm firsthand.

The Canonical Ending Problem

Sequels to nonlinear, multiple-ending RPGs face a brutal constraint: which ending is canon? Tim discussed this in his earlier video on sequels. Prequels sidestep this entirely since they take place before any of the player's choices.

The Unique Constraint of Prequels: Anti-Essential NPCs

Prequels have their own design headache. Events from the original game must play out. If the player already knows a character dies before the events of the original game, that character has to die in the prequel — no matter what the player does.

Tim calls these "anti-essential NPCs" — the inverse of essential NPCs (who can't be killed). Anti-essential NPCs must die. This creates fascinating design problems:

  • What if the player tries to protect them? Locks them in a house, disbands them from the party, paralyzes them at the cave entrance?
  • Do you give them one hit point? Script their death on contact? Have them mysteriously die offscreen?
  • If a character's son is king in the original game, the father must die — otherwise the son would never inherit the throne.

Tim admits this problem immediately started "chewing on his brain" — it's the kind of constraint that's genuinely interesting to design around.

Constraints as Creative Frames

Some developers thrive under constraints. Tim describes it as being given the frame for a canvas — you know where the edges are. He personally prefers building the frame himself and then painting inside it, which is why original IPs appeal to him most. But he acknowledges the creative value of working within constraints, even if he wouldn't want to do it repeatedly.

Temple of Elemental Evil and Planned Sequels

Tim revisits a point from his Temple of Elemental Evil video: he had designed ToEE with a full mega-series in mind — the Giants, the Drow, the Underdark, and the Queen of the Demonweb Pits (the classic GDQ adventure series). Temple was intended as just the first installment.

He also reveals that he once planned a prequel for a different game he worked on. He declines to say which game, noting he's never told anyone about it before. The prequel was fully worked out but never made. He mentions it simply to confirm that yes, he has seriously considered prequels in his career — he just still prefers making something new.

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