Monolith’s Nemesis system inspired by real-world sports

Real-world sports such as football and the ongoing tournaments surrounding them were a major inspiration for Monolith Productions’ acclaimed Nemesis system.

The game mechanic, which debuted in last year’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, allows players to develop really rivalries with characters that will remember previous encounters and react accordingly.

Speaking at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, Monolith’s creative director Michael de Plater said the team drew inspiration from real-world events that don’t have game tropes such as checkpoints, according to GamesIndustry.

"Sports are designed as systems which generate stories every year," he explained. "They start with the early play-offs, they’re designed that if there’s a failure through the mid-season you don’t rewind to the last save and start playing again from that point, as much as you potentially wish you could. You embrace that and move forward.

"And with commentary systems in sports games, there’s the ability to remember and recell things that have happened previously. Their narrative systems that build drama out of conflict and tribalism and then their career mode, you can follow one rookie player all the way from entering the league up to super stardom."