How a team of three created a narrative masterpiece in The Forgotten City

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The Forgotten City started life as a robust mod created by one person for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but the reaction—which included a national Writers’ Guild Award and more than three million downloads—led creator Nick Pearce to quit his job as a lawyer and dive completely into game development.

This standalone version doesn’t simply strip away the elements of Bethesda’s Skyrim—the original tied directly into the Dragonborn and an adventure in that game’s history—it also layers in minutely detailed research into ancient Rome and expands the plot, all while deftly exploring the morality and philosophies of its players.

We reached out to Pearce to find out how he made the decision to become a game developer, and how Unreal Engine helped him and his team of two others recreate the mod as a standalone game. Along the way, we also discuss the game’s examination of morality, his influences, and what advice he would give to others looking to break their mod away from its source material.

To read the rest of this feature, which first ran on Aug. 12, 2021, visit UnrealEngine.