Summary
Goal
To reimagine the “Organised Crime” (OC) component of Torn, creating richer, more interactive gameplay that aligned with Torn’s long-standing community and lore.
Areas Covered
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Game narrative design & scenario development
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Branching storylines with strategic role selection
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UX prototyping with top-down maps & quest flows
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UI development of player interface
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Lottie-based animations for low-bandwidth delivery
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Weekly playtesting & iterative review cycles with the client
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Deep integration with Torn's game architecture and role systems
Outcomes
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14 immersive OC scenarios developed for launch
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Branching logic supporting thousands of potential player paths
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Positive player feedback in closed beta
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Production pipeline for continuous scenario expansion
Insights Gained
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Begin with environmental constraints, not just story beats
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Establish the “best path” first to anchor narrative quality
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Simplify role modifiers to avoid overcomplication for players
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Visual fidelity must flex with game limitations (e.g., map cropping, zoom)
Context & Challenge
Torn is the World's largest text-based MMORPG with a deep, loyal community and a 20+ year history. While rich in content, some areas had seen minimal updates in years , notably the “Organised Crime” module, which lacked player agency and had limited visual or interactive depth.
Torn wanted to experiment with external development support to evolve this core gameplay mechanic without overwhelming the internal team. ddx was brought in to function as an external game development team, tasked initially with rebuilding OC scenarios and potentially developing tooling and long-term extensions.
Objective
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Create a scalable narrative framework for new OC scenarios
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Enable faction members (not just leaders) to interact meaningfully
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Design floor plans, character logic, and story arcs consistent with Torn's world
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Build lightweight animations that load fast and feel native to Torn’s text-first design
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Validate gameplay improvements through beta testing and feedback loops
Approach
Discovery
The engagement began as a lean experiment:could ddx act as an external game development partner to reimagine Torn’s Organised Crime (OC) module?
The initial brief was deliberately open-ended. Torn outlined a core issue: faction members lacked agency in the current OC flow. Only leaders could assign scenarios, and player interaction was minimal. The aim was to increase player control, deepen immersion, and test whether external collaboration could enhance Torn’s long-running game mechanics.
To shape the direction, ddx undertook a short discovery sprint that included:
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Reviewing Torn’s lore and gameplay systems to ensure narrative consistency
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Technical proof-of-concept (POC) testing to validate the use of Lottie animations, which allowed for low-bandwidth visual enhancements within Torn’s text-heavy interface
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Mapping out loose scenario ideas, then aligning with Torn on a style and tone that felt authentic to the community
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Establishing a cadence of weekly review cycles with the Torn team to reduce friction and ensure alignment
This early phase also uncovered foundational challenges: Torn’s internal systems were complex, lightly documented, and deeply embedded with custom logic — requiring close developer collaboration throughout.
Design & Build
Sample Scenario Planning
Once the concept and technical feasibility were approved, the ddx team began full scenario production. The creative approach combined narrative development with structured level design, treating each scenario more like an interactive screenplay than a traditional mission.
The team started by agreeing with the client on 20+ high-level crime types, such as bank heists, museum raids, or jewellery store robberies. These ideas were fleshed out using a structured pipeline:
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Top-down map layouts were created for each environment, sometimes with input from an architect to ensure spatial logic.
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Once the environment was locked, quest flows were developed to define major events, interactions, and branching points.
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Scenarios were first written from the “best path” perspective, or the optimal outcome, before layering in alternate endings and failure conditions.
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Role modifiers and item requirements were introduced to integrate the OC module into the wider Torn economy and skill ecosystem.
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The production process was deliberately cinematic: writers and artists studied classic gangster films (e.g. Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco) to draw inspiration for tone, pacing, and structure.
This process evolved over time. Initially, all branches were developed in parallel — an approach that proved inefficient. Over time, the team learned to focus on the main path first, and only build alternate branches once that foundation was approved.
Technology
ddx selected technologies and design methods that would slot cleanly into Torn’s ecosystem while raising the visual bar. The solutions were lightweight, flexible, and designed with future extensibility in mind.
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Lottie Animations were used to deliver smooth, vector-based visuals with minimal file size — critical for Torn’s infrastructure and user base.
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A custom scenario-building methodology was developed (with tools scoped for future automation), allowing writers and designers to create reusable flows.
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Torn’s undocumented logic systems such as role-based modifiers and item gating were reverse-engineered in close collaboration with Torn’s devs.
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Collaboration was structured using ClickUp for workflow, Figma for visual storyboarding, and Slack for fast, iterative feedback between both teams.
This approach allowed for high narrative quality while respecting Torn’s operational constraints; a balance that was central to the project's success.
Results
After being released in December 2024, the Torn OC module is already being hailed as a major evolution in player experience, with feedback from the players affirming the direction and execution.
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14 fully developed scenarios were completed for launch, each with branching paths and embedded mechanics.
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Some scenarios support hundreds to thousands of possible player outcomes, depending on decisions, items, and role capabilities.
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Player feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with players citing the enhanced immersion, narrative logic, and visual polish as standout improvements. Over 200,000 crimes have already been committed in the first 6 months of release.
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Regular structured reviews with Torn eliminated production bottlenecks and helped avoid rework, a key benefit of the structured collaboration model.
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A standardised map style and production pipeline now allows for ongoing content development post-launch, turning what began as a pilot into a repeatable model.
The work delivered is not a “patch” to the game. It’s a narrative engine, designed to evolve alongside the player community and its expectations.
Challenges & Lessons
The project surfaced complex, sometimes conflicting requirements — narrative ambition versus visual constraints, gameplay realism versus clarity, and integration with undocumented legacy systems.
The team learned:
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Always start from the environment. When the story came first, designs grew unwieldy. When the map came first, structure followed.
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Prioritise the “best path.” It sets expectations and simplifies branching logic later.
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Role modifiers and item logic must serve player clarity, not just internal mechanics.
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Review loops with Torn’s founder were critical in navigating unwritten lore and game logic.
Why ddx
The Torn team chose ddx for our ability to adapt, integrate and deliver with minimal disruption. ddx embedded itself inside Torn’s production cadence, understanding legacy systems, adopting Torn’s lore, and acting as a collaborative co-creator.
This wasn’t about flashy graphics or external polish. It was about designing inside the bones of a beloved, complex game, and doing so respectfully.
Torn trusted ddx because:
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The team brought game-adjacent skills (UX, systems design, technical testing) to bear on game design challenges
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ddx was comfortable operating inside legacy, lightly documented codebases
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They were willing to prototype first, and prove value before scaling
Let's start a conversation
If you’d like to know more about how ddx can help your business, or run a digital transformation assessment for your business, feel free to reach out to ddx.