#interact 19

[remember-the-flames-blog]

The Sky Disappeared

I have been chopping and changing my direction for the video game proposal that I will be coming up with. Indecision is something that often plagues me with my screenwriting, but I think I will employ the mantra of ‘go big or go home’.

In my last lecture for Interactive Media, we had a guest narrative designer come in and certainly I came away inspired to be as inventive and ambitious as I can. Also watching a cutscene of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt reminded me that I have that game waiting for me to play (I’m just waiting for a clearing in my busy schedule to really get stuck in) - I have just finished the first full novel of the series ‘The Blood of Elves’, which has really whet my appetite for some fantasy.

Plus the final season of Game of Thrones is nearly upon us (based upon my favourite fantasy book series ‘A Song of Fire and Ice’) which I get extremely hyped about... the point being, the lore of these worlds are so big and interesting, it would be remiss of me not to push my game along that path.

One of the main ideas I have had from the start involves a semi dual narrative, and I still aim on keeping that. Largely the story will be told from the perspective one character in 3rd person, but there will be other sections that follow a character in a more mysterious situation and in 1st person. The story will begin with 1st person character and initially it will seem like the 3rd person character is a flashback... only for a later reveal.

Perspective and expectation are some of the most fun things to play with when creating story. You know how the audience will perceive events. To a certain extent that is different with a game, as there is more freedom and control, but you can certainly plant thoughts in player’s head by utilising tropes etc. Now for some specifics.

Working Title: The Sky Disappeared

Platform: PS4 (but potentially Xbox One and PC)

As mentioned the story will be divided... The 1st Person Character will awake in a medical bay being tended to by an NPC, but will soon realise that it is an underground cavern or chamber with no way out... this section will be a combination of mystery and problem solving, but I still need to flesh this section out and note: this part of the journey will be told in small segments and act as a frame around the rest of the story...

The 3rd Person Character will be the member of a small village in a world which has been invaded by a technologically advanced alien species - who are always helmeted. They’ve landed huge tower like spaceships at major population hubs and taken control of the lands, forcing all able workers to mine a greasy black rock that is found in clusters over the world. The purpose of this unknown, but the people of the world are, of course, unhappy about this and rebels are beginning to fight back. The small village from which the main character is from is unaffected thus far, but naturally are dragged into the fold near the beginning of the story... It will be up to the main character to save the world and discover the truth and for the player to decide what that means. As mentioned, there will be a linkage between the two narratives.

In regards to way the game will function - it will be a action/adventure style game, probably not a true open world, but not obviously on rails. I do want the main draw to be the story and emotional connection to the decisions that are made. It won’t be all out ‘choose your own adventure’, but certainly some key moments will result in different paths depending on how you want to play the game. I might reign this if I get in over my head.

Also I’ve been a bit light on story details, but I’ll add a post dedicated to the lore and opening story later this week. 

[joekourieh]

A General Overview of My Mobile Game Idea

Name: Atlasium

Platform: Android/Possibly iOS

Premise: In a Sci-Fi version of 17th-century Britain, an impossibly powerful element (Atlasium) was discovered under the lochs of Scotland. A race of Scottish merpeople (the Atlasians) were created to defend their precious resource from the corrupted forces of Oliver Cromwell and the New Model Army, who are also powered up by the stuff and seek total domination. The Atlasians, who were born human but made into aquatic warriors as infants, have known nothing their whole lives but fighting off the invaders. Only one, their elder, was around to see the creation of their race, but keeps it a tightly guarded secret. The new generation must discover the strange truth of their civilization’s origin as they struggle to beat their enemies back, loch by loch.

Mechanics: A map of Scotland’s largest inland lochs will act as the battle selection screen. This is a game of strategy – the Atlasians are hugely outnumbered, and so troops and their resources have to be directed accordingly (putting more in one leaves the others more exposed, etc). There are a handful of lieutenants who can lead troops in defending a loch during an attack, and one general who provides a massive boost to whichever lieutenant he accompanies. When the Army launches an attack into a loch, a battle begins. This puts the player into a 3D battle sequence in which they play the role of the lieutenant in charge of that loch, fighting off waves of enemies. Battles can be controlled via touchscreen controls or with a mobile controller. The difficult of the battle depends on how much Atlasium resources are allocated to the loch at the time of attack, resulting in more available weapons power-ups, special moves, health boosts, etc. Failed battles result in less resources for future battles, and will necessitate more grinding to gain back those resources. Successful battles result in new resources and additional storyline, told through dialogue cutscenes.