Well, I still can’t believe I went and did it. After a long and arduous journey, I believe I am ready to post this hot mess that is my new pet project. Who’s title by the way, is still a work in progress.
Alright, the premise of this game is actually an extension of my own cluttered mind and desire to cross genre borders, as well as my continued addiction to Mass Effect.
You take up the role of a recently awakened sleeper agent who’s home is immediately stormed by a bunch of baddies after something supposedly hidden inside your brain. But that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. As your adventure progresses, you realize that your actually caught smack in the middle of a multi-dimensional maniac’s plot to destroy planet Earth and end the human race…again.
Along the way, you’ll build up a team of allies from all corners of the world, from the war hardened cyborg to the time traveling scientist, the blind assassin, and several others, to aid you on a globe (and galaxy) trotting mission to save the world. You’ll face terrorists, mutants, aliens, monsters, myths, phobias and more throughout your mission.
Your choices will determine which of your allies, if any, survive the ordeal, your relationships with those around you, and ultimately, the fate of the humanity.
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The ambition of this game, I feel, lies in its Mass Effect inspired squad selection system, where in each chapter you determine which allies you want to accompany you, as well as who gets which jobs, and such.
There three basic kinds of choices in the game: dialogue, combat, and narrative.
Dialogue choices are just that, choices on how you approach conversations. Heroic or ruthless, calm or volatile, you get the gist.
In an effort to keep the power of choice in player hands, combat in the game features a few strategic, split second decisions to make it feel like you’re fighting the way you want to fight. At the same time though, YOU will NEVER be killed by combat. Player health, referred to as Combat Efficiency, determines not your survival, but your ability to perform when the moment counts.
A player with low Combat Efficiency for example, might not be able to reach the trapped civilians in time, and as a result be unable to save them.
Narrative choices, generally speaking, will have broader and less immediate effects, determining instead how the story plays out.
The other big theme of this piece is something I’ve termed “genre hopping”. What I mean by that is the narrative isn’t limiting itself to sci-fi, fantasy, spy drama, or any real set of enemies. This may sound weird, but think DC Comic’s Batman. The guy works in literally ANY kind of story, be it crime noir, mystery, sci-fi, magic, he works in all of them. Hopefully, so will this game. Story. IF. Whatever the heck it is.
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So, that’s the premise of it. Thoughts?
