First I would like to say that anybody who wishes to join the team may as long as you are at least making an effort to help. If you don’t contribute then there’s no reason for you to be on the team. With that said here’s what we have so far in terms of the story. If you would like further details just ask. However, the following is the abridged version and doesn’t include some of the plot points. Contact info is at the end.
Setting:
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Time: Set around 2150 C.E. on earth. The winters are a bit harsher and this one will be especially so. The game begins on Thanksgiving Day during the first snowfall at dusk. The story runs until Christmas, not counting an optional epilogue (ask for details).
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Society: We kind of conformed to a steampunk ideal but not in a traditional sense. Instead of coal we substituted a Martian rock of extreme rarity, power, and therefore expense. We figured it would be fitting as mars is a very real goal in the foreseeable future. As for the government, there is a totalitarian system in effect across much of the world. Wars are rare and uprisings are kept quiet. The only people with power are the wealthy and those associated with the military. This only accounts for the top few percent of the population and the majority of the others are little more than peasants living in the filth of unkempt divisions of modern cities. Crime is kept low by government interference and regulations although there is an underground market run by rebels.
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Place: You begin in a neighborhood that has remained pretty much the same since the government rose in power. It, like much of the slums across the country (United States [sorry foreigners]), has fallen into disrepair. As you progress through the story you move through this first city and then eventually to the capitol of the US which has an extravagant uptown area and the usual slums downtown fenced away from the upper-class. After a short period in the downtown area you move to the heart of the city and closer to the President.
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Characters: These descriptions will be fairly brief. We are trying to make the game as deep as possible and don’t want to ruin it by telling you all the good stuff! If you don’t mind a spoiler I can message you the info.
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The main character is named Steven Wolff. Steven is between 25 and 27 years old. He is just a simple peasant that was lucky enough to inherit a butchers shop from his father. He is a natural sneak but hasn’t practiced it in any way. He has been practicing his whole life however with either a (there is a dispute over his main weapon. open to suggestion) kunai or a kukri (modified to have slightly less cumbersome proportions) passed down by his dad at a young age. He isn’t necessarily well versed in combat but he is well built from carrying around all that meat. As pigs are a good human analogue he pretty much knows how to kill but hasn’t been taught to use his skills yet.
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Veronica Miller is a foxy redheaded thief that’s 24 or 25. She was orphaned at a young age and was in a way adopted by the organization. When she turned 16 they took her in and encouraged her thievery skills that had previously brought trouble in the orphanage. She is good at things such as lock picking and we may add pickpocketing and she teaches the player these tricks early in the game. She is also Steven’s team-mate through a few missions. Anyway, those two eventually get all mushy and stuff but I won’t go into detail.
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I feel like I need to mention the next two together. They are being called “brain” and “brawn” atm. They are a part of the good guys’ organization and work on the missions along with you and Veronica. They are never with you as they are the “decoy” or bait team. Brawn’s brute strength and brains clever gadgets couple together very nicely and definitely produce the distraction as desired. Their different styles make them very competitive and they always want to make the biggest “bang”. At the end of the day they have each other’s backs. So to sum it up, they are just like brothers, although they aren’t.
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The leader of these guys is a big black dude named AJ. He’s pretty much Samuel L Jackson and Denzel Washington’s mysterious love child with the bonus of Three Dog’s voice from fallout 3 (crossing our fingers we can get him). He’s bossy and prone to yelling but has a smooth side for the ladies. He leads the team from wherever through headsets and doesn’t take kindly to them being smashed to bits occasionally.
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The character which the main side objectives/easter eggs will be focused is called “Mystique”. That’s all I’m telling you about her. Oops did I say her? I meant him… or did I?
Technology and Gadgets:
- The Martian raw material (currently unnamed): the material is incredibly powerful. It when burned chemically can create plasma (yep just like the sun). The energy can be used as a power source and is the basis for many of the gadgets and weapons in the game. It is much more efficient than any earth-based resources and only minute amounts are required for most things however as you progress the amount available increases as your targets get richer and richer. This accounts for some pretty explosive results.
- Steven’s Gadgets: Most of Steven’s gadgets are made by Brain as you progress regularly through the story. We may also add some kind of collectable system to collect parts of new gadgets. One thing that develops steadily as you go is your armor. You begin with some leather spaulders you made yourself. Later you get upgrades to its strength and various types of special attribute upgrades that can be made choosable by the character like a simplified leveling system. As far as weapons you will get new types with different effects but your main weapon(s) will remain unchanged. An example would be adding throwing knives and allowing you to increase the capacity and find schematics for an explosive version (lethal or decoy) but being fairly limited on upgrades to your kukri. Skill enhancements are pretty much not going to happen as your abilities are determined by your mastery of strategy and the gadgets you have at your disposal.
- Weapons and vehicles: We are not planning on any drivable vehicles as it definitely doesn’t fit the style of the game. However they will be present in cut scenes and throughout some of the scenes. For instance we may have parked cars in game but they only patrol in cut scenes. Also, a train ride is necessary to reach the capitol so we may even be able to make that an interactive scene (walking around in the train while it goes along). Guns are the things that kill you. Don’t get in front of them. You have no gun. Butcher–>gun… not an ideal mix. Plus it’s more fun that way. Don’t worry for those of you that like projectiles. We will have plenty… on the opposing side… The enemies’ guns will be fueled by the Martian rock. They will be fired by plasma and may later have plasma tipped bullets (after all guns don’t kill people, bullets do). They will not be conventional guns. At first they will be more steampunk-like but later in the game they will be more streamline and accurate. In my mind plasma glows blue so that will be the theme for the guns.
Storyboard (very basic): The “girl” in refference below is Veronica. The “boy” is Steven. This is the chronological rundown of the story from an action and, for lack of a better word, emotional veiw
- Steven’s parents die and he is clued in on a conspiracy. He joins the organization; boy meets girl.
- Steven is better than expected and easily takes his first target. The team continues to take targets throughout the city; boy and girl begin to bond
- They climb up the cities administrative ladder (leaving a trail of bodies in wake) and eventually reach the mayor himself. He explains the insignificance of what you’ve done. After you kill him you realize he’s right and go for the President; girls past revealed, further bonding
- The team goes to the US capitol in NOT Washington DC. You coordinate with the guys running the show there and then proceed into the cities underground; relationship status: its complicated
- You are prepped for the increased security and then plunged into the cities industrial district to cut their supplies of refined Martian rock: girl is sent elsewhere in the city
- You are on your own. your exit is made inaccessible; girl is worried and slightly emotional
- You forge on with only your headset for support. Take a detour through residential area and go for an unscheduled target (AJ does some yelling and regrets installing a mute button); girl abandons her mission to try and reach you
- You become compromised and are wanted. You enter the military zone surrounding president and find even further increased security; girl is very close, rendezvous scheduled
- Story and Veronica become intertwined at this point. Veronica gets taken hostage and you barely escape yourself
- Now it becomes personal, Steven becomes almost bloodthirsty and recklessly pursues the president to his home (like the Whitehouse, but bigger). Gains entry and works his way toward the “inner sanctum”. This is the final showdown.
- The player is faced with a very difficult conundrum with dynamic endings.
That is all I’ll disclose for the time being on the story.
If you want to help or even just make a suggestion or revision just say so in the comments. As I said before anybody who wants to join us is welcome. If you want to join just send me a PM with what you want to work on and ill fill you in on the rest. Im really anxious to see what you all have to say and i look forward to working with you. If you would like to contact us via email we are at KeroseneDreamsStudios@gmail.com. Happy blending!