In case you don't know, 81jono81 is hosting a competition that is due for the 28th, where all participants submit an original concept for a brand new game franchise. Naturally, I have a few dozen concepts just laying around that I'm never going to actually do anything with, so I picked a select few and will be revealing them all this week. Today's is just the first. Be sure to check out the competition post in the link above, and keep checking back all week long for my other concepts. Ultimately, I can only choose one to enter, and I haven't decided which one it will be yet. So I will ask you guys to tell me how you like each concept, and at the end of the week let me know which concept you'd like to see enter the competition officially.
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In time, the Earth's orbit will move close to the sun. Glaciers melt and oceans lose a significant amount of water due to evaporation, and humanity finds it difficult to live with the increased heat. Ultimately, the world's governments unite in the idea that we must evacuate Earth. Several potential planets are chosen to migrate to, and our story will follow immigration to one such planet. This planet undergoes some drastic changes from what humanity is expecting due to a change in seasons as well as unusual lunar patterns that were not predicted. After the first few years enduring sandstorms they were not prepared for and dealing with a massive native wildlife population (massive meaning like Jurassic, not just there's a lot of them) they were unaware of before landing, the scientists and engineers began digging and building a city underneath a large neighboring plateau using the scraps from their fleet of ships and housing as well as some local resources. They rig the city to run on solar energy via panels atop the plateau, and within a few years manage to carve out enough room to keep expanding for generations underground.
However good life is underground, there is still a need for going topside. The solar panels have to be maintained, food needs to be hunted, and there are still waves of immigrant ships arriving on the planet to be integrated into the city. Given the nature of this dire situation, the people have agreed to keep their most recently elected Mayor as a dictator, in order to keep stability as they attempt to rebuild civilization. Mayor King agreed to relinquish his office once the city proves stable enough, at maximum a few years after his term was to have ended originally. The people liked his dedication, and many women of the city talk about how they cannot believe such a fine man never married.
You play as a "Sandman", which is a nickname for the armed soldier-esque personnel who take care of the business that needs doing on the sandy surface. You make trips to the surface to safely guide new arrivals to the city, find lost objects from the ruins of the original settlement, and help others maintain the essential services on the surface. As the game progresses, the tempo changes drastically. Over time, the people become fed up with Mayor King, and begin demanding his resignation. King responds by cracking down and becoming a more ruthless, oppressive sort of leader. Eventually, he orders the Sandmen to stop guiding new immigrants since he sees them as a threat to his continued reign, and grants all Sandmen and military personnel in general a higher social status if they swear allegiance to him. The more King begins to tighten his grip on the people, the more the people begin plotting a revolution.
At this turning point, the player will be given a choice to side with King or the rebellion. After choosing your side, you will spend your missions balancing your time between surface missions (which are no longer the same as before in nature) and mingling with the underground population. If you side with King, he will have you act as a G-Man, having you arrest specific people or quell riots. As you gain his trust, you will asked for your opinion on certain changes to be made in the city, leading to a SimCity-esque city planning story arch. On the other side, the rebels will ask you to remain undercover as a Sandman, and work with other rebel Sandmen to keep helping immigrants behind King's back and sabotage King's plans at every chance. As the people gain more ground, you will be given the same chances to make decisions on how to rebuild or expand certain aspects of the city. these decisions, regardless of which side you make them for, will alter the later levels in the game. In a sense, you'll be indirectly designing the latter levels of the game that you'll be playing through, and on the other hand you'll also be changing the upgrades and resources you'll have available to use at those points. Basically, you can build your own final chapter by mixing various decisions.
I MUST mention that this city-building bit is heavily inspired by ActRaiser.
In terms of story, you will get a very different experience depending on which side you choose. You are NOT playing a silent protagonist. This game will be in third person, and you will see your character interact with other characters.
On King's side, you'll see a story that develops your character as a loyal leader of men; the true soldier's soldier. You won't love the kind of person he is with the common people, but you will respect the way he cares for the men in his command. Ultimately, he will become more paranoid towards the end as King begins to comment at how loyal the men are to him. Fearful that King will have him assassinated before he becomes too powerful, he will launch a pre-premptive strike. His final kill will be one of the easiest in the game, as King will say as his dying words, "I loved you...". The protagonist will be arrested put to death. The game will end as he is walking to his execution, which will be a beheading (because it's more dramatic). As he is walking, one of King's closest advisers will explain that King had secretly admired the protagonist as more than a general or a man, and had actually wanted to have a more intimate relationship with him. We will not show the actual act of beheading, but it will cut to a black screen and the sound of an axe grinding will be heard as the protagonist says his final words, "My King, I pray we meet again".
On the Rebel's side, you'll see a much more empathetic character. Often he'll turn to a child for help with some of the more important decisions. For him, it's as important to help these people reestablish democracy as it is to put a smile on the faces of the children. He sees this fight as a terrible necessity, and will often lament the violence he carries out. He will be the loudest voice in protesting any assassination attempt on King. Instead, he will pursue a goal of taking back the streets first and trying to alert the coming fleets to the situation. He figures the immigrant population that he can smuggle in will help relay a message to a higher official, and in the meantime help swell the numbers for the rebellion to overwhelm the regime without the need for more explicit violence. The violent levels he plays out will mostly be to defend the people from one of King's assaults, though there will be at least one moment where he attempts to quell a riot that his friends start before too many people get killed. As the rebellion grows, the people will recognize him for his success and will ultimately elect him the new Mayor as a final message for King to step down. The protagonist will give King one last chance to just walk away and retire, but he refuses. With no other options, our hero takes the capital building by force. When he finally corners King, he attempts to simply arrest him. King draws a knife as a refusal to surrender, and the protagonist is forced to execute King. As disgusted as he is with himself, the feeling amplifies when he sees that a group of children had snuck into the room to see the fighting and had witnessed the act. After some reflection, he decides it would be best to resign before beginning his term as mayor, and chooses to leave the city. They remember him as a hero, but he keeps no glory as he rides into the wasteland of the desert planet. The credits will roll as we watch him ride, but once the credits finish a shocking scene will play. The protagonist discovers an old, abandoned temple with alien writings, and he realizes that he is not alone. The screen will cut out before you see anything, leaving us a nice cliffhanger to build off for a sequel while still resolving the plot of this one.
In terms of art style, I think a somewhat realistic look would be the best fit. I don't think it has to be ultra-real, but it shouldn't be anything too cartoon. Graphically speaking, this will add some emphasis to certain moments in the game such as the first time you take down one of the giant beasts on the surface, sifting through the ruins of the first settlement, and more personal moments like King's death. Musically, I think I'd like to see a variety of orchestral pieces used for the different tempos and situations in the game. Be it some epic horn-based number for the more violent scenes, or some more somber Viola pieces for when you go through the ruins, I think there needs to be some good variety in tone while not drawing too much away from the action.
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So, we've kicked off our week of concepts. Let me know in the comments what you think of Beneath The Surface. Whether you want to throw your money at me and tell me to get to work, or host a lynching to eradicate this abomination from ever seeing fruition, I will appreciate the feedback.
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“How dare you show me cute things and think I won't smile...”
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Eargasm Of The Day
Abraxas by Santana released on an unknown date in the September of 1970.