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 the final post for this contest. 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.
________________________________________________________________
The Room is very, VERY heavily influenced by my love of The Twilight Zone for its story, and by Quanitc Dream in the sense that failing to win certain levels will not be a game over, but instead will continue the story in a slightly different way from success.
A soldier is given an order to lead a team of four to secure a building in a hostile territory. At the same time, an identical order is given to a soldier of the enemy faction, unbeknownst to each other. The building is an old factory, and each soldier leads his team into the factory floor from opposite sides. The room itself is very open, with several machines and crates to use for cover. The two sides see each other fairly quickly, and both squads kill off the other, save only these two. Our protagonist, Corporal Dennis Petran, has his gun jam, and he is killed by his enemy. Except, he doesn't exactly die. Instead, he respawns in the room, somewhat behind his opponents. Using this to his advantage, Dennis sneaks up from behind and kills his foe...who also does not die. Their weapons and ammo did not respawn however, leaving each soldier to use their bare hands. So begins the actual gameplay, which is a 2D fighter. The two will battle it out until one of them has won five rounds (each round ends with one killing the other, and they keep respawning).
Once this point is reached, the two soldiers realize and accept that they cannot kill one another, and begrudgingly agree to stop trying and simply leave. Upon trying, neither man can open the doors, and none of the windows are even remotely within reach. The two men realize that they are trapped in there. They decide to introduce themselves (the other man's name is Arash Rostami), which turns to a heated political debate about why they are fighting this war. Ultimately, the two men cannot help themselves and go into fisticuffs yet again. This time, they go about three rounds before cooling off and admitting how pointless it is to continue fighting.
The two men agree to stay away from each other, and decide to explore the room a bit. Each of them discovers that the crates in this warehouse contain pictures of their own past. They each admit that they have families back home, and go into detailed stories about each of their loved ones, and what they would do if they could be reunited with them. After a lull in the conversation, Arash suggests they get some sleep, since they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Uneasy, Dennis agrees. Strange noises can be heard while each man is trying to doze off, and Arash will go over to Dennis to try and wake him up to investigate. Dennis hears him coming and assumes the noise to be Arash trying to kill him, and the two men fight again for three rounds. After the third round, their fight is halted by a round of applause.
Without detailing too much of the plot in this fashion, let me fast forward by saying that several new fighters will be added as the story progresses, each of them with their own unique story of how they ended up in this building. Some are from different times or eras, some were from different regions. None of them know exactly what is going on or why they are trapped, but the tensions will build to violence on several occaisions until the concluding chapter of the game, which I will describe now.
With about 14 people now trapped in the room, tensions have been centered around a plan of action. Arash and Dennis have grown to be close friends (at least as far as this group is concerned), and have each already shared a touching scene where they vow to help each other return to their respective families. They want to find some way out of the room, and believe that they can find one if everyone works together. Another school of thought has discovered that the machinery is still in mostly working condition, and only needs a few minor repairs to function properly. They believe that getting the factory working again is their purpose of being there, and that everyone should stay and continue production. With the people divided, combat breaks out again. There will be seven supporters for each side, and each fighter is granted only one "life" in this "tournament". Meaning that winners would continue to fight new opponents until none remained, and losers would have to sit out and wait for the end once defeated. Whichever side wins out, that plan of action will be followed.
If Arash and Dennis's plan wins, then they will find an unusual symbol somewhere that leads to a large supply closet. Realizing that technically they have left the room, they try the front door and succeed in leaving. Once they do, all the others in the room will vanish back to their own eras, meaning that the exit will take each fighter back to where they entered from. The war will still be raging on when Arash and Dennis escape, but the two decide to keep their pact and plan to return to their families as soon as possible. While traversing the chaos of an active battlefield, Dennis's unit will find them, and try to kill Arash. Dennis will step in front of Arash to protect him, but both men will be killed. The soldiers will begin to question what happened, saying, "Did he just take the bullet for an enemy?" The scene will fade out and the credits will roll. Upon their completion, the screen will remain black for a few seconds before blinking to signify Dennis opening his eyes. He will be back in the room. Arash will be standing where the supply closet door used to be, pounding the now solid wall while screaming "No!" repeatedly. The camera will circle around the room and the music will take a sinister tone, leading to Dennis saying the final line of the game, "Aw dammit!"
If Dennis and Aresh's side loses, then the factory will be powered back on, and each fighter will help get the process started again. Once it is back to full capacity, the door opens, and the fighters are free to leave. Each will still return to the point they entered from. Aresh and Dennis will leave together as in the other ending, only this time Dennis will not take the bullet for Aresh. Instead, you'll see Dennis cry over his corpse and the other soldiers will question him directly why he cares about this enemy. Dennis will tell them "Because we were in the room together." The soldiers will be puzzled by this response, and Dennis's face will turn to a much more devious look as he says, "Follow me, I'll show you". The credits will then roll, and upon their completion you will see Dennis leading the soldier to the door and inviting them all to go in first. Once everyone is inside, he will toss a few grenades at the machine, breaking it beyond repair and he will close the door behind him. The camera will zoom in on his face as he puts on an evil looking smile, and then it will cut out to black.
Either way, once the game is finished you can play online and offline versus matches with any fighter, and beating an "arcade ladder" with each will unlock more detail about their backgrounds. Artistically, I think it'd be best to have a more Metalish soundtrack similar to Metal Gear Rising during the fighting sequences, and a more well rounded approach to the cutscenes. Since winning a round in this game equates to an actual death in the story (followed by a respawn), each fighter will be given a few finishing moves that will automatically trigger when the opponent's health bar is empty. Think of it like a fatality without the excessive gore and required button presses. Which one is used will be based on how much health you have left (more energetic and visually showy finishers will be for more dominated rounds, while barely winning will only grant you a quick, to-the-point, non-flashy finisher.) Graphically speaking, I think it would be best to choose a darker color palette as a standard, and go with a clean but not photo-realistic style. If that makes any sense.
________________________________________________________________
Let me know in the comments what you think of The Room. 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.
Also, check back over my other concepts from earlier this week and tell me which of the four you think I should officially enter in Jono's contest. I have to pick one by Saturday. Here's some links:
Beneath The Surface - Melody: In Silence - Dr. Bognár's Brainless Bride
_______________________________________________________________
“I almost always experiment if I have the time or the materials!”
_______________________________________________________________
On This Day In Music (September 26th)
Abbey Road by The Beatles released on September 26th, 1969. Also released on this day:
- Port Royal by Running Wild (1988)
- Shout At The Devil by Mötley Crüe (1983)