Session 6 - 07/11/12 - More Ideas

I used this session for more brainstorming, starting with a quick summary of two of my favourite films, and the journey of their main characters, they both have very cowardly or stereotypical protagonists who over the course of their films shake off their negative images.

District 9 – Temperamental yet cowardly bureaucrat becomes fugitive, literally representing his cowardice by running away, right to the end where he eventually overcomes his selfish nature to save a father and son.

Zombieland – Nerdy guy gets the girl, manages to fit in despite social awkwardness. Kills zombies on the way.

The rest of the time was spent trying to get the barebones of my story together. I settled on the idea of seeing the effects of the events of Half-Life 1 outside of Black-Mesa. 

For anyone unfamiliar with the Half-Life games, they tell the tale of a theoretical physicist called Gordon Freeman, a scientist employed in a secret scientific research facility in New Mexico called 'Black Mesa'. This facility was involved in various experiments, notably with teleportation technology that utilised a border-world (known as 'Xen') as a kind of 'slingshot' to make their technology work. Half-Life places you in an experiment with a sample of a Xenian substance it is believed will benefit the technology. This substance and some recklessness on the scientists part cause a catastrophic event called a 'Resonance Cascade' that causes sever structural damage throughout the facility as well as the teleportation of hundreds of Xenian creatures.The player, as Gordon Freeman, must fight their way through the facility, eventually going to the Xen borderworld himself to kill a being that has been teleporting its own alien soldiers into the facility. It is believed that killing this creature, called the 'Nihilanth' will cut the link between the two worlds for good, sadly this is not the case. In the sequel, players find out that their efforts were all for nought and that the entire world suffered the influx of Xen creatures and ultimately humanitys downfall to a greater threat called the Combine.

Below you can see my notes on potential ideas for my story, thinking about what my character will do, where the story would be set, and the threats that might face someone living in a post Half-Life world.

Narrative Ideas:

What is the main characters aim?

-          Main character has an objective, but it will require them to overcome their own cowardice

-          OR Main character has an objective that can be achieved, but tests players cowardice

About the main character:

-          Cushy lifestyle?

-          Comfortable job?

-          Retired?

Main character lives during portal storms and witnesses the arrival of the combine.

-          Travelling to city?

-          Lives just outside city but refuses to go there

-          Life in the wasteland?

Threats in the world post black mesa:

-          Xen wildlife

-          Portal storms

-          Remnants of Nihilanths army (lone grunts)

-          Bad guys

Looper -Setting.

I then went on to think about how i could combine this setting with the kinds of story i liked, most of which involved a cowardly  protagonist. I decided i had my setting, so i would make my the journey of the protagonist from cowardly to brave be the interactive element of my story. I began devising a 'Courage' mechanic that would allow the player to choose to be brave or cowardly. The ability to perform a brave act however, would depend on a 'Courage Stat', this stat would increase throughout the story meaning that the player had a better chance of performing the brave act. I had my doubts about it, but decided to go with it anyway.

Gameplay/Interactive Element:

Gameplay involves choosing a brave or a cowardly act. With a twist:

-   Bravery is not always the best option to take. Sometimes cowardice can lead to a better outcome

-   Whilst the option is always given to the player of whether to make a brave or a cowardly decision. A decision to be brave will require a dice roll that decides whether the character has the courage to achieve this brave act.

o   The story tells the tale of a cowardly character, so achieving a brave outcome will be very hard, at least in the early parts of the story. As the story progresses I would either like the player to gradually overcome their cowardice, or have a moment towards the end where the players cowardice is all but eradicated.

“Courage” mechanic to represent main characters cowardice?

Courage ‘level’ increases throughout or peaks at end of story?

Unsatisfying mechanic?

No fun to play a useless character.