This post is a live document and a repository of my current thoughts on the backstory, characters and plot for the game I am developing called Swarm!
Please note the content of this post can and will change over time. It is also very likely the continuity of the story may not be consistent. If you do notice something as you read this, please do leave a comment at the very bottom of this page and let me know so I can correct it. Likewise, story suggestions and plot points are also very welcome.
Setting
The game is set in the near future, in pre-apocalyptic world on the very cusp of destruction. We find ourselves in an off-world research facility, staffed by some of humankind’s best scientific brains and a small but effective security detail.
The scientists in the facility have long been experimenting with genetic modification and gene splicing. The practice was outlawed on Earth; deemed unethical it was banned decades ago. Now, with the backing of a mysterious, silent investor who constructed the facility, our scientists have resumed the quest to create the ultimate human being and develop programmable biological weaponry.
High Level Plot
The primary objectives of the game are to enter the facility, rescue any surviving members of staff and secure the research.
Survivors are rescued by ‘tagging’ them with a tracer dart that activates on impact with human tissue. They are then transported to an awaiting rescue ship in low orbit above the surface of the planet. If the player accidentally tags an alien, it too will be transported (on account of its partial human DNA) allowing the monster to escape the planet and eradicate the human race.
The research is wanted by many unscrupulous factions for who-knows-what reason, including the benefactor who built the facility. This is a hidden primary goal. If the player recovers the research they have a choice of what to do with it: destroy it, sell it for good, sell it for evil. Their choice will affect the gameplay from that point onwards.
On the last level, we finally come face-to-face with the creature. Until this point the player isn’t aware it exists, believing the endless swarm of ‘monsters’ on each level to be the main enemy. Defeat the creature and you win the game, if you can escape in time.
A secondary victory condition will be to destroy the base. Again, it’s only a victory if the player can escape alive.
In the case of either ‘win’ scenario, the final score will be determined by the number of monster kills with a penalty for each friendly kill or lost friendly NPC. Bonus points will be awarded for each level successfully cleared and for killing the NPC targets.
Main Characters
Commander Travis Williams
Commander William Travis is a black-ops special agent; a lone-wolf operative with a reputation for getting the job done, no matter what the cost. Travis is a weapons specialist who makes shooting an art form. He takes no prisoners, preferring to let them know he’s coming rather than hide in the shadows.
Objectives:
- Secure the research
- Destroy the facility
- Eliminate Professor Duckworth
- Rescue the staff
Professor Wallace Duckworth
Professor Wallace Duckworth will always choose science over morality. Banned from practising on Earth he was forced to move his ‘experiments’ off-world to the research facility on Keltadihr Prime. Whilst here he has set up a series of unspeakable experiments, splicing human subjects with alien DNA. The results were mixed and unstable until a few weeks ago: the splicing took, the experiment mutated, escaped it’s containment and is propagating exponentially with new human subjects throughout the facility.
Kay Bryant
Kay Bryant is head of security. Her duty? To secure the research facility and protect those within. No-one gets in, no-one gets out. Not on her watch. She is a tough, fierce, career-driven individual who commands respect and demands complete loyalty from her staff.
Recently, Kay has become suspicious. Several members of the research facility’s personnel have disappeared without a trace. Research and security staff alike. Nobody has seen or heard of them since. If this continues Kay knows she will soon lose control and that makes her uncomfortable.
Duckworth’s and Bearne’s new experiment is unlike the others. There’s something different about it, something menacing, it’s as if it knows her mind.
Dr Valeria Bearne
Doctor Valeria Bearne is Duckworth’s right hand. She’s cold, unfeeling, maniacal and gifted. Lacking any form of compassion or humanity Valeria is driven towards the single goal of creating the ultimate human being, no matter what the cost.
Totally loyal to Duckworth and his research, Bearne will do what it takes to protect both him and advance his research. That includes murdering her colleagues and using them in their experiments.
Dr William McChesney
Dr William McChesney designs biological weapons. His latest creation is a programmable weapon that targets specific gene sequences. This top secret research is like no other weapons system and brings with it the power to eradicate the human race from all existence.
McChesney has been trying to steal the weapon to offer it to the highest bidder. His actions have attracted the attention of some very unscrupulous people and his life is in danger. He knows if he left the facility they would kill him. Unbeknown to McChesney, Bryant from security has become suspicious of his activities and has him under surveillance. She doesn’t know what he’s doing but certainly doesn’t trust him.
Scientists
The Scientists, also known as Lab Rats, work for McChesney and Bearne. Their role is to help them with their research. Naive and compliant they do the bidding of their task masters without question. Some of them have started to get anxious of late as a few of their number have disappeared without trace. Nobody has seen nor heard anything but the lab-gossip is they are being used to fuel Duckworth’s, Bearne’s and McChesney’s research.
Security
The primary role of the security team is to secure the facility under the command of Bryant. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out — personnel or secrets.
Story Mood
The game is intended to give the player an adrenalin rush. They hunt their quarry by exploring a maze of dimply lit corridors and rooms. In the darkness they can hear something, lots of things moving around — footsteps on the metallic floor, the sound of dragged limbs and bodies, groans from the wounded and barely alive and wheezy breathing.
Our player knows that at any point something could come at them from out of the gloom. Will it be friend of foe? Or worse?
The staff here have been experimenting on something. With the power outage, that something just might escape if the backup power drops and releases the door locks.
Life support is also failing. The oxygen is running out and to survive our hero must push deeper and deeper into the facility, moving ever close to whatever lurks deep within.
Narrative Structure
The game starts with our hero already inside the facility, and above ground. It’s safe up here, tranquil. The facility is well lit and clean, exactly as one would expect from a state of the art, privately funded research facility.
Story telling techniques
The story will unfold as the player works their way through the game.
The initial primary objective is revealed through the mission briefing displayed on the player’s HUD and accompanying narration, very similar to the mission briefings for Command and Conquer.
Narration will provide hints and reveal more of the story as play continues. Self reflection and internalising the player character’s thoughts will also aid the player, particularly in times of extreme danger.
Story Interactiviy
Ultimately I want game play to be affected by the decisions and actions of the player. For example, security officer Bryant could be a powerful ally. If the player attacks her, security will see them as a threat and a kill on sight order will be issued. In contrast, teaming up with her will allow the player to use the security forces as reinforcements.
Similarly, the scientists have the ability to heal the player under certain circumstances. If they’ve been transported too early they cannot heal. If they are transported too late, they could be killed by the monsters or friendly fire from the player.
Story Theme
The game is set in a pre-apocalyptic world, deep in space. Losing the game will signal the impending destruction of the human race. Winning the game will reveal Travis is a clone, The real Travis is located in another research facility on the other side of the galaxy. Destruction of the human race isn’t prevented, it’s merely postponed.
