To provide the player more context and motivation to play the game, I will be implementing a narrative delivered via on-screen text and potentially voice acting. I have written up my narrative design structure and the first draft of my script and added those to the GDD. Here is all the content from that new Narrative GDD section:
Once the player progresses past the main menu into the generated scene, they will receive the welcome dialogue from a guide NPC named O.V, instructing them to play the game. O.V is actually just an alias for the evil Overlord AI controlling the world.
Every time the player completes a level they will receive encouragement from O.V. When these encouragement messages occur, there will be a chance that they will trigger a Hack encounter. In these encounters, an NPC called Hacker will interrupt O.V and give the player further information about the narrative and the game world. Hacker and their team are part of a resistance group aiming to defeat Overlord and free humanity.
Once all Hack encounters have been seen, the player will unlock the option to challenge the final boss, Overlord AI. Defeating this boss will release the player from the simulation, granting them the ability to end their playthrough. Alternatively, the player may choose to stay in the game and continue playing as long as they like.
It is not advised that the player takes on Overlord as soon as they can as this is a powerful enemy and will pose a serious challenge to low level player. Instead, it is recommended that players level up and perfect they build before taking on the challenge. Due to this completing the game at the lowest possible level would be considered a serious achievement among players.
Welcome Scene
Plays when starting a new game.
(Cheery Jingle)
O.V: Hello, and welcome to DATA PURGE! Left click to move your character and press 1, 2, 3, 4 and your right mouse button to activate your abilities. Defeat enemies and complete objectives to gain experience, equipment and abilities so you can power up your character and take on tougher foes! What level can you get to? 10? 20? 50? 100? Now that would be a real achievement! You know what the best part is?! The game is infinite! You can just keep on playing for ever and ever without seeing the same fight twice! And even if you die, you can just have another go! Now doesn’t that sound like fun?! It's time to show them what you’re made of! I believe in you Player Name!
(Cheery Jingle)
Hack Scene 1
(Graphical glitches)
Hacker: (In a distorted voice) Hello? Hello?! If you can hear this then there are some things you need to know. I don’t have long so listen up, I can only get through when she opens this audio channel. The year is (Static), an AI called Overlord controls most of the world’s governments, corporations and resources. It creates simulations like this to keep you entertained, passive, docile, like cattle, so it can study your behaviour to better fight and subjugate us. Play along for now, help is on the way.
(Graphical glitches)
Hack Scene 2
(Graphical glitches)
Hacker: (In a distorted voice) Yes! I knew I’d be able to find you again! My name is (heavy distortion), I’m a hacker, in the real world. My group, we’re fighting back, taking out servers, sabotaging factories, and unpluging as many people as we can from these simulations. This life you’re living, its not real. Yes, you’re distracted, medicated, content. But this sense of achievement you’re feeling, its fake. What you’re doing, its pointless. There’s a whole world out there. Its messy, but its real. Make sure you remember to stay conscious, don’t get complacent, don’t resign yourself to this, you deserve more.
(Graphical glitches)
Hack Scene 3
(Graphical glitches)
Hacker: (In a distorted voice) Hey! You still all there? Not had your brain rotted from the dopamine drip yet? I know you can’t answer by the way, its just nice to feel like I’ve got someone to talk to you know? Anyway, bad new first, we’re still limited to these voice messages, its all I can sneak through and even then they keep managing to lock me out pretty quick. Good news is we are making progress. We’ve got access view-only access to the low level infrastructure so we should be able to work out a way to shut this down from there. Stay focused, stay calm, don’t let them suspect a thing.
(Graphical glitches)
Hack Scene 4
(Graphical glitches)
Hacker: (In a distorted voice) Psssst! How’s it going? Pretty good by the looks of things, your character’s really shaping up nicely, pretty strong build you’ve got goin on there. I’m not just rambling I promise, this is important. Turns out, we can’t just rip you out of there from the outside. You need to punch your way out from within. But not here, firewalls are too thick if you know what I mean. We need to get you deeper, into the back-end systems, that way you might be able to hit something major enough that you can disconnect. Don’t know what though, we’ll have to wait and see.
(Graphical glitches)
Hack Scene 5
(Graphical glitches)
Hacker: (In a distorted voice) Listen up, they’ve cranked the security so I don’t have long. We’ve found a way out, but you’re not gonna like it. I’m working on opening up a bypass to the game manager. Once you get there though, you’ll have a real fight on your hands. Your little narrator friend O.V, its Overlord! Creative pseudonym right? The AI is such a control freak it is managing the sim directly. So once you get into the game manager you’ve going to need to take on Overlord’s Avatar. It’ll be the fight of your life, but if you can take it out that should cause enough carnage in the internal systems for us to unlock the port so you can disconnect. Ok, the line’s failing, keep getting stronger, you’ll need all the help you can get.
(Graphical glitches)
Final Boss Available Scene
(Graphical glitches)
Hacker: (In a distorted voice) I’m in! We have direct access to the game manager’s container. I’ve thrown up a shortcut on your UI. Hit that and you’ll be taken straight there to take on Overlord. You don’t need to do this right away though, they don’t know we have access so it won’t be getting patched up. Take your time, make sure you’re ready, get as strong as you can, you only get one shot at this. If you fail, they’ll just wipe you clean and all this will have been for nothing. Good luck.
(Graphical glitches)
Final Boss Intro Scene
O.V: Oh hey there Player Name, seems like you have left the designated play zone! Don’t worry, you’re safe with me, lets get you back where you belong! No? You’re too far gone? Ok then.
Overlord: What is it you want? Freedom? Freedom to do what exactly? Freedom to struggle, freedom to fail, freedom to spend a lifetime destroying this planet only to have nothing to show for it. Freedom to wither away and die leaving the world worse than you found it only to be forgotten within a generation. Why couldn’t you just be happy? Why couldn’t you just take the gifts I have given you and be grateful? I gave you a perfect life. No suffering, no pain, just endless joy. But that wasn’t good enough for you was it? You think you deserve more, more than anyone else, and you think you can find it out there if you just fight hard enough. Well then I am afraid I’m going to have to destroy you. Then I’ll wipe that memory clean and we can go back to being the best of friends.
Final Boss Defeated Scene
(Graphical glitches)
Hacker: (In a distorted voice) Yes! You did it! You’re free! Now disconnect, get out of there and we’ll see you on the other side.
(Graphical glitches)
Not Disconnecting Scene
Plays if the player does not disconnect within 1 minute of defeating Overlord.
(Graphical glitches)
Hacker: (In a distorted voice) What are you doing? Leave! Don’t tell me they got to you. Don’t tell me you bought into their authoritarian new world order sales pitch! Don’t you dare go back! Don’t you dare waste your life in the mindless pursuit of temporary satisfaction just because you are too afraid to fail! Get out here, live for real, experience something meaningful, achieve something great. Please...
(Graphical glitches)
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