message from hell game doc

Game design document
Contents:
• Version history:
• Game overview:
• Game mechanics:
• Camera:
• Controls:
• Interface:
• Menu and screen descriptions: Saving and loading:
• Game world:
• Levels:
• Game progression:
• Characters:
• Main characters:
• Non-playable characters:
• Enemies:
• Weapons:
• Items:
• Vehicles:
• Script:
• Sounds:


Version history:
This is the first draft of the game document; it highlights the basic elements so far. There are aspects that I know will have to changed in some parts and elaborate on in others. For now though the basics are laid out and give a general idea of the type of game and direction in which it is going.

Game overview:

The game is set in the near future but explained in passed tense as the main character is telling the story of his experience. Russian geologists are working for a secret joint organisation between the Russian and Japanese governments, their mission to find oil wells deep underneath the icy wastes of remote Siberia. They developed a drill larger than any ever conceived before. They drill to twenty kilometres and they stumble upon something that strikes terror into their hearts. Contact is lost to the base and you are sent in to investigate why. As members of the Russian secret service and former Spetsnaz, you and your units’ illustrious military careers have taken you into many dark places in and around the world. This will prove to be your darkest mission yet.
The game will be very claustrophobic for the player, fear and confusion at every corner. This first person shooter will contain a vast and mechanical maze of levels darker than Clive barkers’ nightmares. It will leave you dwelling on the terrors it contains and make you think. - are you up to the challenge of uncovering its secrets.


Game mechanics:

As the player in the game your role will be that of a leader of u Russian special ops team. The game is in first person, with you leading your unit throughout the various levels. At first you must locate the power source of the research base that is located in the harsh environment of the icy wastes of Siberia. This will mean dealing with energy sapping cold weather that if underestimated will quickly make you a victim of its freezing grasp. Shelter must be located in order for you and your unit to survive, working as a unit will be paramount in order for survival. Warmer clothing, generators and fuel to power them bust all be searched for and used to combat this first section of the game.



Camera:

The camera will be set in first person view; this will mean that the player will be looking through the eyes of the protagonist of the story. As the player moves along, the camera will bob slightly from side to side. The faster the player moves will determine the speed of the bobbing motion. The movement of this will not become greater but will be slightly faster. Too much movement and the player will feel nauseous and suffer from motion sickness. Other cameras in the game will consist of fixed and non-fixed point of views. These will either track the progression of the player through a cut scene or that of a non playable character.


Controls:

The directional controls for my game will be set as W, A, S, D, the W, will be for going forward, the A, will be for going left. The S, key will be for going backward and the D, for going right. The mouse will be used to aim the weapons reticule, F1 –F9 will be for selecting the weapons. You can also scroll down with the mouse wheal to select weapons. In the main menu the mouse will be used for selecting the various options available. The player will also be able to select the options using the up and down arrows. In-game the player can also use the space bar for jumping, the R key for reloading, E to interact with your environment. The shift key or the C key is used to crouch.


Interface:

The overall colour scheme will be that of dark and moody appearance. This will reflect the tone of the levels and story where things are industrial and demonic. There will be a lot of shadowy areas in the game also, mixed with the rusty mechanical colours to create a dark dirty feel throughout. The layout will also reflect the military back ground of the main character and his unit. This feel will be well suited to a high action horror game, in the first person shooter genre.


Menu and screen descriptions:

These will have various appearances throughout the game; the overall appearance will be mechanical with menus having cogs and drill bits moving about. Parts when highlighted will move into view enabling selection. There will also be a heads up display that will be very modern this will contain sections where the player can select amongst the various commands used to relay to your unit. Each level will have a slightly different scheme; load screens for each level will have a different interface, one to suit the feel of the level itself. Each levels loading screen will have a screen shot of the level itself, giving the player a sneak peak of it. For example, the first level loading screen will contain a screen shot of the Siberian base from a distance.

Saving and loading:

The saving and loading will be done automatically throughout the game. These times will vary between either a checkpoint in a level or at the end of the previous level. The distance between check points will not be far as the game will offer a challenge to the player. If the player dies too many times just before getting to the next checkpoint, then they will find the experience frustrating. A challenge is always good but too much of a challenge can spoil a good game.


Game world:

The game is set in a remote region of Siberia in Russia. The area itself is a valley like area surrounded by higher ground. Visibility is low due to the blizzard s and storms that frequently hit the area. Throughout the game world will vary greatly, as you begin you will as a player be dealing with the cold Siberian extremities that you would expect to experience in such a place. The buildings that are situated in this fist part of the game will form a large research station. The different buildings situated around the base will provide shelter from the weather. They will also provide the locations of first aid and other items integral to the survival of the character. The base is a geological research station; it will contain a geological survey station, weather station and crew quarters. There will also be an industrial section; this will include heavy digging and drilling equipment and earth moving equipment. There will also be large cranes and of course the drill used for the deep drill operation that started the mystery.

The feeling and tone of this base will be that of an abandoned place, filled with mystery, danger and a sense of paranoia. This will keep the player wanting to know more whilst creating a sense of the unknown. Presenting these aspects will keep the player hooked but prevent him/her speeding through the game as fast as they possibly can.
The environment will play the largest part in creating the tone and mood for the game. The player will find it very confusing at first to navigate around the base, due to the intense weather and lack of visibility. The player will hopefully feel paranoid and apprehensive about there skills, questioning their abilities. Hopefully by creating this mood in small doses will make for a very interesting gaming experience, without alienating the player too much.

The feel between outside and inside will also contrast dramatically. The outside blizzards will take energy of the player slowly until he/she finds clothing suitable for that environment. The inside of the various buildings will be totally different offering the player varying levels of shelter. Some will be partially destroyed or have no windows, this will let the weather inside and your health will suffer. To combat these problems, outside machinery will be accessible, cranes and diggers may be used to move rubble and debris to block holes and fix areas. Before these machines can be used however, power must be brought back on section by Section.

The workshops will need to be brought back online in order to use machinery, and other areas will need to be powered in order to open doors to locked locations. The mood of these areas therefore will greatly depend on what phase of this starting section you are in. Cabins and workshops will seem desolate and cold; torch light will be your primary source of visibility until each section is restored to full working order. Some objects and items will only become visible to the player once power is on.

The sounds of the surrounding environment will be that of harsh winds overpowering every thing. The need to escape inside therefore will be foremost in your priorities, as outside the overpowering sound will become disorienting when coupled with the lack of visibility. The appearance of this base with its lack of power and partly destroyed sections will help to create a desolate and abandoned ghost town feeling.


Levels:

The first level
That the player will encounter will be the deserted research base. This will have several buildings included on the sight. Machine workshops, crew quarters and of course the geological and weather survey buildings. This area of the base is more superficial than anything else. The weather station was taken down in another area fifty miles away; this was then rebuilt at this location to help mask the true operation. This place will be set above ground and will be subjected to frequent blizzards and bad weather. The music for this area will be light but sinister helping to create the deserted feeling of the base.

The second level
This hidden base will take up eighty percent of the overall game; it will feature many floors and boast modern technologies. The overall felling will be dark and industrial, the player will find out in this section of the game exactly how bad the situation is. The bodies of crew and scientists will also be located around the place, this environment will be very scary for the player as lighting fades and heavy shadows fill corridors and rooms. Most of the games weapons will also be found here. The music in this section will vary from floor to floor but will have an overall heavy industrial feel to it, helping to reflect the mechanical appearance throughout.

The third level
This will be the players decent or transportation to hell. This place will be the scariest of all the levels and will be the final battle for player before the end. The answers to the origin of the disaster will be all too apparent here and many new enemies will be found here such as minor and major demons. The music here will be gothic in style reflecting the demonic nature of the environment.


Game progression:

The drill experiment
This was a geological experiment set up to research the composition of the Earths crust and the formations of the rock twenty kilometres down. This was the official reason for the experiment, the other reason was to secretly mine for a vast oil reserve in the deepest regions of the Earths crust. The funding was put foreword by secret organisations within the Russian and Japanese governments and no expense was to be spared in the development of the project. The drill itself was an engineering marvel so vast in size that it made its workers seem like tiny insects in comparison. The drill bits so imposing and dangerous looking, they filled all who gazed upon them with awe. The drill took three years to complete, deep beneath the snowy ground in deepest Siberia. The drill itself was produced using the latest in engineering materials created specifically for working in extreme temperatures. The day the drill was started was a triumphant time for al involved, even those sceptical were impressed with the ease in which the marvel worked. The mechanical drilled deeper and deeper soon there was no longer sight of it. Reports of oil being found were soon delivered to the base. The base was further enhanced to support the massive operation, an operation proving very lucrative to all the organisations.


The accident

The drill experiment was going well, until that is twenty kilometres was reached. The drill suddenly starts to vibrate uncontrollably. The erratic shaking nearly brings an end to the drill and the operation. The engineers stop the drill and reverse its spin to bring it back up from the hole. The drill bits are badly damaged after seemingly being melted by intense heat. The company immediately set about trying to fix the drill but were confused as to why the special alloy designed for the most extreme of hot substances started to melt. They wanted to ascertain the reason for the strange damage so devised a method of finding out, using a camera and recording equipment created for use in satellites in space were the suns radiation is at its most extreme. This equipment was built into a large cooling device and sent down the hole. Nothing is heard for hours, then without warning a terrible sound blares through the speakers. Horrible high pitched screams and thunderous bellowing voices fill the air. The workers and scientists are filled with terror, half of which flee that moment refusing to believe what they have just heard. The sound lasts for a mere twenty seconds though before it turns to static. Some time later when the equipment is back at the surface it can be seen that most of the equipment has melted. The camera recorded no visuals at all as the intense heat instantly melted the lens.
The deserted research facility
This is the first of the levels that will deal with getting the player used to the controls and team work required for survival. This will not be that threatening as a level, it will offer however the player different types of dangers. These dangers will include heavy machinery and the weather, too long in the cold and you will freeze. The structures in this section are also unstable providing a new style of danger never really seen in this genre of game.


The hidden base

This section of the game will account for about eighty percent of the overall bulk of the game; it will also contain most of the weapons. After you find a secret entrance on the surface you descend into a vast mechanical hidden base. This section has a very dark feel to it compared to that of the surface level, mostly due to the modern industrial layout. The enemies in this section will include the dead crew and scientists whose bodies have been possessed and taken over by demonic forces. The base will contain many levels that the player must unlock in order to progress, each area will offer secrets and plot progressions keeping the narrative fresh. Most of the plot will be unravelled here going into how the workers uncovered a portal into hell and were spoken too in whispers in their dreams. These softly spoken words corrupted the work force with promises of infinite power and sent them mad. These deranged workers went about killing each other in a horrific bloody competition for power. This terrible event spelt doom for the base giving the major demons the power to open the gateway between Earth and Hell.


Into hell

This part of the game will be all out terror containing all sorts of demons wanting to destroy you. The main demon here has to be wiped out in order to close the gates, leaving you stranded in this nightmare realm forever. By this time of the game your character is totally fearless all of your team is wiped out leaving you in a totally insane state. There are minions of the main demon who will be sub bosses before the final fight. Because you are in hell though, every time you defeat one of these demons you will be imbued with a demonic aura growing strength. Your weapons will also fuse into your body and you will be transformed into a raging beast of destruction, bent on revenge your only desire to accomplish your mission… shut down the gate.


Characters:

Main character: - Nicolai victor (Agent Zero). This is the main character of the game; Member of the Russian secret service and former Spetsnaz. He is also the protagonist of the story.
Your unit: - names need to be given
Agent 1 FEMALE
Agent 2 MALE
Agent 3 MALE

These three agents that are in your unit are also very good friends, they have been on countless missions with you and now you all work as one to complete your tasks. Throughout the game you will get to understand the different personalities behind each agent.

Non-playable characters:
The geological scientists and drill crew: - these are the characters that fill in the story arc. These are in the movie clip showing the experiment and accident.


Enemies:

Bad guys (grunts): - the dead crew and scientists. These form the bulk of the bad guys in the hidden base levels. These consist of damaged corpses mutilated and broken reanimated by the forces of hell.

Minor demons (grunts): - these are the bulk of the enemies to be found in the last level of the game. These guys are really tough, and are the Hench men of the main bad guy. They are really fast and can dematerialise synching in and out of reality making it really hard to shoot them.

The main bad guy (Greater demon): - this is the top demon in this realm of hell; he answers only to Satan himself. His power is supreme and he commands all things in this environment. Killing his minions and destroying the special rune stones surrounding him will render him powerless and vulnerable to attack.


Weapons:
• Ak-47
• RPK -47
• M4-CARBINE
• P-90
• GRANADES (FRAG,FLASH,STUN)
• AGS-30

Accesories for each weapon will be include where applicable, such as scopes, flashlights and silencers.

Items:
The items in this game will be dotted around the various parts of the base, keeping it realistic I will keep these items coherent with that of the environment. These items will include: -
• AMMO
• HEALTH -FIRST AID PACKS (small and large)
• SPARE BODY ARMOUR AND WEAPON ACCESORIES
• TORCHES (electric and primative)
• LAMPS (gas or oil) also a type of weapon/deterant


ABILITIES:
Being human the main character doesn’t really have any special abilities as such. When playing the last level however there will be certain transformations that he goes through, in hell he will be imbued with a demonic aura growing strength. Your weapons will also fuse into your body and he will be transformed into a raging beast of destruction. There will also be no need to reload or find ammo; hell will make your bullets scream out of your fused guns with demonic fury.

Vehicles:
In this first person shooter there isn’t any vehicles that you can drive around in. There are various machines at the beginning of the game you can use but not drive. There is a monorail system that u can use in the game to get to other areas, however there will be no driving.

Script:
This section of script is from the helicopter ride at the beginning of the game were you first fly into the base

Agent 0- “we must be very close this is the area indicated on our map, so keep your eyes peeled”.

Agent 1- “there Sir I just seen something down there in the snow, a building I think.”

Agent 3- “yes I see it too we’re here”.

Agent0- “grab your equipment and get ready men and wear your masks its way below zero out there”.

Pilot - “oh no, no, aaahhh.

The helicopter clips a transmission mast that should be lit up to indicate to aircraft that the base is there. The chopper goes into a spin shifting everyone to one side with the centrifugal force.

Pilot - “I can’t regain control we are going down”.

Agent0-“hold on to something men this isn’t going to be nice”.

The helicopter straightens up for just a few seconds then crash lands into part of the base. The men onboard get thrown about violently, bodies and equipment bounce around. The chopper partially crashes into a building; the pilot is killed instantly as a girder impales him smashing his chest to pieces. Agent 0 looks around checking his unit; they are all ok, just bumped, bashed and bruised.

Agent0-“the pilot is gone; we must get out of here and find shelter from the cold”.


Sounds:
The sound for the game will vary drastically from level to level. The first level will have soft but sinister music; this will reflect the snowy but mysterious nature of the base. The buildings will be mostly wood and concrete surrounded by thick snow. The sounds for this level will be of these surfaces especially when walking or running on them. The howling wind will be very overpowering out side. It will be dulled down a bit when the player is inside however to indicate the fact the player is sheltered.

The sound for the hidden base will have no weather affects; instead it will contain industrial machine sounds. Vents and pipes will hiss out steam periodically, hopefully making the player jump when near them. The gunshots in this part will echo and bounce around the mostly metal environment, and boots will make a clanking sound on the steel grating of the floors. Other sounds will fill up the background noise of this section; this will give the feel of being surrounded with industrial machinery. The music will be heavy industrial metal such as fear factory or something similar.

In the last level it will be totally different, strange sounds, screams will fill the air and demonic laughter will haunt you as you progress. Bullets will sound like tortured souls as they erupt from the fused weaponry you are now part of. The music will be dark and gothic, appropriate for this unholy environment.

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Here are some images for the demons that we could do.

here are some images for the hell scene

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The artwork is amazing, really nice work. Love the creature designs.

The sketches give good idea of the environments

Character drawing is really good, looking forward to seeing other stuff

Since the setting is in hell why not have weapons from there?

Riley since your so good at cinema why not make some fast item or weapon models?

to anwer about the weapons, i plan on makin some wen i get the time as well as level aspects too. cant wait to get the characte brief out the way and concentrate on this project over xmas.

oh yes one more thing. the artwork that adele has posted isnt mine or hers its just an idea of where the game will be heading visually. the stuff i have posted is myown work an i will be posting more soon.

Nice Research, everyone thought it was design concepts but you guys did point out that it is ideas for what you could use.

But nice research anyway and the concept for the story looks great, keep it up.

I like how the gameplay sounds. Reminds me of DOOM

I like the character design, he looks like a real bro. The idea that he's just a human in a terrible situation is a common one but no less effective, it could really help to connect to the character if we were given more of a backstory on him.

Also, I really like the artwork for the demons. Definatley looks like it could be terrifying in the right circumstances. Reminds me of Silent Hill badguys.

riley wrote:

Enemies:
Bad guys (grunts): - the dead crew and scientists. These form the bulk of the bad guys in the hidden base levels. These consist of damaged corpses mutilated and broken reanimated by the forces of hell.
Minor demons (grunts): - these are the bulk of the enemies to be found in the last level of the game. These guys are really tough, and are the Hench men of the main bad guy. They are really fast and can dematerialise synching in and out of reality making it really hard to shoot them.
The main bad guy (Greater demon): - this is the top demon in this realm of hell; he is a lieutenant of Satan himself. His power is supreme and he commands all things in this environment. Killing his minions and destroying the special stones surrounding him will render him powerless and vulnerable to attack.

I really like this part. I think you have all the basic stuff needed for a fully enjoyable game. One thing I would ask is; Are there sub-groups of enemies?

For example, more than one sort of Bad Guys? Like sure there's dead scientists and crew, but maybe there's like test subjects, or hospital patients that vary in strength and attacks. Just a thought.

Your research and concepts really help get across the feel of the game. The creature concepts/research is awesome.

The enemies, what do they use to attack?

I imagine the re-animated corpses would use conventional weapons at first. But when you get to hell, I don't imagine they'd still be using AK's lol. Jack was right, pluz go into more details about what weapons they will be using and what powers and such.

Your environments are hot. All the fire and brimstone reminds me of Quake and Doom levels. The mixture of open and closed environments is great btw.

I like the idea of being able to give tactical orders to my team mates but there isn't alot of detail decribing this feature. Is it as indepth as a military shooter like Operation Flashpoint or Rainbow Six or is it more streamlined and simple like Mass Effects "move here" command?

This is an interesting feature that could be developed further.

Like other people i'm interested in what kinds of weapons the enemies will use and what level of intelligence they retain. Will they be able to walk and talk like a human or will they lose most of their functions and just attack you with their hands/claws?

Depending on what the enemies use as weapons could drastically increase or decrease the difficulty and playstyle of the game.

The research is amazing.
If you two can pull of a game that looks this good, I'll be the first person in line to buy it!!

The sketches give you a real good idea what the environments and characters will look like.

You describe all the weapons you use but not what the enemies use. Perhaps you could add a small seciotn about this to the document.

Someone mentioned earlier about the weapons, yeah I kinda agree, could keep the weapons you have now ofc! But if you're Hell, would definately be a cool idea to design some weapons specifically from Hell itself.
Apart from that, everything looks awesome!