In my last post, I talked about building an open-world survival game called Red Empire. In this post, I'll be introducing a new MVP concept that I'll submit to the AWS Game Builder Challenge, and the new formation of a game studio where I publish all my old and future games.
New MVP for Red Empire
Act 1: Where is everyone?
I've recently discovered 2 new assets that will come in handy for Red Empire's MVP and Beta test. One is an empire asset found on the Unity Asset Store that I'll use for the Red Empire in my open-world map. The second asset is a cabin-like asset used for cabins I'll scatter across the map. At the start of the MVP, the player will wake up in the Citadel of the Red Empire in a underground bunker. He finds a radio on the desk from Commander Altherion, the leader of the Red Empire, explaining the dire situation: alien invaders have landed on the island, corrupting both the land and its wilderness. Entire towns have been overrun and evacuated, and 3 alien strongholds have emerged in hidden locations. Corrupted beasts roam the wilderness hunting survivors. The Commander tasks the player with a monumental mission: to locate and destroy the 3 alien strongholds. Each one houses a fragment of an ancient alien key. When combined, the key has the power to banish the alien corrupted presence from the island. However, the exact locations of these bunkers remain unknown, as the invaders have hidden their locations. The player is given basic survival gear, a measly pistol, and a map of the Red Empire, marked with the last known locations of key NPC settlements. The Commander advises the player to survive and trust survivors as their knowledge may hold the clues you need.
Act 2: The Wilderness
The player sets out into the open world, filled with sprawling forests, abandoned cabins and villages, foggy lakes, and corrupted wilderness animals. Along the way, the player encounters:
- The Rebel Outpost: A faction of Red Empire soldiers who have defected due to distrust of the Citadel's leadership. Their leader, Captain Syral, reveals the first clue to a bunker's location in exchange for the plaer completing a mission to retrieve stolen supplies from an alien-infested camp.
- The Hermit of the Wailing Woods: A enigmatic old man who lives in a swamp-like forest. He has firsthand knowledge of alien activity, despite his trance-like state. He claims he saw the "creatures bury their nest in the heart of the swamp." He guides the player to the first bunker in exchange for alien samples.
- The Trade Caravan: A traveling group of scavengers who sell rare supplies and information. Their leader, Marla, offers a piece of an old map showing the location of another bunker, but only if the player helps defend their caravan from a horde of mutated beasts that have stopped their migration.
The player's survival skills are tested as they gather resources, find better weapons and armor, and fend off increasingly dangerous enemies while exploring these areas.
Act 3: Alien Strongholds and Dark Revelations
Bunker 1: Swamp Fortress Hidden deep in the Wailing Woods, this bunker is surrounded by toxic waters and defended by aliens. The player must exterminate the defense and defeat the stronghold as his first test. Bunker 2: Sunken Cavern: Beneath a massive lake lies this stronghold. Once the player uncovers this stronghold's location on his map and approaches the lake, it emerges from deep within the lake and needs to find a way to build a boat. He meets a traveller who is willing to build a boat in exchange for exotic alien fruits in the neighboring forest. Bunker 3: The Sky Cradle: The final bunker is not on land but in the sky - a hovering alien base tethered to the ground by massive steel tendrils. The player must infiltrate and destroy the anti-gravity generators to bring the base crashing down.
Act 4: Returning to the Citadel
After collecting all 3 fragments of the alien key, the player returns to the citadel of the Red Empire. He is tasked by the Commander to activate the key, and is required to solve a series of FNAF SB type puzzles to active it. On completion, the alien rift implodes. As the survivors regroup, the Commander thanks the player, offering them a place in the rebuilding of the Red Empire.
Main takeaways:
This storyline encourages survival and problem solving, full of NPCs, side-quests, and environmental challenges. It sets the stage for potential expansions or sequels if I desire.