Premise: Scavengers must venture out beyond the wastes to gather needed supplies in order to rebuild and defend their settlements from competing militant factions in the war-torn Utah territory.
- Overview
- Key locations
- Utah Territory: One of the many contested portions of land fought over between government and rebel armies. The Utah Territory serves as a new wild west, as neither major power holds significant influence in the region, individuals often play the role of judge, jury, and executioner. The landscape is vast and varied, with small clusters of competing groups and tribes.
- The wastelands(salt flats): The northwest of the Utah Territory is the wastelands, a dumping ground for battlefield and industry scrap and waste. These once flat and open spaces are piled high with twisted metal and discarded war material. These wastelands are not devoid of life however. Pockets of civilization exist in the form of tribal communities. These tribes are isolated and are wary of outsiders. Most communities are not eager for conflict, and make due by scavenging and hunting for the resources they need. Other tribes are made of raiders, who subsist only by pillaging those more docile communities.
- The city: The developed and urban region of the Utah Territory is scarred by the ongoing civil war. The buildings vary in their damage, but none are untouched. The city is patrolled by the government forces, who hold a strong influence in the area. Citizens sympathetic to the government (loyalists) and guerrillas continue daily life, with the occasional skirmish in the alleyways or streets.
- The Eastern Front (desert): To the east are the deserts of the Utah Territory. Conflict in the region has fallen to a standstill, as the vast and open landscape makes large scale menuevers impossible. Complex trench lines were developed, with both sides digging in to stay out of the open.
- The Southern forests: The forests of Utah Territory remain dense and largely untouched. With tall, sturdy trees and dense underbrush, the forests serve as the perfect hiding spot for small teams and equipment on the move in and out of the territory.
- Travel
- The Utah Territory is an open world environment.
- Entering new buildings or regions should not disrupt gameplay, and should be preloaded, some buildings may be inaccessible.
- Travel is primarily by foot, as fuel resources are closely guarded and in short supply.
- Mechanized travel is largely unavailable to the general public, but larger government forces make use of trucks and helicopters to cover land quickly. Some of this technology has been captured by the rebels, but the power cores needed to fuel these machines are difficult to come by.
- Mechanized personal armor increased an individual’s strength and defensive ability, but is a poor choice for movement, as it’s mass slows the user down significantly.
- Scale
- The game made feels very large and diverse. The play area is fictionalized and compressed version of the true geography, with subtle transitions between biomes to give the illusion of distance between key points on the map.
- Objects
- There are a large variety of items the players will interact with.
- Health objects- medical equipment, first aid kits, and food resources restore player health.
- Crafting resources- Bits of scavenged material including broken weapons, raw materials, and assorted junk that can be used to build/ repair equipment for the player.
- Community resources- tools and parts to improve the quality of the player settlements.
- Vehicles- rare, high value objects that allow for rapid movement.
- Weapons- for the player to use, or donate to the settlement to improve defense abilities.
- Power sources- energy cores of various sizes for powering vehicles, community equipment, and armor.
- Weather
- Weather is dynamic, and can change with time. Rare events such as thunderstorms and dust storms create environmental hazards the player must navigate. Storms may damage the player and reduce visibility.
- Day/night
- Time passes in game, allowing for a day/night cycle. Time of day will play a role in the odds of the player being seen or not, as well as unique encounters, such as dealing with nocturnal wildlife or raiding parties.
- Game Engine & why
- Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE)
- Rockstar studio’s proprietary game engine (RAGE) would be an ideal candidate for this game. RAGE is able to handle long draw distances, loading in large chunks of map at a time while preventing additional load screens. Additionally, RAGE features PBR rendering, volumetric clouds and fog, and global illumination to create realistic visuals and lighting. RAGE is designed with open world games in mind, and is optimized for large game worlds, complex AI movements, as well as dynamic weather systems and day/night cycles. RAGE also supports a range of post-processing effects in order to create extremely cinematic gameplay and cutscenes. The important role of environmental storytelling, and the scale of the game map would benefit greatly from an engine such as RAGE.
- Camera
- The gameplay should primarily be experienced in third-person perspective, however, the option to snap into first person perspective should be possible, so that the user may get a closer look at objects, or experience more engaging and immersive combat while aiming. The camera should follow the player, and the player should be able to orbit around their character. Occasionally, the camera may be put into a different perspective for specific actions, such as crafting, or important story events.
- Environment–2D? 3D? etc
- The environment should be three dimensional, assets should fit a realistic, near-future aesthetic. A slightly cinematic style should be applied to lighting and color information.
- Lighting
- PBR materials and lighting should be used to create a realistic visual space. Light plays an important role in environmental storytelling, and as such will change depending on the environment. City spaces will use dull grey and blues to create an industrial feeling, the desert will be blindingly bright. Night scenes will serve to obscure certain areas and in certain areas, such as city ruins, flickering light will serve to create an atmosphere of tension.
- Setting Game Summary
- Hi-poly world environment ranging from salt flats, cities, forests, and deserts. Campsites and settlements scattered without, along with wartime waste and ruins. NPCs wander and go about daily schedules, participating in activities such as scavenging, raiding, and walking to and from settlements. The atmosphere is tense, a sort of “pre-apocalypse” vibe, as the civil war is reaching a turning point. People are struggling, and are forced to live rough, occasionally violent. The wild west of the Utah territory is not a cinematic or heroic scene, just honest people trying to live day by day to improve their daily life.