Hello Everyone! The following is the foundation for a design of a game, entitled Nova. Now this was proposed in a group I was part of, that eventually fell apart. We never really got around to elaborating on the story, and turning it into a full design doc, but I would like to get your opinions on if it is good enough to make into a game, and whether you might want to work on it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Story Mankind has been around for eons and eons, and has grow extremely technologically advanced. As time went on, 2 major factions developed and people took side, for a long time there was peace between the 2 factions, but due the the differences in these factions, war was most likely to occur sooner or later. And eventually, a war did start, a very large war, of global proportions, literally 1 half of the world vs. the other. As the war progressed, each side struggled to overcome the other, but there was very little sway in the balance of power between the two sides. Each side tried with all their will to develop technology that would win the war. Many new technologies where implemented, such as nano-technology and micro robotics, energy weapons, Biological weapons and many other things. For a long time neither side gained over the other, but that was soon to change. One of the sides (herby referred to as Side #1 until another name is assigned to it) made extreme advances in energy generation, and energy weapons. They saw that this new more advanced energy technology could win them the war, and they acted on this with all their resources. They started work on a super weapon, a weapon so powerful that it could bring the war to an end in just a short amount of time. This device was named the Nova Device. It estimated build time was 10 years. The war raged on, all the time, Side #1 constantly worked on this supper weapon. Half way into its construction, the spies of the other side (herby referred to as Side #2 until another name is assigned to it) learned of the existence of Side #1''s new weapon. Fearing and oncoming defeat, they made many attempt to sabotage the construction of the Nova Device, all of which ended in failure. But that did not detour them, for they had a great plan that was sure to work. They had examined the plans for the Nova Device, and they where able to see several major flaws, mainly Side #1 would not be able to control the energy output once it was activated. The nova device had the potential the destroy the entire world. A bit on the back ground of Side #1 and Side #2: Side #2 was very much into experimental sciences, and had made break troughs in areas such as nano-technology, quantum physics and other unproven sciences. Side #1 was more into developing already proven sciences even further such as making better energy generators, more efficient and durable vehicles etc. Now, Back to the story............. Side #2''s plan was most certainly a very complex one, they worked for nearly five years to get it done. By this time, Side #1 was just about ready to use the Nova Device. But Side #2 was just a little bit a head, with their advanced knowledge of experimental sciences, they where able to build a proto-type for a time machine. The prototype had limited abilities, it could only send 1 person, and it could only send that person 5 years either way, not quite what they had tried for, but it was enough. They would give 1 person everything they had on the Nova Device, and send him/her back in time 5 years, where he/she could give his side the knowledge needed to successfully sabotage the Nova Device before it was completed. Only 1 problem remained in their cunning plan; Who where they going to send back in time? They would need some one who was resourceful, strong, and able to take care of themselves, as they had no idea what the effects of time travel would be on that person. They eventually choose a very unique individual (he will herby be referred to as the Robot Guy as he has no assigned name) for their plan, he was just what they needed. Unique doesn''t even begin to describe him, he was more machine than he was man. An accident during testing of micro robotics had replaced his physical body with trillions on microscopic robots. Now Side #2 had everything in place, they gathered all the information on the Nova Device and implanted it into the memory of the Robot Guy they were sending (which actually wasn''t to hard, considering he''s virtually a robot). Everything was set. Then the unimaginable happened, Side #1 had activated the Nova Device ahead of time! The had very little time to do what they had to do to ensure their future. With time rapidly running out the scrambled to the time machine, and began the initiation sequence. The Robot Guy was just stepping into the time portal when the energy wave from the Nova Device reached the area. It sent a massive power surge into the time machines systems, the time machine was messed up, and was supplied with massive amounts of extra energy. When the full energy of the Nova device hit the base, it was destroyed. However, Side #2 were not the only people with plans to make it through the activation of the Nova Device. There was also the Traveland Executive Directorate (herby referred to as T.E.D.), who where an independent who had allied themselves with Side #1 for the war, but were opposed to the creation and use of the Nova Device. The T.E.D. was one of Side #2''s primary informants about the Nova Device, and had assisted in many of the sabotage attempts. When the Nova Device was being prepped for activation, T.E.D. transported all of its highest officials and most skilled soldiers and personnel to bunkers deep beneath the planets surface, where they where put into bio-stasis chambers to sleep through the long eons of fallout from the Nova Device. Exactly what happened to these bunkers and the personnel they hold is unknown. When the Nova Device was run, it created massive amounts of destructive energy, that swept across the surface of the planet. That energy destroyed everything in its path, civilization a it was know was wiped out. Most of the worlds populous was eradicated. The energy cause changes in the genetics'' of many things. The only thing not destroyed was the Nova device itself. The survivors of the cataclysm banded together and dismantled the Nova Device. The had a problem though, they could not destroy the parts, everything that could have been used to destroy the parts was destroyed by the Nova Device when it was run. The survivors pondered this problem and eventually decided to spread the parts all over the world, and hoped that no one would ever find them and desire to rebuild the horrible creation. Many thousands of years pass. The survivors have begun to recover, banding into small colonies that prosper in peace and trade with one another. People (most people that is) no longer remember the the horrors that transpired in the passed. Instead myths have taken place, things like "long ago, the gods rained destruction upon the world because man could not live in peace". There was almost no technology left, an only a select few had it. The world is very much in a dark ages like state. --Well, that wraps the first part of the story, now on to the part where the game takes place.-- Its night in the mid of winter, there is a sudden bright flash of light which quickly dwindles again into the twilight of night. Our would be savior of the past, the Robot Guy, has arrived at his extremely of course destination. He is in a dense forest, in nowhere in particular. However, he is not alarmed, as the time he was supposed to go to didn''t contain the base where the time machine was anyways. He sets out on his mission, to get the information to his people. But he is unable to find his people, in fact, he''s unable to find anything that even resembles what his world is like. He takes a long time looking around and observes that things a very different, there are animals unlike those he knows of, there are unknown species of plants, even the land is very different. He eventually concludes that something must have gone wrong with the time machine, and that its probably related to the nova device somehow. After several years of wondering and exploring, the Robot Guy decided that he could seize power in this new world very easily, and decided that he would. He was tired of always being the lackey, tiered of always taking commands, it was his turn to be the one giving them. He would take control, and rebuild the world as he saw fit. He sets out, with his new goal in mind, and a strong will with which to accomplish it. He goes about doing things and causing events that will put him in a position to assume power. For a long time he goes unnoticed by many, but eventually, people begin to noticed connections between so called random happenings. They don''t like the idea that some one may be pulling the strings behind their backs. The leaders of many of the colonies have a meeting, during which they decide to try and find out what going on, and who''s causing those things to go on. They decide to send a young warrior on a quest to solve their problems. This young warrior sets on on his quest, and starts an adventure that he cant even imagine (you play as this guy). Our party of chars eventually learn about the Robot Guy''s existence (well, they learn that he''s behind some stuff) and set out to stop him. The Robot Guy runs into the chars a few times, and decides that they aren''t much of a threat as long as he stick to his plans, so disregards them and goes about doing things to accomplish his goal. Through his action, he discovers that there are some people with technology left. He feels that they may be a problem for him and his plans, so he goes and does some investigating of them. He finds that they are not just people with technology, they are the descends of the survivors of Side #1, and they they seek to rebuild the Nova Device. This is bad indeed! He has to stop them, but he knows that he cant do it alone, that he will need help. He confront the party of chars and asks them to help, but they don''t believe him, they think its a trick, and refuse to help him. The Robot Guy decides that he will get their help, even if they don''t know it a first. He starts to do thing that will affect the chars, will force them into a position where they will help him. And eventually they do. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So that''s it, and I''d really like to get your opinions. You can either post them here, or email me at: Fireball.xx@verizon.net Thanks, Fireball

Another thing that I forgot to mention is that we do have more design then this, and if you are interested, I can send you some of it.

Thanks again,
Fireball

Suggestion - either post something about the design itself, or post in the Game Writing forum if you want comments on the storyline.

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well, i like it.

but having names really would help... side 1 and side 2 just dont make emotional connections...

you might try and fuzz the lines as much as possible with the ''good side bad side'' stuff... it would be nice if the character really had to decide which side he thought was right and what he was expected to do.

anyways, i do think its a good idea.

good luck!

-geo-

A little long for my cup of tea, do you have a summary and a little more about what kinda game it is, I didn''t really read what you have...

Bleu Shift - www.bleushift.tk

Pretty good story. However, I''d like to add a suggestion: wouldn''t it be cool the player actually plays the role of the robot guy (and maybe isn''t even a robot, but just a well trained guy that had to stop the completion of this nova device). At the beginning of the game, the players starts in the new world, and doesn''t know anything anymore (time travelling for over hundreds of years causes him to forget stuff or something (yup, I know this isn''t very original, but maybe you can find some more original way). Gradually he discovers stuff, with memory flashbacks and talking with people about the nova device, maybe he even gets kidnapped by some remaining guys of side #1 who try to kill him or stop him from finding out because he''s a threat to their new plan, only he doesn''t know that yet. (and townspeople might actually tell him the legend of a guy who tried to stop side #1 by going back in tume, while he doesn''t know that it was him actually). As the game goes on, he discovers who he was, how much time has passed, etcetera. He also finds out about the ideas of the people of side #1 who want to recreate the device, and begins to complete his first goal, stopping the nova device (optionally with a party with guys from the new world, like with remaining side #2-ers etc.). Anyway, just an idea, but I wonder what you think about it.

The idea sounds cool. Do you have a more in-depth script of what the game will be and what the story is?

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