1. Game Title: Scavenger’s Stride
2. Tagline:
“The only way to go- cornered, your back against the wall when all else is lost… is forward.”
– One of the lessons of Zena, Xariah’s mother, that she hasn’t been able to forget.
3. Concept Statement: A first-person shooter set in a dystopian sci-fi with fantasy elements, Scavenger’s Stride takes place across and underneath a highly surveilled and oppressive city. Our protagonist’s lover is captured by its squad drones during a mission gone haywire, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re lost for good. Join Xariah as she takes matters into her own hands and journeys above to rescue them. Take down robotic and augmented forces sent by the city’s brutal regime using Xariah’s powers of technomancy to not only bend metal to her will but materialize any weapon or firearm she comes across- provided ammo is scavenged for the latter. Navigate the hostile city with parkour-style movement, aid allies and survivors along the way, and overcome death-defying missions to reunite these fighters of freedom.
4. Description
- Core Goal/Experience: I aim to create an action-packed experience that flows seamlessly between movement and combat, integrating the two together in such a way that they go hand in hand. Map traversal will vary between linear and branching depending on the mission at hand, but combat can happen just about anywhere the further entrenched Xariah is in enemy territory. Pathways and alternate routes will typically be plentiful enough to allow escape or advantage in tough situations, or the player can make one themself.
- Mechanics:
- Momentum: Run like the wind or go with the flow and channel that energy into a chain of combat and movement.
- Skills: Martial combat, sliding, wall running, rolling, dashing, and more are all part of Xariah’s arsenal from the get-go. Mastering each one is a matter of player skill and reflexes.
- Metal Bending: Command metals to either bend to Xariah’s will or pull her toward them. Scrap metal is one of the most convenient ways to defend oneself in a fight if possible and can be hurled at enemies or used to gain altitude.
- Technomancy: Manifest any weapon memorized by yours truly, whether it be for melee, ranged combat, or a simple tool to get through a puzzle. Just remember that it requires focus to do so, as well as ammo scavenged for firearms to be useful.
- Focus: A meter measuring the amount of concentration Xariah has mustered at any time. Technomancy requires a significant amount of focus or else more complex weapons will fail to manifest properly if at all. Metal bending is far more reflexive and therefore does not rely on this. Focus is lost when taking damage and gained when momentum is maintained. The meter can quickly be filled through meditation if not under fire.
- Main Characters/Adversaries
- Xariah (She/Her) – The main protagonist of the game, born with incredibly rare abilities that those in power would and have killed for. Robust, stubborn, and visibly full of pent-up rage, there will be more than enough foes for her to take it out on.
- Ayudari/Ayu (They/Them) – Xariah’s reason for fighting, held captive for interrogation by their mortal enemies. For all their wits and cunning, there’s only so much they can do to reach out to the world from their cell, and time is not on their side.
- Weaponized Security – From cybernetically enhanced human officers to retired war machines, Xariah’s work will be cut out for her on the biggest rescue mission of her life. Under nigh endless surveillance, there will seldom be a moment of peace for her up in the city swarming with forces set on hunting her down.
- Setting: Scavenger’s Stride takes place in a technologically advanced city under heavy surveillance and authoritarian rule. Our protagonist comes from underneath the city, where survivors and fighters of the regime above take sanctuary that is frequently under threat. Protected by an interconnected network of engineers, hackers, and powerful mancers with the ability to control elements around them, the underground population is allowed to exist. The city above, however, is brutal in its methods of culling and controlling those at its mercy. It is massive, sprawling as far as the eye can see of its towers and horizon. Those with any hope for a place of stability and comfort here are augmented with cybernetic enhancements- primarily law enforcement, allowing them to navigate the city and carry out their vicious duties in a way that no ordinary human can outmatch them. Even still, they’re more often than not trumped by the weaponized robots and machines built to maintain order, and the sight of them alone keeps most of the city’s population in check.
- Motivations/Arcs: As Xariah encounters more people in need throughout her journey, she will have to make a decision between helping others or herself and her love. Time is a precious resource that cannot be bought back, and there’s little to no telling how much Ayudari has left before the regime goes through with execution. The same goes for many like the two of them, hunted for fear of their power, or worse. Xariah can’t save everyone, but she can choose who or what matters to her the most.
5. Competition: The games that overshadow this would of course be the ones that inspired it to an extent in the first place, as the same may go for any game made today and beyond. Those games would include Mirror’s Edge and subsequently Mirror’s Edge Catalyst for their style of movement and Cyberpunk 2077 for its overall setting and themes. This game will stand out with its own intuitive feel, free flowing character movement, and explosive, satisfying mechanics. Fleshed out with distinct characters, stories, and worldbuilding, its core will dig deeply into themes that I hope can make this story hit home for any players who relate to it.