Saturated Outer Space
Long long long time ago….
Saturated Outer Space (SOS) is a turn-based tactics with emphasis on the plot and setting. Game modes include rescue operations (tactics) like X-COM, Mutant Year Zero; Life on the Ship (reflexion time) like the hub in StarCraft 2.
We have set 3 ways to achieve the goal:
The gameplay is built around the plot. In our case, the setting and the genre are means for conveying the story. Therefore, the entire game design is built around the logic of what is happening in the designed Universe.
The plot is mainly inspired by science fiction of the 80s of the last century: novels by Alastair Reynolds, the book “The Three-Body Problem” by Liu Cixin and the movies: Star Trek and Pandorum.
In general, SOS is a game telling us the story of the captain of the space rescue service and his squad. The player will have to complete tasks to evacuate the pilots whose ships crashed, scientists in distress, stuck astro miners and other hostages under difficult circumstances.
Each mechanic should be organically integrated into the gameplay, for example, the game bestiary. This is not just a text presenting the enemies that the player will encounter. It will contain instructions on how to deal with these enemies. That is, this is a useful section that will help to play the game.
Balance and level design are the main means of revealing the narrative. We want not to stick to the principle of conveying history through the so-called “walls of text”. There will be the “walls”, but only for those who want to dive more into the setting and the Universe of the game.
As narrative tools, we bring the balance and content of the levels that will tell the story with their elements and device. For example, there will be a crumbling space station with a bunch of traps such as dips in the floor, structures that can fall over the head, blockages, and even isolated airless rooms.
The plot is in everything
The story about the space rescuers is the icing on the cake. Those who are interested in it will discover a lot:
get to know the story of the main antagonist,
grasp the complex system of social relations and the cause of the underlying conflict in the society,
find out where those groups and factions that we create come from,
detect the threat hovering over the universe of the game, not just the intermediate goals which the protagonist and his team aim at,
deal with the unique currency of the game Universe. By the way, these are not credits, but the “likes system” as it is in the social services.
The multilayer of the game is that those who do not want to thoroughly explore the world, will not lose touch with the game and will be able just to enjoy the gameplay and the basic logic of what is going on.
