by Crystal Lee
In the words of the one, the only Andrew Zhou, this is all very much a work in progress and subject to change. Please drop your comments, questions, etc. in the Discord!
SYNOPSIS
Three consecutive winters. War across Midgard. And now, your Earl murdered by an undead hand. Ragnarok is here.
Your village lies in the path of the army of the dead marching to Asgard. But you and your village and aren’t going down so easily. Rally your villagers, pray to your gods, and prepare to fight for your life!
TONE: Serious, fantastical - bright, saturated, varied colors, perhaps less realistic character/stample designs
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CONCEPT: Player character (PC) and their village are just bit players in the apocalypse. They will never be prophesized about, or remembered after they die. Even their gods barely know who they are. They know this is Ragnarok, and that they will probably not survive–but another day, another minute, another second of life is worth fighting for. The player fights through a seemingly endless night, and the game ends with the sun rising again.
CHARACTERS:
- JARL, or EARL: title for the leader of the village; dies before the first scene
- LIEUTENANT (Player Character, gender-neutral): is thrust into leadership when the JARL dies
- LITTLE GIRL: She’s going to be important somehow, TBD
- ELDER: probably a kind of advisor character, more details TBD
- and more: TBD
PLACE: a small Norse community
Ocean → Mountain → Outside the village (see Map Progressions for more detail)
TIME:
- BEGINS at the beginning of the prophesied events of Ragnarok, just after the three consecutive winters and as the Fenris Wolf is eating the sun and moon
- ENDS after Ragnarok, as the sun begins to shine again
The entire game thus takes place over an extended night.
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NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
Scene 1 –> Map (Easy) –> Scene 2–> Map (Intermediate) –> Scene 3 –> Map (Hard) –> Scene 4
SCENE ONE (summary): Necessary exposition of the following:
- Player Character’s identity, place within the village (lieutenant, Jarl’s right hand)
- Jarl is dead, killed by an undead (exposited by a boy who was with him)
- Undead army is approaching from the South
- How they’re going to get gods’ help through temples
SCENE TWO, SCENE THREE (later elaboration incoming): likely small, character-driven interactions to develop investment in the village, with some small plot justifications for game mechanics. Also, where most of the humor is going to be, if I can find any left in my soul.
SCENE FOUR (summary): the sun begins to rise; dawn is here; Ragnarok is over (?).
PROGRESSION OF MAPS
Summary: With each map, the ghost army is getting closer to the village. Tone goes from bright lighting, high/medium-energy but not panicked (1st map) → a little more grim, struggling in 2nd map → serious, darker/torch-based lighting, more "fighting for your life" energy in the 3rd map
Maps should feel distinct, but not completely disconnected. Idea: have a little bit of the previous and next map environments (seawater, ice, w/e) present in each map.
Map 1 (Easy): ocean → shore
(as in the map is mostly in the ocean, and the path ends at the shore, or something else similar but more workable)
Tone: bright lighting, high/medium energy but not frantic or very frightened.
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Amber's concept art: | Bloons TD 6 - Frozen Over |
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Map 2 (Intermediate): mountain path - maybe in a small path where rocky mountains meet?
Tone: rocky, struggling feeling.
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| Bloons TD 6 - Streambed | Bloons TD 6 - Cracked | Bloons TD 6 - Mesa |
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Scandinavian mountains | ||
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| Mountain Paths | ||
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Map 3 (Hard): area outside village → gates of village
Tone: serious, darker/torch-based lighting, more "fighting for your life", "this is our last stand" energy - but still fantastical, still colorful
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Bloons TD 6 - Dark Castle | Vibes and lighting reference (but it won't be in a cave) |
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(note: in Bloons TD 6, the trees are removable by paying $$$) |
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VISUAL NOVEL FORMAT
Andrew Zhou ’s beautiful illustration:
With the note of, instead of sliding, do a fade-in (also subject to team discussion)
Probably no branches or choices
Because the visual novel format can encourage player disengagement, have the player press x button for x actions, as relevant to the story
for example: VN text: “You walk softly.” Onscreen additional text: “Press X to walk softly.” Player action: Press X. Onscreen action: move to the next line.
Nikhil is this going to be a pain to implement?
Skippable?
Voiceover?
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Questions we need to answer
How is the narrative going to be present during tower defense gameplay?
What is the dramatic question going to be at the end of each scene?
More plot-driven (with an arc carrying through all the scenes) or character/slice-of-life-driven?
…and more to come