The story takes place in the near future where a tech company, Quantum Technologies, has developed an AI capable of learning, understanding, and manipulating genetic codes beyond what is humanly capable. They get signed on with the Department of Defense to create creatures, some real and some manufactured, that can be potentially used in combat situations. This top secret initiative, Project Leviathan, is based on an island purchased from Indonesia so everything can be contained in the event things go awry.

Of course, things do go awry...

The main character is a member of Black Mark, an international, paramilitary organization engaged in mercenary and espionage missions for governments, companies, or anyone with deep pockets. A rival tech company, Arcane Industries, has hired you to investigate and report back about the operations of Quantum Technologies and why the DoD is interested in them. This leads you to their operations on the island in Indonesia. And that's where the game begins.

So I've been working on my notes about the setting today. the island the game takes place on is named Pulau Pedang Ular, which loosely translates to Snake Warrior Island. This will have something to do with the plot later, but that's not important at the moment. The island was formed from a now extinct volcano which dominates the center of the island, creating a rain shadow on its western side, thus forming a desert. Most of the rest of the island is covered in rainforest except in the north where swamps and marshes are more prevalent.



There are some prominent facilities on the island, mostly in the east and southeast. They include:

- The Dockyard for supplies to the research facilities

- The Lighthouse on the cape for incoming ships as the eastern side of the island is usually covered in fog

- The Warehouses that house the supplies brought in by the ships. This is located roughly in the center of all the facilities

- The Main Medical Bays used in case of injuries as a result of the operations of the island

- The Village used as living space for the workers, security personnel, scientists, and other various people on the island

- The Main Security Headquarters located between the Warehouses and the Lab Complex

- The Lab Complex where all the research took place, located behind the Main Security Headquarters in the interior of the island. The lab complex has its own security and medical offices in the event of something going wrong in the laboratories


There are also other facilities located throughout the island, but those are the main ones that need be worried about at this moment. A rough map of this will come out in due time. Right now I'm focusing on story-boarding more or less, but that at least gives you an idea of some of the things to expect to find on the island.

So I've been working on the storyboarding, just getting an idea for the flow of events over the island and I have some ideas about items you can find/craft through your adventure (Items in italics are resources that I'll cover in another post):


- Lantern Lights up an area four feet in every direction around you. Requires Oil to fuel it

- Flashlight Lights up an area six feet directly in front of you. Requires Batteries to fuel it

- Gasmask Protects you from breathing in harsh smoke and chemicals

- Toolkit Allows you to fix broken machinery

- Bandages Allows you to heal yourself by 10 hp. You can make bandages by combining
                       Rags and Alcohol

- Machete Allows you to cut down vines and melee enemies for 10 hp

- Healthkit Allows you to heal yourself by 20 hp

- Doctors Bag Allows you to heal yourself by 50 hp

- Rope Allows you to tie things together

- Torch Lights up an area four feet in every direction around you, and can light things on fire. Requires Thatch and Matches to fuel it

- Baretta M9 Pistol that allows you to take single shots at enemies for 15 hp at a range of up to 25 feet. Requires 9mm Ammunition

- Franchi SPAS-12 Shotgun that allows you to take single shots at enemies for 25 hp at a range of up to 10 feet. Requires 12-gauge Ammunition

- Colt M4 Assult rifle that allows you to take multiple shots at enemies for 15 hp each at a range of up to 40 feet. Requires .223 Ammunition

- Barrett M82 Sniper rifle that allows you to take single shots at enemies for 50 hp each at a range of up to 300 feet. Requires .50 Caliber Ammunition


There are going to be more items as well, but these are the ones that will definitely make it into the game at the moment. Stay tuned for more updates!

So it's been a while since I updated this. Been busy moving house and my pc has been unplugged for a few days as a result. Anyways, I've been tinkering around with some competing groups of interest on the island. There is, of course, Black Mark/Arcane Industries (You and a partner).

In addition there are surviving Quantum employees just trying to survive, Leviathan Security Sector, trying to regain control of the situation, and several of the lab employees that have been driven mad to the point where it is hard to say if they are even human anymore. Those are the three primary 'factions' in the game at this point and, based upon your interactions with them, you can align yourself with one or more of these factions. That is really all I want to disclose at this point, as most of the rest is too fluid at this state to make any definite statements about. Stay tuned for more!

I said a rough map of the main facilities would come out, so here it is:

Facilities of East End (rough map):

This group of facilities is collectively called East End, since it is on the eastern end of the island. There are a few other facilities on the island, two main ones being Rim in the western interior and Serpents Pass in a canyon in the desert. These will be covered in due time, but for now just know that they each host one of the new factions I've put in the game. There are 7 factions now, and they include:

The Obsidian Order

Guard of GRim

Blue Serpents

Ravagers

Core

Leviathan Security (which is its self divided into 3 parts, East End Sentinel Corps, Nemesis Brigade, and Enigma)

Workers of East End

Each faction has main goals, many of which contradict each other. While it may be possible to please them all for a time, ultimately choices must be made about which ones to side with. I think this will help to provide replay value to the game and multiple distinct endings depending on which groups are favored. That's most of what I have right now, but I'll be sure to update when more needs to be said!

This game sounds like an awesome idea, even if it's only text-based. Since the island is in Indonesia, maybe Komodo dragons could be involved (probably as a base for engineered creatures).

Randomosaur wrote:

This game sounds like an awesome idea, even if it's only text-based. Since the island is in Indonesia, maybe Komodo dragons could be involved (probably as a base for engineered creatures).

Well, it's a genetics project, so all the bases for the creatures are just genetic code. However they do have animals to test hormones and such on, as well as to lay eggs/give birth. I can confirm Komodo Dragons are on the list of animals in this category, as well as many others from around the globe.

This is sounding really interesting! I look forward to it!!

Haven't updated on this in a bit since the holidays and moving both take up quite a bit of time. But I do have a little snippet I can put out later tonight!

Hey, really like the world building here so far!
The idea of the genetic manipulation done by the AI being beyond human comprehension is really intriguing. Makes me think of the novel Annihilation (Book 1 of the Southern Reach Trilogy) and its descriptions of the psychological effects of an organic menace that the human characters can barely recognize as life. Very much ties into the more philosophical looks at human and nature that Michael Crichton provided in the Jurassic Park novels.
Anyways. This thing has excited my imagination. Looking forward to more!

Yeah, part of this was inspired by Michael Crichton's book sphere as well, delving into the psychology of the human mind and all. This is basically the start of an AI gone awry, but for now it is kinda stuck on an island, hence why the rest of the world is still more or less unaware. But, as a certain couple of Crichton's books show, things don't stay on islands long. That's as much as I'm going to dive into that though right now. Hahaha, I love cliffhangers!