Dusk - Standalone Mod - Seeking help

[welch99]

Hello everyone,

 

I've been lurking here alot recently, learning about modding for my upcoming project. This project is for my Thesis project for my class, and is also something that I want to have for my portfolio so I can get a job in the gaming industry. As of right now, I'm working on this project alone so I'd love to have some help so that my project can be as great as possible. I have done alot of work on this already including alot of concept art, some clothes and armor models and textures, a design document, level designs, story overview, etc... Now on to the description.

 

Name: Dusk - Fractured Souls (a stand-alone game/demo using the elder scrolls cs)

 

Game Overview -

 

Why would a man want to erase his own memory? Dusk: Fractured Souls is a paranormal, stealth action game which offers one solution to this question. Unlike most stealth action games, Dusk: Fractured Souls will focus on problem solving and storyline by borrowing story elements from role playing games, using the Elder Scrolls Oblivion Construction Set.

The story focuses on Winston Coal, a nanotechnology scientist, who awakens from a 20 year sleep in biostasis to find himself with new abilities, no memory, and a mission to save his missing granddaughter, Elyssa. Coal will encounter allies with extraordinary abilities and unusual enemies from his unknown past as he struggles to help Elyssa from some unknown danger and to recover his memories of the past.

 

In Dusk: Fractured Souls, players control Winston Coal, a man who wakes up 20 years after being put into biostasis. The main task of the game is to navigate through the levels of the TechnoSym building to find an exit and escape. To do this, players will have to complete various objectives that further the story. These objectives generally involve collecting keys or key codes that will allow players to access more areas. The initial main quest is initiated through Coal’s message he left for himself before he was frozen which tells the player to find out what happened to Elyssa so that you can help her. While players will not get to the point that they find out what happened to Elyssa, it will give them a taste of the gameplay and story.

Coal encounters various enemies throughout his quest that try to either destroy Coal, or stop him from uncovering his past. These enemies include government black-ops teams, to humans infected with a nano-virus. While Coal must deal with many enemies throughout the game, the game does not focus on combat. There may be some enemies that must be killed, but most can be avoided, out-maneuvered, or defeated using the environment or other means instead of direct attacks. In fact, defeating enemies does not offer much incentive because experience points will be removed and items on enemies can be stolen instead of looting the corpse. Dusk: Fractured Souls does allow players to choose their method of playing though, so players that do want to go on a killing spree have that option. Neither option has an advantage however. Players will be rewarded by finding secret areas through exploration.

Another challenge players must face is managing their heat gauge. The heat gauge will be another bar underneath the health bar, which tells the player how hot Coal is getting. When the heat gauge is low, the nanobots in Coal’s body can repair him, increasing his health bar. If Coal gets too hot though, his health will start to drop. Lowering the heat gauge will be the only way to recover health in the game, so there will be resources to do so (coolant containers, and possibly the Nano-Suit’s cooling system.)

 

The primary art direction is to create an eerie and gritty world full of paranormal and Sci-fi elements. Some influences include Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (grittiness, great combat), Resident Evil (dark and gritty). The costumes will include contemporary clothes and uniforms for regular people, such as guards and scientists. The armor that some characters will be wearing is slightly more sci-fi, resembling sleek, futuristic body armor. The interiors will be dimly lit to add to the sense of tension and eeriness. Some lights might me completely burned out or flickering to add to the distressed feel. Most of the colors will be fairly unsaturated, keeping the overall look almost monochromatic. The textures will consist mostly of scuffs, scrapes, and cracks. Rust patches will also cover most of the tunnels as well as some metal objects in the main building. The overall combination of the colors and textures should create a dirty feel to the environments.

The setting of Dusk: Fractured Souls is in a nanotechnology production facility called the TechnoSym building in the near future. The dark and distressed interiors as well as the various NPCs will create an atmosphere of tension and paranoia. The look of the buildings and tunnels are not that much different than they would look today, however the technology and weapons will be slightly more advanced.

 

 

and before anyone asks why I'm using TES for a modern game

 

Engine Rationale

The Construction Set is a free tool that Bethesda Software provides for modification and it allows for a large amount of customization. The Elder Scrolls Oblivion Construction Set is the engine that will be used to develop Dusk for many reasons. In addition to the fact that the CS is free, it provides a similar style of gameplay of Dusk. One such style of gameplay is the stealth feature. Few other game engines provide a stealth feature needed for Dusk. Another feature is that the gameplay can switch from first to third person point of view. Other engines either are only first person and are difficult to modify to a third person or are only third person. The combat system that is built into the Gamebryo engine provides the quick, real-time combat that can use either melee weapons such as swords and projectile attacks such as guns that is required for Dusk. Lastly, the Gamebryo engine supports Normal mapping to produce hi-res character models which Dusk will feature.

 

 

Now, What needs to be done or what I'd like to accomplish

• Remove Chargen quest
  
• Custom face textures and hair
  
• Custom Load Screens
  
• Custom Interface
  
• summonable ally (doesn't fight)
  
• New Startup Screen
  
• Wall textures and models
  
• Ventilation System for navigation
  
• Custom Script for Adaptable Armor
  
• Possible interface buttons for adaptable armor
  
• New Heat gauge
  
• Flame Thrower model and Textures
  
• Gun Models and Textures
  
• Baseball Bat Model and Texture
  
• Building furniture and other random items
  
• Escape Tunnel wall models and textures (possibly use the existing ones and retexture them)
  

Timeline

 

Thursday, Jan. 14 Playable Prototype I

 

Thursday, Jan. 28 Alpha Build

 

Thursday, Feb. 6 Midterm

 

Thursday, Feb. 20 Beta Build

 

Thursday, Mar. 12 Gold Build

 

 

Concept Art

 

Sample Title Screen

Main Character: Winston Coal

Ally: DEJA

NPC: Nava

NPC: Scientist

Enemy: Torcher

Environment: Technosym Hallways

Environment: Technosym Escape Tunnels

 

 

Hopefully that will be enough to get some interest. I have a full almost 50 page design document if anyone needs more information. If anyone is worried about whether or not this will be finished, I can assure you it will because as I said before, It is for my thesis project. It will probably turn out much better though if I have some people help me. If you'd like to help out, or you have any questions or comments, you can either pm me on here, email me at [email protected], or try to instant message me at jjwelch99 on AIM. I'm on there quite a bit. Just so you know, this is all non-paying work you will be doing, but you will get credit for everything you do.

 

Thanks in advance