#project x7

Act 1 - The Murder

Summary

Size: Small Playtime: ~1 hour Energy: High Emotional tone: Panic & Survival 30% Talking; 70% Action 30% Comedy; 70% Darkness

"The first Act introduces Locust City's protagonists, Cuno and Cunoesse. The game starts inside Cuno's subconsciousness, in the special Locust Dream sequence, from which he is violently awakened by his father's abuse. We find Cuno in his living room at the Capeside Apartments, where he must fight to survive Beast de Ruyter's violent rage. Brought to near death by his father's overpowering strength, Cuno is rescued by the [pursuing?] Cunoesse, but their escape attempt is thwarted by the Beast's relentless pursuit. Finally, the children are cornered into brutally murdering Cuno's father on the Capeside boat dock. The act is witnessed by the [urgent?] Call Me Mañana, frightening the children into fleeing Martinaise for good. Cunoesse sets the destination: Hämärä Maa, her ancestral land, thus setting the events of the game in motion. Lastly, before moving on, the player needs to go back and explore Cuno's apartment to collect a few key items before setting off on their journey. (See the Miro board for a detailed overview and storyboard.)"

Player experience

Immediate parallel to Disco with the interior psychological opening of the Locust Dream

The extensive multi-phase animation-driven action sequence between the kids and Cuno's father should give the impression of an ambitious technological upgrade over Disco

Kicking off the game with a refreshingly faster, more higher-stakes pace, establishing the tonal difference of the story

The opening Act is necessarily linear in its major outcomes (Beast is murdered, murder is witnessed, kids flee Martinaise) but on a smaller scale, the Player and the roll of their dice can influence the way in which the Beast dies, as well as the inventory, Health and injuries the kids walk away with.

The more curious Player should understand through environmental storytelling and reading between the lines that the Martinaise strike is still ongoing. Streets are barricaded, and Mañana is still an agent of the Union. The kids might not understand it, but on some level (for any subsequent playthroughs) the Player should understand that Mañana doesn't truly intend to report the children to the cops, he merely wants to get them out of Martinaise because they've witnessed him where he shouldn't be.

The Player will internalise some of the key gameplay mechanics, character [switching], and refreshed Skill, Inventory, Consumable and Thought Cabinet systems.

Act 2 - The Escape

Summary

Size: Medium Playtime: ~2 hours Energy: Medium Emotional tone: Impatience & Paranoia 70% Talking; 30% Action 50% Comedy; 50% Darkness

Themes (top to bottom, left to right): BLUE: Being in transit; Clocks ticking; Neither here nor there; Maps, networks; Wanting to leave, not being able to; Running from your past; People who live in between places [The in-between economy] -> (Yellow) Beggars, homeless PINK: The "strong" vs. the weak; Cushioned childhood vs. street childhood; Loss of childhood naïvete GREEN: Guilt; Paranoia; Looking over your shoulder; Being bound in blood; Depending on each other

"The Second Act finds the children arriving at Jamrock Central station, having walked all the way from Martinaise. It is 07:30 in the morning, and Cunoesse insists they must board the 14:44 train to June Cite. Time at the station is limited, and there are several progression paths through the area. If the kids can obtain two train tickets, they can board legally, or otherwise smuggle one another in a pet carrier, potentially create a diversion (?) or, if all else fails, leap aboard the departing train, likely losing health, inventory supplies, etc. During their time at the Station, the kids notice they are being followed by Petit Hercule, an impressionable little schoolboy whose naïve nature can be put to good use in stealing one ticket. In the process, it becomes clear that the kid is traveling unsupervised and has one ticket already on him, resulting in Cunoesse urging you to lure him into the men's room and try to mug him, testing your conscience and the power balance between Cuno and Cunoesse. Otherwise, the kids can take up the advice of the Beggar King and begin the painstakingly slow process of scraping together barely enough coins to buy one ticket, thereby receiving an introduction into the game economy system."

Player experience

Being thrust into the bustling train station following the gruesome murder should leave the player feeling like a fugitive on the run trapped in limbo, eager to depart but forced to pretend everything is normal.

The indifferent reality of the train station will provide a contrast to the post-murder emptiness, a reminder that the world is still moving in its tracks. The clocks are still chiming. People are drinking coffee. It's almost insulting. Don't they know someone's world has just come crashing down?

Time at the station is limited to mere hours, adding to the sense of impatience and pressure to move on, so that the player would not lose momentum after the high-action opening Act and fall into a slump. They are still not safe -- this is no time to relax.

This Act will challenge the Player's problem-solving abilities, as finding all the ways to gain passage aboard he train will require speaking to a variety of characters and following up on several strategies.

This Act will also put the Player's motivations at odds with their conscience, presenting them with a layered and difficult choice between Little Hercule and Cunoesse. This confrontation sets up Cunoesse's frightening, manipulative nature.

The Player will be introduced to Co-operative Checks, the game economy, the map(s), and receive a greater variety of items and consumables to experiment with.

Act 3 - The Journey

Summary

Size: Large Playtime: ~3 hrs Energy: Low Emotional tone: Mundanity & Temporary Relief 90% Talking; 10% Action 80% Comedy; 20% Darkness

Themes (anything I can read): PINK: Social contract BLUE: [Deception?] -> Trip as Peter Pan -> Never growing up

"The third Act, entirely aboard the Azure Sans-Détour train line, represents a breather in the tension and a break in the overall darkness. Whether they like it or not, Cuno and Cunoesse have no other option but to stay on this fast-traveling metal tube for three entire days before they've reached their destination, so they might as well make the most of it. The key character of Trip the Train Conductor will serve to induct them into the ephemeral but vibrant social microcosmos of the train, a temporary society on wheels. This is the Act where we have the opportunity to introduce the largest social spectrum of characters, involving the petit bourgeois hops entrepeneurs Vincent & Agnes, wrapped up in a (consensual) love triangle with Trip, as well as other train staff and passengers from social groups Cuno and Cunoesse have never had the chance to interact with before, such as a scientist.(?) This Act will contain another Locust Dream sequence, as well as one-off sequences like the Ghost Station, the Biggest Meal, and Two Kids in a Trenchcoat. The catch of the train journey however, which Cunoesse doesn't tell you until you've already boarded, is that the place where you need to get off the train is actually in between two stations. For this, you're going to have to do Trip's bidding in order to have him pull the emergency brakes on the third day to let you off, or you might have to risk jumping off the moving train to move to the next Act."

Player experience

Here we want the Player to relax a little bit and indulge in Cuno & Cunoesse's mischievous and comedic side. The Train is removed enough from both the immediate stress of the murder and from the impending dread of arriving at Hämärä Maa that it is able to have a more lighthearted tone than the rest of the game.

The Player should feel as though they are really covering ground on their journey, as evidenced by the daily changes to the Train map and the dynamic scrolling background.

The characters the Player gets to interact with on the Train can be very thematically diverse and unconnected by background or life experience, joined only by this shared journey. These characters can deliver all kinds of stories from all corners of the game world, expanding on Elysium worldbuilding and lore.

The Man from Jamrock Station throughline will present the players with a parallel plot which bridges the seemingly unconnected locations of Acts 2, 3 and 4.

The Player should have the freedom to decide how they will navigate the special puzzles of the Train, affecting the fate of Trip and his love affair.