#prototype pariah

I’m shifting him around a bit, since he’s genetically the perfect born version of the Blacklight virus, his strain is renamed to Whitelight given his ultimate lifeform status. Keeping his psychopathic nature but in a more he’s the type that always look calm and cheery and strikes when you least expect it type of way. A person that can lull you into a false sense of security. His outlook on the world is very skewed and limited, only knowing about anything outside of containment from the five people he’s consumed from various incidents. So he’s critically biased and lacks understanding of human nature outside of cruelty.

While never meeting Alex in person (yet) has the most irrational sense of hatred towards him, despises him with every fiber of his being due to him being an “imperfect strain”. With Alex being out and about now as the sole dominant strain of the virus post first outbreak it gives Pariah reason to finally break free from containment at Blackwatch to pursue and end him. Overwhelmed with the desire of transform and bathe the world in Whitelight, every organic thing from earth would be at his mercy if he succeeds.

Being an experiment at Blackwatch from birth he has barely any recollection of his mother, Greene, but knows who she is based on researchers talking about her around him. He has no familial attachment. The only “bond”, and that’s stretched loosely, he has with anyone is one scientist at the facility who has practically been with him since he was born. But even then it’s still treated as a animal and handler situation.

Prototype was the first game where I flat out started imagining and planning the plot for 3 since I knew it would never come out and I have to get the ideas out of my head after a full decade. This isn't all of it obviously, more the gameplay and basic storyline. I have way more ideas and go into more in-depth but I just want to get out the basics.

My idea for gameplay was instead of just having James Heller be the base form, instead bring back Alex Mercer and have them be stuck in the same body. Being the 'dominant' personalities, and have it that both of them focus on different aspects of the Blacklight virus. And then a third slot for the normal disguise.

Heller is the soldier, he's the combat guy, weapon guy. Having been trained as an actual soldier, he is better at full-on combat. The heavy hitter who's basically a juggernaut. He hits hard and his weapons do more damage at the cost of speed, but has more health and can use weapons better due to his training. Especially with his shields. He can actually make guns useful enough to use, and turn stuff into impromptu weapons, like tanks or helicopters. Lean into his juggernaut and have him have a special devastator where he upturns the ground with more tendrils and spikes than Alex ever could. Strength is his 'style' so to say.

Mercer on the other hand, is the scout, the people guy. He knows how to manipulate people, has spent months as other people and is perfect for stealth. He can wipe out an entire base without ever triggering the alarm, all though sneak attacks, consuming, patsies, and sabotages. That is to say he isn't defenceless, no he can output some heavy damage and still tear apart a tank, but he has less health and his attacks are faster. Lean into him knowing how to manipulate Tendrils even better than Heller could, and maybe bring back the Critical Pain devastator to emphasize precision for him. Precision is what his 'style' is.

Now you may think, "How is that possible? Heller killed and consumed Mercer and the rest of the virus at the end of 2?”

Simple!

PARIAH is still out there, and is said to be the 'Virus Incarnate', i.e he can do things no one else can. My thought was to have the prologue of the game be Heller investigating a abandoned Blackwatch base a few years in the future while having Dana as his mission control, with maybe even a small cameo by Maya who hacks into the comms to display that Dana's been teaching her some tricks to have her in the story.

Then PARIAH strikes, ambushing Heller and manipulating the virus in him to transform him into a mutated cocoon to take him out of commission, maybe declaring he wasn't 'ready' yet to make it more ominus and to establish how powerful he is.

Then after they both wake up, having a mental fight since obviously they hate each other but now have to work together and go out to find that PARIAH has completely taken over, maybe expanding beyond Manhattan, and into the New York proper. Here you can have a timeskip- maybe a few weeks, but I was personally thinking a full year, just to establish the stakes and allow other players to find out what happens.

From this then the story goes as it is, new nests, infected, hives, etc.

I had an idea than Rook actually goes on to be the guy who becomes the guy who manages to stall PARIAH, with a surprise turn that Dana is helping him as a sort of 'enemy mine' situation, not actually apart of Blackwatch, and still hates them, but acknowledges without a Heller or Mercer around the virus is too dangerous. (This is a BIG 'maybe', more throwing the idea out there with how much Dana hates them, absolutely might have her be sabotaging both) A neutral third party basically compared to Blackwatch and the Infected. Maya could then be the one who takes on the mission control too, catching up the two and directing them.

My big plot twist however, was at the end of the 'first act' or just before the end of 1/3 of the game, was to have a 'third base form' come out.

Elizabeth Greene!

Have it that PARIAH messing with them in the cocoon caused Greene's latent and subjugated personality be freed by them and come to the surface as the final base form. It'd even finally let her have some development and characterization as anything than just a roadblock and vague villain that shows up for like two scenes in 1.

Have Greene be the 'summoner', the mother and creator of the infected, so she can control and make them unlike the other. She can infect people, turn super soldiers into Hunter's or infected, turn regular people into infected, and be the one who just brings in numbers compared to the others. She can still use weapons like the rest, and has strength, but she's the weakest physically and relies on her attacks applying a stacking infection marker than turns people and infected to her side. Her devastator can even be the Pack Leader type that both Alex and Heller have displayed before, summoning Hunters, Jugernauts, or even Hydras. Numbers is what her 'style' is.

Not to mention the comedy that can come from the three/two having to share a body. Alex and James constantly insulting each other, Greene talking about them like children despite looking like a teenager, and the psychotic conversation they can have mid battle due to all of them being very very very unhinged.

Also the drama! After all, all three are enemies. They hate each other, despite being very similar to each other, they've literally all killed each other before. The tension and drama of being forced to share both a mind and body would allow for some great interaction! Maybe as an idea even have multiple endings where you can pick at the end who becomes the main personality- or none and the virus dies for good.

I even had a cool idea for side to the Web of Intrigue by having PARIAH's interference with them caused other personalities to come to the surface of the people they've consumed. Maybe have them be forced to give closure the the families of the ones they consumed, fulfill a last wish, or even just kill someone that the person really really hated- who coincidentally has become a apex infected now. It'd be a fun side mission that could also be sad.

This is scratching the surface, I had way more ideas that include all other aspects like the Evolved, consuming mechanics, lore, combo attacks, other locations, factions etc. The relationships between the characters, like how Dana would react to Alex being back, Maya and James, Greene and PARIAH. The running them of family and genetic connection of DNA vs non-tangible love, etc.

Oh, and I absolutely would've made Heller and Greene's codenames be Hades and Rhea. Missed the mark on theme naming, it works so well.

I just wanted to get this out of my head after years of daydreaming.