High Level Concept / Design

Pathos

Self sacrifice is a unique human nature, capable of pemiating through space and time and overcome any conflict, no matter the scale.

Logline

A convict seeking to preserve his humanity and evade entering servitude to the Empire's Army and an Imperial Officer bringing him for court sentensing for treason, are stranded on a lost alien vessel. It is a discovery of a lifetime. Both men want it. Neither can't let the other have it, but little do the know, the ship holds at bay a much larger crisis to the entire human realm.

Narrative Sumary

In a distant dystopian future, where humans reign supreme as the sole intelligent civilization, Henry, a civillian historian, has been captured and is being transported as a convict by Joel, an Imperial Army Soldier to be sentenced to execution for attempting to escape imperial army drafting.

The protagonist, Henry, has sworn to escape the fate of devolving into a military dog, a servant killer of the state in order to save his son from the trauma of losing his father, same trauma he had experienced when Henry himself was a child

While awaiting to be picked up by an imperial cruiser, their ship comes into contact with a cloaking field of an unknown vessel. Failing to establish communication with the suddenly appeared vessel, Joel has no choice but to perform an emergecny landing on a ship.

Their approach is met with neither hostilities nor welcoming partiesand and after some precautinary scans the vessel is determined to be largely void of life and appears to be abandonned. Based on the strange interior temple-like atchitecture, Henry voices that this was likely an abandonned vessel of a known religious space sect and thus, Joel commands Henry to aid in gathering resources to conduct repairs of thir damaged ship. Henry is ordered to document the derelict ship, Joel attempts breaching into an adjascent sealed chamber.

During the documentation errands, Henry explores the immediate amenities of the temple. Discovering tablets of unrecognizable writing, weathered icons and odd items of unusual religious nature. Not to mention that some of the furniture appears to be unusually large. Henry's exploration is cut short as he discovered that a totem statue had manifested itself at the exit which Henry had just entered from. This sudden appearahce caused the cracked stone ground to give way and Henry to fall several stories down. Henry would have met his end if wasn't for a hand that reached out and grabbed him. Henry only had a split moment to notice the hand and that it only had three fingers before it let go if Henry, causing him to fall the remainder of the way and the impact rendering him unconcious.

This is a detective style action-adventure game where the player pieces together the mystery of the strange alien space temple by completing a series of puzzles, jet packing obstacle courses and solves simple observational, timing and logic challenges.

Upon completion of each challenge and overcoming of an obstacle, a new area is presented, a story segment is delivered, a new gameplay mechanic is introduced and a new obstacle is established.

Title

Angler

An Angler is a hunter who fishes with a line and hook. Likewise, an Angler Fish is a marine predator that lulls and attracts desperate prey with a promise of a hearty meal, only to be itself snatched and devoured.

The underlying mystery of this game is that of a desperate civilization, lured with a false promise of salvation only instead to be consumed whole.

Concept statement

Jet through temples imbued with alien history and unwind the desolate, tradition rich abbeys to learn how this otherwordly space temple appeared in the middle of nowhere.

Awaken the dormant, slumbering temple, figure out puzzles and ancient machinery, decipher alien texts, revive the traditions and submerge in ritual to re-discover the history of this desperate, long since tragically perished alien civilization, the purpose of their unresolved voyage and the missing link they failed to acquire to achieve their mission.

Resurrect a derelict ship from it's chains and slumber, stuck in eternal limbo, forced to suspend the fate of life in this universe on a knives edge, awaiting for something, someone to relieve it of it's duty and complete it's mission.

Gameplay Mechanics

• Traverse spacious temples and overcome platforming challenges with a jetpack.
• Collect raw materials to construct tools and upgrades to reach higher, futher reaches of the temple.
• Physically Interact with alien machinery and resolve alien puzzles.
• Discover th enature and gather clues about the surroundings using an info scanner.
• Light up an area and Access locked off areas through tight spaces using a remote control drone.

High Level Concept / Design

Player Experience & POV

Who is the player?

What is the setting?

The totalitarian human empire reigns supreme across numerous galaxies. With the humanity spread so thin and far across the stars, it is a cold, hard world, ruled by an iron fist of an imperial totalitarian government, locked in an long standing conflict between a hyper religious space cult and a rebellion of planets seeking segregation from the imperial rule.

There is no such concept as alien as the human race was discovered to be the one and only intelligent species among the stars.

It is a Distant, Dystopian Future where humans are still believed to be the sole intelligent species across the universe. It is a time of wars and civil unrest.

What is the fantasy the game grants the player?

What emotions do I want the player to feel?

Unique Selling Point

Unlike many games that prioritize gameplay mechanics, live action service gameplay or spectacle gimmicks, Angler distinguishes itself with a captivating narrative experience that immerses players in a richly detailed sci-fi mystery. The heart of our game lies in its compelling conflict and dilemmas, intricate character development, and a drama that pulls at the heart strings.

Players will unravel the central mystery of the alien temple through engaging dialogue, meaningful character growth, and a deep and a sattisfying resolution. Angler offers an unforgettable journey through the complicated history of a once conquered people turned ruthless conqueres in a universe ruled by a simple law of "eat of be eatten", where the story is not just a backdrop but the driving force that keeps players eagerly exploring and unraveling its secrets.

Breaking away from the trend of open-world, sandbox experiences, Angler presents a meticulously crafted linear narrative set in a captivating sci-fi universe. Our game offers a tightly woven storyline that unfolds seamlessly, ensuring players are constantly engaged and immersed in the mystery and intrigue of of a collosal out-of-place space anomaly. Every moment is carefully designed to deliver an unforgettable storytelling experience, with cinematic sequences, gripping dialogue, and memorable characters that leave a lasting impact. Angler is a testament to the power of a well-crafted narrative, offering players a thrilling journey through the cosmos unlike anything they've experienced before.

The Story

Synopsis

Henry, a captured draft evading convict, on his way to a death sentence, along with Joel - his imperial captor, crash land on a cloaked and long since derelict space temple.

The temple is an alien research vessel, stuck in cross-dimmensional space like a cork, hoding back the flood of energy-starved totem entities from a long since heat-dead universe.

Oblivious to the threat, Joel and Henry set on an impromptu explaratory expidition into the unknown vessel. As they discover it's origins, yet still ignorant of the fine balance the ship finds itself in, Joel and Henry are blinded by the magnitude and importance of this discovery. All they see is a once-in a lifetime opportunity to resolve their main quests, causing their impromptu research expitidion to turn into a death battle for the sole claim of this discovery.

Joel is rendered vulnerable and Henry tries to take advantage, only to stop himself short of coming out on top and in order to uphold his goal of never becoming the very thing he swore to escape. Henry resolves to sactificing his only way off the vessel, to Joel's life.

Theme

A Man's values are rendered void if he cannot lay down his life to protect them.

Protagonist

Henry. A citizen of the Imperium, on the run from the Imperial Army bounty hunter for evading the mandatory Army Drafting. In his childhood, Henry suffered emotional traumata, when his beloved father was suddently recalled back to service, causing Henry's last words to his father be filled with hate and dispise. Following his father's death during service, Henry has sworn to never submit to the army to avoid causing his own son the same trauma and sadness Henry had suffer from.

Character Transformation Arc: Henry begins his journey with weak to non-existent persception of how he can achieve his goal. Because of his weak inability to reassure his value, he is easily dissuaded and his arguments are easily disarmed by Joel for having no backbone to do what needs to be done when it comes to protecting his value. Henry has no argument against Joel being able to go through great lengths, including taking a life, to assure his goal. Henry ends his journey by sacrificing his own life and his only assured ticket off the alien vessel, in order to save Joel, thus preserving his value and preventing himself from turning into an army murderer dog. As a result, the alien vessel gives Henry a chance to say his last goodboy to his son, thus solidifying him as a hero and preventing his som from suffering a loss.

Antagonist

Joel. An Imperial Officer tasked with capturing and delivering Henry to the Imperial court for his sentence. Joel comes from a planet, whose nationality, in light of it's defiant nature, the Imperium considers to be such a significant threat that it's people are prohibited from serving and the planet itself has been deemed an irrecoupable lost cause, scheduled for mining deconstruction. Joel went through great stifes to forge a fake identity, in order to be recruited into the army, with a singular goal of climing through the ranks up to a position of significant enough importance, in order to persuade the Imperium to reconsider the fate of his people. The integrity of this identity is his most valuable posession and Henry figuring it out threattens his entire life mission.

Character Transformation Arc:

Product Design

Visual and Audio Style

Game World Fiction

Monetization

• Initial Game Sale
• Purchasable Soundtrack

Platform(s), Technology, and Scope (brief)

Detailed & Game Systems Design

Core Loops

Objectives and Progression

Game Systems

Interactivity