From: Roy Salazar
To: Aeon Studios
Subject: Memo to the
developers
Despite being a fully immersion, believable virtual world, the game
should be approached
action-oriented role-playing game drawing heavily from jRPG influences. It is
set in a world known as Valcadis, which is sectioned off by large, transparent
walls, dividing the world into 7 separate areas. The cause of this phenomenon
will initially be unknown, as the walls have been around since before recorded
history in the game world. As I progress through the game, I will be able to
cross into new areas, each with its own diverse civilizations, cultures, and
characters. There will be information and sketches to come in future communications. My illustrations are
crude, but should give your team enough of an aesthetic framework to work with.
There are several
forces at play in the game. The first is a mega-corporation called Eschegen
based out of Syanica, the world's largest, most progressive city. I will begin semi-employed
by Eschegen, although it isn't long before you find their intentions are not
what they seem. There is also the Zenadir Brigade, a group of seven anarchists
who have recently come across a powerful advantage, and want to bring an end to
Eschegen and restore human freedom and individual rights. Early in the game,
the Zenadir Brigade will be my main opponent, but I’d like the scenario
designer to make things ambiguous so that the lines of good and evil are
blurred, and as the plot pans out several integral changes will come about. The
final force is the mysterious space station Fides, which appeared in the sky
above Syanica. Their motives are also immediately unclear. Although at first
there is no distinct war at hand, there is conspiracy, espionage, betrayals,
and alterior motives galore. Incorporate these accordingly, however you see
fit. There are also several restistance groups and plenty of non-playable
allies and enemies, all of them interwoven together. Again, your writing team
can handle these smaller aspects.
As for the
protagonists, there are eight characters who will be main allies to my
character, although the game centers around me. It should be apparent early on
that my character has been chosen by fate to embark on a great adventure. Once
I recover from the previously discussed ‘injuries,’ events will happen that
guide me to leaving Syanica to escape city life and cause me to move a small
cottage town to the south, Wendover, to live in peace and recover from my ‘injuries.’
When my new home is attacked and set ablaze, and my younger sister kidnapped in
a string of a violent rampages by the Zenadir Brigade, I will be offered and
persuaded to join a special operatives Eschegen team known as the Z-Hunters to
stop the Zenadir Brigade and get my sister back. Things soon spiral into a
cluster-bomb of deception, nightmares, madness, and drama of epic proportions. All
throughout I will be safe, but this illusion of danger is necessary.
Incorporate as you see fit.
Some other characters
include Vennt (a young man in my unit, who is on the verge of insanity due to a
similar atrocity that left his home town also burned and his family murdered by
the Zenadir Brigade), Cerul, (A light-hearted, yet tough girl, who also happens
to be my childhood friend), Tristo (An overly confident, ambitious young man
with a thirst for competition, who saves me during the second Zenadir attack
and ends up joining the Z-Hunters as well), Ardora (A young woman of many
unfortunate circumstances, who travelled back in time from a desolate ruined
future to prevent a terrible catastrophe from happening), and Lorn (An
ex-member of the Zenadir brigade, whose information eventually saves me from an
assassination attempt. He is also the older brother to the leader Jerol, it is
uncertain if he is to be trusted or if he is a spy)...just to name a few.
Production goals:
-Combine best
elements of best rpgs into a single rpg, that is perceived as reality for my
character.
-Narratively
speaking, to evolve the role-playing game genre, perhaps even the medium of
video games; This is a problem I’ve had with games for some time, and so I’d
like you to dismantle the misconception that video games cannot have good
writing/structure. Then again, this is not a conventional game.
-To craft a graphical
look that is classic, yet aesthetically advanced. Style over technical prowess,
but realistic enough to be believable to me once in the game.
-To create a game
world that is fully realized and very atmospheric, at times awe-inspiring,
frightening, and the rest - a game that soars with imaginative fantasy and
compelling dramas throughout.
-To give birth to a
lovable cast of characters with relatable problems and ambition who will become
true friends to me
-To avoid pitfalls of
budget and time constraints, by building a strong design foundation prior to
coding/modeling.
Story : Rich with Drama.
Symbolism galore. Simultaneously classic and progressive, with top notch
writing. Futuristic / phantasmagorical. Mature themes, but also light-hearted
(not juvenile)
Battle system : Real-time
Music : Atmospheric,
ambient, memorable. Ideally: 32bit Mitsuda/Uematsu, Majora's Mask-era
Kondo, Aphex Twin selected ambient works 2. Use minimally and incorporate
naturally with live musicians in various game cities and towns
Art Direction : Yoshida/Amano/a
-wee- bit of Nomura, classical gothic/european styles, but resembling of real
people to an unnoticeable degree. I can expand on this in later memos.
Level/City/World Design: Many things to draw
from here. Jet Force Gemini, FFVI-IX, Chrono Trigger/Cross, Xenogears,
Miyazaki, Metroid Prime, Skies of Arcadia, etc. Obviously realistic renders which follow these aesthetics.
More to come,
Roy
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