Game Design Doc - AfterUX

Overview

The First-Person Shooter market coalesces around several core genre and game loop models. Call of Duty, Doom, Back for Blood, Far Cry,Bioshock, Borderlands, Wolfenstein, Metro Exodus, Rainbow Six,Halo, and many others all offer a player experience that transport the player into a world that has its own rules, physics, people/creatures, weapons, and unique environments. There are other multiplayer genres like Fortnight, PUBG, and Minecraft that are designed to appeal to an online cooperative play experience (and requisite online upselling).

Our intent with AfterUX (design and intellectual property) is to develop a deeply engaging story line, environment, characters, devices, weapons, and game systems that deeply resonate with the player. We want them to imagine that they are the missing hero/heroine that must lead in the coming fight. Player connection and experience is the single most important design element.

This may seem quite ambitous and unattainable. That may be so if we try and build this all internally and without community engagement. Our long-range goal is to make the AfterUX brand encompass story and world building tools that the community takes owns, driving diverse parallel story lines, gameplay, and monetization models.

AfterUX will:

• Tell a mature, terrifying story

• Let players interact with the familiar, yet strikingly harsh environment not just shoot things

• Be visually stunning and stylistic

• Have a strong brand and community identity

• Provide franchise capable IP for expansion into other media properties

Back Story

The idea of the AfterUX story originated in imagining a world where a shadow class of elite (industry titans, politicians, celebrities) and AI technology is forcing a global reboot of life and human existence as we know it. With so many tools to shape public sentiment and values, they have moved forward with the next step in changing the very definition of what being human is. The changes are no longer subtle, your compliance is not optional. You will no longer cling to your past values, beliefs, and allegiances. You will be changed… It’s not what was before that matters. The mantra now is how much better it will all be After You Change (After UX).

This is not George Orwell’s 1984. Michael Crichton’s Prey, or any other dystopian story you’ve read. It’s today’s headlines, societal/market forces, technical innovation, cultural, and biological imperatives that form the fabric of the After UX back story. We want it to feel familiar, even real at times but then immerse the player into a world that may come to be because of these things.

The societal, technical, and biological horrors will become the nexus of their in-game experience. They must come to grips not only what they world has become but what they must become in it. In the game, every decision has a consequence and alter the storyline to that end. Though ultimately, the end will be the same, your choice will shape the journey. Even the concept of mankind has been changed to include new classes of beings: Biologicals, MechHominids, and Membies. Each will require specific player interacOons, communicaOon style, and weapon systems. All of these will create the immersive player experience and keep the player engaged, always wondering what they’ll see next.

This is world of After UX, the gaming experience that only 5150 Games can build…

Feature Set

Our intention is to build on proven features found in all FPS games with some innovative features that increase playability and player retention. Each feature should enhance and/or extend the playing experience. We also anticipate numerous community feature requests during the first test release.

• Large, Interactive Level Maps – By large, we really mean “dense”. The map isn’t just a backdrop, it will be far more interactive than seen in previous games in this genre. Devices play as significant a role in gameplay as weapons. In fact, the intention is that using devices in a prescribed sequence will be the only weapon of sorts in some situations.

• Player Genetic Enhancement – Another core mechanic in the game will be genetic enhancement of player abilities. For example, a form of X-Ray vision will be needed to see through a safe to read the combination for an access door. Others may include temperature resistance, electric field generation, temporary body

transformations, etc.

• AI Helper Avatar – This will be a late addition to the game with the intention of integrating an online AI feature that would serve more as a “conscious” to the player rather than just a triggered bot. Its interaction will be based on the decisions the player makes, offering sometimes counter opinions with the intention of making the player question their approach through the gameplay.

• Mod-able Devices, Weapons – The interactable requirement is also a core tenant in the devices and weapons used throughout the game. Many devices may need to be assembled before using as will some weapon systems. The goal here is give the player a sense of ownership in the game. It will be what “they built” that made the difference in winning or losing.

• UI Innovation – The team is looking across multiple industries for significantly different UI mechanics that will be far more engaging and fun to interact with in game. We are also exploring a hybrid Mixed Reality UI experience as well that would make the HUD truly a unique experience.

• Tools – Map, Device, Character, Weapon Editors – The tooling for the game is intended not just for internal use. The goal is that they become community assets that allow an organic growth and extension to the original release. We also intend to extend these tools to encompass in-game monetization opportunities, multi-player support, social media integration, game relevant newsfeeds, etc. There is also some early thinking about including a third person feature, but it is not in scope for the initial release.

Game World

It’s been said that a great game world should evoke a strong emotional response, be memorable, imaginative, and be close enough to reality that it makes the player think, “this could real”. I would also add to this list that it should be interactive in a natural way. The environmental systems (lighting, weather, physics, etc.) don’t have to be “real world” but should be consistent in the way they behave in the game world. Model and Art styles are also critically important to create that thematic, immersive experience that transports the user into the game world. It is our intention to create a variety of environmental experiences throughout the game world: Urban (City Level), gritty (The Underground), Dark (Sewer System), and Futuristic (After HQ). Each a unique but thematically similar environment that will allow the player to believe they can hear the hear the sounds of the city, feel the approach of the subway train, smell the stench of the sewer, see the wonders and horrors that After has performed. We completely understand that this pushing the capabilities/resources of our team and will require multiple iterations of the game maps to refine them but that’s the point. We do not want to just ship another run and gun clone. We want to tell a story and entice them to join the world of After.

Characters

A diverse range of characters will inhabit the AfterUX world. Some will be friends, some enemies, and others are Frenemies. The character list will include twisted genetic and machine abominations (Biologicals), fusing our nightmares into terrifying results. The MechHominid class of characters will fuse human and animals with machines into complex and merciless enemies.

Biologicals – Biologicals are a result of fusing human and cross section of creatures to form something that was never meant to see the light of day. Each will have specific strengths/weaknesses that will sometimes require specialized weapons to kill.

MechHominid – Role based Machine/Human hybrids – These are bizarre cybernetically enhanced animals, humans, or a combination of both. These represent the hardest to kill (think Boss) and require specific weapons and technique to bring down.

Membies – These are people that have chosen to only exist as virtual cloud avatars. Some will be allies but others will lie, alert your enemies, and attempt to sabotage your progress.

Humans – That right, 46 chromosomes, walking, talking bipeds. And guess what, they are some the worst enemies you face.

Devices

A core element of gameplay in AfterUX is assembling/interacting with a variety of devices to accomplish your mission. This is more than just a crafting mechanic; it’s meant to engage you in strategic/tactical planning throughout your journey. Not all devices are interactable but those that will require easy to use (and fun) game mechanics. The interaction should feel natural and required, not just set dressing. The interaction should have significant visual/audio feedback provided to ensure the player feels a sense of accomplishment.

Device Types

Genetic Manipulation

Hacking

Surveillance

Platform/Bridge Weaponized items

Weapons

In most first-person shooters players expect an array of modern and even sci-fi type weapons like assault rifles, shotgun, pistols, sniper rifle, chain gun, etc. In all, you get 8-10 gun types and that’s it. In AfterUX, your weapons may be modified with different skins, accessories, ammo type, rate of fire, recoil severity, clip size, reliability (jamming). Players can modify the weapons they want and may need depending on the map and enemy encountered.

Initial weapons currently to be included are:

• Quad barreled shotgun – Though a tripled barreled shotgun was seen in Bioshock, this one will allow for different ammo load outs per barrel.

• Taser Gloves – Finger projectiles, so a load out of 5.

• Angle Rifle – For shooting around corners.

• Claymore Rifle – Has claymore attached for directional aiming.

• Smart Assault Rifle – Uses enemy and/or body part specific targeting ammo.

• Implosion Grenade – Created a vortex that sucks matter in, rather than standard explosion.

Game Engine

There were only 2 game engines that we seriously considered for development, Unreal and Unity. Both have fans and detractors but that did not factor into our decision to move forward with Unity. It really came down to the availability of available reusable assets, development talent, and the fact that our existing team already had shipping experience with Unity. The other aspect is our intention to include VR/MR at some point in the development. Our experience to date has been with Meta and Unity’s XR Interaction Toolkit.

Music and Sound FX

Immersive gaming experiences are created through great sound design. Various elements such as ambient sounds, music, and character sounds work together to build the environments soundscape. This soundscape immerses players in the game world, evoking emotions and drawing the player into it.

Regarding music, much thought has been given to licensing specific music, but it appears this would drive our pricing model significantly beyond what we want to target. We also explored some original music but again, the costs assembling musicians to write the needed music was prohibitive. Finally, we considered allowing the user to select external music files to be played but that would break our control over ambient the experience we desire for the player.

Ultimately, we decided to move forward purchasing sound and music from a variety of online licensing sources. This path allows us the lowest acquisition cost with access to massive libraries of both music styles and sound effects.

The rest of the design document omitted for purposes of company confidentiality.