Descension [Indie Game] Thread

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MGregory666	Jul 18 2012, 4:24pm Anchor
Hi, I am part of an independent game studio called 3rd Element Studios. Some time ago we released our first demo and with the release of our 2.0 Demo for which we have high hopes were looking to build some momentum around the project. The game is called 'Descension' (previously Descent: The Uprising but we changed it very recently due to potential legal issues) and it's a Action Adventure game with the main emphasis being on Story and Puzzles. The demo features a linear single player campaign with three levels to play which will roughly take an hour to play through. As the only person capable of stopping a planet wide catastrophe, you will explore the darker side of humanity as well as make difficult choices with unknown consequences. With a mystery to unravel, a new world to discover and understand, and possibly all life at stake it will take wit and intelligence, strength and power, stealth and cunning, or some of it all to make it through alive. Descension is a 3rd Person Action Adventure game with an emphasis on characters and story, as well as critical thinking via challenging puzzles. It has a non-linear story progression based on player choices and involves an RPG element both of which are designed to encourage re-playability. The Story and Setting is a mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements interweaving myth, religion, god-like powers, and advanced technology all of which help to create a rich tapestry of story and unique environments to explore. You play as Traeven, the son of Shaidaran Priest, aboard The Volatere, a massive airship, cruise liner and battleship which is the pinnacle in engineering and aesthetic design. During a what started as a routine voyage, Mahule, leader of a cult of radical devotees, takes it upon himself to hijack the Volatere and use the colossal ship to threaten the population on the planet below. Traeven, never one for playing the hero, is thrust into the center of the conflict. It is up to the player to decide the fate of the Volatere, and to choose the methods and means to accomplish their goals. This demo is solely the work of one man our Project Lead and studio founder Robert Petersen. The project now has a 12 man strong team behind so you can imagine the changes that will take place in Demo 2.0 (due for release in September 2012). Any feedback or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. You can download the first demo here.
indefiance11	Jul 22 2012, 10:06am Anchor
Guys, we just finished updating our page for Descension. Indiedb.com
formerlyknownasMrCP	Jul 22 2012, 6:47pm Anchor
Lol at using the farscape font for your logo Given the concept you've got here doesn't surprise me to see some of its influence has rubbed off on your ideas, this is a good thing, that show was awesome (best Scifi to ever come out of Australia). I think in the future with your trailers try to avoid fading to black too much- it comes off more annoying than anything, I have a massive hatred for trailers that do that because its fairly cheap and just tells me that something is being hidden or that the creator has run out of things to show off (which is never good). So early in development I'd hold off on cinematic trailers and instead rely more on letting the gameplay do the talking. The idea has potential, and your team has tallent so best of luck.
MGregory666	Jul 26 2012, 5:33pm Anchor
The three pronged approach to gameplay Descension strives to be a game about story, and as such it also strives to be a game full of choices. In an effort to make this more intuitive, most areas of the ship and the game mechanics are designed around Three possible paths to completion. In RPG games there is the Mage class, the Warrior Class, and the Thief Class. Let this serve as a metaphor for these gameplay styles, and it is up to the player to choose at any given time what playing style they prefer. In contrast to a typical RPG game, the player isn’t forced into one mold or another, but rather the game will adapt to their preferred playstyle, unlocking skills and areas only accesible to those proficient in their preferred skillset, especially towards the end of the game, where certain story arcs are only available to those with certain levels of proficiency. Working in tandem with these styles, the player will become more proficient and their subsequent skill base modifiers will allow them to further excell in those playing styles they practice the most. This is all done under the hood, with only a few indicators to que the player as to their ability levels in each area. Completion Percentage of Game-Mechanic: 50%
atsebak	Jul 26 2012, 8:04pm Anchor
what ide do you use for uscript, i am asking because you had a screenshot in your profile Edited by: atsebak
MGregory666	Jul 29 2012, 11:28am Anchor
atsebak wrote:what ide do you use for uscript, i am asking because you had a screenshot in your profile That picture isn't a shot of an IDE, it's a basic win application our programmer wrote to refactor unreal script classes. Impactful gameplay and lasting consequences Many modern games have vast modding communities that cater to them. In many cases a new idea keeps cropping up as a popular mod. In general that idea is centred around making the game choices have more permanence and making the death of the character of more consequence than reloading your latest save. Descension explores different game mechanics around the idea of persistent choices and saves, differing from the mainstream in an attempt to make the impactfulness of the story more relevant, and the gravity of your choices more poignant. While saving at any point is possible, there is only one save for any particular game started, and using that save is done by logging into your unique character. Completion Percentage of Game-Mechanic: 75% Decension strives to be a game of choices. Choices with consequences, and a continuity of experience. This means that your game save does not allow you to backtrack without starting a completely new character, but it also means there is no such thing as game-over. How can we try such an innovative feature and break the standard mould so completely? With difficulty. The short answer is that we have made it so that while in most combat situations you can die, dying is not the end. We have tied this directly into the storyline, and given it a plausible background. This feature was not thrown in as an afterthought, and it integrates well with the lore and universe of Descension. We hope it provides a unique twist to the standard formula. Another compelling feature of Descension is our choice to create a fluid RPG class system enabling the player to choose amongst a variety of skills and abilities and mix and match to their hearts content. While these skills fall under the typical Gameplay Archetypes of Soldier, Mage, and Assassin, what makes our design unique is our variations on these standard classes. So for example, while we do have a Mage, unlike typical mages he is a brawler and Melee strong class, preferring the in close attacks over ranged abilities.

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MGregory666

Jul 18 2012, 4:24pm Anchor

Hi,

I am part of an independent game studio called 3rd Element Studios. Some time ago we released our first demo and with the release of our 2.0 Demo for which we have high hopes were looking to build some momentum around the project.

The game is called 'Descension' (previously Descent: The Uprising but we changed it very recently due to potential legal issues) and it's a Action Adventure game with the main emphasis being on Story and Puzzles.

The demo features a linear single player campaign with three levels to play which will roughly take an hour to play through. As the only person capable of stopping a planet wide catastrophe, you will explore the darker side of humanity as well as make difficult choices with unknown consequences. With a mystery to unravel, a new world to discover and understand, and possibly all life at stake it will take wit and intelligence, strength and power, stealth and cunning, or some of it all to make it through alive.

Descension is a 3rd Person Action Adventure game with an emphasis on characters and story, as well as critical thinking via challenging puzzles. It has a non-linear story progression based on player choices and involves an RPG element both of which are designed to encourage re-playability.

The Story and Setting is a mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements interweaving myth, religion, god-like powers, and advanced technology all of which help to create a rich tapestry of story and unique environments to explore.

You play as Traeven, the son of Shaidaran Priest, aboard The Volatere, a massive airship, cruise liner and battleship which is the pinnacle in engineering and aesthetic design. During a what started as a routine voyage, Mahule, leader of a cult of radical devotees, takes it upon himself to hijack the Volatere and use the colossal ship to threaten the population on the planet below.

Traeven, never one for playing the hero, is thrust into the center of the conflict. It is up to the player to decide the fate of the Volatere, and to choose the methods and means to accomplish their goals. This demo is solely the work of one man our Project Lead and studio founder Robert Petersen. The project now has a 12 man strong team behind so you can imagine the changes that will take place in Demo 2.0 (due for release in September 2012).

Any feedback or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

You can download the first demo here.

indefiance11

Jul 22 2012, 10:06am Anchor

Guys, we just finished updating our page for Descension.
Indiedb.com

formerlyknownasMrCP

Jul 22 2012, 6:47pm Anchor

Lol at using the farscape font for your logo Given the concept you've got here doesn't surprise me to see some of its influence has rubbed off on your ideas, this is a good thing, that show was awesome (best Scifi to ever come out of Australia).

I think in the future with your trailers try to avoid fading to black too much- it comes off more annoying than anything, I have a massive hatred for trailers that do that because its fairly cheap and just tells me that something is being hidden or that the creator has run out of things to show off (which is never good).

So early in development I'd hold off on cinematic trailers and instead rely more on letting the gameplay do the talking. The idea has potential, and your team has tallent so best of luck.

MGregory666

Jul 26 2012, 5:33pm Anchor

The three pronged approach to gameplay

Descension strives to be a game about story, and as such it also strives to be a game full of choices. In an effort to make this more intuitive, most areas of the ship and the game mechanics are designed around Three possible paths to completion. In RPG games there is the Mage class, the Warrior Class, and the Thief Class. Let this serve as a metaphor for these gameplay styles, and it is up to the player to choose at any given time what playing style they prefer. In contrast to a typical RPG game, the player isn’t forced into one mold or another, but rather the game will adapt to their preferred playstyle, unlocking skills and areas only accesible to those proficient in their preferred skillset, especially towards the end of the game, where certain story arcs are only available to those with certain levels of proficiency. Working in tandem with these styles, the player will become more proficient and their subsequent skill base modifiers will allow them to further excell in those playing styles they practice the most. This is all done under the hood, with only a few indicators to que the player as to their ability levels in each area.

Completion Percentage of Game-Mechanic: 50%

atsebak

Jul 26 2012, 8:04pm Anchor

what ide do you use for uscript, i am asking because you had a screenshot in your profile

Edited by: atsebak

MGregory666

Jul 29 2012, 11:28am Anchor

atsebak wrote:what ide do you use for uscript, i am asking because you had a screenshot in your profile

That picture isn't a shot of an IDE, it's a basic win application our programmer wrote to refactor unreal script classes.

Impactful gameplay and lasting consequences

Many modern games have vast modding communities that cater to them. In many cases a new idea keeps cropping up as a popular mod. In general that idea is centred around making the game choices have more permanence and making the death of the character of more consequence than reloading your latest save. Descension explores different game mechanics around the idea of persistent choices and saves, differing from the mainstream in an attempt to make the impactfulness of the story more relevant, and the gravity of your choices more poignant. While saving at any point is possible, there is only one save for any particular game started, and using that save is done by logging into your unique character.

Completion Percentage of Game-Mechanic: 75%

Decension strives to be a game of choices. Choices with consequences, and a continuity of experience. This means that your game save does not allow you to backtrack without starting a completely new character, but it also means there is no such thing as game-over. How can we try such an innovative feature and break the standard mould so completely? With difficulty. The short answer is that we have made it so that while in most combat situations you can die, dying is not the end. We have tied this directly into the storyline, and given it a plausible background. This feature was not thrown in as an afterthought, and it integrates well with the lore and universe of Descension. We hope it provides a unique twist to the standard formula.
Another compelling feature of Descension is our choice to create a fluid RPG class system enabling the player to choose amongst a variety of skills and abilities and mix and match to their hearts content. While these skills fall under the typical Gameplay Archetypes of Soldier, Mage, and Assassin, what makes our design unique is our variations on these standard classes. So for example, while we do have a Mage, unlike typical mages he is a brawler and Melee strong class, preferring the in close attacks over ranged abilities.