Difference between revisions of "Arc 1"

Revision as of 13:44, 13 October 2014

Act 1

General Goals: Introduce the four main characters, cover some past (optional), set up the Zirconian conflict and at the end introduce the MoS siblings.

Scene 1

• This probably more or less follows the spatball you tossed earlier. Koray is being melodramatic (possibly to Hina) about how things can never change, and Karm comes flying out of the sky splatting down.
• Koray, excited by something new, goes and help. Alternately, Hina does, because she seems more compassionate and active than Koray, at least in Arc 1.
• The duo badger him with questions about what the fuck, but offer him a home and he's like 'Sweet don't even have worry about things.'
  • Before/shortly after this there may be the tutorial battle against The Triad.
  • 10/13/14 - In general this is probably a good space to explore Gomala and the general feel of Gomala. Damn space communists.
• The three goof around in relatively minor ways, Karm with his casual stealing may not help things.
  • Koray may get his power here, or when Dai gets here, or have it since the start (honestly leaning towards that because it makes the most sense of 'fuck it nothing worse can happen in ruins' mentality).
• About a week passes, possibly more, before Dai is able to pinpoint where Karm went when he fucked up the portal.
• Second verse, same as the first, before they probably end up on Zirconia through an old portal from one of Planet X's various ruins. (I think we moved the flea here, right, because overall it makes more sense?)
  • 10/13/14 - I think this is set up where the Triad send Koray on another underground mission (that Savesh actually sent THEM on but they're manipulating him see); but they just find a portal. The portal has symbols that are similar to one some 'cult' had (probably actually some ancient guardians or some shit), but they abandoned their temple after like a third of it was taken out by a new mana geyser and the rest was left unstable. So Koray, determined to prove his worth, goes to the temple while the others are willing to give up. The temple has since been occupied by a nymph, which the foursome have to deal with. The issue here is how the nymph escapes being devoured by Hina, who I imagine has a vested interest in eating it and would only stop if Koray opposed it for some reason, which I guess might mean we have to figure out exactly where Koray falls on vengeance and murderhoboing.

Scene 2

• The group is possibly split, Karm and Hina separate from Koray and Dai.
  • I'm hesitant to do this so soon, especially because we want to make Koray either likeable before he hits on Dai and/or have him be just clearly awful at it and just trying to imitate his gang leader/dad/whatever. Like if he's actually trying, even if he fails, I don't know, he just feels kinda scummy to me then. Maybe I just like Hina too much now and feel like it's way too irrelevant of a betrayal.
  • We could maybe cut out the betrayal/hitting on until later when Hina's dead? I'm actually sort of attached to relationship now (maybe because I put too much of my current one into it!) and could maybe replace it with a scene later where the gang leader/father/triad makes fun of Koray for keeping with Hina with Dai and it's revealed he's attracted to her, but there's a difference between attraction and romance? Like you said it may be too scummy for a heroic character to do. He's flawed, but tries as hard as possible to be noble?
• Something something they find the flea something something.
  • I IMAGINE the group meets back up before this if they're ever split up (OR: this is the catalyst for how they get split, when it collapses the roof in the ruins/cave/whatever the two end up on opposite sides of a mountain range or something? I don't know, we gonna pin down this area A LOT).
• Something something aspects of Bahamut something something.
  • This may not be explored in depth until Act 2, actually.
• Something something ZH and Devix pop up something something.
  • This may not happen until Act 2, actually.
• Wow, it's like we never work on the middle of our stories.

Scene 3

• Sensing the Voidspawn, Tad jumps planet to planet until it makes it to Planet X, trying to find the Voidspawn.
• Laidena is there beforehand (possible short flashback having Savaeiou(y)sh hit on her, but I kinda want it to be revealed she was there first rather than established onscreen), having expended all of HAZE's resources to get there, examining the weirdass cocoons.
• Tad is insistent on destroying them, Laidena on examining them.
• One, Corvus, pops open and sends Tad to the Void, Laidena runs at it and seals off its ability to do that.
• It intends to strike back, but another, Umbra Obscura, pops open and defends her, curious to learn about this reality rather than just rip it asunder.
• At their stalemate, they rip open the last cocoon, Shadow, to be a tiebreaker, but it's pretty much blank and indecisive, unsure of what to make of anything.
• Frustrated at this, Corvus and UO break off (the latter with Laidena) and plan to experience life as they want to, leaving Shadow to do whatever he does.

Act 2

General Goals: Play up the feel of Zirconia, set up ZH as massing an attack.

• Hm. Not really sure where to start this one. Things that probably happen:
  • ZH re-establishes contacts with the Agents. He's down to a militia at his disposal after his army and flying factory were taken out last time, and Weapon Goddess absolutely refuses to help him, in general because of his goal and specifically calling him a damn fool for trying to take out the same Zeroes that he was when he got sent to the Void.
  • Shadow searches for purpose on Planet X. He builds a city in the wastelands, where the dark fae follow him. My current headcanon is they have some people they've tried to save from the wastelands' effects, and Shadow makes Jean from some of those spare parts, but I don't know, we can talk.
  • UO and Laidena talk, not sure how often this will take the spotlight but it probably won't be for long, it'll just show that both are information-driven and unwilling (for various reasons) to get involved in the rising conflict.
  • I actually kinda want to avoid Corvus too much, maybe one scene where you play him (in what will be revealed to be) searching for Bahamut.
  • Speakin' of which, I imagine ZH is probably first to notice the planet's weird feel (well Dai is probably the first, but he's the first to act on trying to understand WHY it feels weird), possibly diggin' down and hitting the geomancy seal, which is far beyond his comprehension. He starts working on it back in the Shadow Plane and the planet starts to get the attention of Weapon Goddess and Tiamat a bit then, but they'll give ZH his space until he fails.
  • The Aspects of Bahamut probably mostly piss away the main group's time with various trivialities.

Act 3

General Goals: Corvus strikes as ZH starts to attack, everything's fucked, Bahamut dies. Corvus retreats before he can blow up the planet, but oddly from the ashes it feels like Zirconia's future can improve. Then Arc 2 happens.

• Likewise above, I'll just detail various here:
  • ZH gives up on his attempts of understanding the seal and just sets out to wipe Karm and Dai.
  • Around the same time, Corvus finds Bahamut and begins his full scale attack.
  • This wipes out Bahamut, a number of dragons, probably even more elves (including Xack, Andreas' twin brother), Hina, and ZH's remaining automaton.
  • In the process (of trying to destroy the planet), he hits the seal and feigns battle damage to try and inspect it (to undo it, to destroy the planet).
  • UO is not fooled, and is irked by not understanding the action, watching her sibling intently.
  • Zirconia is down but not out, and it looks like there might be room for peaceful coexistence between dragons and elves now. Or one group could try to finish off the other. We'll see what they pick in Arc 2 (spoiler it's mostly the latter)

Issues to Be Resolved

• I don't think we've ever pinned down how ZH and Devix escape the Void in this continuity, this is probably priority number one because how come Tad doesn't escape with them?
  • It could be The Things In The Void have ZH and Devix contained in a location, while is so goddamn broken he's able to avoid them. Gatekeeper, sensing the portal to Zirconia activating on Planet X, explores and brings ZH back out of obligation. Gives us some use of Gatekeeper at the beginning and he'd probably have negative interest in rescuing Tad, so.
  • Alternately, they're used as fuel in the cocoons somehow. The dichotomy of destruction and enlightment works as well (and Devix had a 'make a black hole' spell as well, though the implication that was a one-time deal built into his armor/et cetera so he could go down swinging if his sword was destroyed). Kinda fiddly and doesn't have as much build-up, but a bit more straight-forward and not needing motivation.
• Detailing and/or nailing down bits in the middle, obvs. Totes obvs.
• Figuring out where Lugh (and a few other characters) fit into this. That could be Corvus' major thing in Scene 2.
• I assume part of the reason you want to split them isn't just so Koray can hit on Dai, but to re-enact some of the interpersonal strife Karm and Dai had during the Jack debacle. But I feel like if we legitimately want to turn the party against one another, that's best saved for the third Arc (which is where the Jack thing takes place anyway), when players are actually invested in the characters and have to choose sides emotionally rather than distantly go 'OH WHAT A HILARIOUS MIX-UP THIS'LL BE' right at like the beginning of the story

Possible Locations

• Probably figure out hubs and major ruins to kinda pace the gameplay/puzzles a bit. Hubs are nice and free to explore, ruins have challenges of some kind with a clear progression.
  • Hubs: Amalgo, some elf village, ???
  • Ruins: the one the flea's in, Corvus' attack in Act 3 could be really cool embodied as an event you move through

Major Battles

• Tutorial - Karm or Koray vs. The Triad
• Dragon - Dai (only?) vs. Dragon
• The Voidspawn - Puzzle to escape.
• Fake Climax (hehe) - Karm or Dai vs. ZH
• Corvus' Attack - Puzzle to avoid.

TONS MORE, but just off the top of my head.