For a while I've had this idea for a hero shooter but set in space and hundreds of years into the future. My main influences are Overwatch and Halo - two of my favorite FPS games that both having lore I'm very interested in. Naturally, I would like to do my take on the idea. I'm looking to make this game a reality in the future. Naturally, I'm very early on and basically in the idea phase, so things are subject to change. There's a lot of details and this won't cover them all, and I'm still working on more.
Here's the lore.
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Several hundred years into the future, mankind has achieved space travel and has colonized the galaxy. This was spearheaded in the 2050s by the Federation, a UN organization that worked across culture and creed to allow humankind to travel the milky way. The Federation served a variety of purposes, from peacekeeping, scientific research development, to (most importantly of all) exploration and colonization. A combination of factors from overpopulation to pollution created a near-crisis on Earth, and the only way to solve it was to spread humankind out to the galaxy.
At first it wasn't easy, as the new frontier proved to be difficult for explorers, and lives were lost in the process. Also, during this time, a number of early colonizers got a space virus known as the "Metavirus". It turned their skin a variety of different colors, such as blue, green, grey, and red. It also often gave them unique powers. They were feared, and had the potential to be contagious. These people are now known officially as Meta. Eventually the Metavirus was cured, but only for humans, as it was incurable for the actual metas. Due to rising tensions between the two races, the UN compromised and gave the metas an Earth-like planet to call home: Xion.
Eventually the Federation succeeded in their goal to colonize the galaxy. Over two hundred years later, there are over 30 billion people spread across the galaxy. But to say that the galaxy is a big place is an understatement. The vast space has made it much easier for criminals to operate, as even for the Federation, it's a difficult task to handle a specific criminal in the vastness of space. As such, the bounty system from the old west has been reinstated, allowing for the idea of the "space cowboy" to become real.
In the centuries that passed, people have formed their own cities or settlements in different planets, and there are many humans who have never been to Earth. Xion, the meta homeworld, formed a culture vastly different from that of humans, as their isolationist ways combined with a different outlook on life have lead to them separating themselves from their counterparts. While humans and metas now live on relatively good terms, mostly out of necessity, there's another race that are trying to reach a level acceptance: Bionic. It's a catch-all term for a sentient machine. What separates a bionic from a robot is that the latter is made to complete a task, while the former is capable of actual thought. Naturally, it's considered very derogatory to call a bionic a "robot". However, there are many who don't see them as anything more than that, both humans and metas often share that sentiment.
The story in the present day begins with the emergence of the Insurgency. They're a terrorist organization that seeks to bring an end to the Federation by any means necessary. Their first move was the assassination of Jin Sato, one of the most powerful and influential members of the Federation. Afterwards, they detonated a bomb in the city of New Prague, one of the largest cities in the galaxy, on a Federation ship, hurting their image to the public. With the Insurgency growing in power, it's anyone's guess as to what happens from here.
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Here are the races.
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There are three races in the game: Human, Meta, and Bionic.
Humans are the most common race in the galaxy by far, existing in billions. They're essentially the bread-and-butter of the galaxy, as they serve as the backbone in building civilization through space. They don't have special powers (at least, not usually), but often make up for that with their skill, tenacity, and equipment. Their relationship with metas is shaky, with many humans fearing and/or being repulsed by metas, while metas view themselves as being naturally superior, though they do exist in peace by technicality. Meanwhile, they also often view bionics as being their lesser (a sentiment shared with metas), as truly a 'machine' can't be an equal, right? The majority of the roster are humans, reflecting the reality of them being the most common.
Metas are essentially mutated humans, having the Meta Gene that originated from the Metavirus from the early days of colonization. They have skin colors that range from blue, green, grey, white (literally), or red, and often have special powers. Though far fewer in number than humans, they have made up for it with their sheer potential. Because metas have developed their own culture on Xion in isolation from the rest of the galaxy, their names are usually more alien-sounding than what humans have. There is running prejudice on both sides with metas and humans, as metas often view themselves as being more 'enlightened' or 'superior' than humankind, while humans often resent them for the danger they pose. Like humans, they view bionics as being their lesser in many cases.
Bionics are sentient machines. Because of this blanket term, bionics come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. "Bionic" is a name derived from the company that initially manufactured them: Bionica. They were manufactured initially to serve a variety of tasks, from household chores to military duties, and through self-improving algorithms, they gained the ability to think. Often they have a nickname, as their technical name is harder to remember, often involving numbers. Bionics have struggled to gain true rights to be recognized as equals, because of the sentiment that they're "machines". Nonetheless, there are those who fight for bionic rights, and non-bionics are out there who support the idea that "all are created equal".
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And now, onto the gameplay.
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As mentioned above, it is a hero shooter. This means it's not defined by specific weapons, but rather the unique characters that make up the large roster, who all have their own special weapons, abilities, purposes, as well as personalities and backstories. There are four classes in the game: Attack, Defend, Guardian, and Support.
Attackers are the primary defense-breakers of the roster, able to engage in a wide variety of situations, and are often defined by their mobility with each character having some kind of mobile ability to use.
Defenders specialize in protecting an objective or territory, either through area denial, long range suppressed fire, or by setting up a blockade.
Guardians are the big guys with large health pools, meant to draw attention away from the 'squishies' and protect them with either their shields or their bodies.
Supports are the backbone of the team, compensating their lackluster combat abilities by directly aiding their comrades, through healing them and providing different kinds of utility.
The battles are 8v8. Unlike Overwatch, you cannot switch your character in the middle of a match, so getting a good team comp is necessary, but fortunately the bigger teams allow for more room in error. The maps are generally larger than what is found in Overwatch, to make room for the extra players.
Modes include:
Team Deathmatch - Pretty simple, it's a 16 player slaughter as two teams try to reach a certain kill count to win.
Team Elimination - It's essentially Deathmatch, but you only get one life per round, and the goal is to eliminate all of the other team members in each round before they can do the same. Best of five wins.
Payload - This should be familiar enough. One team tries to escort the payload to the base, while the other tries to stop them.
Assault - One team tries to capture two consecutive points, the other tries to stop them.
Control - Two teams vie for control of an objective, and once captured, must hold it for a certain amount of time to win the round. Best of three wins.
There is a currency system. However, instead of getting it by luck through loot boxes, you instead get the money as you play. Doing things in-game, such as scoring kills, securing objectives, helping the team out etc. will get you more money. The money can then be used on a variety of different visual customization options. Such as character customization, sprays, emotes, voice lines, as well as the ability to visually customize the look of your weapon. You can also unlock various other things in the game, such as artwork, for example.
Other than that, due to the scale of the story at large, I'm planning to include an in-game encyclopedia for the playable characters, important non-playable characters, planets, cities, organizations, and events in the game's universe.
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What do you guys think? I'm open for feedback, and any ideas are welcome.
