P2: Map and Premise – Supernova

Supernova

Premise:

The main character lives on a fictional utopia planet that is very close to a sun. Because of this proximity, the planet inhabitants have been able to develop tech that captures energy from the fusion reactions happening on the sun and have been able to leverage that power to develop a technologically advanced, sustainable society. Communities/cities are arranged in a concentric circle grid around solar outposts. These outposts are tall structures that jut into the sky, absorb the energy, and transfer it back down where it is transferred through powerlines embedded into the ground that fan out like spiderwebs and power surrounding architecture/infrastructure. The power lines also serve as roads for high speed trains that move people across the outposts.

However, living close to the sun comes with its disadvantages, specifically exposure to more intense UV radiation and high temperatures which prohibit the existence of water on the planet surface. An elite class of citizens who become water miners/water scavengers rise up, and as such have access to underground safe havens etc. The elite class also include the tech development and the community/outpost/city leadership. These safe havens can only be entered from heavily militarized gates/elevators built into the base of each solar outpost. Lower class citizens aka surface dwellers must scrounge for water access and solar protection suits (still workshopping the title) to prevent intense blisters (short term) and cancers (long term).

The game will explore the death of the sun (supernova) and it will start in the morning one fateful day, when fire is falling from the sky – the main character is awoken by some sort of warning alarm that is highly unusual. I want the game to explore the meaning of life, the significance of community and loved ones and what happens when there is chaos and a sudden large equalizing event – how does that bring out the worst and the best in people. How does hope vs futility come into play? I’m wondering if it’s a one-time journey or a ground-hog day type situation.

Player Role + Goals:

The player plays as the main character and his (the character’s) goal is to survive/stay alive + thrive though it is a futile act – he will definitely die.

Player Conflict

Elites are trying to prevent surface dwellers from gaining access to underground safe havens because of fears that the sudden rapid increase in population will put a strain on their resource stockpiles. How can protagonist fight for his community to get to safety.

About the author

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.