Video Game
Concept: Persistent Hostage Rescue
In most
games, rescuing a captured character is totally scripted and the player cannot
affect the character’s rescue in any way. Some games that do allow the player
to influence the outcome, usually do so in an escort type sequence where the
hostage follows the player around and the player must keep them alive by
eliminating enemies.
These
scripted scenarios can be very frustrating narrative wise, especially when the
player gets so close to the target, only to have them snatched away, or
separated by a pane of indestructible glass while they are tortured, executed
or dragged away. However, in the flow of these scenarios if the player were
able to reach the hostage at any time or upon failing to reach them by a certain
time would result in an early end to the game’s scenario or eliminate a large
chunk of play time.
This
concept explores the idea of a game that would focus on these situations and
allow the player the option of recovering or losing the hostage by their own
active decisions and strategies. Over the coarse of the game, the player/s will
have too make decisions that affect the quality of the final outcome, not so
much pass or fail.
Modern-ish
Setting (non-specific)
Multiple
Hostages
Real Time
Actions
Timed
Missions
Random
generation of hostages, enemies, and/or transport routes, locations
Player
Character Customization
Player
Budget
Multiplayer
Co-op 2-4
Bot Support
Information
gathering
Environmental
Interaction
Health + Stamina + Armor + Skill + Equipment
The Setup
The
Player/s are part of a law enforcement group (assume to highly trained and well
funded) who are currently on a mission to recover a group of VIP hostages
before they can be executed or moved to the enemy Headquarters.
The enemy
is assumed to be a well funded black market equipped group with plans to cause
destruction on a global or continental scale. They need the hostages alive for
the information or expertise they carry and are not likely to kill them, even
to keep them from being rescued, at least until they have served the enemy’s
purpose.
Each
hostage is being held and moved separately so the player/s must rescue them one
at a time, or they can split up (online multiplayer only) to attempt separate
missions with a greatly decreased chance of success.
Rescue a
Hostage: If the player can free a VIP from their captors and remove them alive
(injured or not) to a safe zone (chopper, armored car, safe house, etc) then
they will receive clues as to the nature of the enemy objective and how they
might forestall it.
Dead
Hostage: Failing to recover a hostage alive gets you nothing.
Capture an
Agent: Each hostage is being held by an enemy agent with unique appearance and
abilities. To capture that agent alive gets you no information but access to
new equipment and/or monetary bonuses
Kill an
Agent: Killing an enemy gets you cash/experience rewards. Killing an agent gets
you larger rewards, the same reward as capturing them alive, but without the
bonus.
Capture a
Minion: Enemy troops can be captured or subdued alive. Doing so gives a small
cash/exp bonus and may reward the player with a key, code, map or some other
tidbit of information about the immediate area that will help the player/s
survive and complete their mission successfully.
Kill a minion:
Killing an enemy troop will give the same cash/exp bonus as if they were
captured, but no bonus information. Physical keys and intel must be recovered
by searching their bodies while digital or verbal information are lost.
Player
Injury: If a player character is damaged, their body armor may negate it,
resulting in a temporary slight blurring to vision. Damage not stopped by armor
results in loss to Life Points that cannot be recovered without using a first
aid skill or medkit.
Player
Wounded: If a player character receives an injury to a critical location or
with a sufficiently powerful weapon they are wounded and begin to bleed out
along with taking normal damage. If that player or another player/character
cannot stop the bleedout before their life reaches zero they character is dead.
After stabilizing the character, they can be healed normally. While a character
is bleeding out they are considered to be crawling with their vision blurring
more and more.
Player
Dead: If a player character dies, then they are dead for the remainder of that
mission. They will respawn as a new character at the beginning of the next
mission. Alternatively they may respawn as or with reinforcements at
random/scripted locations. A dead player character may then be moved to an NPC
ally on the map or take command of an information monitoring scree, where they
use limited data to help direct and coordinate the other players with similar
skills and abilities they had earlier.
Character
Budget
Player/s start
each mission with a cash budget. The amount of that budget may be influenced by
multiple factors (each mission set is treated as part of one campaign, not as
drop in missions). At the beginning of the campaign (or very beginning of the
game introduction) players are allowed a limited amount of funds to purchase
weapons, equipment and training to define their character. At the beginning of
each mission they are allowed to use any additional funds they have acquired to
restock or upgrade.
Character
experience
All
player’s start with the same stat line and access to the same equipment. As
they complete missions, gather information, get kills, etc they earn XP. XP
gets them new ranks. New ranks gets them a point to boost one of their stats
and access to more equipment to purchase. It also makes older equipment cheaper
to purchase the higher the level they are (10% per level?).
Character
Customization
Stats – All
characters start with the same stats. They can upgrade their stats at each
level. They can also augment those stats with Skills and Training.
Health: A
character’s hit points, toughness, etc. How much damage they can take until
they are dead.
Stamina:
How long a character can run without stopping or slowing down for breath. Also
how long a character can focus on a difficult task like defusing a bomb or
administering first aid to themselves before passing out. As a character is
injured and their health depletes, so does their maximum stamina until they are
healed. If a character is wounded and bleeding out, their stamina also slowly
depletes.
Strength:
How physically strong a character is. This influences their ability to carry
more equipment without slowing down, their melee damage, and their ability to
access certain areas by lifting doors or bending bars. Also influences throwing
distance and recoil control.
Intelligence:
How smart a character is influences their firing accuracy, ability to hack
computers, pick locks, administer first aid more quickly and ability to use
intel.
So first
you choose if you want to build a strong character or a smart character. The
player can create multiple characters (say limit 4) that they can create at the
beginning of a new campaign and swap between each mission.
Strong
characters can carry more equipment and more powerful weapons and excel in
dealing damage.
Smart
characters have better first shot accuracy and boost their ability to use
skills and equipment, making them very focused in their abilities.
Skills –
Skills and training are a group of passive abilities that the character earns
or purchases that augments their stats and actions.
Skills vs
Training – Training can be purchased with cash or are unlocked as the character
ranks up, meanwhile skills are earned as the character completes specific
actions, like stopping an ally from bleeding out 10 times may unlock a Medic
Skill which reduces the amount of stamina/time it takes to stop a character
from bleeding out (including themselves).
How many
Skills can a character have activated at once? 2-4 skills. Some skills can be
upgraded over time for better results, others may stack together for even
greater effect.
Ignore Pain
– Vision blur from injury is reduced by half.
Tough Hide
– Bleed out time is extended
Second Wind
– A character’s Stamina Recovery is reduced by half.
Sprinter –
A character runs faster but at increased stamina drain
Get to
Cover – Crawling while bleeding out doesn’t drain stamina.
Clear
Headed – While bleeding out, vision does not blur.
Pack
Training – character is allowed to carry heavy loads but suffers from increased
stamina drain
Fireman –
Allows the character to move another character at full movement speed
Stealth –
Reduces the sound the character makes while moving
Stunt Man –
Reduces the damage a character takes from falling, swinging, jumping, sliding
or other such movement hazards.
First Aid –
reduces time it takes heal damage with a medkit
Medic –
Reduces time it takes to stop bleedout with a medkit
Doctor –
Character can heal and stop bleedout without a medkit
Hacker –
Reduces the time it takes to hack a device
Cracker – Reduces
the time it takes to pick a lock or open a combination
Defuser –
Reduces the time it takes to defuse a bomb
Sniper
Training – Reduces aiming sway
Spotter
Training – Improves the chances of critical hits on marked targets.
Martial arts
– Melee attacks can be combed
Wrestler –
Melee takedowns are faster and quieter
Driver –
increases the response of ground vehicles
Pilot –
increases the response of air vehicles
Mariner –
Increases the response of water vehicles
Roles – A
player’s role determines their resources and how they impact the mission. Any
player can take any role and they can abandon their position at any time. If a
role is needed and a player cannot fill it then it is occupied by an NPC.
Pointman –
The primary player position, the soldier on the ground. The primary combat role
and the one most responsible for handling the VIPs. All 4 players can take this
role.
Marksman –
Sometimes a mission can benefit from having a sniper or gunner outside the
mission zone to aid in entry or cover a retreat. @ players can be support as a
sniper with a spotter, a pair of snipers, a pair of gunners or a heavy gunner
with loader.
Support – Mission
support comes from information control. The support role operates from a
station that gives them access to anything from internal security systems of a
building, satellite imagery, drones and airstrikes. A station may be on the
ground or in a vehicle. Support characters are typically non-combat or indirect
combat and help the rest of the team by placing beacons and identifying points
of interest. Only one character can be support.
Driver – In
many missions vehicles will be available one way or another, having a dedicated
driver or pilot on hand to keep the engine running or to swoop in with fire
support, give chase or escape with the VIP. Only one character can be the
driver but depending on the mission and the vehicle, support and marksman or even the entire team may start or spend
the whole mission on board.
Equipment –
A character brings all kinds of devices to aid their mission outside of regular
combat. Some equipment like breaching charges can be used like weapons but are
not designed for active combat.
Kits –
Reconnaissance, Medic, Disguise/Infiltration, Demolition, Electronic Warfare
Purchased
Vehicles – At the beginning of a mission one or more players may spend cash to
requisition a vehicle for that mission only. These vehicles tend to be high
performance with bulletproof glass, panels, tires and some may come with built
in weapons or Support stations.
Stolen
Vehicles – Players may need immediate transportation, doing so requires
hotwiring a vehicle on hand. These vehicles tend to have lower performance than
purchased vehicles and may prompt the local police to give chase.
Customizing
vehicles – Each player spends cash to modify and upgrade their own fleet of
vehicles. Players must then again spend or share cash to bring them into a
mission. Only the Driver can bring a vehicle otherwise transport must be
stolen.
Motorcycle
– Two person vehicle that may include forward machineguns. Passengers can fire
one handed weapons. Not good for VIP evacuations but they are highly
maneuverable with superb acceleration.
Sportscar –
Two person vehicle with light armor, may include dual machineguns and the
passenger can fire any weapons. Good for escapes and pursuits with high
acceleration.
Sedan – 4
person armored car good for most situations. Passengers can fire all weapons.
Jeep – 4
person vehicle with high off road performance
Truck – A
two person vehicle with a bed that can be configured to carry 3 more people or
a mounted weapon, machinegun, rocket launcher or cannon.
Van – An
armored 5 person vehicle with low performance that may include Support
stations.
Armored
Truck – A heavily armored 5 person vehicle with low performance but incredibly
difficult to stop.
Chopper – A
5 person helicopter loaded with a support station, machinegun and rocket pods.
Boat – An
armored jet boat that seats 5 people, comes with dual machineguns and grenade
launcher with a support station.
Other
Upgrades – GPS tracking, night vision, oil slick/caltrops, auto-inflate tires,
radar, turbo boost, Self-destruct, Smoke Screen
Weapons –
Weapons are any tool used to damage, kill or incapacitate a target aside from
bare hands. It is very easy to get a hostage killed with heavy firepower so use
discretion.
Modular
weapons – One idea is that all players start with the same pistol and rifle and
can be modified through various kits and attachments rather than acquiring
totally different weapons.
Pistol –
One handed gun. Standard, High power, rapid fire, high accuracy, Stun/tranq gun
SMG – one
or two handed guns with a high rate of fire and deep magazine. Standard, high
power, high accuracy
Assault
Rifle – Two handed guns for medium range combat. Standard, high power, high
accuracy, rapid fire
Machinegun
– Powerful medium range weapons with large magazines. Made for defensive fire
or mounted on vehicles/buildings.
Sniper
Rifle – Powerful and accurate long range gun given to snipers.
Shotgun –
Powerful close range weapon generally carried by enemies as a defensive weapon
Grenades –
One time use thrown weapons with various effects. Frag, Concussion, Smoke,
tear, chaff, incendiary
Bombs –
Explosives that are planted in buildings or on vehicles that explode with a
timer or a remote detonator
Mines –
Mines are another type of bomb that explodes either on contact or by proximity.
Launchers –
A Ranged weapon that fires an explosive round like a grenade or rocket or
missile. Only to be used against clusters of enemies or vehicles.
Tazer – a
non-lethal melee knock out weapon.
Gloves –
Gloves with knuckles improve the damage of melee strikes (non-lethal) while
gloves with garrotes make assassinations silent.
Blades – A
blade can be thrown in melee or make silent assassinations
Weapon
Attachments – Some weapons can equip devices that may make them more efficient
in combat or for a particular mission.
Scopes –
Increase zoom and aiming accuracy
Laser –
helps make accurate shots without aiming
Lamp – Good
for seeing in the dark and blinding enemies
Silencers –
Decreases the chance enemies will hear shots and be alerted.
Magazine –
some weapons can carry larger magazines, increasing how many rounds they can
carry and how long they can fire between reloads.
Ammo – Some
weapons can use different kinds of ammunition like armor piercing, soft point,
match grade, sub sonic, incendiary, explosive or rubber.
Dual Wield
– One Handed weapons have the option of doubling up. This allows a player to
fire twice as many rounds in the same amount of time but with reduced accuracy
and longer reloads.
Launcher –
Some Two-handed weapons can take advantage of a secondary launcher attachment.
Examples include assault rifles with grenade launchers or shotguns and SMGs or
Pistols with non-lethal stun-gun attachments.
Primary
Weapon – Your main combat weapon, could be anything
Secondary
Weapon – Your backup weapon, pulled from the melee or pistol/one-handed list.
Support and Drivers may only have access to this weapon slot (and pick up other
primary type weapons in the field if they abandon their position)
Rescue
Scenarios/Missions
Scenarios
by design must be scripted but what counts is what changes. Which hostage is
which can influence who is taken on first. Which Agent is guarding them can
alter the difficulty of the mission and the types of special enemies that
appear. Also how long the hostage is in their transport makes them harder to
rescue as they get further away from the players.
Depending
on how and how well players complete their missions, more options may become
available for future missions.
Small/Medium/Large
– The size of the building indicates how many levels, rooms and enemies it has
to search through.
Rural –
Indicates a spot out in the woods or the water removed from access to things
like other buildings, vehicles or anything else of use.
Urban – a
City or settlement where multiple buildings can be found and vehicles are
available for use. A great abundance of options can be found here, just be
careful not to attract too much attention or players may have local authorities
after them as well.
Bunker – An
industrial or military installation that is very difficult to get in to and
even harder to enter undetected. Players can expect heavy combat, and difficult
challenges. The final mission area would be a bunker and there may be other
smaller bunkers to crack if the players fail to recover a VIP too many times or
in enough time.
Foot – A
VIP being run from room to room or building to vehicle is being dragged or
carried by enemies that will trail and try to stall the players. Be careful
about shooting because they will use the hostage as a human shield.
Car – A VIP
being moved by car is at a high risk of death just by being there. A traffic accident
from shooting out tires at high speed or being forced off the road could kill
everyone inside. Cars also come with a few lightly armed enemies that fire upon
the players, making it even more dangerous. The car must safely be brought to a
stop then the VIP can be moved on foot.
Truck – A
VIP being moved by large truck comes with a heavily armed group of protectors
that will fire on the players. This makes it very difficult to neutralize the
enemies without harming or killing the VIP. The vehicle must be stopped and the
enemies forced out and eliminated, then the VIP can be moved on foot.
Armored
Truck – A VIP in an armored truck is about as safe as they can be from harm.
The players must stop the vehicle, secure the driver and force open the compartment
then the VIP can be moved on foot and then evacuated in whatever way is handy
at the time.
Jet – A VIP
being transported on a small private plane is impossible to intercept. Players
may get lucky enough to keep them from getting on the plane or catch them right
after they land, but once they’re in the air, bringing the plane down kills
everyone. However moving them by large passenger or cargo plane offers a few
possibilities. Players might be able to board the plane quietly in disguise as
normal passengers. If that’s not possible they might stow away in crates or
under tarps. It becomes absolutely imperative that the plane stay in the air
until it can be safely landed, otherwise a whole lot of people could die.
Evacuating the VIP is best handled by landing the plane, however in a pinch
they might escape by parachute.
Chopper – A
VIP being transported by chopper is extremely difficult to recover as stopping
the chopper without killing the VIP is nearly impossible. However if the
chopper is planning on making a landing, then it is best to head off the
chopper at its landing zone before the VIP can be moved to a building or
different vehicle.
Train – A
train can be boarded at a station by characters in disguise, by jumping on from
another train, car, chopper. If the player’s can go undetected they may be able
to quietly get control of the engine or separate the VIP car from the rest of
the train (random car). If they are detected then they must race as enemies
uncouple the rear cars, leaving the players behind. The only way to stop the train is from the
engine. The tracks may be broken by the enemy, an accident or events from a
previous mission, but if the train hits broken tracks, everyone dies.
Jet Boat –
VIP is being transported by a speed boat. Intercepting the target before hand
from a car is difficult and picking them up after the boat lands may be even
more difficult. Boarding such a small boat would be near impossible without
another boat alongside or a chopper and lots of luck. Firing on or from the
boat accurately enough to disable it or incapacitate the pilot is difficult and
dangerous as there is a moderate chance of causing the boat to explode or sink.
The enemy may have support from other boats, a chopper or even cars firing from
on land.
Yacht – A
large vessel out in the open water. Players need to swim, boat or drop onto the
boat from a chopper. If the vessel begins moving after they are aboard, falling
off may make it impossible to stay on mission. Players must search multiple
levels and the chase may persist on a jet boat. The VIP must be recovered by
another boat, chopper or taking complete control of the yacht. Beware of
self-destruct, otherwise the ship can be damaged but not blown up or sunk by
normal combat damage.
Pre-empt –
Players may have a chance to intercept a hostage before they can be moved from
a building to a vehicle. This would be a final resort of a building rescue
mission.
Head off –
Players may have a chance to intercept a hostage as they are being transported
from a vehicle to a building. This would logically come if the players were
unable to board a vehicle and therefore wait for it to stop. Like waiting for
an airplane to land.
Enemies
Boss – The
final boss, leader of the evil organization. The game is not over until they
are captured or killed. The final fight with them depends on the player’s
performance in the previous campaign.
Agents –
4-6 sub bosses with their own unique equipment, appearance and abilities.
There’s one for each VIP and must be captured or killed to recover their VIP.
Minions –
regular nonspecific enemies with standardized equipment and abilities.
Sniper – A
minion that uses a sniper rifle, spawns on the periphery of the mission map or
predefined high points
Gunner – A
minion with a machinegun, spawns rarely on vehicles or in buildings
Launcher –
A minion with a rocket, grenade, or missile launcher depending on the type of
vehicle the players have.
Driver/Pilot
– A minion that commands vehicles. Killing the driver/pilot brings the vehicle
to a stop
Juggernaut
– A rare armored minion that only appears in bunkers.
Spy – An
uncommon minion that appears in buildings monitoring security systems.
Neutralizing one of these can allow access to security systems without causing
alerts or opening paths that could be accessed no other way.
Agents
Melee – A
fast and dodgy enemy that likes to get in close with punches and stabs. Does
best in close quarters.
Sniper –
Equipped with a semi-automatic sniper rifle and high power ammo. Can kill or
cripple a player in one shot and punch through most cover.
Gunner –
Equipped with a heavy machinegun and fills an area with fire. Devastating
against vehicles and players in the open.
Launcher –
Equipped with various launchers to drop explosive damage on players and quickly
eliminate vehicles. Does best out in the open during vehicle chases.
Spy – A
relatively weak agent that can lock down a building tight as possible. In open
combat they hide and control multiple drones that fire bullets and rockets from
the air.
Juggernaut
– The most heavily armored enemy in the game. Can’t be damaged by anything but
well placed/aimed explosives. Equipped with a full-auto shotgun with different
ammo types. Is devastating in confined spaces.
Missions
Cabin in
the Woods + Country Chase
City High
Rise + City chase
Yacht + River/Coast/Open
water chase + Port and Jet Boat
Airport +
Passenger Jet
Warehouse +
Highway chase
Mansion
Island
Ghetto
Final
Bunker
