Plot Options - The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO GitHub Wiki

Let's remember that these are grand ideas, but when we go to make the game we'll want to pare them down to their essence and make the scope as small as possible to start with.

[General Gists] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#gists)
[Inside a Game] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#1-inside-a-game)
[Disintegrating World] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#2-disintegrating-world)
[Magic Coding School] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#3-magic-coding-school)
[Adversary/Collaborator] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#4-adversarycollaborator)
[Great Goal] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#5-great-goal)
[Arsenal of Tools] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#6arsenal-of-tools)
[Plot Requirements] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#plot-requirements)
[Plots] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#plots)
No Explicit Plot
[Indiana Jones of the Future] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#2-indiana-jones-of-the-future)
[The Unmade Games] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#3-the-unmade-games)
[A Virus] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#4-a-virus)
[Evil Hacker] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#5-evil-hacker)
[Magical School] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#6-magical-school)
[Obstacle Course] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#7-obstacle-course)
[Dense Dev] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#8-dense-dev)
[Key] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#8-key)
[Inspiration] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#inspiration)

Gists

These contain some basic ideas that can be mixed and matched

1. Inside a Game

The player is transported into a place between the game (or the computer) and its code where they can see the structure of the game, but also interact with and change its code and objects

The player only ever plays in one game
The player inhabits a meta-world from which they visit many different games/simulations

2. Disintegrating World

The world the player is in is falling apart

The player must find out what is causing this and fix it
The player must simply survive long enough to escape

3. Magic Coding School (This is in the wrong section)

The player enters a magical school for coding/this is clearly a learning experience

4. Adversary/Collaborator

The player is working against and/or with someone or something who is the cause of the problems

A well-intentioned (or ambiguously intentioned) AI
A noob dev
A corporation
An environmental danger, like a virus
Badly written code
Some clearly evil adversary

5. Great Goal

The player is pursuing some great goal.

A fantastic treasure
A key to something
Something to save themselves/their friends/the world

6. Arsenal of Tools

The player is collecting tools to overcome the challenges they will face.

Code and game creator UI

Plot Requirements

Each story must address:

Who are you and how did you get here?
Why are there all these games?
Why are they broken / unfinished?
What do you need to do and why?
Why are you in danger or under pressure? Why does the AI attack you?

Plots

Again, combinations of these are quite possible

[Indiana Jones of the Future] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#1-indiana-jones-of-the-future)
[The Unmade Games] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#2-the-unmade-games)
[A Virus] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#3-a-virus)
[Evil Hacker] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#4-evil-hacker)
[Magical School] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#5-magical-school)
[Obstacle Course] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#6-obstacle-course)
[Dense Dev] (https://github.com/The-Source-Eternal/Children-of-IO/wiki/Plot-Options#7-dense-dev)

1. No Plot

The plot isn't made clear to the user, though we should have one in order to help give us direction and cohesion.

2. Indiana Jones of the Future

Who are you and how did you get here?
You are an archeologist some time in our distant future. You study the ancient technologies of previous civilizations. You got here through a futuristic interface that allows you to see both the code and the objects it represents.
Why are there all these games?
'cause that's what you're looking at right now, yo. Plus, maybe they aren't games, maybe they're other things.
Or maybe that's dependent on the rest of the plot
Why are they broken / unfinished?
Maybe the games on this computer or on this database are simply very old and, mechanically, are falling apart (that seems very complicated to accurately represent). Perhaps this is your specialty. Perhaps they're not games and you're simply looking through different kinds of old tech.
You hunted down and found an old relic - a computer that belonged to a very specific aspiring game dev (Aarelle, of course). She's left clues behind for you to follow? Or perhaps she was doing some Great Work. Or was an unwitting agent in some plot bigger than herself. Or maybe she was some kind of prodigy or prophet.
What do you need to do and why?
You need to find something. Perhaps you need to fix the games/code in order to find it. (Heck, perhaps what you find is the way to all the unmade games). Not sure why. Wealth? Prestige? Saving people you care about? Curiosity?
Why are you in danger or under pressure? Why does the AI attack you?

Details You are an archeologist in the far, far future, following a lead to... what? Treasure? A key to save mankind? A way to get ahead of your archeological nemesis? Using your futuristic tech you explore the "ancient technology" of earth (in this case javascript), learning its ancient ways so that you can accomplish your goal.

3. The Unmade Games

This may just be an element that can be added to one of the other plot lines

Who are you and how did you get here?
Why are there all these games?
Why are they broken / unfinished?
What do you need to do and why?
Why are you in danger or under pressure? Why does the AI attack you?

Details Somehow you find yourself in a vast repository of games that were never made, some unfinished and some never started. You're in a meta world where you can pass between these different games. (What is your goal here?)

4. A Virus

Who are you and how did you get here?
You are a person (futuristic or otherwise) with a computer that has a virus. If futuristic, you come in with an interface. If not, the virus has opened a way into this strange world.
Why are there all these games?
Perhaps this is your computer and the virus has infected you through malware in a game. Perhaps it isn't just games.
Why are they broken / unfinished?
The game or games are broken because they have... a virus. How did the virus get there? Spontaneously? Through an evil hacker? Someone accidentally released it into the system? You clicked on malware?
What do you need to do and why?
You need to eradicate the virus. Why? To fix your computer? To survive? To escape the computer-world you're in? To save your technologically dependent society from disaster?
Why are you in danger or under pressure? Why does the AI attack you?
You're in danger because the virus destroys things. Why? Because it's a virus! It attacks anything within the computer, including you!

Details You have entered the inner world of your computer. A virus is what is causing the disintegration of the world and you have to fix what it's broken and eradicate it to save your computer. This can start with high level concepts, the world crumbles further, and the lower level concepts (variables, types, etc.) are near the end. Or some combination of those two. Understanding of variables is pretty crucial... though it may be worth truly experimenting with how far we can take this backwards path. (I'm not sure we can accurately depict, or use as a plot device, how computer viruses do their thing)

Not sure of this because it seems like it encourages, rather than discourages, clicking on sketchy emails: The player starts with a blank computer screen and an old-style email interface. They are prompted to open an email that, to all of us who know these things, shouts sketchy. In future, this interface can also be used to have "emails" about the progress of the game and lots of little easter eggs, a sort of ARG. At some point they have no option but to click on that sketchy email and download the attachment. This releases a virus (or malevolent AI) into the computer and the player must fix what they've broken by beating the game. Thank you for this wonderful concept, Shaun.
Also, since we're teaching about computers I don't know if it's a good idea to have a misrepresentation of how viruses work.

5. Evil Hacker

Who are you and how did you get here?
Why are there all these games?
Why are they broken / unfinished?
What do you need to do and why?
Why are you in danger or under pressure? Why does the AI attack you?
This one is easy - because they're evil.

Details You're battling an evil hacker that has hacked your computer and is attempting to... steal your information? Break your computer? Send spam e-mails from your e-mail account?

6. Magical School

Who are you and how did you get here?
Why are there all these games?
Why are they broken / unfinished?
What do you need to do and why?
Why are you in danger or under pressure? Why does the AI attack you?

Details You are being taken to a magical code school on a magical train that breaks down on the tracks. Why? What must you do and what will it accomplish?

7. Obstacle Course

Who are you and how did you get here?
Why are there all these games?
Why are they broken / unfinished?
What do you need to do and why?
Why are you in danger or under pressure? Why does the AI attack you?

Details

8. Dense Dev

The most detailed plot description at this time

Who are you and how did you get here?
Why are there all these games?
Why are they broken / unfinished?
What do you need to do and why?
Why are you in danger or under pressure? Why does the AI attack you?

Details You open a game that's in beta to check out the dev's work, but something strange happens (here make spooky Twilight Zone noises). Instead of starting the game, you've landed somewhere between the game and the code. The dev's done a terrible job - walls are coming off and you can see the code there, things are on ceilings instead of floors, there are stairs missing, etc. After a while the room you're in starts disintegrating too. Somehow (haven't figured out how yet) you figure out how to create blocks (using the game engine's tools) to get yourself to a door that takes you to the next level where you are faced with further challenges.

An aside: Perhaps in the middle, perhaps at the end, you discover that you have actually found the place in the universe where all the badly made, unfinished, and even the never-made games sit waiting to be explored. Perhaps levels could progress by exploring these different game landscapes. Ok, maybe this needs to be its own plot device. I will insert it above.

You have to work your way to the center of this game, all the while faced by challenges, both intellectual and physical, created by the disintegration around you. As you progress, you discover new tools (code and ui) and build these into an arsenal that allows you to overcome new obstacles you face. When you reach the center, you use these tools to fix the game.

Possibly: the dev himself is working on the game when you come in. He doesn't really know what he's doing. Maybe he got the code from an old unfinished open source project and just fiddled with it and over-excitedly posting his "beta"- he's the kind of person that gets over-excited easily. He either thinks you're some kind of debugging tool that's incredibly quirky and doesn't follow commands properly (or perhaps that he doesn't know how to give you commands), or he knows you're a player and is willing to just roll with it to get your help fixing the code.

He talks to you. Maybe he thinks you take voice commands. Sometimes he talks about what you're doing/what he wants you to do and sometimes about random things in his life. If he doesn't start out knowing you're a player, he may eventually catch on anyway. He has a friend who comes in and out. She's more experienced, gives you better advice when she gives it, and probably realizes you're an actual person before he does.

There may be other characters coming in and out as well, and people yelling from the hallway. I'd like to keep the scope small, so let's not get to crazy to start with, but there are a lot of possibilities and I'd love it if those characters have their own little world going on.

Details:

Create object level time pressure: "Yeah, whenever I start this level, it's fine, but then it just falls apart!" (game objects are being destroyed) (Maybe that's the root of the world's/game's problem, but there are lots of other problems to solve along the way.)
Dev put in monsters, but you can't fight them because you're not actually a player? Have to find a way around that. Make them friendly. See possibility above with monsters ("Tags?").

Note: There are a lot of advantages to this plot. For example, it gives us an easy justification for a lot of what we hope to teach. Unfortunately, that may end up derailing us into instruction-like scenarios as opposed to an action and analogous experience focus.

8. Key

Aarelle was searching for a key. What would it open? We don’t know. This is the map she made. [optional: Later, we learn that she thinks the key shouldn’t be found by those who are not ready for it, so she started making her map into a test as well, either to filter out those who aren’t ready for the key, or to prepare them for what they would find with it. You can skip ahead of most levels you already understand, though you will not get the achievements, but you can't skip the last three levels which are the most advanced in the game (to make sure that you do know what needed to be taught).]

The key ends up being some very simple debug buried in a mess of files/scripts, perhaps an overwritten global variable or something.

The key opens into the meta world of other games.

Note: Is it possible to be able to view other servers as 3d representations in the "meta world"? Is it possible to allow the user to enter straight from the meta world into those servers?

Inspiration:

The Diamond Age
Portal
Learnable Programming (Bret Victor)
Wreck-it-Ralph clip
ReBoot clips
Tron
Ico (The first one, but pretend you don't know any of the plot.)
Myst
...

Notes and ideas to be organized:

a. Virus/Immune System

Immune system of the virus or game. It adapts to players as they play - that's why you, a noob, are now playing the game - all the pros have been shut out. You start out thinking it's a virus, but it turns out to be an immune system the programmer programmed into the game. (Why wouldn't they just tell you exactly what to do - they've figured out a lot of strategies after all)

b. Archeology Intern

You're a student future archeologist, or an intern or something. This is supposed to be a routine thing, but you figure out it's actually really important.

c. Archeology lessons

How is the code taught in this archeology scenario? A person could be coming in to train you (then they'd notice crazy stuff is going on and it's being handed off to someone else). You could have a robot friend.

d. Shooter friend

Your code shooter could be a character showing you what to do. Very close to the start you run into a group of these emitters and they're creating blocks building the rooms of the game (creating, putting on meshes and components, etc.). When they see you they all quickly disappear except one that's stuck for some reason. When you pick it up it becomes part of your HUD and has a letter in the middle. That's the letter you use to emit stuff. At first it only creates blocks - it's emptied all it's fields (Think of a kind of simon says with a button in the center) except the creating blank blocks one (or maybe it just manipulates existing blocks? The letter is the one used for manipulating stuff). At some point pretty soon after that you come across a place where you can't help but shoot at exposed code and instead of creating a block, it sucks up the code. (Since the letter before was for manipulating the transforms of objects, now it shows a new letter, one for emitting code and components and making new blocks and such). Perhaps it resists this and keeps trying to switch back to just manipulating stuff, thus showing you that you can still press the other button to manipulate objects? Anywho, perhaps to start with, it shoots the correct code at whatever you point to, but later it runs out of power and goes into a power saving mode where you have to choose the code to shoot.

e. Conspiracy

There are clues in every game out there, it's a vast conspiracy.

f. Dystopia

This is a dystopian future where there are not supposed to be any games.

Previous Notes:

A temporary area to keep the thoughts we'd written before so we make sure we don't lose them

General Gist 1:

You inhabit or explore some sort of meta-world, or in-between world, and from there they visit many different games/simulations. Some of these worlds will be dysfunctional, perhaps broken by an evil actor, and you will have to fix them. Look at the book The Diamond Age for some of the inspiration here.

General Gist 2:

You arrive in a world that is falling apart. You have to work your way to the center, all the while faced by challenges, both intellectual and physical, created by the disintegration around you. As you progress, you discover new tools (code and ui) and build these into an arsenal that allows you to overcome new obstacles you face. When you reach the center, you use these tools to fix the world (where you discover this is only one of many worlds?).

Note: The world falling apart gives us a way to make time crunches which could be very useful.

General Gist 3:

You're on a quest and must face challenges and discover new tools, etc. Basically same situation, except the world isn't falling apart, your goal is something else.

General Gist 4:

You are entering a magical school/this is clearly a learning experience.

6. Nemesis

You are being put through an obstacle course of deadly challenges by a malicious nemesis. The nemesis is... an AI gone rouge? A human being? Someone who is actually just testing you to see if you're worthy/have the skills necessary to help in a greater cause?