project sparrow (tentatively titled)

August 10, 2007 in audio, concepts, scripts, unfinished, untitled

A little game was being developed at one point for gamedev.net‘s 4E contest by my cousin and various others over at mind-rot.com (which just happens to be a dead link right now, go fig). This concept had to bring together four elements – Emotion, Economy, Emblem and Europe. They wanted me to score it (I’ll post some of that stuff laters) and also do the story and perhaps audio in a Darvis Junger type way. Here are some of my ideas for storyline.

A new element has been discovered by a group of geology students during a core mining operation on the distant protoplanet Sedna, first called JW-0503, is now called Sednium. It is theorized that if Sednium is bombarded with certain radioactive isotopes, it may create an anti-matter event horizon of abbreviated space, or a temporary wormhole. It is also important to note that, Sednium reacts separately to a wide spectrum of frequencies, so if two atoms of Sednium across any amount of space are activated at the same frequency, the relative connection between the two instances would become a stable flux-tube through which energy could travel without the risk of distortion. (IDRZ note: Star Trek-ish techno babble, ‘cept mine’s based in real quantum theory! – who cares.)

Furthermore, if Sednium could be synthesized, it could be launched at the speed of light in a series of graduated “jumps” toward the farthest ends of the known universe, creating a superluminal umbilicus.
In theory…(IDRZ note: foreshadowing?)
The Sednium was transported in secret to the Sigelquist-Ogden laboratory facility on Titan, Saturn. Where some basic tests were performed, examining the structure of the atom itself and its elemental novelty and of course, the validity of the students’ findings.

Our story picks up with Jericho Wain (IDRZ note: Jericho Wain is a stupid name)making a routine pickup from the Asaph docking station above Phobos, on of the moons of Mars. He has just detached from the landing surface and is telling his friend Phazi (fozzie) goodbye.

Wain:
“Asaph, Sparrow detached with freight.
Phazi, are you there?.”

Phazi:
(British)
(IDRZ note: stereotype, zany supporting role, better kill him off quick to retain snob viewership)
“Yea, Bud?”

Wain:
“Thanks for the stout.
When she gets back, tell Pallas I’ll see her soon.”

Phazi:
“ ‘s a bit relative ain’t it?”

Wain:
“Well you know what I mean, within the next month or so.
I just have to go to Earth with this load and I’ll be right back.”

Phazi:
“Only a month, Bud?
You can’t stall forever, y’know.”

Wain:
“This isn’t a stall this is a job.
It’s straight cargo and I’ll be delivering to the Summit City of Rīga District in Latvia.
A bit of maintenance work and I’m on my way back.”

Phazi:
“It’s never that simple, Bud.”

Wain:
“Well this time it will be. The cack I’m pullin’ –
… just a load of lab stuff for the University in Stockholm.”
(IDRZ note: cack is a bad word from HBO’s ‘Rome’, it means dookie, I thought it might work as neo-profanity)

(looks back through his rear window at a stack of wooden crates, nailed shut with UNIV STHLM and a strange symbol stamped and each crate securely bound to the outer hull of the cargo hold attachment)
(IDRZ note: BTW, it’s not real dookie)

Phazi:
“Why don’t you take it straight to Sweden then?”

Wain:
“I don’t ask questions, Phazi.
I just know that this is a cold load, so the cops won’t care,
and I’ll be well outta sight from any banditos with the course I have set…”

Phazi:
“Bugger off wit’ you then…”

Wain:
“See you next circle.”

Phazi:
“Watch out for Gogs!”

Wain:
“Right.”

The Sparrow kicks in its thrusters and picks up speed to assume a graduation of precise bursts to shove it into near light speed. Inside, Jericho Wain finishes his stout and holsters the thick glass mug in a leathered container on the dash.(IDRZ note: I remember, I was drinking a beer out of a glass mug at the time and I just liked the idea)
Meanwhile, back above Phobos, Phazi watches The Sparrow disappear out of sight and resumes playing a quick card game of Screw-your-neighbor on another computer screen, when he hears a bang outside.(IDRZ note: Screw-your neighbor is a real card game [wiki])
From outside the Asaph docking station, a larger ship than the sparrow is seen hovering nearby, with a telescoping platform extended to the iron floor in front of the dock.
A number of figures are seen walking the platform and toward the door of the control area.
Inside, Phazi is still distracted by his card game, he calls back behind him-

Phazi:
“Pal, is ‘at you?”
…

Phazi:
“Pallas?…You just missed Jericho-, I think your right, tho’- about havin’ made him skittish.
He’ll come around eventually- “
(Phazi turns around in his chair to see, to his surprise, a collection of individuals, dressed in business suits and menacing looking oxygen masks, all with guns.)
“What the f-“

(IDRZ note: Would the story be better, if this were actually Fozzie Bear?)

A series of laser blasts cut through his head and torso. And his body is left twitching and smoldering, (IDRZ note: Never mind.) while the men inspect the shipment area of the docks and find an empty area where the items they’re looking for were. One then picks up the consignment papers which read, among other things,

Wain, Jericho P. – Breva Class –
SPARROW – VIN: WCJPWIII –22.25.5.18.19
The figures look at each other, as if silently communicating.(IDRZ note: another idea was to have them making mechanical clicking sounds. Creepy!)

Begin part i

Ten days later –
The sparrow is passing the moon, from the cockpit, Jericho can see Luna and Selene Colonies, like New York from above. On the distant Lunar horizon, Earth rises as the Sparrow moves onward. A billboard satellite Chandrayaan MCMXCIII, is advertising the lovely ladies of the Earthshine Cabaret and RoboCup Football XIV-(IDRZ note: cliche? yeah. cool still? maybe)
Suddenly, the craft registers a jolt and at 155mm round explodes just to the aft proximity of the vessel, a large Carthage class destroyer, an obsolete version. The ships are called Sawfish by the pirates who run them.
Jericho fights the one Sawfish, but then three others flanked by a bunch of much smaller Doglegs (so named for their appearance, very small, like little Tie-Fighters shaped like dog legs)
When this happens, he begins to take more damage, the cops show up with lights and warning radio transmission sirens and threaten –

COPS:
(French)
(IDRZ note: my original idea was for just a male French voice or maybe a robot voice, but Christine was reading the script aloud and it sounded so great, i decided on a very polite, female voice to kinda juxtapose the formal brutality of these future cop-type guys)
“Vous causez une perturbation dans l’espace international.
Cessez toute l’activité agressive immédiament ou les dommages graves peuvent résulter, nous avons été autorisés à employer la force.”
Sub:
“You are causing a disturbance in international space.
Cease all aggressive activity immediately or severe damage can result,
as we have been authorized to use force.”
(IDRZ note: Instead of subs, I think I’d do a gameshow host-esque male voice, slightly muted and a second or two behind the French – maybe that’s too 5th Element-ish )

At this, some of the pirates turn on the cops and begin firing on them. Little damage is done to the gov’t ship, and they respond by obliterating some of the Doglegs and causing some major damage to one of the Sawfish-
There is a lull in the fray and a small blue orb is seen gracelessly pitched from a small cannon on the cops’ ship, if floats down and toward the center of all the ships and explodes with a deafeningly loud POP, a blue halo envelopes all the vessels in the vicinity, except for the Police ships, which seem to have a bubble around them, and then all is silent

Cops:
(French)
“Vous avez été averti.
Préparez pour être embarqué.”
SUB
“You have been warned, prepare to be boarded.”

End part i

Wain:
”I gotta get outta here, I can’t afford to get arrested again- “
(IDRZ note: let’s go ahead an d change the name from “Sparrow” to “The Further Adventures of Han Solo and Friends” – we could still use the muppets)

Jericho presses a few buttons and then reaches up and pulls a big manual lever and disengages the cargo and weapons attachment. A small, clunky oblong pod is seen floating away from the hydraulic pressured clasp hoses of the cargo and weapons.

Yeah, now that I look at it, there’re definitely some cheesey bits. Still, I think with a little tweaking it’d turn out. Ah, well. (IDRZ note: why did you say, “ah well”? isn’t it “oh, well”?)

btw, Game play was to be like a 3D Galaga crossed with some Descent. The beginning of the game would take place entirely in Europe, 2102. The emblem would be a few different things- the evil bad guys would have their symbol, other factions as well, in some circumstances, communication would be made entirely with symbols, telling an entire story or relaying a certain bit of info, not unlike the hobos back in their time. Economy would be used in that you could add to your ship by buying, selling, auctioning, scavenging and calculated risks with a post-apocalyptic version of the stocks (and of course, there’d be stealing) (IDRZ note: ‘Fallout’ and ‘Morrowind’ players, can I get a “What! What!”?)– The good bit would be a part of the gaming engine that would respond to the player’s exhibited emotion. If it was haphazard, the ship / guns / etc. would be harder to control. If it was calm and collected, vice-versa. The emotion factor would also work with the interactions with other people / potential enemies.

The project got scrapped…meh.

After The Adventures of Darvis Junger : Season One is in the proverbial can I may do the audio for this (slightly tweaked for the lack of video) just for grits and shiggles. We’ll see.

-j

 

(IDRZ note: Oh, I get it, “Ah, Well” HHG2G stuff right? Hactar, the big alien robot brain cloud? Is that how you think of yourself? Give it up, Jeffery.)