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A project log for Retro style Star Trek action adventure game

Using my collection of tools and function to build a action/adventure game.

timescaleTimescale 06/17/2020 at 18:370 Comments

The game needs a story. Something that has been lacking in Star Trek for more then a decade now, not taking into account some star trek online narratives and of course the odd quality fan-fic. But this isn't a straight Star Trek story, it is a parody that takes aim at the current iteration of terribly write nonsense Trek caused by overrated writers and directors like JarJar Abrams and Alex Kurtzman. So the "levels" in the game should address themes on faults in modern Trek as committed by that cabal of gimmicky mediocrity.

The format for the game is pretty simple. Although the current writers would not understand such a structure, the game has a beginnings, middles and an endings. This structure will be used for the overall structure as well as the levels.

A level will have an introduction where a new character can enter and a new foe can appear. Then the middle of the level will be a strategic battle with the current enemy. A level boss will typically end the level, resulting is a completed arc as it should be! The overall narrative also should have some of this structure.

Level 1 : Introduction.

This level will set up the story and contain a training level to get used to the controls. When the backstory is established, some characters are introduces such as Nog and the Gorn, a simulation of the Jem'Hadar ships will train the player in using the phasers. When this is completed, the conclusion to this level will be the Defiant going to pick up Jake Sisko.

Level 2 : Illogical

Arriving at Risa, the Defiant picks up Jake Sisko. As a successful writer, his talents will be welcome on the coming adventure.

Not long after the Defiant resumes her course, an anomaly is encountered. The ship is pulled towards it unable to break free. Science believes they are being sucked into a black hole, but Jake, the awarded writer recognizes the anomaly and tells Nog this looks suspiciously like a plot-hole, not a black hole, the difference being that the later does not make sense. Detailed sensor sweeps do confirm that it does not make sense and thus they are being sucked into a plot hole.

During the transit of the plot hole, the Defiant has to avoid or destroy items that make absolutely no sense what so ever. the player also gain Photon torpedoes. The level boss is the plot holes exit that tries to deny them entry into "normal" space time. The only way to beat this end boss is to do the opposite of what would seem logical. (The details of this mechanic are yet to be detailed).

When the Defiant emerges from the plot hole, they find an alternate universe on the other side which is by all objective measurements... stupid.

While nothing makes sense, they assume that because of this, the odds that they can still continue their mission as planned are quite reasonable. If this universe followed any logic or continuity, it would surely be impossible, but continuity does not seem to exist here.

Level 3 : The Empty Mystery Box.

The Defiant orbits Qo'nos to pick up Ambassador Worf. They find him under attack by strange looking Klingons with speech impediments. They beam him up and as dumb as it might seem, he is a perfectly normal Klingon. This does not make sense, so in this dumb universe it does.
They set off to pick up Miles O'Brian and Julian Bashir when long range sensors pick something up. Worf is on tactical and tells the crew that it appears like a couple of cube like structures are heading towards them.

Nog asks if it is the Borg. After some scanning, Worf does not think so. The cubes are large and foreboding, but scans show they are practically hollow and empty inside. There is not much of substance. Jake recognizes the pattern and informs Nog that these could be "mystery boxes" A 21ste century writing gimmick used by lazy untalented writers to suggest substance and meaning when there actually was none.

After fighting off several mystery boxes, the final giant overarching mystery-box is the level boss. Because of its two dimensional empty nature, it is not taking damage. Worf analyses the object and sees that it is diametrically opposite to Klingon operas in which all elements have purpose and are concluded satisfactory. Jake suggests inverting the tractor beams flow and encoding well written conclusion to classic literature could nullify the mystery-box by introducing proper conclusions.

The plan works as the "plot device" is added to the Defiants arsenal and destroys the giant mystery box in a puff of reason.

Level 4 : ???

That is about how far I have detailed it out. Of course the Defiant will have to fight some Star Wars stuff with JarJar Abrams as the end boss shooting lens flares. At some point Alex Kurtzman has to be destroyed and I'd like to make the Bad Robot (bad reboot) logo blow up as well.

There are also some minor enemies and level bosses I'm toying around with like the Defiant fighting the Discovery that using the stupid mushroom drive to teleport, making shooting it impossible. Again, doing the illogical thing here would be the way to defeat it. For instance if you miss on purpose and miss bad enough, the Discovery will for no reason just mushroom-jump in that precise spot.

Of course Michael Burnam/red angle should be atomized at some point and there are several things from Picard that need a thorough phasering.

When (and if) I have some more coherent structure and ideas, I'll write another log.

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