Hades (Orpheus and Euripides mission): red flag pops up with him. not the functional character, but with the horned demon. Ever see the short-lived TV series...
Hades (Orpheus and Euripides mission): red flag pops up with him. not the functional character, but with the horned demon. Ever see the short-lived TV series Brimstone? John Glover played the Devil, just a dry and snarky well dressed cat in a suit with a bit of flourish and a penchant for the violin, yet for his innocuous appearance, he came across as unquestionably terrifying and immensely dangerous, especially when he dropped a hint or veiled threat that was drippingly loaded. Again, not that you need to go that far the opposite way or anything, devil being a ironic man in a suit is a well established convention bordering on clichè as well (except in games, actually). But the horned and hooved one is seriously clichè central for games. Especially shoot type ones, or dungeon quest ones, or anything related to hell. Speaking of hell, the recent FPS The Darkness did a neat thing where you get to go through a dialogue tree to cuddle or not with your girlfriend while sitting on a couch and see To Kill a Mockingbird on the girl's little TV in her walkup apartment. You could actually sit there and watch the whole movie inset on her TV screen while the GF slumbered on the protagonist's chest, I know, cause I did, having only otherwise read the book. And who can resist ol' Gregory Peck? Anyway, the GF gets whacked and sent to hell, or dragged there, whatever, and the protagonist offs himself to go to hell to save her. My point is that while the game was wrought with issues, narrative and gameplay both, their version of hell looked more like Constantine and less like Doom which was a welcome thing.
All that said, going to your missions, when you actually go to Hades, the open question is what it looks like. Is it classic Greek style, all robes, sandals, and statues with long toes. Or is it contemporary, adapted, an industrial wasteland demonstrating only the worst aspects of human cruelty, industry, or short-sited fallibility? Thrill Kill Kult sampled, "This is what the Devil does." I ask inside your protagonist's soul, what does his Devil do?
(And I'm the only one who's Naked! mission) Harpy Queen, again, nothing wrong with the archetype, but treading close to stale turf unless invigorated with some twist that's refreshingly, well, fresh. As action shooters and fantasy games have long catered to the more basic archetypes like horned wrestler demons and Penthouse playmates and ever emasculating femme fatales, kind of embarrassing how entrenched the clichès are. More than comics or films even, basically because the install base has been narrower and thus far less divergent or exploratory. There are scant few games that would warrant Criterion versions to date, I'm sad to say. A few, but a very few. nothing wrong at all with having this character type, just consider how she might be your version or a recognizable archetype, and call out what makes her unique, special, a fresh reveal of a new facet on a long standing tent pole type of adversary.
Considering the mission description, I imagine the Harpy Queen being a really sinister version of Beaver's mom, or Carrie Anne Moss in Fido but with less of the man-hands. Lucille Ball with rabies? Jessica Rabbit meets Gwen Stephani for a bender? I'm kidding. Seriously though, you have a great premise, and that image of the succubus is wonderful, however is that the tone you're going for? Or do you want to kick some 50's, which would better resonate perhaps with the protagonist's own TV-is-a-new-thing childhood?
(Don't go up the Stairs! mission) Punks, just the shot alone takes this into something new, a little evil minion, a little skull mask hoodie I picked up at last year's PNE country fair. Noice. Love the description!
(Let me tell you a Fairytale mission) Fairytale sounds like Yojimbo / Fist Full of Dollars / Last Man Standing, which means the player could spend some time exploring to discern which is actually the good or bad side before choosing sides to fight with or against. Now how would this translate into a game space? Would you take side quests for each side and through choices swing one over the other towards eventual victory? You could have 2 mission issuance points and elect to do all, part, or no missions for one or the other side. Something to consider, as directly affects what sorts and how mush dialogue will need to be written, and what characters will be needed in game to have dialogue for.
Orpheus... Love the premise and gameplay sounds like Ico but going backwards to return the sidekick to her resting place. Am I far off?
(Don't go up the Stairs!): some ample opportunities here for comedy and social parody of both how men relate to one another, peck out their places in their "packs", deal with leadership struggles, etc. macho versus weakling versus whiny versus drunkard versus action hero versus Tom Arnold. FPS with "allies" or "friendlies" ala Gears of War or Mass Effect, hallway crawler otherwise, noice!
(And I'm the only one who's Naked!): seriously room for showing the dark and dork sides of 50's nearly Victorian puritan do-gooder middle class white bread social existence.
I have some more feedback goodies for you guys, but I'll wait until I post the relevant sections. ~Amanda
Kitsuneko
00:53 Sat Jul 12th, 2008
That's it, you should have Ian as a cameo in your game playing the Devil with a sharp suit and tattoos on his hands... It sounds like you two are having a blast bouncing ideas off one another. I look forward to seeing the final product.