Styx

Developed By:

Bryan O'Hara – Lead Designer

Alex May – Lead Artist
Keith Tatarczuk – Artist
Cory Livingston – Lead Engineer
Zach Mazotta – Producer
Overview:
Styx is a fear-based action/adventure FPS being developed using the Unreal Development Kit.
This game will take control of people's most powerful emotion: fear. The game takes place deep in a
cave that has been excavated for archaeological purposes by a large corporation. The player is thrown
into this dark environment with his escape path blocked and the realization that there has been some
horrible event that has left the camp and it's various outposts empty. The player very quickly realizes
that he/she is not alone and lurking in the shadows is some unknown horror that hates light and seeks to
harm the player.

Target Audience:
This game is made for an audience of male and female players between the ages of 18-35.
These players are familiar with common FPS controls and have at least some FPS or adventure game
experience. These players enjoy exploring new environments and solving puzzles. This audience is also
not afraid of being scared and may even enjoy horror movies. These players might be familiar with
Dead Space and other horror games.

Features:
− A unique and beautiful environment.
− Fast-paced action mixed with periods of rest.
− Ambient fear that will leave you shaking.
− Narrative that's intertwined within game play.
− Interesting and challenging obstacles.
− Minimalistic interface.
− Simple controls with an easy learning curve.

Premise:

Date: 2047
Place: The Balkan Peninsula, 3700 meters below sea level
Reason:
In 2046 a caving team discovered a massive labyrinth beneath the Alps, they explored it for
days until they had to return to the surface for supplies. Upon revealing their discovery, governments
sent expeditions and teams into the underground network, discovering a vast subterranean world
beneath our feet. Filled with unique wildlife, the labyrinth is a veritable goldmine of untapped
resources and biology ripe for study. Recently, in some of the deeper areas, ancient pots, tools, and the
occasional ruin have been discovered, leading humanity to believe that there was once an ancient
offshoot of the human race that lived beneath our feet.
Outpost 34 - "Styx" 3700 meters below sea level, Personnel count: 17
The research outpost, commonly referred to as Styx, is the 34th outpost in the Balkan area. Set
up by the corporation Ulisect for advanced study into the archeological sites in the area. It is named
Styx after the underground river that runs nearby the outpost. The area that the Outpost is in is
surprisingly barren when compared the the lush wildlife and subterranean plants found elsewhere in the
tunnel network. However, Ulisect states that the possibility of finding archeological discoveries makes
the area worth the investment.
The Ulisect corporation had just finished the excavation of their third advanced artifact when
they discovered a network of thin tunnels leading away from the archeological site. A team was sent to
explore the tunnel network shortly before the entire outpost went offline.
Character: You play a technician sent down to replace the previous one who was incapacitated after
being bitten by a subterranean spider. A technician's main duty is to keep the outpost and its machinery
running.
Origin of Creatures and Artifacts:
The creatures trapped below the surface were actually once a highly advanced sect of humanity
that lived below ground. These people lived in a series of large colonies deep under the surface. They
were split into two castes: the leaders and the workers. They enjoyed the benefits of highly advanced
technology, perhaps the result of a material or substance that remains previously undiscovered to our
world. The workers had no interaction with the surface but it is possible that the leaders had very
limited interaction with the local population, perhaps exchanging ideas. Archeological dating seems to
indicate that this civilization was at it's peak around the golden age of Greek Civilization. Perhaps their
interaction with the Greeks could explain both their advanced ideas and technology and perhaps even
their religion.
However, a catastrophic event, most likely a very large earthquake, seems to have trapped the
civilization and killed off most of it's leaders. Cut off from the outside world and without the
knowledge of how to use the majority of their technology, the worker caste eventually adapted to their
dark environment, slowly becoming more animal-like and evolving to survive in the harsh
underground. Thousands of years later it is possible that these "humans" no longer resemble anything
even remotely human. The workers currently treat the ruins of their past civilization as holy relics and
any intruders as prey. The Ulisect corporation, while digging in the area, stumbled upon the first of
these ancient ruins. Their scientists could not figure out it's function, but it was clear that this thing was
far beyond our technology. They declared it as possibly alien and in an attempt to keep the ruins for
themselves, played it off as though they were simply on an archeological expedition with no significant
findings.

World and Environment:

The game takes place in an excavated cave in the near future. This cave mixes natural caverns
and formations with excavated tunnels and areas. Sections of the cave were inhabited by the excavation
and archeological crew, so some areas are filled with pre-assembled habitation modules, mining
equipment and other machinery. The cave is filled with dark area and lit mostly by a network of
lighting put in place by the crew.
The equipment used by Ulisect in the caverns is slightly more advanced then current
technology, but most of the sub-terranian teams prefer tried and tested equipment. The result is a mix of
flashy new technology and older, used equipment.

Styx Outpost
 The outpost is broken down
into a series of sub-areas. These
areas include an administrative
section, the main science lab, 3
archeological areas and a forward
mining base. The main areas are
connected by large mining tunnels
for easy access, although the event
that left the outpost empty seems to
have collapsed some of the tunnels.
A large subterranean river runs
between the main lab and the
mining outpost, which has been
bridged by Ulisect teams.

Administrative Area:

The large access elevator in

this area makes it the forward place
for receiving personnel and
supplies. The elevator is large enough to handle very large cargo, including some pre-assembled
machines. This area also houses the main generator for the outpost, although each sub-area has their
own individual backup generator with a nearly limitless lifespan.
Only a few meters away from the elevator is the main administrative module. This module
contains a briefing room and the office of the on-duty administrator. The module also houses an array
of floodlights on the roof.
This area connects to the main habitation and communication areas via two off shooting
tunnels. However, these tunnels seemed to have been blocked in whatever chaos took place here. The
remaining open tunnel leads to a machinery storage area and then to the main lab.

Main Lab:

The main science lab is a

module placed in a partially natural,
partially dug out cavern. The lab
houses a number of scientific
computers, instruments and devices
all intended to be used in the study of
the ruins found deeper in the cave.
The lab's floodlights can light up most
of the surrounding cavern and it's
generator supplies power to the
outlying archeology sights and the
lights connecting them.

The cavern that the lab is located in has four connecting tunnels. Two of them are larger tunnels
dug by machinery while the other two are natural pathways that lead to the recently discovered
archeological areas.
Archeological Areas:

These sites contain the secret that Ulisect has been trying to keep from the outside world. These
sites contain partially unearthed metalized structures that seem to contain a technology more advanced
then our own. Scientists have yet been unable to figure out their exact origin or purpose, but an array of
archeological equipment remain in these areas for studying and monitoring the sites.

Mining Site:

This is the forward site of Ulisect's continued expansion into the cave network. A small fleet of
digging machines and earth movers are stored in this area. Leading up to this area is a large bridge that
spans the Styx river, 50 feet below. The bridge is equipped with floodlights facing off the side, lighting
the river below.

Tunnel Maze and Chasm:

This is the least explored area. These tunnels were only discovered shortly before the outpost went
offline, little is known about them or the very large chasm that lays beyond.

Gameplay:
Staying in the light:
The creature determined to make a meal of out the player has adapted itself to the extremely
low-light environment of deep cave networks. While it is unclear exactly how strong it's other senses
are, it's hatred to bright lights seems
to indicate that it relies at least
partially on it's vision. To this end,
the best way to survive is to remain
in light areas whenever possible. The
creature has the ability to navigate
the caves at an extremely quick pace
and it will be there in the event that
the player steps out of lighted areas.
This creature, however, is not
dumb and will attempt to remove the
lights whenever possible. The player
will not enjoy the luxury of knowing
that a light will always remain on.
There will be many instances when
the player must move quickly to
avoid lights that are being destroyed
or are only able to stay light for a
limited amount of time.
If the player does wander into an area of darkness, the creature will attempt to attack the player.
At first this may be in the form of a damaging claw swipe: done enough times and this can prove fatal.
However, as the player advances into the cave, the creature becomes more enraged and determined to
harm the player. At later stages, the dark can be instantly deadly.
Environmental Obstacles:

There will be a series of challenges that the player must overcome to continue moving forward in the
cave. Some of these may be as simple as navigation, while other solutions will require more creative
thinking. The player will usually be guided through these challenges simply by paying attention to
his/her surrounding environment. Hints and clues will be presented to the player through the use of
subtle cues, such as sparks, flickering lights, color-coded signs or other “attention-grabbers”.

Environmental Interaction:

The player will have two main means of interacting with objects in the environment: picking up
or using switches. The player will have the ability to pick up and move or store certain objects within
the environment. These objects will be used to help the player through environmental obstacles. The
player will also have the ability to interact with buttons or switches, usually used to control lights or
other electrical equipment.

Attention Grabbers:

The main method of guiding the player through the dark environment will be through the use of
attention grabbers. These can be broken down into three main groups which sometimes combine
together: Light Sources, Events and Colors.
Light Sources: In a dark environment players will naturally be attracted to light sources. The
player will always attempt to head towards areas of solid light because it signifies safety.
Flickering lights and sparks also serve to grab the attention and guide the player towards an
area.
Events: Events that are triggered within the nearby vicinity of the player can be used to draw
their attention. If a ladder falls from the ceiling, a light bulb bursts or a machine starts up, the
player will be inclined to investigate.
Colors: The use of colors will never be explicitly explained to the player but will become
increasingly apparent quickly within the game. The use of green within the level will almost
always indicate a path, switch or object that will allow the player to advance further.

Combat:
There will be no combat within this vertical slice of
Styx. The player will be given a small gun as a psychological
boost, but will never actually get a chance to use it against the
creature.

Death:
In the event that the play dies, the game will use a
checkpoint system. The player will simply respawn at the last
checkpoint they cross. Players will not know when they cross a
checkpoint.

Example Gameplay Walk-through:

The player starts with a black screen and the sounds of some structure collapsing around
him/her. The player's vision begins to clear and it is apparent that he is standing next to the rubble of a
massive elevator shaft. A few lights that were attached to the elevator structure remain on, the rest of
the area is black. A spotlight on the elevator is shining on a large generator nearby. The player walks
over and notices that the screen on the green command console says “Emergency surge protocal
executed, press 'E' to reboot”. The player activates the control console.
The generator spins to life. Lights begin to flicker to light slowly in the distance and suddenly
an entire structure is lit up. It looks modular in nature, but clearly built for habitation purposes. It's
lights on it's outer walls light up the surrounding area. A high pitched screech scrapes against the
darkness; it is clear that the screech is not human. The player follows the trail of lights to the door of
the structure, which opens when the player presses “E”.
The room inside the structure is a briefing room. There are chairs, a white board, a few tables
and a banner that reads “Welcome New Guy!”. On one of the walls is another door that leads further
into the structure. The player walks through it into an administrative area filled with desks and
paperwork. On one of the walls is a very large map that seems to map out cave. An area on it is circled
red. The player notices something on one of the desks: it's a case and inside the case is a small pistol.
When the player gets close to the pistol, a green “E” icon appears over it. The player presses “E” and
picks up the pistol.
Suddenly, the lights inside the
building cut out. An emergency light
attempts to turn on in the corner of
the office but bursts with the power
surge. A soft banging on the outside
of the building turns into a fury of
banging, scratching and growls. Next
to the office is a maintenance closet,
it's emergency light flickers to life
and a ladder slams down to the
ground from a hatch above, triggered
by the emergency lighting.
The player follows the ladder
up to the roof of the structure. Sitting
on the side of the structure is an array
of flood lights, linked to a small
generator. The generator has an
on/off switch on it, painted green.
The player flips the switch and the flood lights shine to life, illuminating an area moving away from the
building and down a large man-made tunnel.

Reward and Ending:

Styx rewards players in two manners: allowing them to advance and giving them a rest.
Completing or solving an environmental obstacle allows the player to continue moving forward in the
level. This is especially important to the player since the use of darkness severely limits their
movement and control of their environment. Additionally, the level will be broken up into periods of
tension and periods of rest. Rest will become a player reward for surviving areas of tension or action. It
allows the player to gather themselves and also provides a limited feeling of safety, which is important
in a fear-based game.
Controls:
W – Move Forward
A – Move Left
S – Move Backward
D – Move Right

Spacebar- Jump
Control – Crouch

E – Interaction

Left Mouse - Fire

Technology:
This game will be produced using the Unreal Development Kit and will be playable on PCs. 3D work
will be through Autodesk Maya and Zbrush.

Subversion: SVN

The team will be managing tasks, communicating and tracking time through the Unfuddle SVN
repository system. This system not only allows for manageable communication, but provides an
efficient version control repository for the team to work with.

Backups:

The lead designer will make weekly backups of the current repository to an external hard drive.
In the unlikely event that an error or corruption occurs within the repository, the most amount of work
that will be lost is limited to roughly a week.

Risks:
Styx was designed around a low-risk policy. The only animations that have to be done outside
of UDK are the gun animations. There is no advanced programming requirements: the only coding that
has to be done is modification of current scripts. Currently, the only game mechanic that remains
untested is creating a checkpoint spawn system.
The main challenges are more directed towards time management and organization then
technical ability. Our 3D artists have a heavy, but reasonable amount of modeling work ahead of them.
Equally, our level will be very trigger and Kismet heavy, which means that our level design team will
have to be very organized . However, if we keep our current pace then these challenges will be met
with success.