Screams of the Universe

MMORPG concept by Harshal Chheda

The the land in With Gods, bound as they are, of of of the great invasion, as chosen Brave and skilledreachedin oath threshold the Asura Aryan nationsmatch ofto The Asura horde has ashesan the wakenon-intervention are to the ablethe by the very the Allies cannot hope only part its outrageous gambit to take control of the three realms. few walk mortals indirectly. of unite the mighty Vanaras, flow sheer the boldly the ferociousTheydarkness stem awaits He whos assist number of into the heart Asuras or to wheretheir endless holy name must gates of the underworld. The Gods, in nature spirits through thenot be spoken Brahmins, fierce Kshatriyas and the mysterious their desperation, bestow and power upon a form the Allied Army. Apsaras greatGandharvas - to few chosen warriors to help them fulfill their dharma of defending their people, homelands and their very existence.

Platform Genre
Casual

Overvie w
Flash (PC) MMORPG Mature, EU, USA 3D Isometric Ancient India

Target Audience Target Market View Universe

A Flash-based MMORPG set in ancient India, Screams of the Universe seeks to breathe new life into the genre by introducing Western audiences to the rich realm of Indian mythology through an easily accessible, authentic, innovative and engaging medium. Feel the power of the Gods flowing through your veins as you are face-to-face with evil itself in the eternal dance between order and chaos. All you can trust in is cold metal and the stalwart allies at your side. All you know is that your actions will be legend, as tale after fantastic tale unfolds in your headlong rush towards destiny.

Universe & Plot the past, in the time of the Set an unknown number of millennia in
great epic, Ramayana, Screams of the Universe is a dark and gritty world that fuses modern storytelling, gameplay and visuals with classical Indian lore.

The lands of ancient India are diverse, with mountains, valleys, plains, deserts, swamps and forests inhabited by creatures as varied as the land itself. All is now ashes in the wake of the Asura invasion.

The best surviving warriors from the remotest tribes and races have gathered in Ayodhya (literally meaning unconquerable), the last bastion of Aryan power, to marshal their resources and prepare for the inevitable siege that will decide the fate of mortals.

Meanwhile, a chosen few, blessed and under the guidance of the Gods, launch a counter-offensive towards Lanka, the heart of the

The general ambiance of the game is grim, dark and gritty; with the populous in dire straits because of the Asura invasion In-game graphic style is minimalistic because of the limitations of the platform The geography, buildings, and people are authentic-looking; and interface panels look worn and gouged in keeping with the theme The masses are subdued and resigned to their fate while the martial community is bitter and battle-weary; humor in the game is highly prevalent and of the dark humor genre The plot is driven by cutscenes, the style of which is inspired by manga, with high levels of detail and voice acting In-game and cutscene background music is a fusion of Indian classical, heavy metal, industrial and trip-hop Sound effects, character animations and spell effects have a high level of detail

Treatme nt

Classes
At the outset, you get to pick one of six classes depending on your playstyle and aesthetic preferences. You pick your characters gender, give it a name, and then customize its appearance by choosing facial features, skin colour, hair style and accessories.

Vanara Warrior
Role: Tank, Melee DPS, Buff

A mighty warrior of the monkey-people ruled by Hanuman. Vanars depend on their brute strength and size in combat.

Brahmin Rishi
Role: Healer, Caster DPS, Buff, Debuff, Dispel

A holy priest of the Brahmin caste. These pious men and women abhor violence but find themselves needed for their impressive healing capabilities and vast knowledge.

Classes
Kshatriya Assasin
Role: Melee & Mid-Range DPS, CC

A feared killer of the martial Kshatriya caste. Dependant on stealth in PvP situations, with the capability to devastate an opponent in seconds or cause massive sustained damage to a single target.

Kshatriya Archer
Role: Ranged DPS, CC, Debuff

Accomplished marksman of the Kshatriya caste. Adept at attacking from range with arrows imbued with fire, lightning or poison.

Classes
Apsara (Female Only)
Role: Caster DPS, Debuff, CC

Angel and temptress that mesmerizes opponents with her beauty and attacks when they are most vulnerable with powerful debuffs.

Gandharva (Male Only)

Role: Hybrid Tank, Healer, Melee DPS

Nature spirits with the ability to shapeshift, Gandharvas can adapt to any situation, be it to protect or heal their allies or wreck havoc amongst foes.

Objective
Screams of the Universe is a game of character progression, strategy, resource management, combat and teamwork The objective of this game is to make your character stronger by reaching ever higher character levels and gathering the best available equipment while developing a network of friends that will help you take on very hard content later in the game As a your character and equipment level increases, you can access proportionally higher level content End-game begins at level 50 (which is the maximum character level) it features the hardest PvE and PvP challenges in the game, with the best rewards

Interfac e
Screams of the Universe is played in isometric view, similar to the game Diablo All interface panels are modular, movable and, in some cases, resizable The player position remains constant in the centre of the screen while the world map moves to simulate player movement Your Action Bar can hold upto 8 abilities, which can be activated using the 1-8 keys by default

Game Flow
PvE (Player vs Enviornment)
Quests
Screams of the Universe features a quest helper tool that indicates the direction in which the quest objective lies and tracks quest objectives

Dungeons

Storyteller
This is a feature for solo-play and to enable players to explore the fables in Indian mythology independent of the main storyline and even the timeline It consists of an NPC that teleports the you into the shoes of a character in a fable and lets the you get involved in the storys unfolding Each mission is a mix of alternate gameplay, mini-games and combat lasting about 15-30 mins

Deity System
Pick one of four patron gods to gain access to unique, powerful skills!

Game Flow
PvP (Player vs Player)
Guild Wars
Different guilds clash in separately instanced maps with traditional objectives such as Capture the Flag, Base Defense, Deathmatch, etc; as well as new types of maps

Arena
Lets you pit your skills against the best opponents on the realm in 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 combat Arena, like Guild Wars, takes place in separate, instanced maps and is the pinnacle of PvP in Screams of the Universe

Player-given Quests
After level 20, players can give generic quests to other players and the categories include: Supari (Bounty) : E.g. Kill player abc and you will receive item xyz and n gold Item farming : E.g. Collect n units of item abc and receive x gold

Reward Chart
Solo / Group Questing Solo / Group Grinding Instanced Dungeons (Group) Storyteller Missions (Solo)

PvE Avenues

Rewards

Money

Raw Materials

Experience

Equipment

Titles

PvP Avenues

Guild Wars (Guild/PuG)

Arena (1v1, 2v2, 3v3)

Social Features
You can interact with other players in many ways Chat Mail Guilds Group-maker Emotes

Economy
Money is usually spent to upgrade and maintain gear

Trading
Player-to-Player Trade Channel Bazaar

Professions
Players can pick 1 of 3 professions

Blacksmith: Can craft metal weapons and heavy armor, shields and weapon augments Wood & Clothworker: Can craft light armor, special ammunition and armour augments Scroll & Potionmaster: Can create various potions as well as scrolls that provide temporary bonuses or utility augments

Business Model
Screams of the Universe is free-to-play and revenue will be obtained mainly through the following sources Banner advertisements placed discreetly on loading screens Premium content that only includes items/other content that does not affect gameplay , i.e. fancy clothes, pets, better looking mounts, etc Web advertising on the official website and forums Merchandise Item-based advertising (Experimental)
Using in-game items with branding, e.g. Nike Sandals of Speed Creation of lore to support the notion i.e. These sandals were made by the highly secretive Nike tribe living in the mountains

USPs
The Flash platform is highly portable and accessible, requiring no client download The Indian mythological theme is fresh, with a tremendous amount of personality, scope and depth and its public domain Dark and gritty ambiance that is very different to most renditions to do with Indian mythology adding to immersion and the cool factor Storyteller feature that lets the players explore all the portions of Indian lore that they wish to, while being involved in the story Strong focus on storylines and authenticity, ingrained in every element of the game and driven home by spectacular cutscenes A multitude of class/specialization/deity/gear combinations that lead to excellent replayability Innovative combat system with engaging PvP modes Mini-games and alternate gameplay features add to variety of play

Artwork references taken from various sources on the web, especially the comic Ramayana 3392 AD. There are screenshots from Diablo 2 and World of Warcraft as a couple of slide backgrounds.

For detailed information Core Design Document

on

this

concept,

please

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Author: Harshal Chheda

Game Designer, SupInfo Game / UBIsoft