Uplifted puts the player in a unit of combine passing through a dying city. The power grid is failing, leaving the combine post an island of harsh un-delineated light in a sea of dim flickering lights and unlit households. 

The player is given two toys to play with here. Stimulant game play, and shield wall repair. To make it believable I used ai front entities to keep the combine behavior realistic; Holding to the perimeter of an outpost surrounded by hostile territory. 

To further sell him the identity of an Overwatch soldier, choreographed scene and text entities are used to simulate a briefing. A red color correction is applied to level to simulate the red lenses of a soldiers helmet.

I scripted the player with an ability that, for ten seconds, allowed the time scale to slow to .4 of it's normal rate. I changed the color correction when this ability was in use and scripted a warning overlay to flash on and off when the ability neared the point where it would deactivate and enter a cool down period. Additionally, I adjusted player movement speed, making him faster under the influence of stimulants. 


The ten second cool down meant that the player had to choose when to use the stimulants. If used unwisely, being stranded on the other side of an enemy wave during a cool down becomes a real  possibility. 

The result was that the player was able to blast head-crabs in mid air. A gratifying experience. 

The ten second cool down, meant the player had to think strategically about when he used these stimulants.

Giving the player the choice to  control enemy movement by way of shield wall added choice to how the player approached the problem.  Additionally, it was great to see hostile enemies smack against the wall in a futile attempt to hurt the player. 

In order to pull the player into the story of a unit stranded in hostile territory the unit had to behave believably. I used A.I. front entities, to ensure the players allies remained largely within the shield wall.  

Current as of 09/2011