the rebuild
premise
The Rebuild sees us take on therole of Dowry Sikes, a halfling whose settlement was destroyed in the crossfire of a magic battle between the forces of good and evil. Almost without exception, fantasy games cast us in the role of strong, brave heroes. With this project, I wanted to explore how civilians would be affected by the collateral damage that heroic exploits would inevitably have and to explore the fantasy genre from the perspective of character who can’t fight.
In The Rebuild, you are tasked with gathering together the remaining survivors and plotting the future of the settlement. Will you listen to your vengeful advisor, who believes you should build up the settlement with the goal of exacting revenge against the heroes who destroyed it? Or will you follow the council of the advisor who believes that peace is the surest route to prosperity?
opening
To really get a sense of the game’s feel and tone, I wrote an opening set-up scene (I often write scripts for concepts, even if they won’t be used as a way to really get into the universes I’m creating).
choices
In a similar way to titles likes Mass Effect, I’m defining the “alignment” of the player with a points system. As they progress, situations and characters influence decisions they make in how they approach rebuilding the town of Umbal. At key points in the game, options would be given or taken away based on this hidden score.
