WORLD BUILDING
Game Ideas
Külm
Overview:
Made by a team of 4 as part of the board game course at Gotland Game.
Keywords:
Dystopian, Never-ending winter, Board Game, co-op
Synopsis:
The world of Külm is a vast cold place with a never-ending winter that is getting colder by the day. The reminding survivors have to leave, and need to collect the necessary resources to do so.
A foldable board made by me during the project.
Horror Game
Overview:
As part of my degree project at Futuregames I made a small Unreal project that focused on narrative and level design. I'm currently porting it to UE5 with the intent of remaking/finishing it with some newfound knowledge.
Keywords:
Story, Puzzle, Horror, Mystery, Atmospheric
Synopsis:
After a young woman inherits an old house from a distant relative in Germany she travels there to take care of all the business surrounding the matter. While living in the house mysterious things starts happening, almost as someone want to show or tell her something.
Seaview Terrace Mansion, photo by Jo Ann Harris
Story Ideas
Working title
Overview:
This is a novel and world I'm currently working on as a side project both to get my ideas down on paper and to evolve my writing.
Keywords:
Dark, Dystopian, Alternate Universe, Post-apocalypse, Communism, Climate Change, Outlaws
Synopsis:
The story takes place in a alternate universe of our own were Lenin by force managed to take over and spread his communistic ideologies worldwide.
The Living City
Genre:
Open-world/Sandbox, Puzzle
Keywords:
Persecution and Cultural xenophobia, Post-apocalyptic, Futuristic
Synopsis:
The game is about a girl named Alyona. She was born with a power that according to the higher-ups running the city, is illegal.
Wastelands outside the city of Ecoban (from movie, Wonderful Days)
The Living City
The World
The year is 2121. Most of Earth has become haunting wastelands with only ruins of human civilization left to prove. Out of the ashes of the old world a handful of “living” cities have emerged (picture 1). The technology of these new cities is based on the science behind photosynthesis, plants gaining energy and growth by absorbing sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. These cities are the only known only safe havens and are believed to be humans last chance of survival.
A rare gene that are only transferred from the mother is getting recognized all over the world. These people are born with magical powers that are beyond people’s beliefs and understanding. The people in charge are afraid that these newer and more powerful versions of the human is the Homo Novus of the new world, the race that will take over and destroy humanity. They therefore decide to find and enslave all their kind and use their powers for work and own winnings.
Wastelands outside the city of Ecoban (from movie, Sky Blue/Wonderful Days)
The city
Novoograd (НОВООГРАД) is the city our protagonist was born and raised in. Novoograd is a divided city. The descendants of the scientists responsible for constructing this special living city, novelties and other “important” people live in the middle part of the city. A wall divides their part of the city from the crowded slum that is just outside.
Central city from Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Novoograd (НОВООГРАД), in English means New City, which in this scenario not only means new city, but a completely new kind of city.
Protagonist
The protagonist and playable character are named Alyona. She and her older brother live in the slums of Novoograd. Their parents were arrested by the secret police a few years back for hiding and saving people with the special gene and have since been missing. None of them had powers themselves but their daughter Alyona was born with the powers of generating electric energy and can therefore electrify and start up any electric device even without a power source as long as they are functional. Because of this, Alyona’s biggest hobby is to collect old electronics and parts to fix or build things out of.
The meaning of the name Alyona is “shining light” or “bright” which tie together with the fact that lights and electronics in Alyona’s surroundings flickers when she gets emotional. This is also why her brothers nickname for her is Little Light.
Ever since the parents’ disappearance the older brother have raised and taken care of them both. As most people living in the slum, he has the heavy and sometimes dangerous work of maintaining the living city. Even though he works long days he always makes sure that Alyona practice her powers properly once or twice a week. He thinks that it is important for her to be able to control her powers since they tend to run crazy when under pressure or when feeling strong emotions.
Girl with electric powers.
KÜLM
The world
In Külm you and your friends take on the roles of survivors of a cataclysmic event. A decade prior, a massive eruption from a super volcano covered most of the atmosphere in ash and smoke. The climate change was catastrophic and rapid. Four seasons change to just one, the volcanic winter.
The Society
You are stuck in an environment that is harsh, cold and unpredictable. The base that you have called home for the last couple of year is on the brink of collapse. Only you and your group of friends are brave or stupid enough to venture out into the frigid wastelands to find and bring home the necessary components to repair a vehicle for escape. Time is of the essence.
Fun Fact: While discussing a name for the game we started talking about using a word like winter, cold or similar but in any of our native languages (two Swedes, one Chinees, and one Estonian in the team). KÜLM means COLD in Estonian and that's what we finally settled on. For a fun twist however we talked about calling it KULM instead, which instead means eyebrow. Only Estonians would understand it though, but it could have been a fun Easter egg.
The environment and Map
The map and environment is made to fit and match the world and resources the survivors might have. Therefore I made the map to look hand drawn and pieced together with notes and pins and other scavenged material the survivors might have gotten their hand on. The small messages on the map not only fit the narrative but also direct the players.
