BB 10th Anniversary: A Look Back Through (RP) History, BB Life

Discussion in 'Server Chat / Updates' started by Kaiden, Jun 28, 2016.

  1. Kaiden

    Kaiden Administrator Community Manager

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    So for BB's 10th birthday I thought it'd be interesting to look back through our origins, which were our RP servers. I appreciate our new players (i.e those that came from Surf) might not have any interest in RP, but I know we still have some lurkers from that period, and it'd be interesting to give the content some exposure anyway.

    Around 2011, BB had pretty much left the RP scene. People were done with RP0X, and had moved onto fancy gamemodes with cars and different drug types, which our gamemode didn't offer. Our DR, Build and TTT servers were doing very well however, so we mostly went with it.

    It was decided around this time that BB should develop and launch a completly new RP gamemode, which would capture the market. Looking at the competition, it was clear RP was stagnant (and still is now), with people playing the same couple of gametypes with severe limitations. We envisioned "What if we launched a gametype with modern RPG concepts, like trading, grid-style inventories (think Diablo), massive corporations (think serious clans), in-game advertising", and the like.

    On paper this was naturally very well received, if a gametype like this was launched it'd be sure to be extremely popular. But, there's a reason this hasn't been done before, and that's because it's a massive task. Taking a Dark RP gamemode and making it not awful (which is basically what RP08 was) was extremely simple in comparison. Ultimately when Whitefang left it was left to just Killermon and Teddi to develop an entire gamemode, which while they did complete entire systems, was unlikely to ever be launched.

    Killermon completed the map some time later, and while not completely finished (i.e. an expensive tower block was left out, to be added in later as people wouldn't be able to afford them initially), it had the building blocks of what was required. Not being a modeller, coder or mapper, I looked for ways to contribute, and ultimately settled on the backstory, textures, the police and any other administrative tasks I could. Below I'll post the concepts, rough drafts and finished pieces I compiled for these, and anyone who wants source material for their own uses can have it.

    Backstory: General

    The initial back story was generally done, although with some work still to go. tl;dr is a company builds an island, sells it, and you end up living on it. The opening script, which was to be voiced over an intro video, below;

    In the year 2012, on the fifteenth of May, Land Forge Technologies finished construction on their latest project. The island they had created, deep in international waters, was their most ambitious project to date. Abject from the rest of the worlds laws and troubles, an opportunity had arisen that Land Forge were eager to take advantage of. On this island, new rules could be constructed and the company’s property could be adequately protected with potentially lethal force.

    After several dodgy deals fell through and the inevitable over-extension of their large project, (in combination with discrepancies between their construction materials and techniques), they became bankrupt. In a desperate effort to write off their remaining dues, they sold the asset to an opportunist buyer in a last minute deal. Asking not too many questions, the corporation were glad to get rid of what had effectively ruined their business, and signed over their project.

    6 months after this "behind closed doors" deal, the entity who now owns the island has privately opened it. Advertising it as a "fresh start" away from recession clad nations, invitations were sent out to every reach of the globe in an attempt to begin populating the city. With the promise of proprietary within a new order, invitations were quickly accepted.

    As new citizens from all parts of the world began arriving by dock to the island, it became mandatory for a privately funded police force to be founded. With an influx of new members came lawlessness in the forms of drug smuggling, firearms abuse and other criminal activity, which needs containing.

    Without a solid leader, the island is sustained by its very own economy. Businesses rise and fall, fiercely competing with one another to gain a dominant grasp over the inhabitants. There is already talk of soon forming a collective board which will attempt to assert leadership over the migrating mass. Although a governing board may be elected, it is still unsure of who those leaders would be or how long their reign could last.

    As a new arrival to the island, it is in your best interests to rise up the food chain and maybe even make a name for yourself. Whether through simple business ambition and ingenuity or less...scrupulous methods, you must find a way to make money quickly, as your old world currency will have no use here. In welcome to the city, you have been granted an initial cash sum to help you get settled on the island, although you should use this wisely as you will not be provided with any more.

    To follow on from that, I made general bullet points and conceptualized the general backstory. General point of significance is the police were corrupt as hell (ran by myself, hurr), and had basically torture rooms below the police station, accessed through a hidden wall.

    Land Forge;

    Land Forge are a multi-national corporation formed in the 1950s, which constructed the island. A series of events, including the arrest of acting CEO and financial difficulties, result in them selling their asset at auction.

    The Buyer;

    The buyer is a single, anonymous individual. He keeps the island sealed off for 6-12 months while making alterations to the island after its purchase. During this time he hires a security company to act as the police for the island.

    He eventually sends out invitations to all parts of the globe, inviting specific people to his island. He promises prosperity and a chance to live out a real "American dream", where anyone has a chance to make it rich and successful.

    The buyer comes up with several notable concepts;
    • The use of a new currency, Pexus (PEX), making any other currency on the island worthless, thus ensuring control over the local economy.
    • The police are mostly autonomous and manage themselves without reporting, except on occasions warranted, to the buyer. While this allows the police the freedom to perform their job fully, it is open to abuse.
    • The buyer actively encourages strong and even aggressive bartering, trading and competition. The encouragement of starting several small citizen-ran corporations on the island once people arrive can be likened to rival territories, gangs or groups.
    General Story;

    The buyer is driven by power. They want to control a world of their own, however they need to present the island as somewhere people would want to go to achieve that.

    The buyer has little regard for the individual people on the island itself, as long as there is a strong collective for him to administrate. This is apparent in the arrest and eventual escape of Aaron Hudson, an outspoken activist against what he saw as an oppressive dictatorship, rather than the potential paradise it could be.

    During his time in prison Hudson discovers the dark rooms and their prisoners located below the police station, which provides him proof of the corrupt nature of the police, and the island as a whole.

    Inspired to bring down the regime, he unites like-minded individuals - drawn to his cause by what he shows them of the police - under the banner The Sons of Liberty. Graffiti starts appearing around the city, messages of "They can't be trusted" and "We have no rights" are rampant on walls within apartments and pubic areas.

    At this time Hudson hijacks a public service announcement being made to new members of the island, addressing the buyer directly and instructing him to release all prisoners, or face exposure.

    Alarmed at this new development, and the potential leak of such classified information, the buyer instructs the police commissioner to neutralize Hudson before he can fully share what he knows. Killing Hudson is achieved, however not before he could put safety measures in place for his disappearance, and now an unknown colleague is preparing a broadcast to the city, exposing the entire truth.

    This is where the player comes in, currently unsuspecting of the goings on, but will find out within a matter of months the truth of the police, and can choose how to participate in the fallout.

    Worth noting the graffiti and dark rooms were in-fact ingame, and I created 20-30 graffiti textures which could be found across the map, in the slums, apartments, etc. The Sons of Liberty video voice-over was mostly done minus sound effects/dynamic changes, but the video still had some work to do. I may finish it one day for the sake of it. Audio link is here: Link

    There's a lot of reference material, concepts, etc. Not all were planned for use of-course, but I'll include some of the more interesting ones (and 3 Corp was our player-run corporation back in the day):
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2016
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  2. Kaiden

    Kaiden Administrator Community Manager

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    Backstory: Landforge LTD

    Landforge were the initial constructors of the island. I actually went pretty in-depth on their history. TL;DR is they go bankrupt due to a careless CEO. If looked at in more detail would probably find the now-owner probably had some part in it, to ensure he got control of the island. I created a corporate brochure I'm pretty happy with all about LF, it's attached here: link and some reference material is below:

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    Backstory: Sons of Liberty

    I know MGS2 bastardized the name, but I settled on SoL after seeing parallels with the "underground movement" of fighting oppression, associated with the original American protest group and our backstory here. Portrayed as the antagonist, the player could ultimately choose to join a faction/create their own militia and fight against the island, (separate maps were intended for these groups to hide on), or ignore their propaganda and keep making stacks of cash on the island.

    It would have been difficult to ignore the eventual broadcast of torture cells below the prison though, and players would have had to look the other way pretty hard to still trust the Owner.
    Ultimately SoL were designed to be in-depth and aid the story, and sow just enough doubt, with players making their own militias to carry on their cause, or really to do whatever they liked.

    Creating their broadcast videos was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. If it ever gets finished I'll upload it, otherwise here's another link to the audio of the initial threat the SoL make to the Owner, after finding out about the dark rooms. Link

    Some early script ideas, and concepts for the video below;

    Authority of this city. We are The Sons of Liberty.
    We have one demand.
    You are holding prisoners indefinitely without trial.
    Release them all. Now.
    Or we will attack without mercy.
    We will not negotiate. You will not stop us.
    Comply, or we will reveal the truth.
    We are united under a common enemy
    We are the Sons of Liberty.

    Authority of this city. We are the Sons of Liberty.
    For too long you have reigned unchallenged and unelected.
    We have discovered what your true purpose is.
    Release all of your prisoners. Surrender control of the city.
    Or we will reveal the truth.
    We will not negotiate. You will not stop us.
    Join us, citizens of this city, and seize control.
    We are are the Sons of Liberty.

    The ultimate idea was for the propaganda broadcast to interrupt the Owner addressing the island, an idea being;

    Owner: Welcome to the Neoteric Isles, a shining beacon of what can be achieved by great men and minds alike. You have been invited here, to live among those looking for a new start, and those looking to make a name for themse - queue propaganda hijack.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    Backstory: Police

    I was chosen pretty early in on development to lead the police force, and subsequently spent dozens of hours creating the laws that would be enforced throughout the city, located here. I tried to encompass anything we could possibly encounter, but ultimately we won't know if I missed anything crucial. There were generally clauses in each Act saying we could add more laws as needed.

    It was important the police were seen as the top authority on the island, but still a friendly presence. They had ulterior motives for sure though, and would have been much less pleasant if you got caught as part of a resistance and taken to the dark rooms. We ultimately held applications for the police on the forum, although they were held prematurely and far before necessary. I went as far as studying interview/interrogation techniques and outlined basic strategies in the police chat, although with our usual corrupt twist;

    Ultimately there's probably 50,000+ words in the information section detailing how to operate as the police, pretty unfortunate it never got used.

    Regardless, the police had a substantial PD on the island, with an armoury, prison, barracks, conference rooms and the like. Aegis was our computer system, designed to log all citizens and their crimes. There's loads of reference material on this, but a few images;

    Incidentally, Aegis may live on as our new Ban management system for Surf etc.
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2016
  3. Kaiden

    Kaiden Administrator Community Manager

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    Conclusion

    Am sure I could go on a lot more, but I'll conclude with that for now. I put a lot of my time into developing an entire world for BB Life (the early codename given to the script), from the map name, currencies and time period, to logos and hierarchy. The fact it never appeared was of course a disappointment, but realistically looking back, the work required, and expecting it to to be completed by 2 people was unrealistic overall. Killermon I imagine will probably do something with the map (release it or similar), so least we have that.

    Otherwise hopefully a few people enjoyed the insight into, what would have been, a fascinating gamemode. We do talk about some form of RP gamemode on occasion, could always happen.
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2016