In essence, this is a parkour game that showcases the changes of the setting over time. The gameplay loop is meant to make the levels feel more like chapters than distinct events. Each area leading to the next naturally but still indicating the completion of your previous task. This is a pretty basic theory of level design and game flow but its one that I am very committed to getting right. The balance between immersion and game-iness is a delicate one and I want it to feel perfect. Each level will have multiple objectives that force the player to take various routes to each, which will(hopefully) make even a small level feel more complete and full as the player moves through them in fresh and new ways. In the greater story sequence, each level should also take place in a slightly different setting that takes the player through a progression of technology, architecture, and culture. From classic colonial-American city to Tokyo-inspired cyberpunk to a dystopic City of Glass, as the game progresses and the player explores the city(and the city evolves over time) each area will feel like a different world. The story will follow our protagonist as they explore the city, discover various factions, and watch the city change and grow over truncated decades.

Originally, it was just about shooting robots and doing cool tricks but as the development continued, I realized that I could do something much cooler. I started with “Mirror's Edge but with guns” and my early designs reflect that pretty strongly. As I started thinking of what mechanics I could realistically implement, though, it changed dramatically over time. I started with a grappling hook, wallrunning, and airdashing and began brainstorming creative ways to use these abilities. While these remain the core gameplay mechanics, I've also added sliding, rope swinging, and a few other small things. The main change that completely changed the direction of the game, was when I laid out every movement type I could think of and came up with an incorporeal dash. This isn't exactly a groundbreaking idea, as it has been done in a lot of games. From Souls-like dodging to Celeste-like dashing, there are a lot of ways that i-frames and non-collision frames have been used. What makes my idea different is how it integrates with other abilities. Classic dashing still exists but you can also dash through certain surfaces. Dashing while wallrunning will cause your character to “dash” through the wall and wallrun on the opposite side. Dashing while crouching allows you to dash through grates and enemies. These alternative uses for dashing inspired a lot of the future changes to the character mechanics. The biggest change(to be finalized) is the move away from shooter mechanics and toward hand-to-hand combat. This change occurred simultaneously to the decision to focus less on combat and more on the movements and levels themselves. I can't take credit for this change to combat, though, and Clover is the primary proponent of that. She pointed out that having a movement focused character that doesn't use that movement for combat is a missed opportunity. At first, I bristled at the idea of removing my precious shooter mechanics. Not only was that the last remaining pillar of design from Cyber Flow but going full melee would push the concept further towards Mirror's Edge, which was the main design reference at the time. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized she was right. Aiming while trying to dodge complex obstacles is difficult and the ability to dash behind enemies like a shadow isn't as cool if you end up shooting them anyways. This change, of course, would put combat back towards the central tenants, however, which I'm still uncertain of and will require magnitudes more work to get feeling right. In the end, I may do a hybrid of shooting and melee but we will just have to wait and see.