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Surviving Role Reversal
Theoretical and satirical
4 Min Read
There is something about the clunkiness and slow movement of the first three Resident Evil entries that I find creates a far higher level of fear and panic than the newer entries. Having been tasked with theorizing a video game that uses a pre-existing rule set that uses an opposite theme, I landed on the the classic ventures into Raccoon City. The theoretical game is called The Protest. Imagine taking a team of intellectuals, calling themselves Reasonable Explanation and Logical Linguistic Yield Group. The team led by you, Matthew Bluemeadow or Elaine Hallows, is sent to attempt to reason with a volatile religious congregation’s protest.
Gameplay:
- Non-Violent in nature
Weapons are actually character stances that include verbal counter points to ignorant swill
Ammunition is the energy to debate, replenished through a few reasonable protestors who hold intelligent communication
Energy is in short supply, manage the resource carefully
Health bar measures mental health, replenished through scientific and reason based journal articles
If health is fully depleted, character joins in with protest, prominent display is “One of Us! -Try Again?-”
Distant 3rd Person Perspective, limited camera follow
Deliberate slow movement, to build tension
Collectible items can be found, which slowly flesh out the protest to get to the root of the issue being protested
Level Design:
The game begins with you traveling toward a busy block where the picketing is located, easing you into the narrative
Tutorial is active, teaching you how to play as you go
The second level is in a crowded park, where the protestors have become violent in some spots, making sanity extra difficult to maintain
Next you travel to a school, where books are being burned and science classrooms have been defaced
The final level is in the congregation’s church
Characters:
Matthew Bluemeadow - A Pre-Med Student at Wilson Theodore Franklin University
Elaine Hallows - A Math Major at Wilson Theodore Franklin University
Keith Nixon - A Music Major at Wilson Theodore Franklin University
Jackie Bluemeadow - An Undeclared Freshman at Wilson Theodore Franklin University, sister of Matthew
Zachary Westboor - Founder of the Reasonable Explanation and Logical Linguistic Yield Group founder
Enemies:
-Sign Bearer - Nearly brain dead sheep of the preachers within the congregation, harmless in most cases
Pepper Pot - Middle-aged highly judge-mental female church goer, speaks opinion as fact
Zealot - Blindly follows the rhetoric of the church having memorized religious verses out of context
Message Drunkard - Uses word vomit to barrage opponents with confusingly ignorant rants that serve no real positive purpose
Preacher - Skillful Zealot able to gather congregation members to enhance message
Bosses - Deacons and Elders of the church, follow cut scenes and serve to test specific use of counter points
At the climax you experience what will afterward seem like a predictable plot twist. The twist will turn the game progression up to this point on its head. The result will cause you and the other present group member to decide that escape is the only answer. During the escape it is also revealed that the other two members are in the process of being brainwashed. You and the other sane member must use every bit of energy you still possess to save them, and make it safely out of the protest.
Despite being safe now, the memories of this protest leave you traumatized. In an epilogue you are shown waking screaming from a nightmare of the event. Standing at the foot of your bed is Westboor, smiling menacingly. There is always another religious protest on the horizon. Misinformation and brainwash are still effective tools from which a horde of ignorance can be born.
Obviously, this proposal is pure theory. It is intended to be a humorous response to the apparent epidemic of protestation by groups of largely religious nature. The irony behind these protests are that, to try to make their point, these protests often contain contradictory and often blasphemous assertions. A prime example is the classic “God Hates Gays,” signs and how women are often treated as second class citizens during protests over contraception and pro-life/pro-choice debates. This proposition is to satire these extremist groups, and not meant to take a side on the issues being protested.
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