Children of the Arkon: The Journey Back

Just as your squadron of XR10 star-fighters clear the hangar, an enemy Destroyer fires a powerful laser pulse deep into the reactor core of your mothership, the Alliance Defense Frigate Arkon. As she explodes into fragments behind you, she launches a full complement of torpedoes and incinerates the enemy capital ship. With the destruction of the enemy Destroyer, the combat drones you were sent out to fight deactivate and you are left in deep space trying to find a way back home…

Unique Selling Proposition

The Spaceflight genre has never, as far as I know and have played, been merged with the Adventure genre. This provides a “fresh” perspective on the gameplay. Also, the Spaceflight genre disappeared about the time the bulk of the Millennials reached a mature age leaving them with only a passing familiarity that should attract them to the game. Once they realize it was DESIGNED for cooperative play, the Millennials will likely message their friends and play it together at the next LAN party or even online.

The story is designed to allow for the possibility of sequels; in future games they might start a rebuilding, or reforming, of the interstellar society, maybe they will start a subversive campaign!

Summary

You and your friends take on the interstellar elements in a primeval struggle for survival after your mothership is destroyed. Use what resources you can find along your journey back to your homeworld. But remember, time is against you, so don’t delay!

Players must work as a team to gather enough fuel and supplies from the surrounding debris and drones to retrofit their ships for an interstellar flight to their distant home world. Once they leave, they must survive on what they can find in flight. As they travel and explore they will start to piece together, from disjointed clues, the history behind the conflict. Along the way they will meet other interstellar travelers, some friendly, some not, who will either try to help or hinder them in their flight.

Retrospective

I’ve been working on CotA off and on since early 2009 when it started as an exercise during a game design class. However, while it seems to me to be a sound game concept, I’ve not explored it outside of school. The attached cut scene prototypes are primarily an example of the skills in the art of foley the Lord has blessed me with: all sound effects and voice overs are my own creation.