Erebus

(*Note - This game is entirely fictional and was created for a portfolio piece. All content is solely the intellectual property of T. R. Blackburn and Center Line Content and Copy, LLC. No part of Erebus shall be copied or reproduced with the authors or Center Line Content and Copy LLC's written consent. If you are interested in purchasing Erebus, please contact me.)

Overview

Survival Horror (first-person shooter)

Players must survive an alien invasion on Earth, battling vicious alien creatures while uncovering the secrets behind their arrival and fighting to save humanity from extinction.

A post-apocalyptic Earth ravaged by an alien invasion. Cities are in ruins, nature is reclaiming urban areas, and bizarre alien structures are scattered throughout the landscape.

Dark and atmospheric, with a mix of urban ruins, dense forests, abandoned laboratories, and alien-infested zones. The world is shrouded in perpetual twilight, and weather effects like acid rain and heavy fog enhance the horror atmosphere.

History: Four years ago, the invasion began without warning, decimating human populations and infrastructure. Survivors banded together, forming resistance groups to fight back.

Alien Species: The aliens, known as the “Erebus,” are insectoid creatures with hive-like structures. They communicate telepathically, possess advanced technology, and have mostly adapted to Earth’s environment, making them formidable adversaries. 

The Erebus require a large caloric intake to survive, so they have established “human farms” to keep a fresh supply of food.

Technology: Humans have scavenged alien technology and body armor to create makeshift weapons and defenses, integrating them with their own. Although the Erebus possess plasma and laser-type weapons, they themselves are weak to fire, and certain combinations of heavy metals and other substances rapidly dissolve their bodies.

 

Characters

A former military engineer specializing in explosives who lost family during the invasion. Driven by a need for vengeance and a desire to protect the remaining survivors, Alex is resilient, resourceful, and determined. He struggles with trauma and survivor’s guilt.

A chemist researching the aliens’ weaknesses. Logical and compassionate, she provides scientific insight and has discovered several successful heavy metal compounds for use as weapons. Her husband was killed in the initial attack, and her children were devoured in front of her.

Leader of a local resistance group. Charismatic and strategic but occasionally reckless, his left arm was bitten off by an Erebus Drone, leaving him with a robotic appendage capable of attaching saw and blade-like weapons for visceral up close and personal combat.

Loyal assistant and close friend to Dr. Evelyn Shaw. As a former gymnast and personal trainer, she uses her dexterity and speed to aid in the fight against the aliens in any way she can.

The alien hive queen controlling the invasion. Intelligent and ruthless, she serves as the primary antagonist. As the story unfolds, her cruelty and motivations are revealed.

Various types of alien soldiers with different abilities and weaknesses. Most are exceptionally fast and can burrow, fly, or swim and are the direct result of the Queen’s experiments.

Queen Erebus utilizes genetic experiments to expand her army and form new, mutated soldiers–including half-human/half-alien abominations–that stalk and “hunt” survivors.

Gameplay Mechanics

Resource management, crafting weapons and tools, maintaining health and sanity.

Tactical combat with a focus on stealth and strategic planning. This involves both long-distance sniper attacks as well the use of explosives and hand-to-hand combat when necessary.

Scavenging an “open world” environment for supplies and clues, solving environmental puzzles.

Plot Development

Act 1:

Act 2:

Act 3:

Introduction to the world and characters. Alex joins a resistance group after a devastating alien attack destroys his small band of survivors. Several of them are eaten, and the others are captured and brought to a “human farm.” Determined to save his friends, Alex’s journey begins. Initial missions involve gathering resources and defending against alien raids.

The resistance discovers a potential weakness in the alien hierarchy and learns valuable information about the Erebus. Missions focus on acquiring alien technology and capturing key alien figures to extract information. Dark, intense, and “in your face,” these missions are both creepy and a thrill ride.

Armed with valuable information and an array of new weapons, the resistance plans a final assault on the alien hive. Climactic battles against elite alien forces culminate in a showdown with Queen Erebus. The game ends with a critical choice that determines humanity’s fate.

Subplots

  1. Character Development: Explore Alex’s backstory and his evolving relationships with other survivors.
  2. Survival Missions: Side quests involving rescuing survivors, securing supplies, and fortifying bases.

Flowchart

Act 1: The Beginning

Introduction:

  1. Opening Cinematic: Show the initial alien invasion, the destruction of major cities, and the establishment of the alien strongholds and “human farms.” Introduce the protagonist, Alex Carter, and his background as a military engineer, and his inital escape path.
  2. Tutorial Mission: Alex escapes the devastating alien attack that destroys his small band of survivors, teaching basic game mechanics such as combat, stealth, and resource gathering. The mission ends with Alex reaching the base camp.

Main Plot Points:

  1. Base Camp: Establish a base camp where survivors gather. Alex meets key characters like Dr. Evelyn Shaw and Marcus Cole. The initial backstory about the invasion and some discovered alien weaknesses are revealed.
  2. First Mission: The group must secure nearby resources to fortify their base. This mission introduces the alien enemies and the importance of resource management. More backstory is explained, and the characters get to know one another and begin to build trust. (See Interactive Story Writing Sample below.)

Decision Point:

Save Survivors or Secure Resources: Players must choose between rescuing trapped survivors or gathering crucial resources. This decision impacts the strength and morale of the base. 

Act 2: The Discovery

Main Plot Points:

  1. Infiltrating the Alien Outpost: The team learns about a nearby alien outpost. They plan a mission to infiltrate it and gather intel. Different combat techniques are introduced. (See Dialogue Writing Sample below.)
  2. Uncovering the Truth: Inside the outpost, they discover that the aliens are searching for something specific, a codex from a long-extinct rival alien race. They find clues pointing to the ancient artifact that could be key to stopping the aliens. (See Creative Writing Sample below.)

Side Missions:

  1. Sabotage Alien Supplies: Disrupt alien supply lines to weaken their forces. If this mission is chosen, new weapons and items will be available, and a new survivor will be introduced.
  2. Escort Missions: Protect scientists and engineers who can help develop new technologies and weapons against the Erebus. If this mission is chosen, more information and different weapons will be available.

Decision Point:

Interrogate Captured Alien or Study Artifacts: Players decide whether to focus on interrogating a captured alien or studying the artifacts. This choice affects the information available to the team and future mission strategies.

Act 3: The Counterattack

Main Plot Points:

  1. Strengthening the Resistance: The team must recruit more survivors and gather allies to launch a counterattack. This involves several missions to rescue high-value targets and secure alliances by breaking into and freeing prisoners from a “human farm.”
  2. Final Assault Preparation: Prepare for the final assault on the alien hive. This involves gathering the necessary weapons and resources and creating a solid plan.

Side Missions:

  1. Weapon Development: Retrieve materials and blueprints to develop powerful new weapons.
  2. Reconnaissance: Conduct missions to gather intel on alien movements and defenses.

Decision Point:

Direct Assault or Stealth Infiltration: Players choose between a direct assault on the alien hive or a stealth infiltration to plant explosives. This decision impacts the final battle’s difficulty and strategy

The Final Battle

Main Plot Points:

  1. Assault on the Hive: The resistance launches its final assault on the alien hive. Players navigate through heavily fortified alien defenses and face elite alien units.
  2. Confronting Queen Erebus: The climactic battle against Queen Erebus. Players must use all the skills and resources they’ve gathered to defeat her and end the invasion.

Ending

Multiple Endings: The game’s ending varies based on the player’s decisions throughout the game. Possible endings include:

  • Triumphant Victory: The aliens are defeated, and humanity begins to rebuild.
  • Bittersweet Victory: The aliens are defeated, but significant sacrifices were made.
  • Pyrrhic Victory: The invasion is stopped, but humanity is left in ruins.

Integration of Writing Samples

Dialogue Sample:

Location: Act 2, Infiltrating the Alien Outpost. This dialogue occurs after the team barely escapes a fierce battle and prepares for their next mission.

ALEX CARTER is breathing heavily after running for his life. He’s wiping sweat and grime off his face. He’s bleeding from a split lip and has several superficial cuts on his arms and hands. There’s blood spattered on him, but it isn’t his.

ALEX CARTER leans against a wall.

ALEX CARTER: “We barely made it out alive, Evelyn. (Pauses to catch his breath.) Three more good people went down out there. We can’t keep asking the team to go through this.”

EVELYN SHAW’S voice trembles slightly. She is trying to stay composed as she fights to breathe.

EVELYN SHAW: “Alex. Every loss hits hard. But if we don’t find out what the bugs are after, there will be no end to the bloodshed.”

ALEX CARTER clenches his fists. 

ALEX CARTER: “Yeah . . .  I know, so what’s our next move? I’m not going back to the others without some solid information. Everyone’s losing hope.”

EVELYN SHAW exhales, then takes a deep breath.

EVELYN SHAW: “There’s an alien outpost nearby. I’ve been analyzing their tech from our last raid; there’s a pattern in their attacks. They’re searching for something specific. If we can infiltrate that outpost, we might find the answers we need.”

ALEX CARTER nods, then cracks his neck. 

ALEX CARTER: “Alright. I’ll pull what’s left of the team together. We’ll gear up and get ready to hit ‘em hard. We’ll buy you what time we can. Just give us something. Please, Evelyn.”

EVELYN SHAW: “We’ll make it count, Alex. Just get me and Beth into the control room and keep them busy. I have an idea where to look.”

ALEX CARTER slides another clip into his pistol, resheathes it in its shoulder holster, then reloads his burst rifle with incendiary rounds.

ALEX CARTER: “Yes, ma’am.”

Interactive Story Sample

Location: Act 1, First Mission. The choice between saving survivors or securing resources can be used to demonstrate player choice and its impact on the story.

*Note: To keep everything in one place, the story choices are listed below, not on an interactive story platform such as Twine.

Mission: Rescue or Resource

 

Choice 1: Rescue Survivors

Path 1: Proceed to the building entrance

  • Scenario: The building looms ahead, partially obscured by debris and alien growths. As you approach, you notice the door is blocked. Time is running out.
    • Option A: Search for an alternative entrance
      • Outcome A1: You find a side entrance, partially hidden by overgrown vegetation. The door is locked, and every second counts.
        • Option A1-1: Pick the lock
          • Outcome A1-1a: You manage to unlock the door quietly. Inside, the cries for help grow louder, mingling with distant alien shrieks.
            • Option A1-1a-1: Move toward the survivors
              • Outcome: Navigating the darkened corridors, you find a group of survivors huddled together. Their relief is palpable, but danger still lurks.
                • Option: Reassure the survivors and plan an escape
                  • Outcome: You calm the survivors, guiding them through the labyrinthine hallways. Alien patrols close in, and every decision matters.
                  • Option: Lead the survivors to safety
                  • Option: Cover the retreat with fire
        • Option A1-2: Look for another way in
    • Option B: Clear the debris and enter
      • Outcome B1: You start clearing the debris, but the noise risks attracting attention. You must decide quickly.
        • Option B1-1: Continue clearing the debris
          • Outcome: You push through the debris, creating an opening just as alien shadows appear on the horizon.
            • Option: Rush to find the survivors
            • Option: Set traps for the aliens
        • Option B1-2: Abandon this entrance and find another

Path 2: Scout the area for alien patrols

  • Scenario: You take a moment to assess the area. The sounds of alien creatures echo through the night. Identifying patrol routes might help avoid detection.
    • Option A: Proceed to the building entrance
    • Option B: Create a diversion
      • Outcome: You set off a makeshift explosion to draw the patrols away. The ground shakes, and alien roars fill the air.
        • Option: Enter the building
        • Option: Move to a safer position

Choice 2: Gather Resources

Path 1: Plan a stealth approach

  • Scenario: The warehouse stands in eerie silence, guarded by alien sentinels. You move with caution, each step deliberate.
    • Option A: Enter through a ventilation shaft
      • Outcome: You crawl through the narrow shaft, each movement echoing ominously. Dropping into the warehouse, you’re surrounded by valuable supplies.
        • Option: Start gathering resources
        • Option: Secure the area
    • Option B: Sneak in through a side door
      • Outcome: You slip through a less guarded entrance, finding yourself amidst crates and containers.
        • Option: Look for valuable resources
        • Option: Set up a defensive perimeter

Path 2: Engage the alien guards

  • Scenario: You decide to face the aliens head-on. The clash is immediate and brutal, the air thick with tension and plasma fire.
    • Option A: Fight your way to the warehouse
      • Outcome: Battling through the alien guards, you reach the warehouse. Supplies are within reach, but so are more enemies.
        • Option: Quickly gather supplies
        • Option: Set up defenses and hold position
    • Option B: Call for reinforcements
      • Outcome: Reinforcements arrive, intensifying the battle. The chaos offers a chance to secure the warehouse.
        • Option: Hold the position until reinforcements arrive
        • Option: Retreat and regroup

Final Outcomes:

  • Rescue Path Outcome:
    • Successful Rescue: You successfully rescue the survivors, gaining their assistance in future missions and boosting the morale of the base.
    • Failed Rescue: The mission fails, resulting in heavy losses and a significant morale drop.
  • Resource Path Outcome:
    • Successful Resource Gathering: You gather crucial resources, strengthening your base’s defenses and providing much-needed supplies.
    • Failed Resource Gathering: The mission fails, resulting in wasted effort and a strain on the base’s resources.

 

Creative Writing Samples

Location: Information about “The Codex” is included in the lore found in Act 2 when the team uncovers the truth about the aliens' motives.

The Codex

 

Setting: After successfully infiltrating an alien outpost, Dr. Evelyn Shaw and Beth Stevens discovered crucial information about an ancient codex. However, their success was short-lived. The aliens quickly discovered their intrusion and pinned Dr. Shaw and Beth in a remote room of the outpost, far from help. Low on ammo and desperate, the women have barricaded themselves in to buy more time. Beth is holding the door as Dr. Shaw sends an audio transmission to Alex Carter.

 

Scene: There are sounds of alien screeches and hisses in the background. Beth incoherently yells curses as the door is hit several times.

Sound Effects: Bang! Bang! Gunshots. Then silence.

EVELY SHAW is breathing heavily, speaking in both a desperate and determined tone in a far corner of the room with her back toward the door.

EVELYN SHAW: “Alex, listen to me–I know what the bugs want!”

In the background, Beth screams. The sound of a door being forced open and then slammed shut follows.

EVELYN SHAW: “Beth! Hold the door! (Beat.) Alex, it’s an ancient artifact–a codex! That’s what they’re looking for. They don’t have it–but they’re close. It’s deep underground in some kind of vault built by another alien civilization that died off in war with the bugs millennia ago. Why they built it on Earth, I have no idea, but–”

Sound Effects: Bang! Bang! More gunshots and confusion. Again, the sound of a slamming door.

Beth yells in the distance.

BETH STEVENS: “They’re almost in. Throw me your gun!”

Muffled noises and shouts. Moments later . . .

EVELYN SHAW (Breathing heavily): “The codex contains a gene sequencing map. I’d need to research it for more answers, but it’s some kind of guide to advanced healing and the transfer of life from one being to another. Alex, it has something to do with eternal—”

BETH STEVENS: “Evelyn! They’re inside!”

EVELYN SHAW: “Alex! The Codex is in an underwater cave system! Beth! No! Bet—”

Sound Effects: A screeching hiss and more gunshots, followed by Evelyn’s yell as the transmission abruptly ends.

 

Alien Genetics Lab

Dr. Shaw awoke slouched against the bars of a steel-holding cell in some kind of laboratory. Her head throbbed. The air reeked of antiseptic and an underlying stench of decay. The walls hummed with an eerie, mechanical life. 

Beth’s voice! Dr. Shaw leaped to her feet as Beth was dragged in front of her cell by the aliens and thrown into a transparent tank, her face pale but defiant. The aliens worked quickly, securing her wrists and ankles with metal clamps.

Beth’s eyes widened as the tank began to fill with a clear liquid. She thrashed against the restraints, her breathing rapid. 

Evelyn slammed her weight against the bars.

Clear tubes tipped with arrow-like ends and connected to mechanical arms were thrust into both sides of Beth’s abdomen, just below her ribs. She screamed, the sound muffled by the rising water. Her body convulsed violently as the tubes were pushed deeper, her eyes rolling back in agony.

Dr. Shaw gripped the bars, helplessly watching as her friend suffered. “Beth! Hold on!” she screamed, but her voice was drowned by the hum of the machinery.

The water level in the tank reached Beth’s chin. Her screams turned to choked gasps as she was submerged. Her body twisted and writhed, the water distorting her movements into a macabre dance of pain. The aliens monitored the process with clinical detachment, their dark eyes reflecting the cold, blue light of the lab.

A thick, black liquid began to flow through the tubes, entering Beth’s body. Her eyes widened in terror before they shut tight, her mouth open in a silent scream. She flailed wildly, her movements becoming more erratic. Dr. Shaw drove her shoulder against the bars of her cell, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and rage. “Stop it! You monsters!”

Beth’s struggles weakened. Her body convulsed, then went limp, floating eerily in the tank. The black liquid continued to flow, and her form began to change. Her skin darkened, her limbs twisted, and her features contorted into something unrecognizable.

Dr. Shaw’s stomach churned as she watched the horrific transformation. Beth’s body jerked violently, then stilled. The water turned murky, hiding the full extent of the mutation. The aliens observed with interest, taking notes and adjusting controls with a detached precision.

Beth’s eyes snapped open, now a solid, inky black. Her body convulsed once more, then she broke free of the restraints with unnatural strength. Her mouth opened in a silent, underwater scream, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth. She was no longer Beth. She was something else entirely, a twisted creation of alien experimentation. A weapon to use against humanity.

Dr. Evelyn Shaw stumbled to the back of her cell, getting as far away from Beth as possible. Frantically, she looked around–there were hundreds of tanks, some containing hideous things, strange shapes of what used to be men and women. Captured soldiers. 

Evelyn smashed her hands together as she looked at Beth, now rising, insect-like, from the liquid of the tank. She shook her head. Her friend was gone. Somehow, she had to get out of this cell. She had to stop this. 

The bugs had to die. All of them.

Copyright notice – all the above content is solely the intellectual property of T. R. Blackburn and Center Line Content and Copy, LLC. No part of Erebus shall be copied or reproduced with the authors or Center Line Content and Copy LLC’s written consent.