Haze/Haze 2 2007 Pitch

## Franchise Pillars

* What are the key elements of the HAZE franchise?
	+ Experience two sides of the same war
	+ Mature, twisting narrative
	+ Four player co-op
	+ Uniquely asymmetric multiplayer mode

## Gameplay Hooks

(All ideas will be subject to prototyping and subsequent approval)

* Disparity Gameplay System
	+ Don't just see two different sides of the same war, *use* them!
	+ Exploit the troopers' weaknesses by using Nectar against them, or dose up and exploit their strengths!

* Rebel 'Yamakazi' abilities
	+ Rebels can now leap, roll and clamber around their environment with increased speed and agility
	+ Exact moveset TBC
* More integral co-operative play
	+ Adaptive difficulty (different players can play on different difficulty levels in the same game)
	+ Co-operative Nectar abilities and exploits
	+ Levels designed with specific co-operative sections

* Larger, more comprehensive multiplayer
	+ Wider variety of maps and game modes

## Plot Overview

* After the events of HAZE, a world-weary Shane Carpenter wants to return home. Whilst smuggling himself across the border, he meets a group of disillusioned Mantel soldiers. The group is planning a series of terrorist attacks against Mantel.
	+ Their assaults escalate to a point where Carpenter is sent to assassinate David Bloomfield – the CEO of Mantel.
	+ Carpenter completes his mission, but discovers that he is a scapegoat. Bloomfield is just an actor – a friendly face for a faceless company. The group he is involved with are Mantel PR Officers, using him to put fear back into the hearts of a restless public.
	+ Once again, the populace feels reliant on Mantel to keep them safe.

## Setting

City depicted in the HAZE UbiDays trailer - M1.
* Avoiding the cliché – ruined dystopian cities have been done many times before!
* In 2048, global warming has caused the flooding of many cities, including M1.
* Flooded areas have been overgrown with vegetation, produces a unique combination of urban decay and flourishing jungle vegetation.

* M1 is built on a hill with three major districts:
	+ Slums (at the foot of the hill – flooded and massively overgrown)
	+ Commercial/Residential Zone (lower slopes)
	+ Heights (city centre, at the top of the hill – location of Mantel HQ)
* Additional sub-locations within and outside of the city bounds, e.g.:
	+ Oil Fields
	+ Saw Mill
	+ Stadiums

## Campaign Content

* Levels:
	+ 3 non-linear City districts act as a 'hub'
	+ 5 sub-locations for one-off missions
* Level Flow:
	+ Still played through in a linear order – not free-roaming
	+ Continuous streaming of levels – no loading screens
* Timescale:
	+ Days/weeks rather than hours to allow for a greater escalation of events in the narrative

## Multiplayer Content

* Levels:
	+ 6 maps based on campaign environments
	+ 4 HAZE 'classic' maps
* Modes:
	+ Deathmatch
	+ Team Deathmatch
	+ Team Assault
	+ King of the Hill
	+ Zones

## Supporting Content (Vehicles, Weapons and Characters)

* Reuse HAZE assets with minor tweaks
* Remove/redesign least popular ones
* Add a small number of new entries in each category

## Schedule (TBC)

* 2007
	+ December: Pre-production and prototyping begins
* 2008
	+ January: Kickoff Meeting
	+ May: Pre-production and prototyping complete
	+ July: First Playable Prototype
* 2009
	+ March: Alpha
	+ August: Release