THQ's Homefront 2/Wetlands

**Previous mission:** Fairmount

**Next mission:** Comms Dish

## Overview

**Document Status: Yellow [Requires design revisit] [Date: 14 Oct. 2011]**

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THQ Discussion Notes

* Survivalists could be ex-military guys(army rangers) who have secured an area
* They’re the last of the US army (Army rangers are in control of an area and still fighting the war)
* They’re run by a colonel (a little Apocalypse Now but that’s fine), and incredibly well organised
* They’re seen as winning because they’re holding the North Koreans out (as the NK’s go around them are there is nothing in the area they need
* Their base could be like a Rambo set (lots of sandbags etc)
* As they’re a military faction they could have lots of repaired equipment:
	+ They could have a guy who decodes the McGuffin
	+ They could also have a satellite phone
* These guys shouldn’t be brutally stringing up NK’s (that was done in the last game)
* There could be lots of rumours before the player meets these guys that the player shouldn’t go there, and that no-one goes near the swamp through fear of what is there (“The resistance cell in the area are cannibals”, “People go there and don’t come back” etc)
* They could make the player do a mission to prove he can be trusted
* HF1 showed the US military to suck; this faction would be a way of showing the opposite
* They could be involved in the Halo drop:
	+ Perhaps they’ve secured the area for the drop but there’s a traitor as part of them who shoots the Halo drop parachute and also kills the colonel
	+ Rescue of the Halo drop guy could them be from an armoured KPA convoy instead of the train (which could be part of the same mission so it gets everything into one play sessions
* Would be good if the traitor went free and a later mission had you hunt him down and kill him:
	+ Would be strong if the traitor is someone you get to know a bit before they turn on you

## Timeline

**Document Status: Yellow [Pending signed-off overview] [Date: 24 Jan. 2012]**

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## Level Background Questions

**Document Status: Yellow [Pending signed-off overview] [Date: 27 Oct. 2011]**

### Level Style

* Time of Day? Dawn
* Atmosphere? Misty
* Mood? Eerie

### Environment Storytelling

* KPA Occupation
	+ Stage of the KPA occupation red zone
	+ Signature effect(s) of the KPA occupation? Non
	+ The Effects of the Curfew on the Mission? No curfew
* EMP
	+ Any Visible Effects of the EMP? abandoned vehicles
* "Horrors of War"
	+ What depicts the "horrors of war"? dead bodies and wildlife
* “The Familiar becomes Alien” (Repurposed Environment)
	+ What has been repurposed under KPA rule? Derelict building used as Army Rangers base.
	+ What are the elements of the level that drive home a foreign occupation of a familiar land? KPA towers and patrols

### Resistance Involvement

* What group is used in this mission? Army rangers
* Are there any links to other groups? No
* What main Goal is the group trying to achieve (why are they involved in the mission)? To retrieve the EU spy from the halo drop.
* What is the motivation for the player helping this group? They've captured the spy
* What is the reason for the mission? To retrieve the EU spy from the halo drop.
* How does the resistance group act towards the player during the mission? Distrustful
* Where is the resistance cell based? Hidden in abandoned building
* Where do you meet the resistance cell? At halo drop, caught in snare
* How does this mission help the setup of the Invasion? The spy is critical to the invasion.
* How is the story advanced by this mission? Introduces the army rangers and the spy
* What role does the McGuffin play in this mission? It guides you to the wetlands

### Visual Highpoints

* What are the WOW moments? The high octane chase
* What is the "Back of the Box" visual? Opening level vista

### Gameplay

* Level Theme
	+ What is the central gameplay theme of the level? Stealth/Exploration
* Objectives
	+ What are the primary objectives of the level?
		- Sabotage the KPA communication towers
		- Get to the halo drop
		- Get to the Army Rangers base
	+ Do the primary objectives need to be done in a fixed order? Yes
	+ What are the secondary (optional) objectives? Retrieve evidence from dead bodies
* Guerrilla Warfare
	+ What elements of this mission convey the Guerrilla warfare feel? The majority of the mission should feel like Guerrilla warfare, with the early stealth sections.
	+ What guerrilla warfare abilities are used during the mission? IED's/Traps, Improvisation/Homebrew
* General Gameplay
	+ What are the different gameplay sections of the level? section 1 = stealth/exploration, section 2 = exposition, section 3 = hold out, section 4 = high octane escape
	+ Is the player accompanied by AI during any of these sections? Yes
	+ Roughly how would you describe the pacing of each section? section 1 = slow, section 2 = very slow, section 3 = action, section 4= frantic escape
	+ What choices does the player have available during each section? section 1 is free roaming, player can take out the towers in any order, in section 2 the player has little choice.
	+ How long do you envision each section taking to complete? section 1 = 20mins, section 2 = 5mins, section 3 = 10, section 4 = 5
* Level Mechanics
	+ What are the different mechanics the player will need to use during the mission? sniping, stealthing, driving
* Moral Choice
	+ What moral choices does the player have to make during the mission? Not applicable
* Puzzles
	+ What are the puzzles in the level and how does the player solve them? Physics puzzles to access resistance stashes.

### Gameplay Highpoints

* What is the stand-out gameplay moment (high point) of the level? Hold out and escape.
* What gameplay style / moment / mechanic do you feel is unique to this level? The initial stealth and exploration.

### Vehicles/Equipment

* What Does the Player Use?
	+ Drones? No
	+ Vehicles? yes
	+ Traps? yes
	+ Weapons? sniper rifle, etc.
	+ Pickups? weapons
* What Does the Enemy Use?
	+ Drones are used? No
	+ Vehicles are used? Boats, chopper, jeeps
	+ Traps are used? Snare, IED's
	+ Weapons are available? yes

### Characters

* Allied NPCs
	+ What resistance cell characters are in the level? Army rangers
	+ What non-cell NPCs are needed? EU spy
* Enemy NPCs
	+ What KPA enemy types are in the level? Basic Military
	+ What other enemy types are there? Non

### Collectables/Unlockables?

* Does the level environment / setting lend itself to any types of collectibles? trinkets in buildings and dead bodies

### Multiplayer

* Will this level work for Multiplayer? (Is it big enough? Does it have multiple routes to get around? Yes
* What area will be used for the MP component? initial open section
* More to be added...