THQ's Homefront 2/Horrors of War

**Document Status: Yellow [Will need updating in-line with the script] [Date: 15 Dec. 2011]**

## Overview

* This style guide is to inform the creation of game elements evoking the appropriate atmosphere for our game
* This is a broad topic as atmosphere is derived from a combination of elements
* It involves
	+ Animated scenes
	+ Tableau
	+ Dialogue
	+ Art style
	+ Level Dressing
	+ Sounds to evoke mood
	+ Graffiti
* The atmosphere will change during the course of the game as a response to the actions of the player and the resistance coupled with the response from the KPA
* At all costs we want to avoid gratuitous ham fisted violence and “horror”, rather we are looking for powerful evocative scenes.  For guidance images like these are the kind of thing we are interested in – the human cost of major events

## KPA Modus Operandi

* The KPA are in America to stay but they don’t want to have to constantly maintain a high military presence, they plan to win over the populace gradually starting with the children and offering incentives to adults willing to accept the new order, whilst keeping everyone else cowed through intimidation.  They will gradually rebuild the infrastructure, introduce KPA magistrates to dispense justice and restart the economy albeit along feudal lines with Koreans at the top
* The key focus for the KPA is children under 15, they will be enrolled in state sponsored schools and educated in the new Korean American way and given food and clothes
* Children are encouraged to spy on their parents and report anything suspicious to their teachers
* The most promising students will get important jobs on leaving school and be allowed to live in the green zones
* Many will be encouraged to become teachers themselves and sent to the parts of America that are outside direct KPA control to continue the process
* The KPA identified the age group of 15-25 years as the most likely to violently resist them, they have systematically removed as many as they can to work camps or death camps over the last couple of years, creating the lost decade generation
* The KPA attitude to the civilian populace is to obtain the service of all who can be useful through incentives or threats.  The rest are given basic food and water rations but beyond that they are left to fend for themselves.  The KPA do not get involved in local disputes but they crack down on any protests or violence towards them with lethal force
* Anyone suspected of crimes against the State will disappear. They are either sent to work camps or executed, however there are no longer bodies hanging from lampposts or constant shootings and rounding up of people, this is done now in secret
* The Resistance is a constant thorn in the KPA side although they have achieved no major victories in the east.  The KPA seek to infiltrate the Resistance using spies forced into helping by threats to their families.  Anyone in the Resistance or suspected of helping them is punished by death at public execution venues and broadcast via the propaganda screens.  They require civilians to carry ID cards and conduct frequent searches to try and disrupt Resistance operations
	+ Checkpoints
	+ Random stop and search
	+ House searches
* KPA propaganda is ubiquitous, it presents the KPA world view and edited news and is used on KPA troops as well as the civilian population. It is designed to present the KPA as benevolent but all powerful and ruthlessly successful against any misguided opposition
* The KPA have made efforts to erase the evidence of the atrocities committed during the months after the invasion
* The KPA’s initial priority was repairing infrastructure for their green zones and ensuring their security.  Now they are extending basic services out into the yellow zone.  Skilled workers are offered incentives of more food, better housing etc for them and their families in exchange for their work. Others who refuse are coerced by the taking of hostages
* The KPA take the first pick of locally available food and goods but all luxuries are shipped in from abroad.  The civilian populace gets whatever is left over under a rationing programme providing basic food and water.  The black market flourishes.

## Civilians

* Although the mass killings have largely stopped and basic rationing has been introduced people are still very desperate
* There is still not enough to go around and no official medical facilities
* Whilst some still try to maintain their values others have regressed to a live and let die mentality, the strong band together to dominate the weak in many areas, this drives more people into the arms of the KPA
* The KPA controlled Police force make some attempts to maintain order but are not respected and are often corrupt
* The KPA are feared and resented but most don’t believe that anything can be done, or they think someone else should be doing it
* Some accept the increased rations and better housing on offer and go to work for the KPA, others are forced to work for them through threats or because their families are hostages
* Whilst some support the Resistance others fear the KPA reprisals as a consequence of their actions
* The underworld flourishes offering drugs and prostitutes in exchange for food, ration tokens etc – a barter economy.  It also taps into KPA luxury imports in exchange for services – the gang lords live very well

## Level by Level

The KPAs default behaviours will alter depending on the actions of the player and the resistance during the levels

### Intro 1

**KPA**

* With the KPA in pursuit of their public enemy number 1 they will take no regard of civilian casualties as they conduct the chase
* Any luxurious country houses will have been claimed by KPA officials and high ranking military.  Many dwellings will be abandoned and showing the signs of 2 years neglect

**Civilians**

* There will be a few refugees from the countryside displaced by the KPA trying to make their way to the city

**Resistance**

* No Resistance activity although Walker can have tales to tell

### Intro 2

**KPA**

* All the standard KPA methodology applies here
* The Goliath attack will be indiscriminate and brutal
* The first kill should feel horrific

**Civilians**

* Plenty of scope for small human stories to be told here

**Resistance**

* No Resistance activity here

### Shipyard

**KPA**

* The KPA will use civilian workers at the docks for manual labour.  Since this is unskilled work it will be carried out by criminals convicted of crimes against the state and guarded either by the police collaborators or soldiers. Disobedience will be dealt with violently, escape attempts lethally.  There will be no love lost within the group either
* The guards will have almost no regard for the prisoners and can use them for sport

**Civilians**

* No other civilians should be present in the KPA area although some could have made their home in the abandoned areas of the Yard and could have their own stories

**Resistance**

* The Resistance are concentrating on remaining hidden awaiting Walker, they are not currently engaged in active operations against the KPA

### Samaritans

**KPA**

* The KPA will shoot civilians on sight after curfew
* Some KPA soldiers will still carry out abuses of civilians, breaking into homes at night

**Civilians**

* Through the objectives we see the results of a lack of medical care, lack of sufficient clean water and fresh food, victims of KPA soldier violence, victims of crime owing to lack of proper law enforcement
* Some desperate women will be working as prostitutes to the soldiers independently of the gang run brothels, they are unofficially tolerated but there’s no guarantee the soldiers will give them anything other than a beating for their services
* The Samaritans will not just be threatened by the KPA – some civilians will covet their medical and food supplies, not everyone is friendly – a fake emergency could be created as an ambush...

**Resistance**

* The Samaritans will not carry out any horrific acts but they can tell the player about the horrors that people are experiencing in Philly under the KPA

### Independence Hall

**KPA**

* This is the Green Zone so there are less overt horrors

**Civilians**

* People who have chosen or are forced to work for the KPA could have stories
* We see the lives of those living with the enemy

**Resistance**

* There is scope for Resistance members to carry out mutilations of KPA wounded/bodies

### University

**KPA**

* The KPA tolerate this gangland empire as it conveniently provides “entertainment” for the troops. Any kind of seediness can be portrayed here

**Civilians**

* The gangs prey on civilians enforcing drug use and prostitution along with gambling and gladiatorial fights so there are stories to tell from all sides

**Resistance**

* The Resistance will oppose the gangs but there is not the hatred that is reserved for the KPA

### City Hall

**KPA**

* This is the Green Zone and special efforts will have been made to have everything sanitised perfectly for the visit of Kim Jong-Un

**Civilians**

* Civilians will be kept well back and there wont be any on the rooftops so minimal opportunities really

**Resistance**

* The Resistance can be as brutal as we like during the attack, there is the potential for civilian casualties during the RPG attacks

### Wetlands

**KPA**

* The KPA here have no civilian population to prey on limiting the horror options. However there could be evidence of past atrocities here – perhaps bodies were hidden here or dumped in the river

**Civilians**

* No civilian presence

**Resistance**

* The Rangers are hardened killers but they are not rogue and they are trying to remain hidden. They create an impression of dark tribal violence as a defence against intruders but they remain a disciplined fighting unit
* They would casually torture any captured KPA to extract information before killing them
* They could easily torture the player and his companions also

### Comms Dish

**KPA**

* The KPA searching the civilian’s houses for the player – think Inglorious Bastards

**Civilians**

* The civilians in the village and the farmers working for the KPA provide opportunities for stories and direct KPA aggression

**Resistance**

* No resistance as such but if the farmers rise up to help the player they are likely to commit atrocities against the KPA that have oppressed them so badly

### Fairmount

**KPA**

* Since the Assassination attempt the KPA have gone berserk, reprisal attacks will happen everywhere with hordes of people brought in for interrogation in a scattergun approach. This is our only opportunity for outright warfare on the civilian population
* Rationing is suspended

**Civilians**

* Under attack from the KPA, they will either hide or try to fight back in desperation
* Rations will have been cut off and people will be starving
* Could be some attacks on suspected Resistance members for bringing the wrath of the KPA or in an attempt to appease them

**Resistance**

* Trying to combat the KPA as best they can, atrocities now committed on all sides

### Atlantic City 1

**KPA**

* Evidence of the forcible evacuation of Atlantic City
* Comfort women and other entertainments for the troops and commanders

**Civilians**

* Only those serving the KPA, everyone else was forced to leave

**Resistance**

* We could potentially kill off some of the familiar resistance characters here

### Atlantic City 2

**KPA**

* It’s Saving Private Ryan Normandy landing

**Civilians**

* KPA servants can be killed by them or EU fire

**Resistance**

* For the EU landing think Saving Private Ryan Normandy Landing

## Scene Setting

**Document Status: Green [Seems fine as a starting point for Intro 2. Overview is good as long as it's rolled in to the Horrors per Level doc] [Date: 15 Dec. 2011]**

### Overview

* The idea is to portray a city functioning under occupation
* Some time has passed since the invasion, people will be trying to live some kind of normal lives, although brutality and violence will always feel imminent
* We feel it is better to create an atmosphere of oppression and fear with subtle promptings, rather like the start of Half Life 2 rather than bombarding the player with in your face brutality, as it is very hard to get people to care about an animated character that has only just appeared on their screen
* A single shocking event will have a far greater impact rather than a succession of violent acts which will quickly become bland or even unintentionally humorous
* We have non-interactive scenes which the player just watches and
* Interactive scenes that directly involve the player

### Characters

* The KPA has soldiers patrolling the streets, manning checkpoints and guarding locations. They are concerned with security and order, they have no limits to their aggression but they are not acting randomly, they only respond to trouble
* The police are trying to contain small scale trouble without harming people where possible
* Civilians are the most diverse in their activities

### Non-Interactive Scene Setting

Food and Water Distribution

* The KPA are providing a basic ration which people have to collect – a small amount of food and water each
* Trucks come and go from the designated distribution points which are guarded by police
* People carrying water containers to and from the points are a common sight

Garbage Truck Body Disposal

* A garbage truck drives past with a human arm hanging out the back
* It stops at a KPA checkpoint and the driver shows papers before being allowed to proceed
* People will show almost no interest in this truck as it’s too commonplace

Propaganda Broadcasts

* The KPA have trucks with giant screens that drive very slowly along or park in open areas
* The screens show KPA propaganda broadcasts filmed at Independence Hall
* There are also loudspeakers placed at intersections so you can always hear them even when you can’t see them
* A few passers-by could throw stones at the screen if no KPA are near

Food Theft

* Someone carrying their food ration pack is knocked down and has it snatched from them
* The thief flees with the police in pursuit climbing a fence to try and escape
* The KPA don’t get involved
* Some people will try and help the victim to their feet and comfort them

Market Stalls

* There is still an economy of sorts – People are selling
	+ Cooked rats
	+ Cooked cockroaches
	+ Dogmeat
	+ Catmeat
	+ Plastic water containers
	+ Moonshine
	+ Candles

Feral Dogs

* Packs of dogs now slink around in the alleys scavenging and trying not to end up as a meal for the hungry populace
* The player can see some down a dark alley feeding on a corpse, pulling the intestines out and fighting each other for the meal

Troop Transports

* Lorries go past transporting KPA soldiers and drones somewhere....
* Also large helicopters pass overhead carrying large drones underneath
* This reminds the player of the larger conflict outside the city confines

The Search

* A KPA transport pulls up at a residence and soldiers disembark along with a search and destroy drone
* The door is kicked in and the drone goes in followed by the soldiers
* There are shouts and bangs and then some people are led out in handcuffs and loaded into the transport and taken away
* It could be all children are being taken away

### Shock Moments - Use Sparingly!

Child Killer

* A woman has a small child, she’s begging some KPA soldiers for food for her son
* They push her away but she won’t stop she’s too desperate
* The KPA soldier says your son needs food? No he doesn’t – then shoots the kid
* Everyone around is frozen just staring – this is still a shocking act even in the occupied city
* The woman goes berserk and is shot as well

Prisoner Truck

* A truck goes past with a cage on the back containing bound prisoners with sacks over their heads
* Chained to the back by the ankles several corpses are dragged along behind the truck
* If you want to push it have a child dragged behind with a women in the truck reaching down and screaming
* People will stop and stare at the truck as it goes past

Suicide

* A small group of people looking up
* A figure on the roof of a building jumps....
* Police arrive and check the body, telling people to move on

### Interactive Scene Setting

These scenes are either centred on the player or else the events can be influenced by the player

* KPA soldiers will always react to the player by warning him to move away if he gets too close
* If the player ignores KPA warnings or attempts to attack them they will shoot him
	+ We don’t want the player to be able to fool around with impunity
	+ We don’t want the world to fail to react appropriately to the player’s actions as this breaks the immersion

No Room at the Inn

* The player and Walker try to get help but no one wants to know
* Everyone is too scared of KPA reprisals to risk helping
* Doors slam, people hurry away

Checkpoint

* The KPA have setup a checkpoint across the street and everyone passing is being searched and scanned must show their identity papers
* Some are made to recite the oath of loyalty
* A sentinel defence drone is setup here
* The player should be fearful that the McGuffin could be discovered
* The player must join the short line and then enter the checkpoint
* They will be intimidated by KPA soldiers, if they do not obey all instructions they will be struck with a gun butt and ultimately they will be shot
* As the player is about to be searched everyone is distracted by Walker suddenly appearing in the street giving himself up
* The KPA rush to capture Walker
* The player can now exit the far side of the checkpoint