Game Dialogue and World-building
The following are notes and dialouge from the scrapped game Guardians of Africa. I came into the project near its end and was working with materials given to me in both art and writing.
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Here it is… it is growing dark. You tried, but it wasn’t enough, they were too many, and too strong. The last you remember is the voices in the night and the fires….
“hello? Are you there ______?”
“Ahh yes now we be seeing those eyes open. Didn’t think to see that again”
“We? Me - Mwenye Hekima and the spirits of course- our ancestors, the spirits of this land. And of course You now”
“Now? You were not with us till just now. You died my friend… But the others- the ones who came before, the ones of the land, and the ones not yet born. They say your time in the middle world is not done yet. So I, with them, we brought you back. Now is not the time for rest. Not this time not till these, poachers, are driven from our lands.”
“For generations our people have lived in harmony with the land and all its creatures. We learned the lesson of the spider- that all threads connect and that we are all one. What hurts one strand hurts us all. And so it has been thus, and with that harmony has come connection. Our ancestors watch over us, the land is at peace with us. But no more, not with these interlopers. They have no respect, no foresight, and NO souls. They carelessly set fire to the web with no care for its repercussions.” “ So you, _________ are back. Our lives, our people, the spirit of the land and of all who are yet to come need you. Fight these soulless ones, take back our lands. But, one step at a time- Check the village, see what remains. Bring back what you find. Oh, and one last thing… Since you have crossed the worlds you yourself are now part spirit!”
“Hahah my friend did you think someone can step into the other world and comeback the same? Nothing is the same. You may find you have powers of no normal man or woman, you may find you now speak with not just men but beasts. Use these gifts. The poachers may have taken the large animals, and chased our people away, but there may be something small, something they deemed “worthless” that can tell us more. Go. We have many things to discuss while you are away”
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“h… hello? Is someone there?”
“Please don’t hurt me, those other humans… they were scary... They smelled of smoke and blood. But not you… you... you smell different somehow. Like, family.”
“My…. family is gone, Mother and father are….. no more.. My brothers? the others they took them, but they didn’t find me, I was too small for them here in the bushes. My name is Jasmine what’s yours?”
“Can you help me find my brothers _____?”
“oh thank you! But wait…can you take me with you? I’m scared, and its lonely out here.”
“Thank you so much I will never forget this”
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“Welcome back ____. What have you here?”
“Hi I’m Jasmine!”
“hello Jasmine… yes I can understand you. I am Mwenye Hekima, please, can you Tell us your story?” “We.. we were sleeping when suddenly everything was loud and there were fires, we could hear them laughing. Mother and father went out to fight. It was so confusing, there were a lot of loud sounds and bad smells. They didn’t come back. My brothers got scared and ran.. they didn’t come back either. I hid deeper in our den. My brothers are out there somewhere in the savannah. Please? Find them?”
“This is a good thing you do. Not only are their lives worth saving but they may know more. We have to find their leaders. Destroy these monsters at their source. Jasmine can help you. No no she’s not going with you. She will stay here. But…” “There, you have been granted the spirit of the Cheetah. No... It’s not from Jasmine. Best not to ask young hunter. (implying it’s the spirits of her dead parents imparting the ability) The savannah is large but the cheetah is swift. This should help you in your search. Bring back more young as you find them.”
“In the meantime- We have sought out and found supplies to help rebuild our village. There’s a few different things that We can build with what was found, and as you bring back gold I can get even more supplies, Just tell me what you want to build first?”
(list options)
“Good! It will be started right away. It will take some time to finish, come back and see the progress. With hope, the more we build, the more of our people will return. The spirits they say that our village is not alone in being destroyed by these soulless ones. With enough time and supplies we could become the center for all of our peoples here in our land who fight against the darkness.”
“I have had time to speak with Jasmine, She believes her brothers were taken deeper into the savanna by someone she heard called ‘the golden’ Nyalunga… whoever they are, they were in charge. Till the head of the serpent is removed these poachers will continue to haunt us and our land will have no peace. It may take time to draw them out, but when enough of their minions are culled you will find him.” “I... have concerns about them as well. I fear he may have some of the powers you do. Yes.. it is possible to gain power from the spirits. But what we are freely given they take by force. You do not want to go down that path young hunter. Eventually every action has a consequence, for now they enjoy power, but a day will come when their deeds come calling”
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“how much do you think Nyalunga will give us for this ones head?”
“Plenty, Nyalunga has more gold than anyone!”
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“Run! Nyalunga is coming!”
“well, what have we here? You are not even worth my time. A distraction while I could be harvesting this red gold for Baker…”
“I guess… the gold wasn’t enough…”
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“oh Goodness is THIS what has been causing all the ruckus? A Savage in pelts? Come now this is hardly going to be sporting…”
“… at least.. you were a worthy fight. Good show…”
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“HAH! You think you can defeat me? You are nothing. The others were NOTHING. I am Bakers favorite. He’s given me the BEST!”
“You.. are still nothing. Baker will end you”
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“What’s this? You think you can just walk in here and get rid of us?”
“Here is Mwenye Hekima’s lackey. I was like you once. Did his bidding. Surprised aren’t you? He taught me everything I know and then I surpassed him. He refused to teach me the best and so I took it from him. He squandered his abilities trying to make the spirits happy. What do we care if they are HAPPY with us. They should FEAR us.”
“I… should have.. Listened”
“it is true.. to my eternal regret, it is true. Baker came to me, sick and dying, the fever had taken him and his people, they were not in tune with this land, they didn’t know how to protect themselves. I took pity on him and took him in first to save him, then to teach him. But soon his hunger became apparent. I decided I would teach him no more. But he did not accept that and did not listen. He stole our ways and returned to his people to lead this destruction back into our lands. Nothing was ever going to be enough. He would not rest till every bird and every beast was dead or bowed to his whim”
“Are you ready hunter? The Ancestors call… your time is done and you can rest.. or.. or you can keep fighting… Even though Baker is gone there will always be others…”
“You done well. We are all smiling at you now. Should we need you again we will call you back from the other side. Rest.. where the shade is always cool, and the grasses are soft and green”
Notes-
Story Outline
Amani is a fictional fantasy Africa set in an era remincient of Victorian expansion era west Bombay company.
In this land the animals, ancestors, and other spirits are all connected with the people who live there and the land itself. Animism and Ancestor worship are the norm for the native inhabitants.
They lived peacefully this way for generations till colonizers came to harvest the land for resources with no care as to the delicate natural balance that had existed here for ages.
As part of their campaign they are systematically destroying the villages and way of life of all the people living here
The story begins in one such village. After an attack the player character is brought back from the dead
The hero and player character was brought back from the dead by the village witch doctor. One part to extract revenge and one part to help rebuild and save what can be saved of the village.
Each mission the player gets a little more of the story. Poachers targeted the village. They seemed to go after specific animals near by.
Having died the player character can now gain supernatural powers starting with the ability to speak to animals. They grow as the player explores and rescues animals.
Each area has a boss. The first is a poacher captain. They are just here for money.
The second is here for glory. The bigger and better game he brings down the prouder he is.
Other bosses have increasingly decrepit reasons for their actions.
The final boss- Used to be an explorer. Was one of the first to find Amani. Befriended the witchdoctor and his tribe. Became an honorary member of it. Witnessed the witchdoctors true magic and asked to be taught. The witchdoctor refused because he could see the hunger in his heart. AFTER being taught by the witch doctor, learning enough to be dangerous.
In revenge the final boss used his knowledge, power and influence to begin the poaching. What he couldn’t have peacefully he was going to take by force. He has some of the powers of the player character. Corrupted. Instead of being at peace with the spirits of the land they have gained their power from killing animals and using their parts and essence.
AT the end they are dying and with dying breath “I… have failed… I hunted and took and in the end… I was hunted… I will never be forgiven.. but… let no one make my mistake again”
So as far as the other animal children. Behavior wise.
Lion cubs are very innocent and playful. Personality of the lion should reflect that.
Gorillas as a rule are very shy animals. They will only attack when provoked or protecting young. Otherwise they will try and hide out. The young are even more so. Even finding the young gorilla should be a chore
I don’t know if you are including other animals.
Elephants are inquisitive and very smart. Recently an elephant was hurt on one of the preserves and it was separated from its herd. It went to a conservation center on the reserve where it knew the humans to be friendly and helpful. It waited there till a vet could make it out and treat them.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/02/wounded-elephant-appears-to-plead-for-help-from-humans-after-bei/
Rhinos are shy but playful
Wild Dogs are social