Created off an idea I developed late one evening, the Awakening is a project I enjoy working on and have enjoyed working on to this day. The original design was influenced by a conversation I had with a friend regarding emotional outbursts. I feel my favorite part of this design work is that the concept of the advance in technology being entirely non-military permits me to use real-world weapon technology in a setting that it will seem entirely understandable, but totally out of place in. So many games rely on the basis of the idea that we will advance military technology or discover new technology with an invading species, but I wanted to keep the combat technology used in this title to a more simplistic and real-world model, while showing advances in many other aspects of human life (and the downfall of such advances through the catastrophy that occurs in the game). I hope you enjoy exploring my idea as much as I did creating it.
This project was an attempt at something totally unique and humorous. The humor that could be delivered through this particular story has incredible potential and that drove me to further develop the idea. The concept for the title came from attempting to determine a name that would catch the readers eye and intrigue them, but wouldn't give away anything much of the game. After I determined the title for the game itself, I knew it had to have an integral part in the storyline but still be obscure and unknown. The game itself was conceptualized when I was looking at successful side-scrollers that incorporate a series of humorous elements into their serious plots and gain fame because of the cartoonish aspects behind the characters, then developed the idea for a similar title that would include misshapen figures, a construction worker, and a businessman.
Jarin hails from a D&D campaign setting currently in development by myself and a friend. Together, we are working at developing the entire background, plotline, and history of this campaign setting before working out the mechanical kinks with the new Dungeons and Dragons 4E (Wizards of the Coast, 2008). This particular story was developed as part of a project exploring dialog in games which gives the player a sense of control but also leads them to the same eventuality (with possible changes in consequences). Jarin is a Cleric following one of the good faiths in the setting and is currently training for his own role in the world of his faith. This same setting is being used as the backdrop for a series of books that we are writing in the fantasy Genre - more on that below. Jarin is a great character and I've had a wonderful time developing him these many months.
This particular item is the prologue from the story being Co-Authored by myself and Thomas Alday, one of my best friends. This is the story mentioned above, taking place in the same campaign setting backdrop as the design document "Jarin Exzurias - The Beginning". The main concept of the storyline and the plot breakdown is primarily credited to Thomas along with a large portion of the writing, while I take care of the major detailing, some writing, most revisionary writing, and all the editing on the project. It is still in the first draft format at the moment and the book has not yet been completed, but we are working on it as our schedules permit and hope to have it published as soon as it is ready. Enjoy!
