Cut-Scenes
Brief cut-scenes will be used in the game to help convey the story line to the player.
The game’s 3D engine will be used for these cut-scenes, so there will be a consistent
visual appearance between the interactive gameplay and the non-interactive
cut-scenes. The cut-scenes will include talking between Sam and different characters
such as the Electric Priestess, the different friends Sam has accompanying him, or
other characters he finds in the different areas to which he travels. For particularly
short conversations consisting of only a few lines, conversations may happen during
gameplay without the use of a cut-scene.
Cut-scenes may take place between or during levels. Between levels they will
explain upcoming environments and challenges, usually through information provided
by the Electric Priestess. Cut-scenes that briefly interrupt the gameplay mid-level will
include short, conversational exchanges between Sam and the characters he encoun-
ters. These mid-level cut-scenes will be visually seamless with the gameplay
environment; their primary difference will be the change in camera angles. When Sam
first travels to a new area, the player will see Sam traveling by blimp, auto-gyro, mono-
rail, or other means of transport to the different locations in the game. On the whole,
the cut-scenes will be as short as possible in order to get the player back into the
gameplay quickly.
Storytelling
An important part ofAtomic Samis the story, and various devices will be used to convey
that story. One, of course, is the aforementioned cut-scenes. These will convey all of
the key information the player needs to be successful in the game. However, since they
are non-interactive, they will be strictly kept to a short length so that the player can
quickly get back to the gameplay. In order to convey more story, more sections of the
story will be revealed through devices used during the actual gameplay.
Environments
Of course, the environments (levels) themselves will provide a key storytelling compo-
nent by conveying a sense of setting. Special care must be taken to make sure the levels
fit with the world ofAtomic Samand do not conflict with any story components.
Friends
The friends Sam meets and who accompany him in the various worlds will share the
information they have with Sam while they are flying around with him. The characters
may explain the history of a particular environment or some interesting data about the
world of the future. Sam, after all, is a young child and still has much to learn about life.
Of course, these friends will only talk to Sam during non-combat situations, when the
player is focusing on exploration instead of defeating threatening robots. All of the
speech that the friends speak will appear on the screen via the in-game GUI, as dis-
cussed earlier in this document.
Radio
After they first meet, the Electric Priestess gives Sam a small radio, which he can wear
clipped to his ear. The player will hear information broadcast to Sam via this radio as he
Appendix A: Sample Design Document:Atomic Sam 553