A top-down space action shooter for Windows and Xbox. NEREUS Ben Davis | Jacob Leach | Dipen Patel

STORYLINE Mankind has expanded into other solar systems, and asteroid mining is common. Asteroid ‘poachers’ are illegally mining privately owned belts. These poachers are organized into a criminal organization, with each solar system’s operations overseen by a boss. You are part of a space police force, hired by local mining corporations, tasked with eliminating the poachers while avoiding damage to legal miners in the area.

ABOUT THE PROJECT Our game’s namesake is Nereus 4660, a near-earth orbiting asteroid that will likely be the first target of asteroid mining. Nereus is a top-down arcade/action shooter set in space. Various multiplayer modes will enhance replay value and make the game more fun. We plan to bring original elements to gameplay by incorporating effects like conservation of momentum, gravitation and effective use of particle systems. Gameplay will be fast, smooth and intuitive. Physics / Game Engine will be FlatRedBall.

GAMEPLAY – OVERVIEW Camera view is top-down, player can freely roam the level. Each level is a solar system, where enemies are controlled by an enemy ‘boss’. Each solar system consists of a star, some planets in orbit around the star, perhaps moons in orbit around planets. Asteroids will be in clusters or belts. NPC ships will tend to surround asteroids. Eliminating a boss’ fleet brings him to that solar system to try and stop you personally. Eliminating the boss wins the level.

GAMEPLAY – MODES Single Player Campaign Play through levels against the NPCs and their bosses. Two Player Campaign Play through levels against NPCs and their bosses. Share a ship (one pilot and one gunner) or pilot two separate ships. Two Player Arena Play against each other in separate ships and against NPCs.

GAMEPLAY – CONTROLS Single Player Controls Thumbstick or arrow keys control direction and speed of the ship. Buttons fire weapons and special weapons. Mode 1: Directional weapons (guns, missiles, etc.) fire forward only. Mode 2: Directional weapons fire with control from 2 nd thumbstick. Two-Player Controls Separate Ships: Each player controls their own ship in either of the two modes above. Single Ship: One player controls direction, the other controls weapon fire and direction.

GAMEPLAY – POWERUPS The player’s ship will receive upgrades and powerups through modules that are dropped at random by enemies when killed. Weapons – Basic fired weapons. Unlimited ammunition. Each weapon type will have 5 levels of power, depending on the number of powerups of that type collected. Guns – directional projectiles. Increased rate of fire and multiple angles of fire with upgrades. Missiles – homing projectiles. Automatically change direction to aim at closest enemies. Increased rate of fire and sharper turn radius with upgrades. Plasma Grenades - directional projectiles. Explode upon impact, knocking enemies & asteroids away and dealing damage in an area, but low rate of fire. Increased damage and knockback with upgrades.

GAMEPLAY – POWERUPS Special Weapons - Manually activated special attacks. Bomb – Deals heavy damage in an area surrounding the ship. Gravity Well – Creates a strong, temporary gravitational field, gathering local enemy ships and asteroids. Collisions between ships and asteroids cause indirect damage. Defense Temporary Shields – Provides damage absorption for a limited time. Repulsor Shields – Repels asteroids, enemies and projectiles away from the player ship. Repair Unit – Repairs damage to your ship.

GAMEPLAY – ENEMIES Enemy Miner – Focused on mining asteroids. Numerous in count. Few light weapons on board (guns). Will only attack if attacked, or if player gets too close. Enemy Defender - Focused on defending miners. Moderate in count. Heavily armored & Slow Moderately armed (guns & missiles). Enemy Attacker – Focused on eliminating the player. Few in count, show up later in levels. Moderately armored, faster than defenders. Heavily armed (guns and missiles). Boss – At the end of each level. Challenging to kill. Heavily armed & armored. Special abilities.

TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY Several aspects will require prototyping to perfect the technique before implementation. Gravitation & Gravity-based orbiting Planets and other orbiting objects should not rely on pre-calculated paths to orbit. Angular momentum on impact Shooting an enemy or asteroid off-center should cause it to rotate. Particle emitters (explosions, enignes, weapons) Camera movement, following ship. Multiple players controlling single ship.