Idea Info Name: Batman: Into the Darkness Index: Primary Category: Action Submitted: 1/9/2004 8:42:04 AM Written By: chak

Batman: Into the Darkness

A stealth-action game based on the early Batman years

Contents

1.    Foreword – An overview of the game in general, plus some ideas for the opening cut-scene, just to set the mood.

2. Gameplay – Covering the various aspects of the game, such as Stealth, Combat, Acrobatics and the ultimately cool concept of Scare Factor.

3. Graphics – A brief look at the look of the game, from the conceptual design to the appearance of the HUD.

4.    Sample Mission – This outline for the 2^nd mission in the game gives a good idea of what’s to come.

5. Further Mission Briefs – A brief outline of the missions in the game. Not quite as detailed as the Sample Mission.

6.    Ending Thoughts – A couple of thoughts to consider when actually creating this game.

1. Foreword

The Batman mythology is a lot like many other game licenses, in that it’s never been fully utilized. There hasn’t been a single game so far to take advantage of what makes Batman so different from other movie or comic book licenses.

What makes Batman so Batman?

Batman is not superhuman. He is simply an ordinary man, toned and trained to perfect physical condition. It just so happens that he fills his free time by fighting crime and scaring the bejeezus out of thugs while wearing a bat suit.

Much like this year’s Prince of Persia, this game poises Batman as an incredibly acrobatic and agile person. Another important facet of the Batman persona is that his presence alone is enough to scare many a lowly thug, thief or government official. These are the two base elements that the game will be based upon.

This proposal for a game sets Batman just after college, when he first begins to realize his inclination towards crime-fighting. The basic plot is a recently born-again Joker, who sees Batman as a threat, and creates a mind-control contraption, which he uses on various pivotal figures in Gotham City to bring a hate-campaign on our favorite caped crusader.

The whole story is narrated by Alfred (voiced by Ian McKellen, of course!), and tells of how he saw an angry young teen become the confident crime-fighter that he is today. Alfred also helps the player out by revealing on-site information.

But isn’t this the story of Batboy?

The purpose of starting early in Bruce Wayne’s life is twofold. One is to simply create a stronger bond between the player and the character, as they get to see him grow up, stumble, and inevitably succeed to save the day. The 2^nd purpose is to allow Batman to grow as a character himself, upgrading his skills, and his scare factor (more on this shortly).

The story will also link closely to milestone events in Batman’s life (e.g. the first unofficial meeting between him and Commissioner Gordon). More information about the chronology can be found at http://ourworld.cs.com/argentprime/batman.htm. The levels will be based on these events and other events not in the chronology. Our aim is simply to create a level of authenticity, while creating scenarios that engage the player in sufficiently entertaining gameplay.

And this is how it starts…

The game opens with a cutscene, of the ever-immortalized death of Bruce Wayne’s parents. Shown in full gritty blood-strewn detail, we see Thomas Wayne murdered and Martha suffering a fatal heart attack from the shock.

Cut. Lightning.

Bruce wakes up. He is at his university graduation ceremony, and realizes that he has been daydreaming again. Friends come to congratulate him, and push him in front of a camera for a group shot. He smiles for the camera like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

Cut. Lightning.

Bruce is sitting alone in the cavernous lounge of the Wayne Mansion. It’s raining heavily outside. His hands are clasped together closely under his chin, as he sits in deep thought. Immediately, you can see that there are two sides to this man. Alfred walks in to check on him, brings him a cup of tea, and comments nonchalantly about the horrible weather. Bruce thanks him for the tea. Alfred leaves. Close up on Bruce Wayne’s face, showing a mixture of anger and hopelessness.

Cut. Lightning.

A bat comes flying in through the window.

Cut. Lightning.

Papers show the beginnings of Batman, and various capers throughout the town. The game starts with a basic tutorial of Batman chasing after an everyday bank robber. This is followed by the Sample Level: The Red Hood, detailed in Section 4. Other story ideas follow in Section 5.

Now that we’ve got the mood set, let’s get into the actual gameplay….

2. Gameplay

The missions themselves are linear, with narrative done through in-game cutscenes. Each mission has hidden objectives, and a variety of ways to solve problems. The in-mission gameplay can be broken into the following categories, which overlap frequently. Saving will be done through automatic save points.

Scare Factor

This is one of the core concepts of the game. Rather than playing a survival horror game where you’re scared, how would you like being the intimidating figure for once?

Starting off with a basic Scare Factor (SF) of 1, Batman can scare his enemies by giving them glimpses of him, or throwing a rock here, or a box there, or simply sneaking up behind him. The amount of scare points that these activities generate will be determined by the proximity to the victim, and the kind of lighting available. Generally speaking, the darker and gloomier the environment, the better. Unexpected things like lightning and thunder can also give you free points.

With a higher SF (which depends back on how many reputation points he accumulates in each level), he can scare thugs more easily. Consequently, each enemy in the game has a Bravery Rating (BR), which plays against the scare factor. Likewise, enemies in groups will add a multiplier to that rating. The system works like the combo system in sports or fighting games.

The advantage of a scared thug will be one of two. The first is that he will fail to respond or run away in a fight. The second is that if you interrogate him, he will give more information, such as security codes, locations of secret stashes, or even hidden objectives (which can be achieved to receive more reputation points).

An Example of Scare Factor implementation

Bob the Bank Guard has a BR of 89 for revealing the vault security code and 109 for basic combat. Batman has an SF of 2 in this early level. His presence alone will generate 20 points. On top of that, he can knock over a box for 10 points, or rustle his cape for another 10 and maybe throw a can around for another 5 points, eventually adding to 45 points, times his SF (equals 90), will override Bob’s bravery rating, thus causing Bob to submit the bank security number if interrogated.

With an additional 10 points of scaring (10+10+5+10+20=55, 55*2=120), Bob will also either run away or stand motionless should the Batman confront him in a battle.

However, if Bob meets a fellow patrol guard with a higher BR, then his own BR will go up accordingly. If he meets another with a lower BR, then it might even go down by a certain percentage. However, if you take down his teammates one by one, each one will register a higher scare point with each individual that is left.

These calculations will be either hidden or shown to the player, depending on the result of our play tests, to see which one players prefer. Should they prefer it shown, the meter will be similar to the panic meter seen in Hitman 2, although it will apply to each AI entity in the game (like a lifebar).

When you put your cursor over any particular person, the panic meter will show you how scared he is. This meter will always be on a gradual decline, so you will have to strike while the iron is hot, so to say.

Think of this system as similar to the Style Point system in NFS Underground. It is entirely likely that towards the end of the game, you can walk straight into a room full of thugs or cops, and they will be too scared to move simply because of your high SF.

Certain missions might even force you to accumulate enough scare points to get the necessary information out of a particularly brave government official. You can also increase your scare points indirectly, by sending threat emails from a PC or simply turning off the lights via central power, which can be considered secondary objectives (and thus optional).

Interrogation

Once you’ve scared someone sufficiently, you can “cash out” your scare points by either appearing to him openly, or sneaking up behind him (for a last-minute 10 points added to your base). You can only interrogate a person if there is no one else within hearing distance. In other words, if there is a group of guards, make sure you’ve gotten rid of all except one. If one guard seems to be the leader, then he will most likely have the most information.

Each person has a chart used to denominate his different levels of fear. Below is an example.

Bob the Bank Guard’s Chart

Scare points	Result
25	Reveal bank vault location
35	Reveal bank vault code
55	Paralyzed by fear in combat
75	Reveals that he has made a duplicate key for the bank director’s room, which is stored in his locker.

Once you’ve got him under interrogation mode, you can’t accumulate any more points, unless there is a ledge or environmental hazard nearby. If that is the case, then you can hang him over it for another 25 points.

Acrobatics

Imagine if you will, a character like the Persian Prince, but not only to jump and hook, but also to hide, evade and attack. Simply by wall-walking or hoisting himself up on a ledge, the caped crusader can hide efficiently from potential enemies. He can also dart overhead, and increase his scare-factor on any particular enemy. Aside from that, he will have his standard arsenal of disposable grappling hooks and wall-climbing apparatus, which allow him to find several ways to infiltrate a particular location. He also has his cloak, which will allow him to glide over short distances, much like the mechanic used in both MDK games.

Another skill he has will be to launch himself out of selected windows or balconies to either appear on a lower floor, or hang on the ledge. This is one move he frequently does in the comics, and can be used here when necessary for evasion or simply as a reputation multiplier. There will be a limited number of times that he can do this, depending on his level of proficiency.

Batman never loses health as a result of dropping, but he can die as a result of a bottomless pit. Also, if you fall off a ledge, you have two seconds to press the jump and action key together, which will result in a last minute.

Combat

Combat is basically standard beat-em up fair, whereby your initial goal will be to disarm your opponents rather than kill them outright. You will have a lock-on mechanism that allows you to throw your Batarang to knock weapons out of thugs’ hands. Keeping your cursor on one thug’s hand for a fraction of a second allows you to lock on to his weapon. In the case of multiple thugs, you can lock-on up to 10 (first level only allows you 3) thugs, and then release your Batarang to disable them all.

Your attacks can also switch to hand-to-hand combat, which can be used to disarm, and knock out enemies using a series of throws, grapples and kicks. Think more towards pressure points rather than standard kicks and punches. The game will require you to get in close to actually disable an opponent, and not simply a question of kick them till they die. Punches will weaken them, but it takes a finishing move to knock them out, otherwise they will simply get back up.

Because of this, a typical combat situation will play in one of two ways. Either you will be sneaking around them and taking them down one by one, or you’ll disarm them first, and fight them afterwards. Our game design thus makes it hard for you to directly confront your enemy (Batman hardly does in the comics, unlike the games made so far).

Here are some of the weapons available in the game. The most important aspect of these weapons is to appropriate everything the player needs, and not anything more or less:

• Dart Gun – puts your victims to sleep via a small needle shot into bare skin. If it misses the mark, it will usually get caught in the clothing, and be rendered useless. Shoot it into the neck or heart for the fastest knockout.
• Smoke Bomb – Throw it, and immediately bring up your cloak, or you’re likely to get blinded as well. Comes with a puff of blue smoke to make your getaway easier. Use it to get out of tight spots.
• Knockout Bomb – Knocks out large groups of enemies. Be careful not to throw it too close to you. If it knocks you out, and an enemy is nearby, you’ll wake up either in the hands of the police, the joker, or whoever your major adversary is at the time. If no enemies are nearby, you’ll wake up where you fainted.
• Batarang – Useful to knock boxes over, press faraway buttons, as well as to get the weapons out of the hands of your attackers. You only have one. You only need one.
• Batgrapple – Used in tandem with your acrobatic abilities. The implementation is similar to the grappling hook in XIII for acrobatic purposes and to sneak up on your enemies. Another ability that won’t be taught to the player is the ability to hook an enemy with the hook, and drag him quickly into the darkness. Automatically generates 20 scare points.
• Bat-tracker – Tag one onto any moving object, and a red blip will show you where the enemy is, even through walls (two walls to be exact).

The bosses in the game are usually the mind-controlled individuals that the Joker has taken. They will not be scared (immune to your SF), regardless of what happens around them, as their actions are not their own.

Stealth

As mentioned earlier, stealth is an important part of this game. However, in combination with your scare factor and your acrobatics, enemies might not be able to find you, or even better, they might not really want to. If your scare factor is high enough, guards might think twice about entering a dark area on the map, especially if they hear your cape flapping. You will also have a meter to indicate how visible you are.

Should you actually be in a tight spot, you can use your cape to cover your entire body (i.e. pressing and holding LCTRL), by which you won’t be able to see anything, merely to hear, or just below your eyes, which will make you slightly more visible from the lights of your eyes (but at least you can look around by moving your mouse / right thumbstick to the left or right). Revealing your eyes can also be used as a scare tactic.

Controls

It uses a control scheme similar to any mouse-driven 3^rd-person action game, with two attack buttons, an inventory button, an action button, a jump button and a cloak button.

Pressing the cloak button automatically switches your perspective into First-person, and you will not be able to move. However, the WSAD buttons will allow you to peek over the sides and top of your cape, making yourself slightly more visible, but also improving visibility itself. Briefly pressing the cloak button will make an audible ruffling sound, which can also be used as a scare tactic.

Batman himself will control much like the Persian Prince, which allows him to jump off walls, and grapple onto ledges. The Action button basically is a context sensitive button that will allow him to wall-walk, swing on poles, and work similarly to the one seen in PoP.

The action button also works to pick up items and throw them, and push buttons and the like. This is implemented in tandem with the standard Havok Physics engine seen in many games these days.

3. Graphics

The engine to be used will have to have the Havok Physics built in to allow Batman to manipulate his surroundings. It also needs a detailed shadow and light detection function to play on the stealth elements of the game. As such, this game can be built on anything from the Doom 3 engine, to the Deus Ex 2 or Half-Life 2 engines without much problem.

HUD

Your display will show simple things like your health, and a visibility meter, as well as rack up the various calculations for your scare factor and your multiplier, if our playtests prove that this is what players want.

Viewpoint (camera angle)

As mentioned earlier, your view will be strictly from a third-person perspective, except when you are in cloak mode, or have opted for a first person perspective from a button (like in PoP). The camera will follow behind you in most situations with the occasional fixed camera for any complicated jumping puzzles.

Conceptual design

The game will definitely not follow suit of the animated series, taking a more gritty appearance. Most missions will take place at night, and mostly when it is raining. This is important to note because weather conditions can also contribute to the all-important SF of Batman on a particular mission. I.E. a stormy night will cause most thugs to be off their toes (with lower BR) to begin with.

Batman will appear almost as a mere black shadow (think Splinter Cell), although he will be rendered with realistic proportions, and a properly detailed flowing cape (with a leather-like texture). His eves will glow incandescently. His costume will be mostly dark. Think of this incarnation as more similar to that of the Dark Knight series.

The joker will not be comically represented, but rather a normal person with a grotesque oversized smile.

4. Sample Level: The Red Hood

The following is an example the second level, which is basically aimed as a tutorial for acrobatics and stealth, while expanding the story for the rest of the game. It is set soon after Bruce Wayne first dons the Batman costume.

It opens with a 3-minute cutscene of Bruce Wayne socializing with the high-society people at a launch party for a new Card company. The cutscene will be built in-game, and will basically cut manically between various people asking Bruce about his future after college, and the Red Hood slowly breaking into the Card Factory. The cutscene will end with the host of the party receiving a phone call about a possible break-in at his factory, and Bruce taking off in a hurry to the factory.

Equipment: Batarang, 3 x Batgrapple.

SF: 1

Base Scare Points: 25

Setup: While attending a party for the launching of the Monarch Playing Card Company, word gets around of a security breach at the host’s factory. Bruce quickly makes his excuses and leaves the party heading straight for the factory.

Objectives: Make it past the guards to the interior of the factory, and look for a safe deposit box, which holds illegal bonds worth millions. Try not to attract too much attention. Navigating the factory’s various pipes and canisters will require a perfect combination of acrobatics and stealth.

Scripted events: When you reach the safe deposit box, you find a thief called The Red Hood trying to open it. You will chase him down using your acrobatic skills and eventually knock him over into a vat of chemical waste. He will grab hold of your utility belt and fall into the vat, assumedly perishing in the encounter.

Rewards: Congratulations, you’ve just given birth to the Joker. You will find this out soon when you see various gadgets from your utility belt being used to frame you for crimes across the city.

5. Further Mission Briefs

Here’s a brief outline of the other missions within the game. While this might seem like a short game from here, rest assured that the game structure is merely to give an idea of the possibilities, and not to bog down this proposal with unnecessary details. Some missions have been left out, to leave space for further expansion of ideas in between.

Level 3: Gordon

Cutscene opens with Batman quietly observing the Commisioner at his job, and summing him up as a worthy ally. A quick wail of sirens later, Batman must now help Gordon track down a group of bank robbers, who have since escaped to a warehouse to divide their loot. Unfortunately, they’ve chosen a warehouse in the worst slums of the city, and someone seems to have helped them with the robbery, providing laughing gas. The level ends with Batman confronting Gordon and forming a mutually beneficial relationship.

Level 4: The Big Bad Bat

Batman has been framed for the bank robbery, because a Batarang was found embedded into the head of one of the security guards. The bank manager testifies that the Batman was behind the robbery.

He seems to be working late tonight. Break into the bank, and get the truth out of him. Plenty of guards and security on duty. After finishing the level, you’ll find out that someone has put a mind control device on the bank manager. Flash back to the ‘death’ of the Red Hood and the Batarang in the security guard’s head.

Level 7: Fortune Crookie

The chief of police has officially labeled the Batman as “the greatest threat to Gotham as we know it”. The level begins with Batman making his enquiries in Chinatown with the unofficial mayor known simply as “Wong”, who for obvious reasons does not want to see him. The level ends with Wong telling Batman about rumours of the Joker. As this conversation is going on, Catwoman bursts into the room, kills Wong, and leaves just as fast.

Level 8: A Problem with Authority

Outside Wong’s abode, (you’ve already taken control of the character), a spotlight shines on Batman, and police ask him to give up the chase. Your mission? Make it home without getting caught. Level is interluded with a brief conversation with Catwoman on the rooftops. You’ll find that Catwoman was actually one of Wong’s ex-girlfriends. Cue in sexual tension.

Level 11: Gordon Pt II

A brief conversation with Gordon reveals that his Chief has been acting a little weird of late. Batman chooses to infiltrate the Police Station in the dead of night to check around for clues. He communicates over the radio with Gordon, who lets him know where to go and what to look for. Gordon has also left a convenient key under a trash can for you.

Gordon also has an ongoing discussion with Batman about the applications of law and authority versus vigilante tactics. Level ends with Batman finding the Joker in the Police Chief’s room. A brief discussion is followed by a large explosion, for which of course, Batman is blamed. At this time however, most guards should be too scared to confront you.

Level 13-15: In on the joke Pt I, II and III

Now that the Joker’s scheme has been revealed, the Batman analyses different cases around town and tries to link them to the Joker. He concludes that the Joker is actually controlling more than 5 major figures around town. On the third mission to remove these people from his influence, he comes across Catwoman once again. He learns now that the Joker has botched up three of her attempted robberies. They agree to help each other, but for different reasons.

Level 14: Cat in the Bat

You play as Catwoman, sent in to the Joker’s suspected base of operations, somewhere in the slums. The place is filled with traps and lots of homicidal clowns. Firstly, automatic saves are turned off, and instead, you get to save 9 times at any point on the level. Catwoman can’t quite scare people like Batman, but she sure can kick it. Unlike the grappling tactics of Batman, Catwoman prefers a swift kick to the groin. This level serves to break up the pace of the stealth and scare elements by a purely kick-arse beat-em-up level. You’ll also need her acrobatic skills to make it through the various traps that he has lined up. The level ends with a Jack in the Box which asks both the Cat and the Bat to meet the Joker at an abandoned Funhouse (there seem to be a lot of these around Gotham) at the edge of town.

Level 15:  Sharing the Joke

This level pits you and Catwoman against the joker, in a weird Funhouse that allows for some truly challenging acrobatics between the two of you. In this level, you will alternate control between Catwoman and Batman to make it through the various obstacles. To be quite honest, I’m still making this up as I go along, so I haven’t figured out an ending to this tale as yet. Of course, it could always end with the Joker being captured, and everyone living happily ever after.

At least until the sequel.

6. Ending Thoughts

While it’s a moderately ambitious project, the concepts presented in this game have been clearly demonstrated in other games, and efficiently implemented in most. The major hurdle in game development would be level design, which has to allow for the user to find an open-ended blend of his combat, scare and acrobatic tactics to make it through a particular map. The locations will be built around these needs, presenting obstacles like infrared sensors and weight detectors. To help you across, there will be poles, planks and chains.

On the bright side (or should we say dark side?), the game lets players experience what it’s like to be Batman. Think of any Batman comic you’ve ever read. Aside from the story, the satisfaction of the Batman ideal is simply his ability to scare people, jump nimbly, and occasionally beat the crap out of a thug. All these concepts can now be presented to a gamer without compromise.