PROJECT EDEN - PLAYER WEAPONS

DESIGN APPROACH

Weapons are designed to tackle specific issues and are most powerful against certain enemies while weaker against others.

Through the principle that “weapons” in TPS/FPS games are “solution/tool-systems” given to the player to deal, generally speaking, with enemy AI systems, each weapon has been given 2 distinct firing modes, readily accessible to the player as soon as the weapon is acquired.
This is done to give the player a wider range of possibilities of choice of how to deal with threats and/or obstacles, enhance the ability to customise personal playstyle, give more space to the player's individuality, and make the player feel that the acquisition of a weapon is impactful, as well as the presence of the weapon within the player's arsenal.

The choice has also been done to make better and more complete use of the PC mouse potential, and not having empty buttons under the hand of the player. The mouse is the weapon.

The visual style of weapons, their acquisition and the timing of such acquisition has been designed to support the game identity and the game narrative.
This choice, alongside the choice behind the design of environments, enemy encounters structures and game soundtrack, has been taken to create the sense of DESCENT, and the player character's immersion within an unfamiliar and foreign environment.

The starting weapons available to the player, the LANCER assault rifle and the energy blade, are tailored to be aligned with the visual style of Ashleigh and are supportive of her identity.
Each weapon that the player will then acquire is going to progressively step aside from the player character identity.

This has been done to support the experience that Ashleigh, despite her style and the objective and nature of her mission, that being of infiltrating a facility, will slowly find herself having to deal with circumstances that not always support her ideal approach, cornering her into conditions not always favourable.
She then will have to rely of foreign tools belonging to a foreign environment in which she has to deal with foreign circumstances.

This has also been done to reinforce the narrative in which Ashleigh has been sent to do a job without knowing what was expecting her once she arrived to the location. She finds out that this circumstances are not like all the others she has faced before taking her by surprise, putting her in a situation of uncomfort and forcing her to adapt outside her comfort zone.
Such circumstances will also only worsen as she advances deeper into the facility, an advancement that happens forward and downwards.

WEAPON 1 - “LANCER” Assault Rifle

Weapon asset designed and modelled by Tzehai Shapard


CONCEPT DESIGN
The “LANCER” Assault Rifle is a highly reliable and efficient weapon favored by many professionals of the business.
Capable of steady fire rate, precise fire, minimal recoil and with an inner system that powers up propulsion, the LANCER assult rifle is a standard yet high-end weapon favored by specialists and mercenaries.

WEAPON FIRING MODE - 1 - LMB
Faster firing rate, larger bullet spread, lesser damage

WEAPON FIRING MODE - 2 - RMB + LMB
Slows down firing rate, reduces bullet spread, increases precision, increases damage, slows down player movement speed

WEAPON 2 - “THUNDERCLAP” Electron Gun

Weapon asset designed and modelled by Tzehai Shapard


CONCEPT DESIGN
For those looking for alternatives and for heavy fire power, the “THUNDERCLAP’ Electron Gun is an efficient substitution to weaponry utilizing explosives.
It has been proven many times over that explosive ammo, through accidents and tragedy, is highly succeptible to the difference of pressure levels that can be encountered throughout the many different planets and fields of deployment, which often can cause the explosive devices to malfunction.
The ‘THUNDERCLAP” offers an akin degree of fire power alongside a higher degree of safety for the weapon user and reliability of the weapon, making it a viable and efficient substitution for interplanetary deployment.
The “THUNDERCLAP” builds up dense bundles of plasma rapidly and utilizes the instability of the energy build up due to the rapid generation to propel the plasma.

WEAPON FIRING MODE - 1 - LMB
Shoots one burst of plasma which travels through enemies damaging them, and explodes when coming into contact with non-organic surfaces. The explosion damages all enemies within the radius.

WEAPON FIRING MODE - 2- RMB
Over 6 seconds the weapons charges 6 granade-like projectiles which are released together at the end of the charging time in a fan-like aread. Each projectile will explode damaging player and enemies if within the radius.

WEAPON 3 - Nanite Dissolver

Weapon asset designed and modelled by Tzehai Shapard


CONCEPT DESIGN
The Nanite Dissolver original intended purpose, although it can indeed be used as a highly devastating weapon, is as a disposal and industrial tool.
The Nanite Dissolver has a “breeding” chamber in which billions of nanomachines reside and reproduce. These nanomachines are programmed to deconstruct all biological matter they come across to its most miniscule and fundamental blocks, effectively disintegrating organic matter into dust.
The Nanite Dissolver is generally deployed for the disposal of biohazardous materials, for the dissolution of organic matter and even for sterilization.
Once it is used and the “breeding” chamber is partally emptied, the nanomachines will begin to replicate and shortly afterwards refill the chamber.

WEAPON FIRING MODE - 1 - LMB
Spouts a torrent of nanomachines.

WEAPON FIRING MODE - 2- RMB
Charges over a period of few seconds a bundle of nanomachines. Once released, a projectile is shot like a granade and on impact it will create a large, high-damaging area which damages both player and enemies for each they linger within it, and last for few seconds.

WEAPONS MOODBOARDS

Images used in the moodboard have been borrowed from the internet.