Idea Info Name: The Sixth Assassin Index: Primary Category: Action Submitted: 6/10/2003 2:29:34 AM Written By: arkainjalex Game Architecture and Design: A New Edition Book Highly Recommended !

THE SIXTH ASSASSIN

STORY:

This story begins in the land of Anarac, in the grand city of Akasha, seat of the Akashan Empire. From here Emperor Surran IV decides the fate of the entire empire. At one time Surran was the savior of the people, leading a powerful army against the savage hordes that invaded Anarac, and defeating their master: the Desrekta. He was renowned for his courage and skill in battle, but once the war was over and he was victorious, the right of governing was his and his alone. Something changed Surran when he became the emperor. Now, being the tyrant that he is, he rules with an iron fist-no mercy and no remorse. Random executions are one characteristic of life in Akasha, as are unjust taxation and strict laws. Naturally he is disliked and feared by his subjects, and opposed by a resistance group known as the Sons of Anarac. Being the all-powerful ruler that he is, there are numerous uprisings that he always tends to crush, and attempts on his life that are always thwarted. The Sons of Anarac have deployed their best assassins to kill Emperor Surran, but all they have sent so far have failed. Surran is terribly well guarded and seems to known about the plots on his life beforehand. With the people of Akasha under imperial rule, the government overrun with corruption, and the society itself on the brink of pandemonium, the Sons of Anarac turn to their last hope: the Sethrai..

The Sethrai are an ancient order of skilled hunters, trackers, and killers. Their abilities boarder on the almost inhuman and they are widely feared and mistrusted. The leader of the Sons, Assad, and his most trusted followers travel deep within the Akashan Desert to the Sethrai temple, to call upon one of the dreaded assassins. To his surprise the assassin he is granted appears to be a young man, clad in the ancient garments of the Sethrai. At that moment Assad makes his request to the young man and it is promptly accepted for a fee. Suddenly, Imperial soldiers enter the temple, having tracked Assad, and prepare to kill him and his followers. As they attack, the young Sethrai unsheathes his blade and slays every one of the soldiers. Surprised, Assad asks the Sethrai for his name. The boy only replies, “Zao.” Returning to Akasha, Zao learns of the Sons of Anarac and their cause, and sets off to infiltrate the humongous Palace of Akasha, which is as large as a small city itself. He is the only hope to end the imperial rule that slowly suffocates and destroys Anarac. He is the Sixth Assassin.

GAMEPLAY:

In the game you control Zao, the Sethrai assassin. Much of the game relies on stealth and speed, while other parts do rely on direct combat. Obviously it will be set from a third person view, much like Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven for ps2. The control will be easy to get used to, but combat will be far superior to Tenchu. Much of the combat will focus on locking on to a specific enemy. When holding the lock button, the button config will be different. When u are undetected, holding lock and pressing one of the different attack buttons will produce a variety of stealth kill maneuvers, some of which can take out multiple enemies with lots of style (similar to Mark of Kri). When in direct combat, locking on and pressing buttons will trigger different attacks: quick, strong, and multi (hits more than one enemy but drains skill gauge). Pressing jump when locked on will cause u to jump extremely quickly in the direction u press. So while stealth killing will be a big part of the game, combat will be very action packed and fast. Ranged weapons will work differently though, the three attack buttons will be mapped for body, head, and limb shots when locked on. This is meant to simulate the great skill of a Sethrai assassin, as you will not have to aim attacks to hit vital parts of the body-- though automatic head shots will drain from your skill gauge. Weapons may be equipped in either hand, such as a dagger in one and a sword in the other. Though some weapons will take up both hands (staff, bow and arrow).

The weapons will be as follows: dagger, kris dagger (wavy blade), katar (“punching dagger”), short sword (wakizashi), long sword (katana), two handed sword, shuriken, throwing knives, poison darts, throwing glaive, spear, ceremonial reaver blade, staff, sickle, sickle and chain (kusari gama), double bladed sword, whip, barbed whip, knuckle claws, shortbow, longbow, crossbow, hand crossbow, blowgun, caltrops, and perhaps some others.

A vital part of combat will be countering attacks, holding the defense button will cause you to block enemy attacks from all directions. Your character will actually shift and move his weapons to block, even from behind (like in movies when a hero puts his sword vertically behind his back to block a horizontal attack). But pressing defend right when attacked will cause you to deflect an attack and most likely strike back and kill the enemy. Defend will also block projectiles if pressed at the right time. Note that there will be plenty of blood and missing limbs in this game, but not in a tasteless hack-‘em-apart fashion, more like a samurai movie.

Now there are the Skills. Each of these use the skill gauge, certain normal abilities also use skill gauge such as multi attack or auto head shot. Skills may include simple things like allowing you to climb flat surfaces, jump farther and higher, move faster, disappear in shadows, or do those fancy leg splits like Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell, as well as multiple rebounds off of walls. As skills improve Zao may develop a danger sense and perception of enemies’ auras, heightened reflexes (slows the game just a bit to improve countering, he doesn’t actually move faster), enhanced strength, the ability to catch projectiles and propel them back at enemies, a number of chi attacks including powering up weapons and throwing chi blasts, phasing very quickly to avoid attacks or pass barriers, running on water, and fast healing…to name a few. Some will be activated by special button presses using one button assigned to Skills and are basically context sensitive—that is, dependent on whether your in combat or not, or if you’re attacking or being attacked, near a wall or in the air, etc. I haven’t worked it all out yet, but it’s definitely possible. Either way, some are automatic and always in effect, while some must be activated. Skills only take away from the Skill gauge when they work, so u might lose a small bit from your gauge if u catch an enemy’s thrown knife and toss it back at him but not if u try and don’t catch it.

Damage in this game will be no laughing matter. You won’t die in a single hit, but you can’t stand too many. Luckily, enemies also die quite easily. The tough ones don’t take a lot of hits, but rather block your hits very well. While the game is not completely realistic (since the Sethrai have practically supernatural abilities) combat will ensure that u get to pull off a lot of cool moves while still needing skill to survive tough battles. Don’t think that the Sethrai are the only ones with mystical powers though, there’s definitely more to the Emperor’s servants than mere thugs and soldiers, perhaps rival assassins, magicians, and skilled mercenaries…Though I’m really sick of the concept of ninjas in games fighting demons like shinobi, ninja gaiden, tenchu, etc. (where did that idea ever come from?) so there will be no demons in my game. There will be plenty of traps however, and minor puzzles but nothing ridiculous (no pushing blocks for sure).

Finally the plot will reveal more about the mysterious Sethrai and why the Emperor turned evil. The story itself is somewhat derivative I must admit, but the gameplay would be what really sets it apart. Besides, there’s certainly more to it than just infiltrating a palace and killing some dictator, there will be a lot more to it than that. Alternate objectives will appear such as releasing captives in the palace’s dungeons, uncovering an imperial spy in the Sons of Anarac, or “liberating” certain items from imperial custody.