The publishing process is made very simple through the interface developed by
TextAdventures.co.uk. In the Quest 5 software, once a game is ready for publishing, it simply requires going to the “Tools” menu and then selecting “Publish.” You choose a file path and the game is published to a .quest file. The file itself and be played via the Quest 5 interface. Doing so does not give the player access to the development side Quest 5. You can only make changes to a game’s aslx file. Other than this, Quest games can be uploaded and published on the
TextAdventure.co.uk website. After logging in, you can upload a game file. Once uploaded, the game can be played from the provided link by anyone.
Under Shadows Game Design Document 1.0
©2015 Caleb Duane Eno. All Rights Reserved. - 10 - December 24th, 2014
Story
Overview
Under Shadows is the story of the last day of Byron Madigan’s life. Byron is a citizen of The City, an island city eternally shrouded by a thick, black fog. Byron works as a simple Clerk in the Marino District Tech Center. He hopes of earning a post as a Tech Master, one of those responsible for fixing and maintaining the technology of the citizens.
On the day of his possible promotion, an old friend awakes Byron in the middle of the night. This sets off a chain of events which ultimately leads Byron to his death. The player journeys with Byron through this last day, helping him to make important choices along the road to the end.
The Story is, in part, an exploration of the concept of meaningful choice. Byron has many choices to make throughout the game, but only the final choice truly matters. All of the other choices seem to be important, and at the time can feel very important, but only the final choice, whether to follow the Architect or not, is the one that truly matters. It is the choice that either leaves Byron dead and lost forever in the darkness, or finally free in the light of the New World. In this way, Under Shadows is also heavily allegorical.
The world of The City is built on a symbolic extrapolation of a Christian world-view. The story intends to create a dystopian society ruled by the three Laws. These Laws, at their creation, were intended to be positive, guiding Laws of hope for peace and prosperity for all. After the Elites take power and implement the Tenants, a New World is created where the Laws are again put into their intended use. This parallels to some extent the Biblical story of the Law of the Old Testament given to the people of Israel at Mount Saini. The Law was immediately poorly acted upon and in many cases blatantly opposed. However, Jesus arrives to ultimately set things right. The Israelite Law moves from measuring acts of the body to the new Law that measures the intentions of the heart and then no longer requires followers of the Law to submit of their own strength. Rather, God says “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:33 English Standard Version) Therefore the strength for following the Law is no longer of human origin but of divine origin.
Not everything in The City has a pure parallel in either the Bible or Christian Theology. Much of the story is also constructed simply to give believable depth to the context of Under Shadows. Byron’s journey then is to discover for himself what is really going on in The City and how he is going to react to that. He will either choose to believe in and follow the Founder, Architect, and Engineer (parallels of the Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit), he will choose the way of The City, or he will choose his own way. The game is intended to end in such a way that the player is left behind in The City with that very same choice ahead of them.
While the allegorical nature of Under Shadows is clearly Christian, the point is not the “Christianity” of the story. Rather, the emphasis is on the player asking meaningful questions of their own life. Under Shadows is designed to encourage players to ask themselves questions like: “Why do I make the choices I make?” “What choices do I have to make?” “Does it matter what I choose?” The more specific prompting the game provides is through the metaphor of doors opening and closing: “These and many other questions run through Byron’s mind. What choices lie before him? What doors remain to be opened or closed? For now, your part in
Under Shadows Game Design Document 1.0
©2015 Caleb Duane Eno. All Rights Reserved. - 11 - December 24th, 2014 Byron’s life is over. This door has closed. His journey and your journey walked parallel for a time. Now you have your own choices to make. Go find doors.”
Characters
- Byron
Byron Madigan, 29, is a Tier 1 Clerk at the Marino District Tech Center. He has worked there for 13 years, starting as a janitor after completing his year of schooling known as the Year of Understanding. Byron lives on his own in a small apartment suited to his status. He has only a few friends whom he hangs out with occasionally during free rotation. Large crowds tend to make him feel uncomfortable, but Byron likes the peace of his own space. This rotation, Byron hopes to earn a promotion as a Tech Master, gaining new status and fulfillment.
- Danyel
Danyel, 29, is a shop assistant in an antique store in the Warf District called Sandy’s Hideaways. Danyel lived in the same Community-Pod as Byron from the ages of 15 to 19. Since Byron moved into his own apartment in the Marino District, Danyel has had no contact with him. She has been recently involved in questionable activities which have put her in disfavor with the Elites.
- Stel
Stel, 26, is one of Byron’s closest friends. He started working at the Tech Center a few years after Byron. The two bonded over proximity and shared suffering while spending many hours working together at the Customer Service Desk. Stel has an odd habit of purchasing items above his pay grade, yet seemingly having no financial difficulties as a result. Recently, he’s been spending his free rotation in the Albino District.
- Porto
Manager Porto, 41, is the third rotation manager for the Marino Tech Center, and subsequently Byron’s boss. Porto is regarded by his supervisors as by the book and his employees as overbearing. While the Tech Center has built-in monitors to auto-assign employees to specific tasks, Porto tends to enjoy manually overriding the system to assign employees as he sees fit. For Byron, this often means getting reassigned to conduct maintenance on the various technology throughout the store, a task Byron generally feels competent
performing.
- Old Man
Byron encounters the Old Man for the first time while sitting on a bench after work. He has a funny appearance and often says things to Byron that seem both odd and reassuring. He acts as a guide for Byron throughout the last day, leading him towards a new, beautiful life, though Byron may not choose it.
Under Shadows Game Design Document 1.0
©2015 Caleb Duane Eno. All Rights Reserved. - 12 - December 24th, 2014
- Horrace and Veronicaa
Horrace and Veronicaa are Clerks from second rotation. They often stay after their shifts in the Employee Break room to play a hand of cards before leaving. Byron usually chats with them briefly while signing in to work.
- Allison, Freetz, and Klyne
Allison, Freetz, and Klyne are the three Tech Masters assigned to third rotation at the Marino Tech Center. Though the Tech Master desk is directly in front of the Customer Service Desk, Byron has rarely had many extended conversations with any of them. They tend to be a tight-knit group, laughing and working together. This rotation is Klyne’s last as he leaves to join the Elite Waker Order, leaving his position open for a promotion.
- Rolland
Rolland is a member of the Opposition. He works out of the cell in Sandy’s Hideaways. Tall and muscular, he thinks of himself as the leader, though technically that falls to Sandy. Rolland and Sandy see more eye-to-eye than Danyel. Rolland likes the more aggressive side of the Opposition, seeking to forcibly fight the Elites rather than following more subversive routes. Sandy tends to agree, especially when given orders from his superiors.
- Sandy
Sandy is an older man who owns an antique store in the Warf District called Sandy’s Hideaways. He has been a member of the Opposition for some years. His son was taken away for the Year of Understanding and he never saw the boy again. For this he blames the Law and the Elites for upholding it. His deepest desire is to see his son again, followed closely by his desire to see Tower Ministries crumble and a new leadership to take over The City. A leadership that would cast away the Law.
- Guardian Tront
Guardian Tront is a high ranking Guardian who works closely with the anti-opposition branches of the Elites. While he also remains in the dark as to the true nature of the Opposition, namely that they are formed and managed by the Council of Judges, he pursues his work with equal measures of manipulation and deception. When Danyel meets with Byron, he formulates a plan to have Byron miss his promotion and edge him into pursuing Danyel. This could lead them straight to the Opposition hideout.
- Hallburk
Hallburk is a brilliant computer engineer, specializing in artificial intelligence systems, and the head of the Heart’s Ashes Upper Gang. He has a deep, nearly relentless love of gaining knowledge. His entire gang is built around the philosophy of knowledge as currency. The richest man knows the most. Hallburk designed a digital archival system with an artificial
Under Shadows Game Design Document 1.0
©2015 Caleb Duane Eno. All Rights Reserved. - 13 - December 24th, 2014 intelligence named Ash which keeps him a step ahead of his competitors. He has a particular fascination with the legends of The City before the Descent.
- Shadower Suza
Suza, the main character of the game “Shadowers” (currently only an idea), was the original inspiration for the Shadowers universe. She is a cold, hard Shadower with remarkable skill in hover bike piloting. She has killed many targets in her time along with several other Shadowers and Gang members who got in her way. She only makes a brief appearance in Under Shadows as Byron’s executioner on the Bridge in two of the three potential pathways. She, unlike the Elites, is unable to see the Architect because she has not yet fully rejected or accepted him. Her story is yet to be written.
- The Founder
The Founder was the one who began The City. He fixed the place it would be built and guided the Architect and the Engineer into its construction. Upon the first stone, he etched the Three Laws, which can still be seen near The Bridge.
- The Architect
The Architect designed The City’s layout. He designed wide streets, parks, buildings, shores, farmland, and the infrastructure. He also designed The Bridge.
- The Engineer
The Engineer took the plans of the Architect and made them a reality. He constructed all of The City in its original form. Together, the Founder, the Architect, and the Engineer built The Bridge, and from there brought to The City the first citizens. They lived under the Three Laws.