About
The game "Incite and Infiltrate" revolves around aliens scheming to colonize planet Earth. As the player, your role is to dispatch alien spies to Earth and clandestinely seize control over four pivotal facets of human society: politics, culture, science, and religion. Deploying more spies increases your "exposure level," which raises the risk of being detected by humans and requiring more strategic planning. The gameplay consists of deck-building and strategic decision-making elements.
Within a five-person team, I contributed to the UI design and coding, co-authored the narrative, and developed the deck-building system.
Development
Procedural Alien Card Generation
In "Incite and Infiltrate", the deck is procedurally generated and consists of two primary elements: the card image and the card's attributes.
The procedural generation of alien card attributes is a process designed for both variety and balance. Initially, a properties list is populated with random values drawn from a total ability pool, ensuring each attribute receives a portion. These values are then shuffled to guarantee unpredictability and subsequently allocated to various attributes including the four major influences(culture, religion, politics, technology) and lifespan. Each attribute value is calculated as a percentage of a predetermined maximum, resulting in diverse and balanced alien cards. For the card image, we aim to give players a basic impression of the aliens (cards) they will utilize. The most effective method for achieving this is by dividing the alien image into three segments: face contour, upper face (eyes), and lower face (mouth). Despite having limited resources for these segments, we can generate a vast array of images through random combinations.
In "Incite and Infiltrate", the deck is procedurally generated and consists of two primary elements: the card image and the card's attributes.
The procedural generation of alien card attributes is a process designed for both variety and balance. Initially, a properties list is populated with random values drawn from a total ability pool, ensuring each attribute receives a portion. These values are then shuffled to guarantee unpredictability and subsequently allocated to various attributes including the four major influences(culture, religion, politics, technology) and lifespan. Each attribute value is calculated as a percentage of a predetermined maximum, resulting in diverse and balanced alien cards. For the card image, we aim to give players a basic impression of the aliens (cards) they will utilize. The most effective method for achieving this is by dividing the alien image into three segments: face contour, upper face (eyes), and lower face (mouth). Despite having limited resources for these segments, we can generate a vast array of images through random combinations.
Effect Card Design
Contrary to the alien cards, the effects of the effect cards are handcrafted. These cards can modify the attributes of alien cards. A pivotal step in creating effect cards is assigning them a rarity level, with three being the highest, indicating its potency. 70% of the effect cards are level 1, 20% are level 2, and 10% are the level 3 cards. Following the distribution of various cards, narratives is designed around the specific attributes of each card. For instance, a card aimed at enhancing technology attributes might bear the title "Develop Microchips for Mobile Phones," accompanied by a description such as "Better phones lead to higher productivity (hopefully)."
Narrative Design
In addition to card descriptions, the game features a dynamic news system, consisting two main elements: scrolling news displayed at the top of the HUD, and the pop-up breaking news. Both news sections are carefully crafted and served different purposes, with the scrolling news pertaining to the overall values of politics, culture, science, and religion. Breaking news, on the other hand, is triggered when a player’s decision leads to a significant increase in any of these values, reaching a predetermined benchmark. We believe the scrolling news system enhances immersion, enabling players to witness the impact of their decisions on the human world, while the breaking news provides immediate positive feedback on players' actions.
The narrative tone of the game is characterized by satirical dark humor, aiming to have players explore the absurdity and contradictions of human nature when confronted with an unknown force. Humans are depicted as being capable of extreme cruelty, yet simultaneously fragile. Here are some examples of the breaking news:
- "Audiences who watched War of the Galaxies now call themselves the New Era Enforcers. They urge the nations of Earth to welcome the conquest of the aliens to avoid unnecessary bloodshed."
- "During the recent annual UN meeting, 190 out of 193 agreed to increase attempts to communicate with alien life forces. The presidents of many countries believe there is a mutual benefit in acquiring alien technology and knowledge through this communication."
- "Within half an hour after the chairman’s speech, the Capitol was destroyed by unknown persons. The Commander of the Military Commission, along with many other senior members, perished. The site has been cordoned off by the National Security Agency. The Chairman declared this an unforgivable terrorist attack and subsequently assumed the role of Commander of the Military Commission. However, some foreign media suspect this was a meticulously orchestrated internal party coup."
