BAD RICE
Opening cinematic and integrated tutorial
BAD RICE
Opening cinematic and integrated tutorial
The game starts with a black screen.
The text:
[WASD] to move
appears in the center of the screen in the low rez font of a monochrome green CRT screen. If any key is pressed, the sound of an old computer booting up begins. There is a light vignette and slight glass filter in order to enforce the idea of a CRT screen.
When the player presses the keys, they are able to hear the sounds of footsteps moving around in the darkness, though nothing is visible.
The text updates.
It is dark.
Other sounds can be heard. (the shuffling of enemies)
[SPACE] Light.
When space is pressed, a dull flashlight beam flickers to life, and the text disappears. The player sees their character in the center of the screen. The PC (Player character) will take a few steps in any direction, enough for them to gain some orientation. But before they can fully adjust, something sprints out of the darkness with a screech. The screen cuts to black milliseconds before the enemy touches the PC.
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The vignette effect, computer sounds, and any other indicators of function are gone. After a few moments, a single green dot appears in the center of the screen. This isn’t like the digital CRT dots from before, though it is the obvious focal point.
.
It appears the dot is morphing, or spinning. After another moment, small white shapes begin to appear, moving from the right of the screen to the left. These shapes are stars, and the green dot is an undulating glob of liquid moving through space.
A single woodwind instrument is heard, mentally breaking us out of the digital construct of the previous tutorial screen. Slowly, less abstract stellar bodies come into view. A faint nebula, a broken asteroid, the beginnings of a large, distant planet. Throughout all this, the bright green dot is still the focal point. Symphonic music joins the single instrument, swelling inspirationally, emphasizing the majesty of outer space.
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The screen cuts to black again. The incomplete notes of the music fade quickly into the void.
After the silence has settled for several painful moments, the familiar sound of an old computer starting up. The old, ASCII text appears in the center of the screen.
Again.
Text is replaced.
[WASD] to move.
After a few moments of the player moving around with the keys, (faster than the first time), the text dismisses.
It is dark.
The sound of enemies moving can be heard again. A word is appended to the line.
It is dark. Wait.
The sounds of enemies moving around the screen will continue for a few more seconds before fading.
Now.
[SPACE] Light.
This time, the PC’s light flickers onto the massive, spiny, fleshy back of the creature that killed them in the first attempt.
A gun glints in the darkness to their right. On walking over, the player automatically picks up the gun.
(See notes.)
The player may choose to fire the gun at the creature (or somewhere else). Regardless, when the gun fires, the creature, unaffected by the bullet, roars as it turns around and leaps at the PC. When the player tries to fire the gun again, a loud clicking sound can be heard. The player is not faster than the creature, and once again, the screen cuts to black moments before the creature touches the PC. A small crack appears in the virtual screen.
More text appears on screen.
[R] to reload.
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This time, the sound of the computer stutters and the visuals on screen flicker, as though it was interference on the other channel; the cinematic experience of the green dot traveling through space. The symphonic sound cuts back to full volume and momentum, as if the tutorial never happened.
As the sweeping space scene continues, a studio name appears in the corner of the screen, typical for a theatrical opening. (This is in regular font, not CRT ASCII)
Radical Studios presents…
There is the slightest hint that something might be fading into centre screen, perhaps a game title/logo, when the game once again hard cuts. The computer sound is already in full swing, the vignette and screen crack are already visible.
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From this point forward, there is now a track of music during the tutorial scenes as well. It is an abstract, ominous, and broken digital underlier, emphasizing the dying computer and the dying player character’s plight. It will cut abruptly along with the visuals.
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The PC is already standing over a dead body holding the gun. [R] to Reload is already visible on screen. When the player presses [R], the HUD appears for the first time in the corner of their screen, indicating their ammo count. (See notes)
The back of the large monster is once again visible on screen, making an obvious target, but the moment the PC finishes reloading, they are knocked very far backwards by a second, smaller creature. Another small simulated crack appears on the screen.
This knockback reveals to the player a health bar (or whatever indicator of health the game uses), and does considerable damage to the PC. Their body’s movement also knocks away several small physics objects (water bottles, small boxes, etc).
The PC is unable to move, and there is stillness until the PC fires their gun, at which point the smaller monster leaps out of the darkness at (conveniently) the bullet’s particular angle, killing it midair.
Upon killing the smaller creature, the now very familiar roar of the first creature is heard, though it is not on screen. Overlaying the current gameplay, the green text flickers onto screen, as though slightly damaged by the cracking of the screen.
Run.
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Abrupt cut to the space scene as the vague outline of the (presumably) incredible logo for Bad Rice is beginning to appear, and the music swells to greet it.
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Cut to the tutorial computer, where the music is also growing, but a feeling of urgency creeps into it. Your PC is moving (extra) slowly down a hall without player input as the glitched out onscreen text indicates
[SHIFT] to sprint
When the player presses the corresponding key, the PC’s automatic movements are much faster, and the sound and shadows of multiple monsters chasing them begins. There is a distorted cut as the PC accidentally runs face first into another horrific creature that intercepts them.
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The ominous music of the tutorial carries over, mingling and dirtying that of the space scene as the incredible logo for Bad Rice is just fading off screen.
From the players perspective, the logo was never really visible to them, as though the scene was still playing while the tutorial happened. The symphonic music relaxes somewhat.
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From here forward, all sound is now superseded by the mingling themes. The screen distorts and glitches more and more badly with each cut back to the cracked, broken tutorial scenes.
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Another tutorial screen.
Monsters are quickly moving in on a blood spattered PC who is involuntarily firing a gun and shining a flashlight into the darkness. Their back is up against a wall, next to a red button.
[E] to interact
Whether the player selects it within the appropriate window or not, the button lights up, and a large piece of equipment on the wall shifts, as though turned on.
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Shift to the space scene for 3 seconds. The logo is gone and the globule is still moving through space. The camera has zoomed slightly onto the globule.
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Tutorial screen, more cracks, flickering.
Shoot.
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Space screen. The camera has zoomed in slightly more on the globule.
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Tutorial screen. Dead body at PC’s feet. Enemies charging.
[X] to escape
If the player presses [X], an animation slowly begins.
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Yet another hard cut to space screen. More zoomed on the globule. Music is still swelling.
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Tutorial screen. Another scene of carnage, flickering flashlights, glitching screens, and mayhem.
[X] Again
If they hit the [X] key, the same effect, cutting away from a very slow animation.
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Space screen. Further zoomed on globule. The music is becoming manic now.
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Tutorial screen. The actual scene is almost illegible with all the cracks, scan lines, and glitching visuals. Only the text is legible, as a glitch has magnified it to a larger size. The text crackles ominously.
[X] Again
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Space scene. The globule is zoomed enough that context is lost. The music comes screaming to a climax as something comes onto screen. The globule impacts it. Silence.
It’s a piece of metal. The globule splashes against it with a tiny, echoing raindrop sound. The sound resonates as the camera slowly zooms out. It’s a metal wall. Some kind of huge number painted on it. Further zooming. A spaceship. The original green dot is an invisible speck as a massive, majestic space station takes up the screen.
Slowly, the screen begins to distort again. As it does, for just a split second, the station is replaced by a burnt out, exploded version of itself. Black metal wreckage floats where the center once was, and shrapnel floats in a cloud around every object.
Cut to the silent tutorial screen one more time.
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The PC character stands in the center of a fully lit, moderately sized room. It was some kind of large storage area. Knocked over shelves of bottles, barrels, cleaning equipment of all kinds. The room is completely covered with dead bodies, gore, and blood. Many of the corpses are of the monstrous shapes the player has come to know, but predominantly, they are identical bodies. The PC’s body. They are layered overtop of each other in a mutilated mess.
This is the room where the tutorial happened. You are standing in the very spot where you first turned on your flickering light, revealing a monster that now lays dead before you. The silence is deafening, and your character does not respond to control.
The glitching text appears on screen.
[X] to escape.
As the player presses [X], the PC initiates a very, very slow animation of them moving their hands. If the player releases the key, they put their hands back to the original position. The text prepends a word.
Hold [X] to escape
The player must hold [X] to complete the animation. On completed animation, the PC slowly raises their gun to their head and pulls the trigger.
The screen cuts to an undistorted black as the sound of a gunshot echoes into the void.
The green, distorted text is typed slowly onto the screen, buzzing, crackling and glitching as it does.
Bad Rice
Notes
- During the initial WASD/movement prompts, each key is highlighted in live time as the player uses it, indicating to the player that the game is working despite lack of visuals, and that the game is responsive multi-directionally. (If only 1 key was being highlighted at a time, players would know it is only a 4-directional game).
- The game most likely requires a button to pick up objects, the decision to have it automatically picked up is intentional on my behalf, partially due to the [E] to interact prompt later, which players will likely extrapolate on, and partially for momentum's sake.
- The very first reload animation takes longer than usual, giving players a moment to process the addition of a HUD. This will likely apply to other tutorial animations, ie. the slow movement during the sprint prompt.
- The reason I’ve chosen to have tutorial sections in which only some controls are available is invariably for the same reason: It’s been introduced 30 seconds earlier, and momentum will be better preserved this way.
- A “suicide” button might be a little bit dark, but many games have them, they just don’t dramatize them. Whether that makes it into the game is a huge artistic and mechanical statement, so I’m not married to it, but I think there's a lot to be done there if you’re going to use it to enforce the themes of the game.
- As I’ve mentioned, this is an extremely dramatic opening, and doesn’t even fully introduce how exactly the game comes to be. However, the tropes are obvious, and it’s not difficult for players to figure out a “zombie outbreak in space” scenario.
- Thought I only wanted to focus on the whole light thing, within 6 minutes, this opening introduces
8 directional movement
basic controls
Basic light mechanics
using [stereo]-sound as a gameplay tool,
as well as informing them of the game's high fidelity and technical ability via the scene with the globule in space.
Obviously this scene doesn’t show our peak technical ability, but introducing meaningful, non-electronic music (if only for this scene), and cinemagraphic sensibilities has always indicated to me a lot of care and production value.
As far as “scary” goes, visual subversion is difficult in top down games, so mostly I played on timing, and of course the existential dread of death. There’s something wonderful about feeling your computer trying to crawl past the limitations of the game and make you question the entire nature of human agency.
Hopefully we can get some more gory stuff in there later.