The Gerosha Chronicles: Centipede + 49

The Gerosha Chronicles: Centipede + 49 (called Centipede + 49 for short) is...

Gameplay
There are several play options that would be made available for this game if created, or that could at least be explored. Like with Battle for Metheel, players would be offered the option of 2D or 3D viewing modes.

Single-player modes
Single-player story mode puts the player in charge of one fire team at a time, consisting of seven soldiers plus Ciem. The remaining 42 soldiers are kept in storage, and may be swapped out as needed for the next mission if some soldiers die before the present mission is finished. Restarting a mission during the mission will restore dead soldiers. But when the mission is completed, any soldiers not alive will remain dead for the duration of the player's campaign. At that point, only starting a new game file will restore those characters to life. Saved game files after the game is complete become non-canon Earth-G7.2.1.X narrative universes of their own, with every new iteration based on which soldiers live or die.

Ciem is the only character not allowed to die. If she is knocked out, however, the mission needs to be restarted. Players may choose when they begin a mission if they are going to play as Ciem or as a soldier on the fire team. If the player chooses to be Ciem, then the player is stuck with that choice until either restarting the level or completing it. All soldiers that die before Ciem is knocked out will come back to life if the mission is restarted. If the player chooses to be a soldier, then the player may alternate which soldier is being directly controlled through a command map similar to the one in the classic Ghost Recon game. Soldiers have to be chosen for the squad in advance of starting a level. Once the squad is chosen for that mission, the player is stuck with that squad unless quitting / starting over or completing the mission.

Playing as Ciem
As Ciem, players have a variety of locations on the map that can be accessed. She can go in and out of various buildings, both intact and ruined. There are various environmental objects to interact with as well. You will be teleporting to get to hard-to-reach places, as well as to get out of situations where you'll be mobbed. Ciem has a variety of attack maneuvers and combos she can utilize also. Ciem may utilize her darts (500 per arm) for short-range combat or her centilegs for close combat. She has a healing factor, so keeping her away from a fight for a certain amount of time will allow her to return to 90% health if she falls under 90% and up to 100% if she falls to 91%. Several environmental objects, like cage doors and gates, can be smashed open or teleported inside of. She can then perform rescues, defuse bombs, or do whatever else needs to be done for that particular mission by way of object interaction. If she finds a weapon that would be useful to the soldiers, she can direct a solder to pick it up. Soldiers can have up to five additional weapons beyond their basic two.

Ciem is also able to direct the soldiers places, in which case any solider not directly engaged in a firefight will arrive. This will allow for her to keep several enemies occupied dealing with the soldiers while she goes about her objectives. While wearing the least stealthy outfit, Ciem is still expected to use some level of stealth in getting around. If knocked out, the mission will have to be restarted. She will often have a lot to say, and will quietly talk to herself during missions. She tends to think of Donte, her children, and her past quite often. As stated above, this mission mode will have a stereoscopy option. Gameplay will be from a 3rd-person platform/sandbox point of view, not unlike the Grand Theft Auto franchise or the game version of Spider-Man 2.

While possible to attack enemies, the game is wired so that Ciem cannot attack allies. Likewise, allies in soldier mode cannot hurt Ciem. Their bullets will have no effect on her, and will have effectively been wasted ammo. Ciem is unable to pick up weapons and fire them, instead relying on her centilegs and darts for a way to make an impact. She otherwise relies on using improvised weapons from her environment to throw or drop on enemies, or on hand-to-hand combat. Her darts are limited in number, and she is restricted to only 500 of them. They are not deadly in a single shot, but do cause intense pain and near-paralysis in enemies. This can be used to disable and knock out an opponent, or to make them easier for the soldiers to shoot dead.

Ciem can jump to get around, and has some very limited ability to climb. She cannot, however, walk or crawl up the sides of walls. She can run to some extent. However, her best means of getting quickly from one point to another is by Zeran teleporting. Zeran transportation only requires her to switch into teleporting mode and then designate where she wants to go. Travel happens within one second. However, she can only teleport within the player's viewing range. Zeran teleportation also depends on the battery life of her devices. Since the Ameristani regime has traded in the past with the Hebbleskin Gang, they too have some Zeran technology. Every once in a while, a power pack may be found in a level that recharges the teleporters. The teleporters are set to have a very long battery life, allowing for players to complete levels a good lot of the time with very little teleporter energy drained. If, however, battling a particular menace proves too costly and the teleporters are completely drained, finding a power pack will restore them. Otherwise, Ciem will be unable to teleport unless the mission is restarted or completed.

Playing as a soldier
Gameplay dynamics shift considerably when choosing to play as a soldier. During the mission's normal running time, the player cannot switch back to being Ciem. However, the player can alternate control of various soldiers within the fireteam. The soldiers' jobs are to plant depth charges or to engage enemies in combat so as to clear a path for a later group of soldiers from the regular army. In the mean time, soldiers should also keep their eyes open for any threats to Ciem. If Ciem is knocked out, the mission must be restarted. Otherwise, some soldiers are to guard her so she has minimal distraction from her mission. Other soldiers are to achieve other objectives while keeping the path clear for Ciem and each other. A command map allows the currently-controlled soldier to lead the others where they need to go, or to allow the player to adjust rules of engagement or switch who is being directly controlled. Soldiers will aim to protect Ciem unless directed to do otherwise. However, they will search for cover and will return fire if fired upon. Additional objectives may include conducting a rescue or taking a prisoner - or guarding Ciem while she achieves these goals.

Soldiers are enhanced with centuition, making it easier for them to tell where an enemy is going without radar equipment and to sense incoming danger and decrease their likelihood of being shot. However, they lack Ciem's reflexes and healing factor. This means they must heal from combat wounds or other injuries gradually in-between missions. An injured solider will be excluded from combat for three missions as they heal, making them essentially dead. If a player somehow manages to leave himself with all of a certain class of specialist dead, then weapons needed for that task must be appropriated off the bodies of fallen enemies in order to reassign someone's specialty. Without those weapons, certain mission objectives may become impossible to achieve.

At any time, soldiers may appropriate ammo and weapons off of fallen comrades or enemies. A soldier may have up to four weapons, five if grenades are counted. Otherwise, any additional weapon will require the soldier to sacrifice a weapon already in his or her arsenal. Soldiers whose weapon slots are not all filled up may then acquire the abandoned weapon. If a soldier dies and the mission is completed and saved, then that soldier remains dead for a duration of the saved game.

Gameplay in soldier mode is designed to operate as a combination of Halo and classic Ghost Recon mechanics, with the added requirement of guarding a superhero while she aids the mission. Soliders, as stated above, waste ammo if they shoot at Ciem. Only enemy fire can affect her. The game also has an "estimation of will and intent" mechanism built into it, so that players deemed to be intentionally shooting allies will be declared traitors. This mechanism will measure distance of player from friendly fire target, time taken to set up shot, and other environmental factors that could influence likelihood of confusion between friend and foe. Once the declaration of treason is made, the level must be restarted. A screen will load chastising such players for friendly fire mechanism abuse. Even though player ammo is wasted attacking Ciem, too many intentional shots wasting ammo on shooting her will also result in a declaration of treason that will force the player to restart the level.

Multiplayer modes
Multiplayer modes would exist for this game also. Depending on number of players, network or no network, and other options, players could choose to play in 2D or 3D. Players have the option of playing in 3rd person sandbox mode as palette swaps of Ciem, or of playing as soldiers in typical FPS fashion. However, players must decide on one mode or another. Usually, Player 1 makes the decision. In networking, players make a democratic decision of which mode to assume. A tie leads to the two players choosing one POV mode over the other to play each other separately from the other two who chose the opposite POV. If a majority chooses a mode, that mode is automatically assigned to all players.

At no point, however, can someone play as Ciem in one mode while battling another player who is controlling a soldier. Nor can any soldier take aim at a player in Ciem mode.

Ciem vs. the Palette Clones
Up to four players (traditional split screen) or two players (120Hz phase alternating split screen) may play in this mode. Player 1 is Ciem, and the other players are color palette swaps of Ciem referred to as the Palette Clones. They do not exist outside of this game mode, and are not canon to anything in the greater Gerosha Gaming Universe or Cataclysmic Gerosha. Player 2 is Cyaniem, and Player 3 is Magentiem. Player 4 is Verdiem. The objective is simple: Ciem and her clones battle in a free-for-all in 3D platform/sandbox mode to see who can walk away the victor in a brawl. Normal sabotage mission features are disabled to keep the focus on fighting.

Soldier vs. soldier
In 3D mode, phase alternation 3D allows up to two players to play. In 2D mode, a traditional split screen method allows up to four. Players have a choice of vertical or horizontal splitting for 2D with only two players. This versus mode operates essentially the same way as a typical FPS 2-player game. Soldier vs. Soldier also allows for a single player to join an intranet and play a networked game with friends. In network mode, the single player may play his game in 2D or 3D without affecting the 2D or 3D viewing preferences of other players on the network. Minigames like "Last Man Standing" and "Capture the Flag" are standard fare, and follow a format that is somewhere between Ghost Recon classic and Halo 2.

Characters
As basic Sodality and SCALLOP characters were already well-defined up to this point, the major challenge became finding names for the 49 soldiers. Most of them had their names generated using an online random name generator as a guide. Some of them are modified as puns, leading to potential Easter eggs if some of them are put on the same teams together. Other than Ciem, all other playable characters can grab or swap each other's weapons. Roles can be switched up as needed. However, every character has a standard specialty and weapon preference when they begin. By allowing the soldiers to swap weapons, the team can continue their mission even if the regular of a certain specialty dies. This dynamic is inspired by the original Ghost Recon, which had a serious issue in some missions that killing the default demolitions expert made the level unwinnable.

Ciem is the only one who is limited to using only her own weapons. When an important character dies, his or her weapon may be swapped with that of another soldier. Ciem can direct a soldier to make the swap. However, she cannot pick up any guns or bazookas herself.

Concept

 * Inspired by Spider-Man 3 video game and by Ghost Recon

Music
In July and August of 2013, Dozerfleet Records began exploring possibilities for a digital playlist to promote Centipede + 49, determining potential soundtrack options. The first song to immediately be selected as good moodsetter was "Hurricane" by MS MR. It was followed on August 3rd of 2013 by "Keep It Low" by the Hundred in the Hands.

Universe
This game takes place in the Gerosha Gaming Universe, which explores its own set of possibilities of outcomes for Cataclysmic Gerosha following the timeline for Sodality. Its aftermath events are modeled after, but not identical to, the Comprehensive Gerosha plot for Ciem Tomorrow.