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Story, Rostrup lives out his days surviving during carbon era. Good luck…
Story
General ideas
Antediluvian
Atera's pack
A pack typically consists of 200-300 antediluvians
A four-legged velociraptor-like reptile
Intelligent
Base their behaviour mostly on wolves
Are they at first shown as non-intelligent?
No
Antediluvians have an intelligence somewhere between a monkey and a human
Problem-solving capabilities shown throughout actual gameplay
Name means "before the great flood"
A keystone species
Ice age by volcanic eruption
Lots of ash from eruptions block out the sun, causing global cooling and ice age
Ice age by reduction in CO2
Rostrup wants to research global cooldown during late carbon era
Plants took out too much CO2 during carbon era
Stored as oil and coal when they died.
Throughout the game, subtle details hint to parts of the story
Examples
A small flash in the distance signifying someone else arrived in time machine
Map changing seemingly without explanation
More snow than half a million years ago due to reduction in CO2 levels and the resulting temperature drop
For every time Rostrup has to travel back in time, more tattered clothes that are the exact same can be seen in the cave he ran into
The game generally has a light-hearted tone, but has it's dark spots
Atera's habitat is destroyed, half of life around the volcano dies
This needs to be connected to the story somehow
Some things are subtly dark. The steadily colder climate during the carbon era is slowly killing all life, all the characters are constantly trying to survive the dangerous monsters during the time, and Rostrup has to "disappear" every time a new Rostrup comes to the time he is in.
Rostrup tries to research climate change, and the paleontological era they are in is amazing
To avoid a grandfather paradox when going back in time, the first Rostrup must "disappear" every time he sees a flash from a time machine. It's hinted that...Rostrup "purposefully disappeared" once for every single time travel, as soon as he sees the newer Rostrup arrive. This is only slightly hinted about.
OK. He got rid of his time machine, ran into a cave and purposefully got lost, before never being seen again.
While the carbon era was amazing and beautiful, it was also very dangerous, a bit like in Made in Abyss. You would definitely not want to get distracted.
Let's go nuts on designing the flora and fauna!
Characters
Atera
Antedeluvian
Main character
Has a small burn mark from the eruption on one leg
This is why he can't run as fast as before
During Rostup's time travels, Atera and Rostrup will save each other's lives and help each other quite a few times. However, they hardly actually meet
Maybe they will.
Rostrup
Eccentric, awkward in a great way, reckless (often right in being so though sometimes not, though not commonly perceived by others), puts himself in danger a lot, well-meaning, a bit clumsy, knows what he's doing most of the time
Loves tea, personally absolutely despises coffee
Earlier software developer, now paleontologist
Ethan
Chronologist
Time travel expert
The antihero. As a chronologist, he tries to stop Rostrup from interfering with time. However, he does not know that Rostrup has planned how to avoid this with other chronologists for three weeks. His motivations are not self-centered. He would probably be right if Rostrup did not know what he was doing. However, it could be questioned if he's more and more right as the game progresses...
Isn't perhaps Ethan interfering with time by doing his own time travels?
Well-meaning, persevering
Alternative Rostrup
A time traveler like Ethan and Rostrup who went back to the carbon era before him for unknown reasons. He sabotaged both their time machines!
Atera and Rostrup interferes, somehow
He wanted to prevent Rostrup and Ethan from going back to 2090 and telling on him. He's mistakenly worried about this.
He wants to capture Atera and do dangerous research on him
Possible line from him: "Fine, I will reconsider..when hell freezes over!"
Might leave this part out
He turns out to be Rostrup from another timeline
Not known exactly what occurred in the timeline for this to happen
Questions to ask myself
How is the grandfather paradox resolved?
Chronologists are collaborating with Rostrup
We might cut down the grandfather paradox as much as possible, it might disrupt gameplay with show, don't do, and confuse the player. Also, less need for cutscenes. Time travel can be complicated.
How to involve Atera more in the story
He tracks down and works with Rostrup and Ethan to stop the unknown person in the second timeline
Move as much as possible of what Rostrup does over to him
How can the CO2 reduction be a bigger part of the story?
It's not. This part of the storyline is mainly about Rostrup and Ethan getting home again. The CO2 research was only a reason for Rostrup to come back to the carbon era, from a story point of view
How to involve settings and events in 2090 more in the story
Story
Supervolcano in carbon era goes boom
Detail
Antedeluvians make a run for it, Atera is only known survivor
Atera must survive by himself for now
Later, Atera sees, but not necessarily meets his pack again
That awesome scene with a pack of 20-30 raptors running full speed in the same direction through the carbon era forest
Tons of volcanic ash and smoke
Eruption causes general disaster, causes temporary climate issues locally
Atera goes searching for his pack
Time skip to 2090, 300 million years later
Rostrup sits in break room with tea and programming
Rostrup comes into conversation with another paleontologist, first about tea and programming, then about climate crisis
Rostrup gets big idea to help solve climate crisis
He wants to do research on global cooling due to volcanic eruptions across the pangean continent during carbon era
2 more items...
Alternatively, he just wants to do paleontological research.
1 more item...
The eruption could be seen from space
I sort of want Rostrup to do only one or maybe two time travels in total, and cut down on a lot of the story. In a word document, not more than 500 words (even 200).
Rostrup lives out his days surviving during carbon era. Good luck Rostrup!