"If your a fan of drug dealing, hookers & fowl language! Then this is the perfect game for YOU!!!" - silver4donuts



"Sore Losers" is an RPG set in a modern, dystopian world. The gameplay is largely traditional, but shakes things up with interactive mini-game sequences that break up the common roleplaying grind. This is the first in a series of games that will be set within the same timeline but will not be sequential to each other.

..The Game Setting..
Ferusia; the "perfect" state:

The game is set within the nation of Ferusia, with most gameplay taking place in "Ferusia City", the nation's capital. The nation is a totalitarian state led by a single-party Government, but despite this the general populace of Ferusia are happy with their leaders. The Government's efforts to advance technology and science, whilst at the same time irradicating the distractions of religion and beauracracy, have resulting in the nation becoming the most technologically advanced in the world. Advances in medical science, for instance, have resulted in a health-care system that is able to treat the millions of Ferusian citizens without any need for waiting times or insurance to cover the cost, the advancement of security systems has led to a nation with a negligible crime rate and Ferusia is also one of few countries on the planet that has developed automated farm and factory equipment. Ferusia is also the only nation where more than 10% of the population own some form of motorisation (the last census count placed the figure at around 89% of the adult population).

The Ferusian military is also incredibly advanced compared to the militaries of other nations. The military is the only one on the planet with modern firearms and artillery as well as the only military to have access to the more powerful weapons of war; these weapons include inter-continental, nuclear and biological missiles. The military also acts as a Police Force in most Ferusian cities and towns, a factor that the Government believes deters many from committing crimes every single day.

The country is no longer expansive having already taken control of most of its own continent, but does has active interests in overseas resources. For instance, the recent discovery of an interesting mineral named Ferustine (named after the country by the research group that discovered it) has led to the stationing of many research groups overseas, all protected by a contingent of the Ferusian Military.

"Central Ferusia" (aka "the slums"):

"Central Ferusia" is the name used by the Government to describe the largest prison complex in the world, a complex located in the centre of Ferusia City. It is the only prison complex in the whole of Ferusia that is still actively used, and all those guilty of a crime are sent to the complex for life.

The complex itself isn't really a complex at all; it is basically a large slum whose inhabitants are forced to survive in whatever way possible, with the government making supply drops into the zone via the air. This has resulted in "the condemned" (the Government's "politically correct" term for those sentence to life in the slums) forming gangs in order to properly protect themselves. The military only patrol two areas of the slums, the area designated for solitary confinement and the perimeter. The solitary confinement complex is the only part of the slums that actually resembles a common prison, and is reserved for former military personnel and Government traitors.

Rebel factions:

Despite the large majority of people being hppy with Ferusian life, and despite the power of the Ferusian military, there are still those who believe a democratic state to be the only way a country should be run. They want more control over how the Government is run and want the Government to be more accountable to its citizens, especially when it comes to what the rebels believe are dangerous genetic and mechanic experiments being run by the Government. Without any solid proof, however, the rebels are fighting a loosing battle and are gradually being weeded out by the Ferusian Military. Many analysts believe it is only a matter of time before the rebel's idealogy is left without anyone to actually fight its cause.

..Characters..
The game encompasses a variety of playable characters, each coming from differing backgrounds and having different mannerisms and opinions. The majority of characters in the game are "temporary" characters who only join the party for a limited amount of time before leaving the dependent on either the storyline or choices made by the player.

Markus:



Age
Twenty Five.

Weapon of choice
Two-Handed Swords.

Other usable weapons
Ferusian Military Rifles.

Biography:
Markus is a resident of the slums, having being there since he was 19, and is fairly battle hardened despite his age. He's a mercenary who works primarily for a woman named Jade, the leader of a gang of slum-dwellers known as the "Jade Guard". His choice of weapon might seem strange in an era of firearms, but as the only guns available in "Central Ferusia" are cheap copies of early Ferusian prototypes, Markus believes he is better off with something that isn't going to "randomly discharge in its holser and blow .. balls off". He is more than happy to use real Ferusian rifles, though. Aside from his skilled sword use, he is also a wizard with a lockpick, and is known throughout the "Jade Guard" as the person to go to when a door is in the way.

His work for Jade mainly centres around delivering important materials between different sectors of the Slums, something that has started to annoy the hell out of him; he wants to be involved in something more expansive, even if he knows deep down that no such job exists in the slums.

David:



Age
Twenty Six.

Weapon of choice
Single-Handed Axes.

Other usable weapons
Handguns, One-Handed Swords.

Biography:
David is another resident of the slums, having being sent there for committing GBH on his wife's lover when he was 22. Ironically, both his wife and her lover were also sent to the slums for participating in adultery, an offence that the Ferusian Government views in a harsh light. David's early years in the slums were committed to finding both of the pair and killing them, something that he went to Jade for help in carrying out. Jade helped locate the pair in exchange for David's services as a mercenary and paired him up with Markus for this task. The pair have been working together since then and have built up a quiet understanding of each other's mannerisms.

David's use of axes stems from his belief that wielding one in each hand and randomly slashing them around like a maniac is more effective than any sort of "skilled" attacking technique; he sometimes wonders why Markus spends so much time practicing his sword-handling abilities.

Alexis:



Age
Twenty Three.

Weapon of choice
Handguns, Ferusian Military Rifles.

Other usable weapons
One-Handed Swords.

Biography:
Alexis is a detainee of the "Solitary Confinement Complex" within the slums. She is a former Captain of the Ferusian Military, the youngest serving soldier to ever take the position, having being in the Ferusian military since the age of sixteen (the earliest possible age of recruitment) and quickly rising through the ranks. She is extremely skilled with all types of firearm and is also trained in the use of several long-range weapons, heavy artillery systems, lockpicking, computer hacking, "forceful" interrogation and martial arts.

She left the Ferusian Military following a period of insomnia in which memories of her past battles came back to haunt her; these dreams and hallucinations have been gradually getting stronger over time. She does not understand why she is currently being detained by the Ferusian Military as she has seen several other soldiers leave the Military without any trouble, and she is determined to find out what makes her different.

Locke:



Age
Twenty Seven

Weapon of choice
Martial Arts (Fists).

Other usable weapons
Two-Handed Swords, Ferusian Military Rifles.

Biography:
Locke is a mercenary who specialises in obtaining data for whoever wants it. He is one of the few mercenaries in the slums who was actually born there, as the slums have only just been in place long enough for second-generation slumrats to come through to his kind of age. He is a highly-skilled martial artist, but understands his fists aren't the best weapon in all situations and has learnt to use a few other forms of weaponry too. His martial arts skills focus around dealing out status effects to the target to debilitate them before he uses his raw strength to take them out of the fight.

Locke is an oppurtunist and is happy to flaunt this side of his personality. Having never had the luxuries of "free" life, he is determined to earn enough inside the slums to learn what even a fraction of freedom feels like.

Benji:



Age
Seventeen

Weapon of choice
Chained-Rifle

Other usable weapons
None

Biography:
Benji is a young, brash "junker" who has an obsession with infamy. He was placed in the slums at a young age for playing a prank on his school teachers. Although not a criminal offence in itself, this was a prank that left several injured and some needing psychiatric therapy. Unfortunately for some, although not for Benji himself, being in the slums has taken his already slightly strange sense of humour and twisted it into something a little darker, meaning that he spends a lot of his time commiting acts that leave those who hear about them scratching their heads. Needless to say, he hasn't achieved infamy yet.

Chris:



Age
Twenty One

Weapon of choice
Chained-Rifle

Other usable weapons
None

Biography:
Chris is also a "junker" and can usually be found tagging along with Benji. Despite this, Chris is hardly a prank-loving person and doesn't really care for infamy. Instead, he tags along with Benji because he knows it is easy to steer the pranks towards events that are going to hurt the government, a government he appears to resent. Chris is generally a reserved person and usually only speaks when it is something useful or inciteful, but he will speak in place of Benji when he feels his partner has stepped out of line. Because of his reserved nature, no one really knows why he is in the slums, and most people simply assume he is a second-generation slum dweller...

..Systems..
Battle System:

"Sore Losers" makes use of the default battle system but does not make use of random encounters. Instead, "Sore Losers" uses an Active Encounter System, a fancy way of saying that battles are started dependent on the player's actions on the field map. Battles can be started by being caught by enemies on the field map but can also be started due to dialogue choices or the path taken through certain areas, meaning the player has to be careful what they do at all times.



Menu System:

"Sore Losers" makes use of the default menu system alongside a "To Do List" system that keeps track of both optional and mandatory quests.



The game also includes a party selection system when there are enough people in the party to make this neccesary.



Synthesis System:

In "Sore Losers", synthesis is the best way to quickly upgrade your weapons. New weapons are a rarity inside the slums and so many weaponsmiths have sprung up who are able to take old weapons and improve them using common junk that can be salvaged within the slums.



Skill System:

In "Sore Losers", learning active skills is dependent on "Inspiration". Characters are inspired by things in their surroundings to develop new skills and developing these new skills will usually require either searching for areas of "Inspiration", minigame sequences or both at the same time. The active skills a character learns will (nearly) always be based on their favourite weapon and will only be usable with that favourite weapon equipped. For instance, Markus learns new sword skills by reading a magazine called "Swordplay", a magazine aimed at LARPers. After reading the magazine, he takes inspiration from the articles and develops a new skill which he learns through practice. In game terms, this practice takes the form of a minigame where the player must hit the correct combination of buttons within a time limit. An example of this is shown below.



Another form of inspiration is to equip certain "unique" types of weapon. For example, it is possible to find a Megaphone weapon which, when equipped, allows the character to use the "Focused Shouting" skill. Another example would be the Chained-Rifle class of weapons (aka Lancers) that allow the use of the "Chainsaw Slash" skill when equipped. Many weapon types not common to the main characters have unique skills that can only be used when they are equipped.

Passive skills, unlike active skills, are learnt as the character levels up. These skills are based on a character's communication with either their enemy, teammates or themselves. They are also based heavily on the personality of the character; for example, Alexis' passive skills take the form of military commands and tactics.

Lockpicking System:

The lockpicking system is a "block-puzzle" system where the player has to slide the tumblers of a lock into their appropriate positions in order to open a door or a chest. Nearly all locked doors are able to be lockpicked meaning that the character always has the option of exploring those areas of towns/area maps that people might not want them to see. By using lockpicking the player will be able to move more swiftly through area maps (although vital doors will have a key available for them, should the player not have any lockpicks or can't finish the puzzle). The difficulty of the lock will change dependent on the security the area could be expected to have rather than the progress the played has made through the game. Locks late on in the game could be just as easy as those at the start of the game if the kind of lock present on the door is likely to be of similar complexity.

Entering the lockpicking "mini-game" presents you with a puzzle like the one below. The idea is simple, push all the "tumblers" into their representative "slots" and the door with open. The game allows you to quit the puzzle at any time, and this also resets the puzzle. Doors that have been unlocked will not re-lock themselves and will remain open, which is slightly unrealistic but does save the player doing the exact same puzzle over and over for no extra reward.

Below is the simplest example of a lock within "Sore Losers".



Although most locked doors will be openable in this way, some locked doors will be electronically locked (and hence require Alexis' computer hacking skill) or will be otherwise un-pickable due to faulty locks, complex locking systems or the presence of guards in the area.
 
Hacking System:

Alexis can hack into computer systems in order to open electronic doors, gain access to vital knowledge or information and even to try and divert enemies in certain areas of the game. The system works based on a mathematical mini-game where the player has to quickly answer a series maths questions, under a time limit, in order to hack the computer. The difficulty of the questions increases dependent on the security in place for the computer in question, but the maths will never be more difficult than statements such as "11 SQUARED IS EQUAL TO...?"