Emotional connection to the Aurora

Jamezorg

Right now I feel as though the player has no emotional connections to the Aurora; It crashed, there was mass struggle and only your character survived. Then later in the game it explodes, and we traverse its many rooms, but that is only for items and fragments, you don't actually feel anything when looking around these ruined places. I don't want the developers to change anything too drastically, they are already caught up in finishing the game and making it the best we can, so we need a way to connect with the ship without doing much. At the beginning of the game the first thing you see is a black screen with the words "UNKNOWN WORLDS ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS". What if it wasn't a black screen, but the camera panning down various rooms that you'd later see ruined when exploring the Aurora, perhaps with people panicking and running, but maybe not (maybe some Exosuits walking around). Then when you're exploring some of the larger wrecks the AI could tell you about what the rooms were, what they were used for and perhaps who lived in them before they sank. This might already exist (I haven't explored the Aurora much) but what if there's a room where your escape pod ejected from, and there's a large circular hole in the wall from where your pod fired out, and if you look out of it you'll see your pod in the distance. Maybe even other holes in the wall for where other pods fired out, and if you click a button on the wall it would say something like "Life pod 12: Ejected 4 minutes before crash. Pod owner: Susan, age 19. Signal went dark 14 minutes after crash.", or for pods that never fired it could say "Life pod 5: Standing By." And sometimes when you walk past one of these un-fired life pods they could just fall out of place and into the water. Then when you leave the Aurora and swim away you see a Reaper with the pod in its jaws.
Just a few ways you could add a bit of emotional connection to the Aurora, instead of it being just a lace you can get exclusive items and fragments

Zappsteve

This... Is probably one of the best ideas i´ve ever heard. I think an emotional connection between the player and "something" is missing in this game even though its more survival than storybased. But if it should get a story this could be like a Prologue or the moment when you enter the Aurora like a Flashback. Where you see like you said before with the camera panning down with and the switches between the rooms before the attack and after the explosion and the panic situation and everything. Maybe even a small playable part ON the Aurora while its still in space where you wake up from a loud bang not realising what happend stepping out of your room seeing maybe on a monitor that the Aurora has been criticaly hit by "something" and everyone on the ship hast to get to the lifepods as quick as possible while you run past the rooms youre MAYBE going to see in the flashback i mentioned and finally getting in one lifepod where then everything starts like it is now where your buckling up and getting launched out, getting hit by the plate going unconscious. But now im getting way to excited trying to fit my whole fantasy into this game. Making it more a adventure rather than a survival game. But your idea is great.

Jamezorg

Thanks man Means a lot that people really like my idea. You're idea was great, by the way, with maybe a playable section on the Aurora.

Wish_4_Wishes

This is a good idea. I dont know if a connection between the player and the Aurora can be formed by just an extended cut scene or flash backs (took all of Mass Effect 1 to get attached to the Normandy and Mass Effect 2 played on this perfectly) but a feeling of sadness for mass loss of human life can be established. Something can definetly be done to instill emotion into the game but as far as making a emotional connection between the player and the Aurora, i just cant see it. I never got to fly it, talk to crew members on board, form memories on board, make love on board, do missions in it or save the galaxy with it. For me to actually be saddned by the loss of the Aurora, i would need a whole game of bonding with it first. Still your idea is golden and i truly hope its implemented in some way. The game could use more of an introduction cut scene anyways.

CorBlimey

i wonder if they can chuck some corpses floating inside some of the crashed escape pods (bonus points if a stalker is playing with it like scrap metal, or you find a dozen blood suckers stuck to it who then turn around and swim for you), and maybe flesh them out [sic] with some picture frame photographs or things floating around (you remember that one repetitive female face on that locker in the wrecks? How about more variety and actually running into that body). Maybe its a bit dark but it would emphasise the sense of abandonment and loneliness.

Zappsteve

Wish_4_Wishes wrote: »

This is a good idea. I dont know if a connection between the player and the Aurora can be formed by just an extended cut scene or flash backs (took all of Mass Effect 1 to get attached to the Normandy and Mass Effect 2 played on this perfectly) but a feeling of sadness for mass loss of human life can be established. Something can definetly be done to instill emotion into the game but as far as making a emotional connection between the player and the Aurora, i just cant see it. I never got to fly it, talk to crew members on board, form memories on board, make love on board, do missions in it or save the galaxy with it. For me to actually be saddned by the loss of the Aurora, i would need a whole game of bonding with it first. Still your idea is golden and i truly hope its implemented in some way. The game could use more of an introduction cut scene anyways.

Maybe not a game. But rather a MOVIE or just a small maybe 20 minute like trailer which would be like a introduction to subnautica. Starting of on planet earth maybe and progressing with the main character getting onboard for a job and eventually meeting/getting together with a girl that has the name of the ship which would connect these two things more emotionaly in my opinion. And after like 15 min the attack happened with the ideas you mentioned and the cinematic trailer just stops when the girl shows him the lifepods. Maybe like in source film maker just a short movie to introduce the character a bit more and get more connection to everything. Just a idea though.

Nautical_Nick

Awesome idea, I love it!