Sand is a top-down, base building, RPG character development, survival-lite, story-driven game about exploring the wasteland on the back of a llama doing the biding of a cube that fell from the sky.
STORY:
999 years following the events of The UWN Superfluous' mission to save the earth the pieces of the asteroid in which the fabled ship destroyed crashed into Earth causing massive destruction and loss of life. Many years later the remainder of humanity clings to life in the dry arid lands once known as Alaska. Radiation has caused mutations and mass extinctions. The large bipedal rhinos are known as the Karkadann and the frog-like carnivore known as the Anura are both products of this mass mutation. A very tenuous peace between the three races is kept in check only by the limited resources each side controls. Humans have most of the knowledge to build and maintain the tools and machines to help extract water and energy. The Karkadann protect the only large known source of water and use it to produce the large quantities of vegetables their size requires (they are herbivores). The Anura have monopolized the salvage market; if you need anything ask an Anura. Being amphibious they can dive in the toxic oceans and bring back material and technology once thought lost.
More mysteries unravel as the land is plagued by a new threat. The dead are rising and seem to be controlled by the once recluse Inks (ink like creatures that take the form of humans and wear bones for decoration). Why have the Inks turned aggressive? Will the three tribes ban together to face a new threat or slowly be swallowed by it because they can't trust each other? Is llama racing really in the game?
GAMEPLAY:
The game will take place in a top-down format. There will be a base the player can build and upgrade. The base will be essential to the story and tied to upgrading the player's skills, gear, and stats. The player will control one person but can team up with several AI controlled teammates to tackle harder missions. Main traveling in the world will be done via a map (think of Fallout 1 and 2). The player can explore the map and find locations and towns to trade and get missions from. Controls will include mouse and keyboard (later will add controller support). The player will also have the ability to unlock different powers for his exo-suit EX: stealth, mass fear, and sand related powers (sand/fireball, sand wall, sand trap, etc.). The player will also be able to breed llamas to ride (and possibly race them) and eventually unlock cars to travel further into the Alaskan wasteland. Traveling is restricted to the amount of water the player carries. You'll be able to upgrade the amount of water carried and the travel speed to allow the player to explore further from their base. Beware though the further you go out the more dangerous it becomes. Player death will not be perma-death although as a game designer I do believe in some sort of punishment for death. The idea of loss makes the game more exciting and fun.
DEVELOPMENT PLANS:
• Alpha - Free (always free here)
• Beta - half price (5.99$ ?)
• Kick-starter/IndieGoGo
• Early Release on Steam and itch.io (full price)
• Final Release
NOTES:
• To change keys open the keyboard_setup.ini file in a text editor and change them there. You can only use letters (for now) and they must
