"Once, long ago, humans sailed the stars. They spread, settling worlds and moons, building Space stations the size of cities. But fate was against them, and the human race reached it's breaking point. It had spread too thin, and the resulting snap and contraction set in motion events that would be felt for thousands of years. Resource shortages cut ties to colonies, which withered and died alone in space. Stations were De-orbited in balls of flame, and many were simply abandoned, with those aboard left to fend for themselves. War ravaged the formerly peaceful earth, and it was looking ever more likely that the once bright flame of Humanity would be extinguished in a dark corner of the universe. However, when a prominent scientist invented what he called the Fray drive, which allowed for near instantaneous travel across vast distances using what was colloquially known as the "Spooky action at a Distance" effect, the same effect used by gravity, The remaining world leaders decided to try one last ditch attempt to save the species.
863 Huge ships were created, each dominating the skyline at several kilometers tall, and were filled with people, The best and brightest who were left. Accompanying them were advanced construction robots to build a new world. Each was equipped to the brim with all they could need, and were launched towards what were thought to be the 900 most likely-habitable planets left. The only thing left out was one of necessity. The ships had no way to communicate with each-other, or with earth. The risk that in it's final hours, the remaining residents of earth would attempt to hunt down these last hopes for salvation were too great, and the records were expunged of all destinations."
"It's been 1200 years, and the people of planet 81, Rea, are safe. The world is a veritable garden of Eden, with the size to sustain a population of billions. However, there is strife on the world. Many want to try to find the now nearly mythical Earth, and many do not want to risk the consequences. However, these factions are beginning to get violent. A war is on the horizon, and the planet will not survive. The president made the decision to start the Nomad program, which chooses the smartest and best fitting youth to explore the stars in small ships designed to ferry people between the ship and the planet, fitted with small Fray Drives. They searched for Earth, known to the computer systems that ran the ship as Planet ZERO"
"And you're one of them."
You play as Jack, the 16 year old son of the Secretary of Sciences in the New Rea Government. Sent out to search for the once great home of humanity, you travel between world in the third-person plat-former/brawler.
However, one one long dead world, you make a strange discovery. Other people.
A tenacious girl.
Her protective older brother.
A young child they managed to save.
Their planet had been dead form the start, and their ship had roamed the stars looking for a new home. Something had happened on board the ship, and led to them fleeing in an escape pod just as it jumped, forcing the pod to land of the desolate world, and leaving them with no way to find their home. They join you, and using the multi-directional dialog tree you can learn of their history and their beliefs, and become friends with these new acquaintances who join you on your quest for earth. Travel between stars and worlds, finding the beacons on each planet that act as star maps to the dead colonies, long since quiet. And eventually, after piecing together enough data, find earth, and save your people.
Each planet will have several semi-open world environments to explore as you move through the cities towards the central building, which housed both the former government and the now critical beacon. Interspersed between these missions are flashbacks to the life you lead before becoming one of the Nomads, with segments of school, the flight academy, friendships and eventually the launch that tore you away from it all.
The combat in the game is similar to that in ratchet and clank, with limited ranged weapons, and heavy melee influence using the bladed staff Jack carries. However, as you get closer to earth, the plot evolves to the President using the Nomad program to get rid of those he things will become a problem later, and when you don't die like all previous Nomads, he sends to life ship to hunt you down. The crew of this ship and his personal secret service try to kill you, to prevent you from finding earth and destroying the political balance of Rea.
When the player finds Earth, Jack crash lands in a stadium after being heavily damaged while saving the girl from Rea after being captured in an ambush. Walking out of the dust, the player realizes that the earth has recovered from the massive collapse that happened nearly one thousand years ago, and is now at approximately the level of technology we have now. The game then hints that in our own timeline of history, we once had much more successful civilizations in our history, and that the world he lands on is actually our own in the first half of the 21st century, not just an approximation of it.
The game would also be a commentary of how we use too much of the resources we have, and that we need to be more conservative with the few resources we have remaining.
The game then ends the same way ti began, with the ship entering a planet's atmosphere, except this time it is accompanied by many similar ships, and it is revealed that it is Jack returning to Rea to save the people who were sent to save the earth.
Inspired by an Idea for a book, and these images.
In order of display:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/23/83/96/23839632bbc9442e8d61f19e9eb3a9f0.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a7/8a/3c/a78a3c50e07f19512205fa3d250d3d68.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0f/1c/38/0f1c38cb34e27d56467e6916d58f6d49.jpg
