Scoop

Cal is an investigative journalist looking to pay his bills. When a labor strike in nearby Northwinds Pass causes a blockade of the whole village, Cal sees the opportunity for a big story.

However, this is not Cal's first visit to Northwinds, several individuals from his past draw him deeper into the conflict between the police and the labor union. Cal must decide whether to keep his distance as an impartial journalist or take an active role in the negotiation between the two sides.

Through the use of clever diplomacy, keen observation skills, some deceptive disguises, and maybe even a catapult; Cal can turn his three day journey into a compelling news story or end up causing one of three possible conclusions to the labor dispute. What kind of mark the words of this journalist will leave upon the small village of Northwinds is up to the player to decide.

The Game

Scoop is a 3rd person detective game with a very small 3d open world. The scale is meant to be as small as possible so the player can...

• Solve tasks in multiple ways
• Have the freedom to choose when and where to investigate
• Approach missions in different orders
• Put together the clues without handholding

Scoop is not a long game, only about an hour or two. The scale is limited to just one small village to keep the focus on quality and having multiple solutions to every problem.

The gameplay mechanics are kept relatively bare-bones with the emphasis on the mystery solving aspect of the game. There is no combat or platforming or crafting systems or anything that isn't strictly neccessary to tell the story. The core mechanics of scoop are...

• Dialogue- Through the dialogue user interface, players must navigate difficult social situations to obtain information and persuade people. Some conversations are less of a puzzle to solve than others, but some could be considered boss fights and players may very well get a few 'game overs' before finding the optimal strategy. The dialogue is meant to be a core part of the gameplay and not just set dressing.
  
  
• Investigation - Searching environments for clues is one of the best ways to collect more information. When you pick up or examine items of interest more notes get added to your journal that can be used in the newspaper article or in dialogue situations.
  
  
• Disguises- Social stealth is a very useful tool to enter locations that aren't normally available or get information people wouldn't always share. Wearing clothing to look like you are part of a faction or are performing a particular job is sometimes the best way not to be seen. In combination with dialogue you can gain access to all sorts of new locations and clues.
  
  

Scoop is part of a larger series of games I plan to make called Stacked Odds, with each new game expanding on the existing setting while telling new short stories with new gameplay mechanics. If this series of short games has success these mechanics will eventually add up and make a larger game. Scoop is just part one, an introduction to the core mechanics and the world of Stacked Odds.

The goal of the game is to collect information.

The more people you talk to and the more clues you investigate, the more research Cal will have to write his story at the end of the game. While affecting the outcome of events is possible, it is not necessary to make progress in the game.

Some players will certainly take sides with one faction or another. Others might try to find a middle ground. Though the option to simply be a spectator gathering information and not interfering with the outcome is most certainly an available option.

There are 3 different endings of the game depending on the choices the player makes.

The game takes place over the course of 3 days and time progresses as you gather more information about the story. There is not a timer in the game, time moves based on completion. Different events become available as more time passes.

Scoop is made in Unreal Engine 5 for PC. Whether or not it gets released on other platforms depends entirely on the success of the release. Scoop should be released around October of 2024. The game supports Xbox controllers and other standard gamepads.

Plot type

Game

Parent Plot

Stacked Odds

Related Characters

• Annabell
• Calloway
• Franklin O'Donnell
• Olivier
• Pat O'Malley
• Shelly

Related Organizations

• International Investments Incorporated
• Keplan Police
• Miners Union of Northwinds

Related Locations

• Northwinds Pass

The Characters

The Journalist

In Scoop the player controls Cal as he writes his article for the newspaper. He enjoys writing but doesn't always excel at the social aspects of being a reporter. He is a rather distant person and prefers to view the stories he covers with little emotional attachment.

Living in Tri-City is expensive, and he really needs some stories that will sell if he is going to get ahead on his bills.

The Teenager

Annabell is a teenager who is optimistic almost to a fault. She didn't really stop and think through the decisions she was making and ended up finding herself in the middle of a pretty big mess.

The Copper Miner

Pat is the leader of the miners union and has lived in Northwinds his entire life. The well being of the workers and the families of Northwind's Pass are his number one priority.

The Engineer

Shelly is a specialist brought in by the Keplan Police to help break open an entrance to the mines. She is here to attempt building ramps or digging tunnels or trying to remove the miners through any non-violent means. As she is contracted through the Keplan Military, however, she cannot do anything that might harm the citizens of the town.

The Tribune

In the land on the outskirts of the Keplan Empire, Tribunes are given the authority to single handedly be police officer, lawyer, and judge all at the same time. Olivier was sent here to deal with the workers strike, and he plans on doing it as quickly as possible. This normally level headed man is currently quite impatient and wants to return home to his wife who is having a baby very soon.

The Music

For the game I am making all the music myself from a combination of recording guitar and using Kontakt libraries in my DAW to create other instruments to round out the soundtrack. This particular song is for the journalist's theme. Cal is represented in the music by guitar.

Different characters are represented by different instruments in the soundtrack. The Keplans for example are generally represented by string orchestra music. When the Tribune character is an important part of a scene you can expect to hear cello and doublebass. This test song was written when the story was a bit different, so I am going to need to trade out the trumpet for something else, as that character is no longer part of this story.

The music is still very much a work in progress. This song is meant to be played early in the game when exploring around the mountain pass. The song is broken up into multiple layers that will get louder and softer depending on where the player walks in the environment. There will be extra layers adding in a character's assigned instrument, when that character becomes a major part of a scene.

This song was the result of forgetting to turn off some layers in my DAW before recording something. In the end I kind of liked the sound and decided to keep it.

Some of the music is meant to be diegetic, as in music that is made by something in the scene and can be heard by the characters in the scene, as opposed to music that just exists for the audience. This includes the working songs of the miners, the old musicbox, and some drinking songs at the town tavern.

The Village

The small village of Northwinds Pass sits in a mountain valley between Tri-City and the Keplar Empire. The only railroad running to the east goes through this valley, and the Keplans are looking to expand that railroad network with more routes. This, however, is going to require them to destroy part of the village to make space.

The people of Northwinds relied on the fur trade in the past, but over hunting and a drop in prices caused the market for animal furs to be unviable. This is when International Investments Incorporated came in and bought up mining rights in the area. They promised the town good mining jobs, and now the people are fully reliant on Inc3.

During winter, the mountain pass becomes near impossible to travel through. The trains do not run for at least a month. The people of the village always stock up on everything they need in the fall because they know they won't be getting any new shipments in once winter comes.