These were written to orient the designers, artists, and other writers so they all knew what would be happening in each episode. These were referenced throughout each stage of game production to ensure continuity across disciplines, and were used to structure audio/video content production. Below is the first episode, and more can be read here; other design work for the project can be found here.
EPISODE 0: Skylight Unfiltered and Uncut - Employee Orientation
I was so thrilled when Skylight, the leading space exploration company in the world, called me back to say I had the job. “Mission Control”, can you believe it?! I’d been enthralled by space since I was a kid and being part of the team at Skylight was a dream come true - and the money didn’t hurt either. FIFA 2117 was coming out at the end of the year after all, and I was a couple weeks behind on rent… two expenses of equal importance, of course.
They sent me a link to the “Employee Orientation” that needed to be completed before my first day of work, and since I definitely didn’t want to forget to do it, I immediately parked at my desk and opened up the module. The first few sections were pretty standard: name, pronouns, and qualifications for my Skylight ID; Skylight’s mission statement; a chart of the company hierarchy; an explanation of the different departments. I was given an overview of the project I’d be working on (keeping the operations of their Callisto mining base running smoothly), but was told I’d learn more specifics on my first day.
At the end, a video popped up on screen - a cheery trailer for the Mission Control position and introduction to some of the people I’d be working with. Even though I’d already seen the video before I applied, my eagerness to start work grew with every passing moment! When the video ended, though, I noticed something that hadn’t been there the first time I’d watched it: a tiny icon in the corner of the credits screen. At first I didn’t recognize it, but after a minute of staring, my high school astrology obsession had my back: Libra. Now what did that represent… scales? Truth? Justice? That guy I dated in college who always showed up ten minutes late with Caribou Coffee? Curious, I clicked the icon, and my screen darkened.
Worried I’d somehow downloaded a virus that shut my computer down, I reached for the power button to turn it back on, but froze when a voice crackled out through my speakers: “Want to see that video’s original footage?” Gotta say, this was the weirdest ransomware I’d ever encountered.
Without waiting for a response, another video popped up on screen. I recognized it as the trailer video, but as it played the polished corporate veneer quickly peel away. Were the Callisto astronauts… in danger? Was their base malfunctioning? Did Caprini just cut off someone talking about a failed airlock and people screaming? No, this had to be a joke, some prank to get us to be “prepared for anything”. Trying to put the video out of my mind, I switched off the computer and headed to bed. No matter what I tried, though, I just couldn’t stop going over the differences between the two videos in my head.
What in the world is really going on at Skylight?