5 Phases, 5 days, part 1
Aug. 30th, 2006 09:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winneganfakeWelcome to the first installment of the "5 phases, 5 days," promo that I'll be posting for the upcoming release of the game The Cog Wars. I've been doing a lot of writing for this game in general, and I'm glad to have the chance to show off some of it before the game gets released in October. So, for the next five weeks, I'll be releasing apiece of fiction from the game on every Wednesday. These pieces were intended to be color fiction for each of the five main phases that a single campaign of The Cog Wars goes through: Discovery, Disruption, Revenge, Vignettes, and Confrontation.
Now for a bit of background on the game world itself. The Cog Wars is set in the independent city-state of Tiran, a Steampunk capital filled with mad science, alchemy, and adventure. Players can take on the role of Kids, Geezers, or Cogs (living clockwork automata) in a depsperate fight to free the city from the grip of the masterminds that have taken control behind the scenes. In the first phase of the game,Discovery, the player characters are usually put to the task of finding information about a particular mastermind's plot.
OK, enough intro and background from me- time for some good fiction,and keep your eyes peeled for next week with Phase 2: Disruption.
“Molly, are you sure this is the only way to find out what's in that warehouse?” Zeke whined as he climbed. “I hate heights.”
“Well, I suppose you could just ask those nice guards in front to give you a look inside the place, that'd probably go over just great with them. As for the heights, if my old bones can handle climbing this rig, then I'm sure your young ones can. Now let's get up there!”
Both Molly and Zeke continued scaling the side of the warehouse. A few sweaty minutes later, they reached the rooftop. Like most of the buildings in the area it was a simple construction of brick, but it featured some fairly large skylights for daytime lighting. It was one of these that the two crept up to. Wiping away a thick layer of dust and grime with a corner of his sleeve, Zeke peered through the glass.
“Get a load of that... What are they?” he asked, indicating the rows of objects inside the warehouse. “Look kinda like big mushrooms.”
Molly shivered as she realized what she was seeing. “They're not mushrooms. Those are cannon turrets. They're made so they can swivel and aim on a target in any direction, and do it a lot faster than a normal cannon and gun crew could. But these are huge- they're the size of the cannons guarding the Puzzle Gate! What could the Baron be planning on mounting those on.... Wait, someone's moving in there. Get down”
The pair crouched down, just peeping over the edge of the glass and watched on as a group of workmen came in and wheeled one of the turrets through the warehouse and down a large ramp that sank into an opening in the warehouse floor. After a few moments, there was no further movement, and Molly and Zeke stood up once more.
“We're going to need more information,” Molly said after a brief pause. “There's at least five more warehouses that the Baron has, and if they all have ramps like that one, then he could be assembling something underground this very moment. Zeke, we need to get... Zeke? What are you doing?” The boy had begun climbing up the angled surface of the skylight, reaching with one hand into his knapsack for some rope.
“S'ok, Molly, I just want to see if that latch opens. See if we can get down there for a better l- woah!” Zeke's grip slipped, and his knee slammed against one of the old panes of glass. The glass itself was unharmed bey the impact, but the vibrations managed to shake free what little of the old molding was holding the pane in place, dropping the glass the long distance to the floor. A thunderous crash could be heard all around.
“Uh-oh.”
Now for a bit of background on the game world itself. The Cog Wars is set in the independent city-state of Tiran, a Steampunk capital filled with mad science, alchemy, and adventure. Players can take on the role of Kids, Geezers, or Cogs (living clockwork automata) in a depsperate fight to free the city from the grip of the masterminds that have taken control behind the scenes. In the first phase of the game,Discovery, the player characters are usually put to the task of finding information about a particular mastermind's plot.
OK, enough intro and background from me- time for some good fiction,and keep your eyes peeled for next week with Phase 2: Disruption.
“Molly, are you sure this is the only way to find out what's in that warehouse?” Zeke whined as he climbed. “I hate heights.”
“Well, I suppose you could just ask those nice guards in front to give you a look inside the place, that'd probably go over just great with them. As for the heights, if my old bones can handle climbing this rig, then I'm sure your young ones can. Now let's get up there!”
Both Molly and Zeke continued scaling the side of the warehouse. A few sweaty minutes later, they reached the rooftop. Like most of the buildings in the area it was a simple construction of brick, but it featured some fairly large skylights for daytime lighting. It was one of these that the two crept up to. Wiping away a thick layer of dust and grime with a corner of his sleeve, Zeke peered through the glass.
“Get a load of that... What are they?” he asked, indicating the rows of objects inside the warehouse. “Look kinda like big mushrooms.”
Molly shivered as she realized what she was seeing. “They're not mushrooms. Those are cannon turrets. They're made so they can swivel and aim on a target in any direction, and do it a lot faster than a normal cannon and gun crew could. But these are huge- they're the size of the cannons guarding the Puzzle Gate! What could the Baron be planning on mounting those on.... Wait, someone's moving in there. Get down”
The pair crouched down, just peeping over the edge of the glass and watched on as a group of workmen came in and wheeled one of the turrets through the warehouse and down a large ramp that sank into an opening in the warehouse floor. After a few moments, there was no further movement, and Molly and Zeke stood up once more.
“We're going to need more information,” Molly said after a brief pause. “There's at least five more warehouses that the Baron has, and if they all have ramps like that one, then he could be assembling something underground this very moment. Zeke, we need to get... Zeke? What are you doing?” The boy had begun climbing up the angled surface of the skylight, reaching with one hand into his knapsack for some rope.
“S'ok, Molly, I just want to see if that latch opens. See if we can get down there for a better l- woah!” Zeke's grip slipped, and his knee slammed against one of the old panes of glass. The glass itself was unharmed bey the impact, but the vibrations managed to shake free what little of the old molding was holding the pane in place, dropping the glass the long distance to the floor. A thunderous crash could be heard all around.
“Uh-oh.”