War in Heaven (GH's next game): Teaser thread - Updated September 25th

[GeneralHankerchief]

War in Heaven

Gentlemen, this one is going to be big.

Concepts: (to be updated periodically)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Picking sides: As the little video alluded to, you will be able to pick which side of the conflict you would like to support before the start of the game, something which I believe is a completely new concept. Yes, depending on your role, you have the option to go town or Mafia in Capo, but this is somewhat different. Imagine if you could pick your side in Rubicon, or be a Cornerian/Venomian in Star Fox. Each side, Imperial and Rebel, has their own unique advantages and disadvantages, which will be revealed in due time. The game is also flexible enough to accommodate numerical inequalities, so even if one side has a decent advantage in numbers, the other side will still have an equal chance of winning.

A couple of caveats to this feature:
- Again, you must choose your side before the game begins, and once you choose it, there is absolutely no switching sides. You're in it to the end.
- The game is flexible to account for inequalities, but not totally flexible. If the ratio is still something along the lines of 5:1, then obviously I'm going to have to even it up a bit. Also, I haven't decided if the major power roles will be entirely random or not. Therefore, I can't guarantee you you'll get the side you want, but you will have a very good chance of getting it.

Sidequests: Each and every single role will have an individual sidequest they have the option of completing in order to secure a greater victory for themselves. The makeup of these sidequests vary in nature - some will involve actively working against your own larger faction, for example, while some will have you specializing in a certain action. For those who have played my games in the past, this is a refinement of sorts of my Pirate Ship Mafia "treasure" mechanic, in that it gives you an individual task to focus on during your progress through the game.

[Double A]

The most prolific? But Pizza's already got 2 games planned.

HOLY FREAKING CRAP, I CAN BEAT THE HOLY FREAKING CRAP OUT OF SOMEONE.

[TheFlax]

Awesome trailer GH! I am now totally hyped for your game.

[Zack]

Cool!

[Beskar]

Wouldn't the title of "Most Prolific" be Pizza's?

Looks good, I hope you have all the named angels in the game. Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, etc

[GeneralHankerchief]

Wouldn't the title of "Most Prolific" be Pizza's?

Looks good, I hope you have all the named angels in the game. Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, etc

Not yet it isn't.

And I'll be gradually revealing more about the specifics of this game up to its begin date, so stay tuned about the named angels!

[Romanic]

Wonderful GH! Not a chance that I miss that one.

vs is a great setup.

[ULC]

I am on board if you will have me! I of course hope there is some way to overthrow even the revolutionaries - I mean, Hell doesn't HAVE to be ruled by Lucifer

[pevergreen]

Mmmm.

Regardless of my view on the setting, knowing in advance it will be a quality game is quite reassuring.

[God Emperor]

uhh :D .. Takes me back to John Miltons Paradise Lost and Dantes Divine Comedy

And the standard Requiem for a dream trailer theme, is always catchy
looking forward to it GeneralHankerchief

[Splitpersonality]

That song is SO overplayed yet so amazingly inspiring at the same time.


You can pretty much count me in already :D

[GeneralHankerchief]

As I have officially completed the first draft of the rules, let me announce to you the first of this game's many features, and something which I hope you'll really enjoy:

Picking sides: As the little video alluded to, you will be able to pick which side of the conflict you would like to support before the start of the game, something which I believe is a completely new concept. Yes, depending on your role, you have the option to go town or Mafia in Capo, but this is somewhat different. Imagine if you could pick your side in Rubicon, or be a Cornerian/Venomian in Star Fox. Each side, Imperial and Rebel, has their own unique advantages and disadvantages, which will be revealed in due time. The game is also flexible enough to accommodate numerical inequalities, so even if one side has a decent advantage in numbers, the other side will still have an equal chance of winning.

A couple of caveats to this feature:
- Again, you must choose your side before the game begins, and once you choose it, there is absolutely no switching sides. You're in it to the end.
- The game is flexible to account for inequalities, but not totally flexible. If the ratio is still something along the lines of 5:1, then obviously I'm going to have to even it up a bit. Also, I haven't decided if the major power roles will be entirely random or not. Therefore, I can't guarantee you you'll get the side you want, but you will have a very good chance of getting it.

[Cultured Drizzt fan]

Just read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, so I am all Ready for this

[GeneralHankerchief]

Next feature announcement:

Sidequests: Each and every single role will have an individual sidequest they have the option of completing in order to secure a greater victory for themselves. The makeup of these sidequests vary in nature - some will involve actively working against your own larger faction, for example, while some will have you specializing in a certain action. For those who have played my games in the past, this is a refinement of sorts of my Pirate Ship Mafia "treasure" mechanic, in that it gives you an individual task to focus on during your progress through the game.

[Sigurd]

Nice!!!

Video promotion just make me want to play games more.
Soundtrack from 300?

[GeneralHankerchief]

Soundtrack from 300?

Could be. The music is "Lux Aeterna" by Clint Mansell, more popularly known as Reqiuem for a Dream. It's used in a lot of trailers.

Also, hmm, the last update was over a month ago and we have less than a month to go. I should probably make another teaser for you guys. Expect one in a couple of days.

[Diamondeye]

Yessir! If you hadn't already figured it out, I'm keen to be in.

Can I be Milton's protagonistic Satan, plox?

[PlusPlayer1]

Can I play? ...

edit: Hmmm, It seems I am only allowed to post in the gameroom.

[GeneralHankerchief]

All right, we're really getting down to it. Updates will be more frequent from here on out.

The roles: For each side, there will be four separate role tiers. Each tier has an equal opposite, more or less, on the other side.

The tiers in order will be:
Imperial/Loyalists:

Major Archangels
Michael
Gabriel
Raphael

Minor Archangels
Uriel
Abdiel
Metatron
...others

Standard angels
(your basic townie angels, although they will have certain powers described in a future update)

Emergent roles
That will remain secret.

Rebels:

Major archrebels
Lucifer
Beelzebub
Mammon

Minor archrebels
Leviathan
Moloch
Astaroth
...others

Rebel angels
Rebel counterpoint to the standard angels.

Emergent roles
As above, will remain secret.

[Beskar]

Looks good, I hope you have all the named angels in the game. Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, etc

Wow, I got it dead-on just over 2 months ago.

Nice update.

[ Spoilers - GH ]

[Askthepizzaguy]

I'm looking forward to this.

I also want to say that I am deeply saddened by the recent string of games that have failed due to lack of sign-ups.

I wish to support the Gameroom in any way that I can, and so I will offer my services as a recruiter, if you need me GH. There's a ton of players at TWC, CFC, and this Zelda forum I've been hearing about.

As is usually the case, half of them will probably never show up, but half of them will stay, so it is totally worth the effort.

[ByzantineKnight]

Cant wait!!!!

[GeneralHankerchief]

War in Heaven

The Beginning: Part One

Lucifer awoke.

He gazed at his surroundings, eyes blinking, as if he had never seen such a sight before. The glory and beauty of Heaven is impossible to describe from a human perspective, yet the imagery is much the same. Endless green fields occasionally dotted with trees, producing sweet fruit and honey. Pleasant rolling hills that extended off into the distance, some becoming mighty mountains, some of them trailing off until they met the sparkling gold horizon. Thick forests, teeming with life, the trees letting just enough light in where the entire area is bathed with an ethereal green-gold light. White shores of the finest sand imaginable leading into a calm, impossibly blue ocean. Lucifer saw all of this, and saw that it was good.

Yet, even these wondrous sights were nothing in comparison to the centerpiece of Heaven itself: The golden Throne of God, resplendent in its glory, its size indescribable. It shined and glimmered, with not a single imperfection to be found anywhere on or beneath its surface. Even Lucifer, known as the Morning Star for being the brightest and most beautiful angel of them all, had to mask his eyes to protect himself from the Throne's glimmer.

Desiring not to take part in the spontaneous and frequent "gloria"s that were constantly happening in Heaven exalting the Creator, Lucifer instead turned away from the Throne to one of Heaven's pools, wishing himself a drink of water to completely clear his head. Bending down to drink, he paused, seeing an odd shape facing up at him from the completely still pool. Lucifer was immediately struck by this shape's beauty; it reminded him of his angelic brethren, only far more fair. Puzzled, Lucifer moved his head left, wishing to get a better view of this figure, but the figure flawlessly mimicked his movements in the undisturbed water. Now curious, he moved his head right, and then back and forward, the figure in the water each time making the exact same movements at the exact same time. He closed one eye. The figure did the same.

Taking his eyes away from the figure, Lucifer sat up, realizing the implications of what he had just seen. "O Truth!" he said to himself, "Surely fate has smiled upon me, for if this is truly my own visage that I have spied upon, then I find myself fairer and more resplendent than all!" He knelt back down to the pool, admiring his reflection for another minute before finally taking a drink, waiting for the rippling water to settle down.

After another period of self-admiration, another line of thoughts sprung up in his head, these far more sinister than their predecessors. "And yet... at the same time, God defies fate by denying me my rightful place amongst the angelic hierarchy. For surely, the most beautiful and brightest angel, the most perfect aspect of creation, should be seated at His right hand, should he not? Yet this is not the case. Certainly, I am an archangel and have certain privileges of rank, but I far outstrip my peers in glory, including even Michael. No, even more. I am more beautiful even than the Son! Yet I do not stand at His right side... why is this so?"

Lucifer paused for a moment, ruminating on the implications of this, before the final, most sinister thought of all hit.

"And if He got this - this, of all! - details wrong, then He is not perfect after all. Surely I must be allowed to ascend to my rightful place."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: I intend this story to be a three-part leadup to the actual game, which I hope to have up sometime this weekend.

[Joooray]

Oh man, oh man .... I can't wait for this to start. I sincerely hope this will have the necessary amount of players within no time, anything else would be a real shame.

The intro should lure people in though.

[Csargo]

Can't wait for this to start.

[Diamondeye]

Can I be Milton's protagonistic Satan, plox?

Remember, guys, I called dibs

Bathe in my Cherubic glory!

Seriously, though, very well written teaser!

[GeneralHankerchief]

War in Heaven

The Beginning: Part Two

As the days passed on, Lucifer’s forces grew. From gathering his original followers in a remote mountain cave, the rebel angels now possessed one of Heaven’s many fields, privately claiming it as their own and were attracting hundreds of angels a day to their banner. Lucifer predicted that within a few days, he would command a full third of the entire angelic population, truly a force to be reckoned with indeed. After all, if God was truly perfect, then how was it that so high a percentage of His creations were willingly ready to throw off His yoke?

Lucifer gazed over his forces, briefly catching a glimpse of his beautiful face in on particularly polished battle helmet and grinned. Soon, he would have to pick his lieutenants. First, there was Beelzebub. That was beyond question. The Lord of the Flies had been the very first angel that Lucifer had lured over to his side, and he did so without hesitation. While Beelzebub’s military prowess and tactical understanding was slightly above-average at best, the lesser angel’s loyalty was beyond question. Beelzebub had found his new lord, and would serve him far more faithfully than he had ever done so to his previous Lord; he would stay by Lucifer’s side until the end of everything. Surely loyalty counted for something.

Next, there was Mammon. This angel, too, was not the first choice one would have in such a contest as this, but there was no denying that Mammon was highly influential amongst the angels. His penchant for luxury was legendary in the angelic community, somehow managing to secure even the greatest of Heaven’s treasures for himself. Several of the lesser angels, wishing to curry favor amongst Mammon, started to tail him and complete rudimentary tasks for him, getting small tokens in exchange for their labors. Soon, Mammon had built up a minor trade empire, reaping most of the benefits of it for himself. Lucifer had played off Mammon’s greed in order to sway him to his side, promising the angel riches beyond comprehension, treasures that were only hitherto accessible to the Father and the Son. Mammon came over, but he would have to be rewarded with a major position.

Leviathan, one of the water angels, would also receive a command. He had spent much of his time in Heaven’s oceans, immersing himself in it, becoming one with the element of water. It was said that on some days, Leviathan would emerge from the water only to satisfy his hunger, which was always immense. Lucifer was banking on Leviathan’s appetite and mastery of the oceans to sweep away Michael’s forces in mass quantities before they even reached the battlefield.

Moloch was to be one of Lucifer’s most able generals. A very warlike angel by nature, Moloch’s natural personality had been aggressive before the rebellion and had evolved into full-fledged anger as Lucifer’s strength grew. Lucifer had lured Moloch into his camp using a two-pronged method: first, by insinuating that God had masked his true nature and that a Luciferian Heaven would allow it to come out undisturbed; second, by promising him increased strength. Moloch went over easily, and had spent the majority of his time since by felling entire mountains.

Astaroth the shapeshifter would lead a force, as would Abaddon, Angel of the Abyss, as would Belial, whose lewd behavior was becoming well-known indeed in the rebel camp, as would many others. But still Lucifer needed more. The Morning Star wished to be absolutely certain that has rebellion, certainly just, would be successful. And thus he went on a personal recruitment campaign, attempting to lure the archangel Abdiel over to his side.

“Abdiel,” he said, words taking a sickeningly sweet and horribly logical tone to the angel’s ear, “You know that His plan is flawed. You can see it in these very fields just over the hills. If God were indeed perfect, then would there not be a full third of His sentient creation rising up in armed rebellion against Him? If God were indeed perfect, then why does He make the mistake of having his fairest and most powerful angels shut out from the ruling hierarchy, instead letting the power clique of Himself, His Son, and Michael oversee the day-to-day operations of life in Heaven? Why are you and I even here discussing the possibility of rebellion if His plan is not flawed?”

Abdiel, however, was having none of it. “Begone, foul boggart,” he said, driving Lucifer back in shock. Never before had the archangel been repudiated when canvassing for followers. “The Lord works in mysterious ways, even to such beings as you and I, Lucifer. You deny the omnipotence and sovereignty of your and my Creator, the Creator of us all? You only possess the capability to think such rebellious thoughts in the first place because He gave you that capability, because free will is a far more beautiful concept than any of us will ever know or understand. You seek to overthrow Him who sees, knows, and is capable of all? Nothing in all existence is less possible.”

“It is heartening to see your confidence and zeal so placed in your Master,” Lucifer said with a snarl, “but by the end you will find your faith misplaced. I *will* prove His plan wrong and create a new angelic order, and those who were loyal to me from the beginning will be remembered… as will those who opposed me. Think carefully on your decision, Abdiel, you may regret it dearly.”

“As will you, Adversary, and when you finally realize that you have been horribly mistaken about everything, I hope that you have the internal courage to admit it to your misguided followers as well as yourself.” And without another word, Abdiel sped off in the other direction. Lucifer surmised that he would inform Michael and the other angels about what had transpired here. As such, he returned to his own camp, where he was greeted with a thousand cheers and ten thousand swords banging on ten thousand shields. The weaponsmiths had finished their work. The rebel army was ready.

“Prepare for war,” Lucifer said, and the roar of approval could be heard throughout Heaven.

[GeneralHankerchief]

War in Heaven

The Beginning: Part Three

Abdiel flew as high and fast as he could over Heaven’s great expanse, not wanting to waste any time. Every single second he tarried, Lucifer’s rebellion would grow, that much he was sure of. Abdiel, strong in faith, was not worried about the possibility of an overthrow, rather, he was concerned for the integrity of his fellow angels’ souls. The less that were corrupted by the Morning Star’s lies, the better. Clearing entire fields in seconds, Abdiel made his way towards the very center of Heaven and the Throne of God itself, where nearby the Archangel Michael was sure to be.

“I must see the Archangel!” Abdiel shouted at the Seraphim guards around Michael’s encampment. “I have critical information about an insurrection that must be passed along. In the name of God, let me pass!” The Seraphim, seeing that Abdiel’s heart was true and pure, stepped aside, and in Abdiel flew.

What he saw surprised him greatly: There was a huge encampment filled to the brim with angels; a force that surely matched Lucifer’s in number. Each angel was either armed or in the process of being equipped, and their armaments gleamed equally brightly as did their rebel counterparts’. Dwarfing it all was a gigantic command tent that was sure to contain Michael. Abdiel made his way towards the tent, again guarded by Seraphim, but this time they let him in without a word.

Once inside, Abdiel could not help but gape. He had never seen such a collection of high-ranking angels present in one place before; the only angel of comparable rank that was not present was Lucifer himself. Michael, his true form almost imperceptible thanks to the blazing and radiant glory that surrounded him, looked up and bode Abdiel welcome, motioning Abdiel to join the council. Somewhat taken aback, Abdiel took closer stock of his peers.

The three Great Archangels were the most prominent in the command tent, with Michael the most so. Abdiel, though he would never admit it, and despite his unwavering faith in God, was struck a bit fearful when he was face-to-face with Lucifer. This was perfectly reasonable, as Lucifer was an extremely powerful angel. However, what remained of that fear completely evaporated upon gazing at Michael. The Prince of the angels and High Commander of the Army of Heaven was truly a majestic figure to behold, radiating powerful red light. His sword, unused and at his side, gleamed a soft reddish-light glow, a foreshadowing of the brilliant pure white flame it would radiate when in the heat of battle. Yes, as long as the angels still had Michael on their side, all would be well.

Michael’s second-in-command was the archangel Gabriel, a powerful figure in his own right. If Michael represented fire, Gabriel did so for water, his outer calmness masking his devastating potential. Mainly the Messenger of God, Gabriel was a more-than-capable warrior who had been primarily summoning all angels near and far to assist in the upcoming battle against Lucifer’s legions. If Michael were somehow to fall in combat, Gabriel would take command, where his fighting prowess and communication skills would serve him well.

The last Great Archangel was Raphael, less of a fighter than the other two but could still hold his own. Raphael, who represented air, was more of a healer and a benevolent soul. He also passed on knowledge from any and all possible subjects to those who sought it. These tasks made Raphael a valuable force, and his presence was deeply respected at the council.

Amongst the lesser archangels - of which Abdiel could count himself as company - sat Uriel, who had the sharpest eyes in all of Heaven and could keep an accurate estimation of Lucifer’s current forces, and what they were up to. There was also Seraphiel, chief of all the Seraphim, Metatron, the embodiment of universal understanding and universal knowledge, and Jehoel, who headed all of the Heavenly singing, amongst others.

Abdiel, now realizing that of course the other Archangels would have heard about Lucifer’s rebellion, decided not to say anything after all, and merely waited for Michael to deliver his final opinion. The other archangels remained respectfully silent as the Prince drew himself up.

“The Lord has seen fit to grant us, His eternal subjects, with free will, so that we may do as we please. However, this free will does not grant us the right to rise up and attempt to overthrow He who is both omnipotent and benevolent, He who made us all. These rebellious angels have made their choice – now they are to face the consequences. We shall muster our entire force and meet Lucifer in battle and cleanse this place of his pestilence.” The other angels nodded silently at Michael’s decision, and they filed out of the command tent, one by one.

Quickly and orderly, the loyalist angels organized themselves based on the chain of command, and soon battalions formed and they flew out to one of the particularly large fields that Abdiel had flown over earlier. This field, large and beautiful even by Heaven’s standards, was previously unoccupied but that had since changed, as Lucifer’s army had moved there in force.

The two armies landed, staring at each other, with Michael and Lucifer at their respective heads. The War in Heaven was about to begin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If all goes well, I'll have the game up tonight.