OK, I am a new game developer, obviously, and I have a science fiction story piece to ponder. My game involves the character being trapped on a planetoid which is nearing the point of destruction due to its own gravitational force. The planet (a decade before the story begins) was hit by a meteorite which sheared off a large section of the small planet's outer mantle. The resulting chasm eventually grew, until all that was left of the planet's crust was a small region of land reinforced by the network of now-abandoned cities below the planet's surface. The atmosphere of the planet is being held up by a giant orbiting space station that reinforces the planet's gravity well with a giant network of smaller satellites which compose an electromagnetic web around the planetoid, reinforcing it and holding in the atmosphere. The story begins, however, ten years after the meteorite impact, when the government has all but ran away from the doomed planet, leaving only those criminals and low-lifes who either were unable to afford a ticket off the planet or were attracted to its destabilized government and lack of law enforcement. The player becomes aware that if he is to remain alive, he must find a way off of the planet before it collapses into itself. Well? What do you think?

I'm not expert so this is only my humble opinion but I like it. I always enjoy reading pseudo-science/technology that I "understand" and your quick summary of the planet's situation is just that! Not like that star trek mumbo-jumbo.

How does the player figure out that the planet will collapse on it's own and if it's general knowledge why would people be attracted this planet if they're about to die (even though there is now no government)... Is there some kind of massive looting going on or is it an "Escape from New York" kind of setting? Who's your main character? I guess more details could be fun :)

The science sounds a bit sketchy but I can see this as being a fun game, say, if you wander around and find various possiblities for escape, a broken space elevator, a space shuttle you can fix, a space plane you have to steal or even an underground teleport station. Meanwhile you have to fend off all the bad guys trying to steal your escape route or attack you for some reason. Maybe once you get into space there is a starship you then have to sneak onto or something. Meanwhile, as time goes by, your options diminish as, say the space elevator gets destroyed by the ever increasing catyclysm.

Okay, it's been a while since I've taken physics, so bear with me. :)

You say the atmosphere is escaping, and hence has to be stabilized. But a meteor crashing on the planet would likely only add to its mass, so the atmosphere shouldn't be affected. Also, it may have destroyed the outer mantle, but you're suggesting the impact was powerful enough to send most of the crust into space, overcoming the planet's gravity well? An impact of that magnitude may well shred the planet to pieces, or derail its orbit.

Next, a space station that holds the atmosphere together. I'm going to assume that the engineering and physics problems behind this concept are actually feasible, in which case a question presents itself: why would someone spend so much money and effort to construct something like that on a planet that is already doomed?

These things are not central to your idea, though, so it's easy to refine them a bit. The way I see it, the core concept here is "being trapped in a cataclysmic situation and trying to escape". With that in mind, what if we had the following scenario: Let's say the impact really is feasible, or better yet that a comet or meteor passing too close to the planet tore off some part of the planet's mass, destabilizing the crust. The planet no longer has enough mass to sustain its atmosphere, which very slowly starts to leak away. No need for fancy space stations breaking suspension of disbelief or whatnot.

The critical point is being approached now, and the social situation your described is happening. Or maybe the planet was a prison colony to begin with, and now the wardens have run away, abandoning the prisoners, taking with them the last spacecraft and therefore the last hopes for leaving the planet. Well, actually, there is still a spacecraft left, and the three rival prisoner gangs are fighting for control over it. One controls the landing pad, one controls the fuel depot, and maybe a third one controls the starting codes or some other important component (like having the last pilot who can steer the craft). The player could take various paths here, like making all three groups work together, or betraying some or all of them and escaping by himself. Lots of possible branches here, with difficult moral choices. Who gets to ride on the ship? The player? his love interest? His allies? There obviously won't be enough space for everyone.

Interesting...Yep, definitely potential here. It creates an interesting situation to contemplate with a lot of urgency.

Quote: Original post by ShotgunNinja
The planet (a decade before the story begins) was hit by a meteorite which sheared off a large section of the small planet's outer mantle.

This is feasible, assuming a very large meteoroid, but how come everyone didn't die? An impact powerful enough to eject a large portion of the upper mantle would certainly melt the crust and everyone in it.

Quote:
The resulting chasm eventually grew, until all that was left of the planet's crust was a small region of land reinforced by the network of now-abandoned cities below the planet's surface.

I'm not quite sure how to interpret this. Where exactly did the rest of the crust go, and why wasn't it replaced with cooled rock from the exposed mantle?

Quote:
The atmosphere of the planet is being held up by a giant orbiting space station that reinforces the planet's gravity well with a giant network of smaller satellites which compose an electromagnetic web around the planetoid, reinforcing it and holding in the atmosphere.

Held up? Who built the space station and the network of satellites? If they were around before the impact performing some other task, how did they survive being in the way when the mantle was ejected into space? It seems a more pressing matter is what people are breathing, now that almost all the plant-life on the planet has presumably been destroyed.

Quote:
The story begins, however, ten years after the meteorite impact, when the government has all but ran away from the doomed planet, leaving only those criminals and low-lifes who either were unable to afford a ticket off the planet or were attracted to its destabilized government and lack of law enforcement.

Criminals and low-lives aren't the only people who would be unable to afford tickets. "The poor" are the most likely people to have stayed behind. Of course, they are also the least likely to have survived the impact. What are they all eating, anyway?

Quote:
The player becomes aware that if he is to remain alive, he must find a way off of the planet before it collapses into itself.

Collapses into itself? Why would the planet spontaneously do that?

What if the planet was in a state of cold warm with each city state surrounded by powerful force shields supported by a network of satellites? When the meteorite struck the planet it knocked a large chuck of the planets crust off of the planet and into space. The game take place in city state on that chuck of planet hurtling through space. The city shield was strong enough to preserve the city from complete destruction but it was devastated none the less. Every one of wealth and importance left as soon as they could but the rest where left on a slow cruise to destruction.

I'm with Nathan, the physics of the situation is enough for me to dismiss basic premise of the story.

How about using examples from our own Earth's past; so the meteorite hit the planet causing a huge global shift in temperature (from firey heat at the impact zone to nuclear winter when the atmoshpere was full of dust). The huge change in climate forces the rich to erect huge shield domes around the remaining cities and everyone else underground (I'm assuming you have a high-tech society from your idea about holding the planet together with EM fields from satelites). Your idea seems to revolve around being trapped with condemed criminals and maniacs whilst trying to get off the planet; how about have the guys in the cities build huge space craft to evacuate the planet (perhaps because they can't live in the domes forever), most of these have left but the last one (or two) are filling up ready to go. You'd start as the player outside of the city, living underground with the crazies and trying to escape to the surface to get into the last occupied city and onto a space ship towards freedom.

Quote: Original post by evolutional
How about using examples from our own Earth's past; so the meteorite hit the planet causing a huge global shift in temperature (from firey heat at the impact zone to nuclear winter when the atmoshpere was full of dust). The huge change in climate forces the rich to erect huge shield domes around the remaining cities and everyone else underground (I'm assuming you have a high-tech society from your idea about holding the planet together with EM fields from satelites). Your idea seems to revolve around being trapped with condemed criminals and maniacs whilst trying to get off the planet; how about have the guys in the cities build huge space craft to evacuate the planet (perhaps because they can't live in the domes forever), most of these have left but the last one (or two) are filling up ready to go. You'd start as the player outside of the city, living underground with the crazies and trying to escape to the surface to get into the last occupied city and onto a space ship towards freedom.

Quote: Original post by lightbringer
Okay, it's been a while since I've taken physics, so bear with me. :)

You say the atmosphere is escaping, and hence has to be stabilized. But a meteor crashing on the planet would likely only add to its mass, so the atmosphere shouldn't be affected. Also, it may have destroyed the outer mantle, but you're suggesting the impact was powerful enough to send most of the crust into space, overcoming the planet's gravity well? An impact of that magnitude may well shred the planet to pieces, or derail its orbit.

Next, a space station that holds the atmosphere together. I'm going to assume that the engineering and physics problems behind this concept are actually feasible, in which case a question presents itself: why would someone spend so much money and effort to construct something like that on a planet that is already doomed?

These things are not central to your idea, though, so it's easy to refine them a bit. The way I see it, the core concept here is "being trapped in a cataclysmic situation and trying to escape". With that in mind, what if we had the following scenario: Let's say the impact really is feasible, or better yet that a comet or meteor passing too close to the planet tore off some part of the planet's mass, destabilizing the crust. The planet no longer has enough mass to sustain its atmosphere, which very slowly starts to leak away. No need for fancy space stations breaking suspension of disbelief or whatnot.

The critical point is being approached now, and the social situation your described is happening. Or maybe the planet was a prison colony to begin with, and now the wardens have run away, abandoning the prisoners, taking with them the last spacecraft and therefore the last hopes for leaving the planet. Well, actually, there is still a spacecraft left, and the three rival prisoner gangs are fighting for control over it. One controls the landing pad, one controls the fuel depot, and maybe a third one controls the starting codes or some other important component (like having the last pilot who can steer the craft). The player could take various paths here, like making all three groups work together, or betraying some or all of them and escaping by himself. Lots of possible branches here, with difficult moral choices. Who gets to ride on the ship? The player? his love interest? His allies? There obviously won't be enough space for everyone.

Three words: It's a game.

Interesting argument, though. Very interesting.

Also, the reason behind the station was that right after the impact, before the governing figures realized the planet was doomed, they set up the space station in the hopes that it would restabilize the planet. They only completed and activated it to reassure the general public long enough to let them escape a possible rebellion.

Also, did not great science-fiction themes like that of Halo begin with a simple idea, inelegant and unsupported until well into development? I mean, is a Halo-type 'Dyson Ring' even possible? My point is, the story's details really don't matter much at this point in development, and they won't until the game system is made and working. Cutscenes and story dialog can be added after the game itself works. All I really need to start is a central story piece, and I can build on that as I go. But thank you for giving me a list of questions to answer during the course of development.

Quote: Original post by ShotgunNinja
Three words: It's a game.

Please don't take my following comment negatively, but with that kind of attitude, I am not sure what kind of feedback exactly you are looking for.

Just because it's a game, it's okay to completely reinvent physics? You are planning to tell a complex and engaging story - which means you are going for suspension of disbelief. But suspension of disbelief is going to be hard if the premise falls apart at the seams.

There are some concepts that are acceptable because they enhance gameplay - for instance, the non-Newtonian dogfighter movement/combat physics found in most space combat simulators, or the lightning reflexes found in most first-person shooters. But in storytelling, I think one should strive for the most believable background possible.

As for the game concept itself, it's an interesting one. Several successful games have in fact used the "escape from L.A." concept before, including System Shock 2 and, if I recall correctly, the original Unreal. The dramatic tension of the situation is the reason why it can work so well.