A Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game

Through me you pass into the city of woe: Through me you pass into eternal pain:

Through me among the people lost for aye. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

-Dante Alighieri

Game Philosophy

  • Lords of Hell, a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), will not only deliver unbelievable visuals and sound using Unreal Engine 3 and some of its advanced rendering technologies, but will also give the player full control over his/her avatar, by creating a personal connection between them through a unique set of character, class and race options that go beyond the traditional fantasy world conventions.
  • Developed in a way that is presentable and accessible to both hardcore and casual gamers by creating a deep, involved universe that make use of simple game mechanics for a plug-n-play experience.
  • Focuses heavily on game interactions being decided on randomly generated outcomes that determine whether or not the player progresses/Levels up/wins a battle.
  • Free download of game.
  • No subscription fee.
  • Offer of a real money payout for the first five players to reach the end of the game.

Game Overview 1 – Introduction

  • The game environment is divided into “Levels” or “planes” of Hell. Heavily influenced by the work of Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy” (particularly the “Inferno”), the player is introduced to Hell and witnesses the varying degrees of chaos. Each Level of Hell is essentially its own world diverse with unique vegetation, terrain and character styles.
  • The player is introduced to Hell at Level 9 – the very core of Satan’s world, and the most chaotic and hostile of all Levels. The 9th Level of Hell is to be designed as a tutorial Level for the player, teaching them the basic game mechanics such as character movement and interaction with the world. The tutorial Level is to be designed in such a way that takes no longer than 1 hour to complete.
  • As the player progresses from level to level, the environment art slowly begins to shift to a more pleasant, Eden-like style. Level by level, chaos slowly turns to order and the player is allowed to play in a new environment.
  • Each Level of Hell has a unique art style, which translates to very unique monsters and architecture for each Level.
  • Traditional RPG elements are included in each Level, such as primary and secondary quests, melee, ranged and magic combat, towns, shops, trading with player characters and merchants, a system of common, valuable and rare items to find, and other aspects outlined in the following pages.

Game Overview 2 – Features

  • With the exception of the 9th Level of Hell, every Level from 8 to 1 has one capital city with 2 or 3 smaller settlements. Towns and settlements are areas where players gather to interact with each other, trade/sell/buy items such as armor, weapons and spells, sleep, and receive new quests.
  • The player starts with the most basic armor and weapon for his/her chosen class, and with a special “Artifact” item that, when used, generates a random number/symbol. These “Artifact” items are instrumental to the overall game design and are used throughout the game to determine various elements ranging from combat, spell casting, and most importantly – Level progression.
  • Throughout the game, the player can find and purchase new Artifacts that are upgraded versions of the initial Artifact item. These new Artifacts can be acquired through quests, looting of monsters and other non-player characters, and through trading/buying from merchants and other players. Uncommon and rare Artifacts have bonuses and upgrades that allow the player to more successfully and more often roll a certain number/symbol, allowing him/her to progress quicker.
  • Primary Quests are main quests with objectives that progress the storyline of the game. Secondary Quests are optional quests that are available to enhance and prolong the gaming experience. Upon completion of a Secondary Quest, the player is often awarded items, money (credits), experience, or all three.
  • Primary Quests are almost always acquired by speaking to “White Angels”. White Angels are non-player characters who are located around the game with the purpose to aid the player in escaping the Levels of Hell. “Dark Angels” are the opposite, and are located around the game to impede the progress of the player. These non-player characters are often difficult to defeat, and require “parties” or groups of players to overcome.

Game Overview 3 – Level Progression

  • In order for the player to escape each Level of Hell, he/she must continue searching for the Primary Quest givers until they reach the Den of the Gate Keeper.
  • Each Level of Hell has its own Gate Keeper.
  • Once the player reaches the Gate Keeper of a certain Level, he/she must use their Artifact to generate a number/symbol. If the outcome matches the Gate Keepers’, the player is transported to the next Level of Hell, opening up a new gameplay environment with new towns and quests.
  • If the outcomes do not match, the player must then defeat the creature with conventional game mechanics (melee combat, ranged weapons, spells, etc) to progress to the next Level. Failure to do so results in the player requiring to re-do the Primary Quest.
  • Lords of Hell will be released in three phases, each containing three of the nine Levels of playable game data. While players explore the first iteration of Levels (Levels 9-7) development will continue on the next phase of Levels.

Game Overview 4 – Character Creation

  • Each player will start off as a generic ghoul, using a base character model.
  • Variation on the appearance of each character will depend on a range of points :

    – Sliders controlling physical alterations to areas including:

    • Face Shape
    • Face Texture
    • Eye Colour
    • Hair Shape
    • Hair Colour
    • Body Weight
    • Body Height

    – Players will be able to choose their skin colour, as well as any decals, tattoos or scars.

    – Players will be able to choose from a list of real world professions that will alter their player statistics.

    • Example : Choosing a “fisherman” profession adds bonus attribute points to the players “Agility”, but decreases points in “Armor”.
  • Character attribute points will have the following base categories:
    • Strength
    • Armor
    • Agility
    • Intelligence