This document provides a concept overview for a tactical action/interactive film called "CATARSYS: Last Face of Armageddon". The story follows a man during an alien invasion of a small industrial town. Throughout the 24 hour gameplay, the player makes choices that influence the hero's behaviors and determine how the story ultimately ends. The goal is to use mathematical algorithms rather than scripts to generate unique, individual endings based on the player's own logic and psychological responses to the unfolding events.

1. CINTIS, SPbGUKiT, SAINT‐PETERSBURG, RUSSIA «CATARSYS» concept document
VLADIMIR MEDOVNIKOV
CATARSYS:
LAST FACE OF ARMAGEDDON
TACTICAL ACTION/INTERACTIVE FILM

2. CINTIS, SPbGUKiT, SAINT‐PETERSBURG, RUSSIA «CATARSYS» concept document
CATARSYS
LAST FACE OF ARMAGEDDON
Genre: Tactical action/Interactive Movie
It is a story about clash of worlds, about the battle between humankind and something
unknown.
An alien race attacks a small industrial town.
The behavior of the hero, who finds himself in the center of events, depends directly
on the actions of the player.
Unexplainable weather anomalies, which begin in the town, foreshadow alien
intrusion on the Earth.
Throughout the game the effect of a subjective camera is used to convey the acuity,
intensity and seriousness of what is happening. The running time of the story is 24
hours. At midnight (the end of the game) the ending of the game is generated
depending on the actions of the player. The player, doing various actions, doesn’t
replay the story, but creates it. The interactive moments are in such a way inserted in
the plot, that they are not highlighted. The whole game is to some degree interactive,
and that’s why the choice of the concealed points depends on the player’s psychology.
The hero’s feelings, behavior and demonstration of his characteristics are in the center
of the game. This is a story not about the hero who saves the world, but about a person
who tries to save himself and his loved ones under the circumstances, where the
chances to survive are next to zero.
One of the main tasks is to replace the scripts with mathematical algorithms (except
for the storyline). The location and the life that surrounds the player do not depend on
his actions.
The game can be characterized as a survival simulator, where the player should ask
himself: “What would I do if I were the main hero?” It means that the main instrument
is logic and psychology of the player, and this is the main criteria for the generation of
the story ending. The end of the game and the ways the end is reached are individual
and are not initially programmed.