Ever felt like you're being hunted?
by Christhoper Taylor · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 11/19/2003 (1:50 am) · 8 replies
I haven't. Some of you might remember Trespasser - it was pathetic. Velociraptors moved like retarded string puppets. But then again, although Crichton's books were great, they didn't have much to work with - a handful of species to include, limited technology and some really retarded developers that wouldn't know what a dinosaur looked like if it bit them on the arse.
Far Cry is coming out soon - and finally we have AI that hunts the player. If it sees you or hears you moving around it enters search mode - if its really sus it can call reinforcements. I'm sure you've all read the previews and seem the movies for it.
But, as good as the AI is, the characters that use it are human - being humans it doesn't appear that effective because we know how humans think. Like the guys hunting you, you're a dude with a gun - both parties have limited options, correct?
Now, imagine if you change the AI - make it less mercenary and more African predator. Perhaps include smell as a sense - if you stop within a certain range when there is no wind (I presume it includes wind if you can pilot a hang glider) the animal enters search mode, come even closer and it could enter "red alert" status.
This is what I'd like to see - imagine you're walking along, you hold a TRQ rifle with a handful of darts. Theres another guy in front of you - you hear a twig snap and spin around.
Then theres a scream - spin around and you see a tail disappear into the bushes. Theres some blood on the ground and your friend is nowhere to be seen - you're being hunted.
Some creatures might get bored and find something else to eat (this game does include some decent idle behaviours - you could make some dinosaurs eat plants, some eat each other, some chase insects, some look after their kids while they're drinking from a river, etc), but some others won't - and don't worry, the species list isn't from Jurassic Park - those creatures are included, but theres a heap of other cool shit out there that is so much better. As long as people wanted to do sounds (more on that later) and model/animate them, I'd have a creatures list as long as my... arm.
Now, you're saying that predators attack from up close - they bounce and bite and claw at you. But here's the thing - you're on a jungle island. You're not Serious Sam. Your health metre is small, you have limited ammo and these things are as cunning as hell - some, like the Trex, will just crash through the bush, but some smaller predators will sneak up on you easily if you're not alert.
Some gun weilding enemies appear - the terrorists, perhaps, who, in the later part of the story, are herding the creatures towards ships so they can stun them and send them off, but they're not common.
Unlike most of what I write normally, the story is very, very simple - its a bit silly, but so is Half Life. Like Valve, I don't want people distracted by a really, really complex story - you're not supposed to be thinking about that, you're supposed to be thinking about what could be stalking you as you paddle over a lake (beneath which is a glassed in tunnel allowing for the observation of ocean-dwelling prehistoric creatures).
Far Cry is coming out soon - and finally we have AI that hunts the player. If it sees you or hears you moving around it enters search mode - if its really sus it can call reinforcements. I'm sure you've all read the previews and seem the movies for it.
But, as good as the AI is, the characters that use it are human - being humans it doesn't appear that effective because we know how humans think. Like the guys hunting you, you're a dude with a gun - both parties have limited options, correct?
Now, imagine if you change the AI - make it less mercenary and more African predator. Perhaps include smell as a sense - if you stop within a certain range when there is no wind (I presume it includes wind if you can pilot a hang glider) the animal enters search mode, come even closer and it could enter "red alert" status.
This is what I'd like to see - imagine you're walking along, you hold a TRQ rifle with a handful of darts. Theres another guy in front of you - you hear a twig snap and spin around.
Then theres a scream - spin around and you see a tail disappear into the bushes. Theres some blood on the ground and your friend is nowhere to be seen - you're being hunted.
Some creatures might get bored and find something else to eat (this game does include some decent idle behaviours - you could make some dinosaurs eat plants, some eat each other, some chase insects, some look after their kids while they're drinking from a river, etc), but some others won't - and don't worry, the species list isn't from Jurassic Park - those creatures are included, but theres a heap of other cool shit out there that is so much better. As long as people wanted to do sounds (more on that later) and model/animate them, I'd have a creatures list as long as my... arm.
Now, you're saying that predators attack from up close - they bounce and bite and claw at you. But here's the thing - you're on a jungle island. You're not Serious Sam. Your health metre is small, you have limited ammo and these things are as cunning as hell - some, like the Trex, will just crash through the bush, but some smaller predators will sneak up on you easily if you're not alert.
Some gun weilding enemies appear - the terrorists, perhaps, who, in the later part of the story, are herding the creatures towards ships so they can stun them and send them off, but they're not common.
Unlike most of what I write normally, the story is very, very simple - its a bit silly, but so is Half Life. Like Valve, I don't want people distracted by a really, really complex story - you're not supposed to be thinking about that, you're supposed to be thinking about what could be stalking you as you paddle over a lake (beneath which is a glassed in tunnel allowing for the observation of ocean-dwelling prehistoric creatures).
About the author
#2
You're given the objective of exploring the place - you have no flash light, so you'll have to find one. Expect a couple of small predators - then your friend decides to seal the place up (when you're sure its clear) and go to the kitchen - when you get there, you find people have barricaded themselves up.
Together you seal up the place (your job is to walk around on the roof top and look for approaching creatures) as night falls and then you go to sleep - the screen goes black. A second later it all snaps back into focus and you find that creatures are smashing through the barricade.
Now its time to run like hell - all of the doors are being attacked at once (cunning predators, remember) and you have to find a way out - either through a service tunnel that leads to a little shack that has a generator for the security office alone - turn this on and the creatures in contact with the building's outside die) or over some cables that come from the roof.
Anyway, enough about gameplay moments - basically you get near your only escape route - the dock - and see heaps of guys with cranes loading stunned predators into massive crates.
Theres different ways to do this - like gameplay in Far Cry is according to the previews - you can be Rambo or you can sneak in or you can even wake the drowsy creatures and unlock their cages (this can back fire) to create a distraction.
Then your final goal is to get onboard a ship and set sail - the final cutscene, which, of course, is playable (like the intro) involves you standing on the bridge and seeing several identical ships in the distance - ones already filled with dinosaus destined for their new homes...
Now, it sounds complex - theres some stuff that can be kept. I'd be happy to do the island map seeing I know exactly what I want, but when it comes to indoor stuff I'm average in most editors, but seeing this editor is "test while you create" and closer to Lego Creator (create a town and drive around it) in nature than Q3Radient, I might not have any problems.
People can model and animate humans, lions, robots and all sorts of stuff, so while complex, dinosaurs shouldn't be that impossible - I can provide heaps of images, and if you're in Australia I could probably mail you a CD with some on it if you requested it.
Now - sounds. Sounds could be a real bastard - theres a few possibilites. Once of which is to find various "simulated sounds" of dinosaurs (they're avaliable) and ask permission of the authors. The second is to get the sounds of creatures such as lions and cows (even less difficult to obtain) and muck around with them until you get something that sounds rather similar to the real deal (seeing we've never seen the real things, accuracy is impossible).
AI would be similar - just replace how they attack (shooting, hitting, grenading, etc) with biting, clawing, pouncing and so forth. The hunting patterns would be similar - sound, sight and the afore mentioned smell playing a major part.
The radar would remain - as long as you can see the creature, its on your radar (which is in the game already) - its "blip" is yellow/green/red (based on its level of alertness).
11/19/2003 (1:50 am)
When you get there its evening (if the game can do night/day, I assume it can) and the place appears to be empty.You're given the objective of exploring the place - you have no flash light, so you'll have to find one. Expect a couple of small predators - then your friend decides to seal the place up (when you're sure its clear) and go to the kitchen - when you get there, you find people have barricaded themselves up.
Together you seal up the place (your job is to walk around on the roof top and look for approaching creatures) as night falls and then you go to sleep - the screen goes black. A second later it all snaps back into focus and you find that creatures are smashing through the barricade.
Now its time to run like hell - all of the doors are being attacked at once (cunning predators, remember) and you have to find a way out - either through a service tunnel that leads to a little shack that has a generator for the security office alone - turn this on and the creatures in contact with the building's outside die) or over some cables that come from the roof.
Anyway, enough about gameplay moments - basically you get near your only escape route - the dock - and see heaps of guys with cranes loading stunned predators into massive crates.
Theres different ways to do this - like gameplay in Far Cry is according to the previews - you can be Rambo or you can sneak in or you can even wake the drowsy creatures and unlock their cages (this can back fire) to create a distraction.
Then your final goal is to get onboard a ship and set sail - the final cutscene, which, of course, is playable (like the intro) involves you standing on the bridge and seeing several identical ships in the distance - ones already filled with dinosaus destined for their new homes...
Now, it sounds complex - theres some stuff that can be kept. I'd be happy to do the island map seeing I know exactly what I want, but when it comes to indoor stuff I'm average in most editors, but seeing this editor is "test while you create" and closer to Lego Creator (create a town and drive around it) in nature than Q3Radient, I might not have any problems.
People can model and animate humans, lions, robots and all sorts of stuff, so while complex, dinosaurs shouldn't be that impossible - I can provide heaps of images, and if you're in Australia I could probably mail you a CD with some on it if you requested it.
Now - sounds. Sounds could be a real bastard - theres a few possibilites. Once of which is to find various "simulated sounds" of dinosaurs (they're avaliable) and ask permission of the authors. The second is to get the sounds of creatures such as lions and cows (even less difficult to obtain) and muck around with them until you get something that sounds rather similar to the real deal (seeing we've never seen the real things, accuracy is impossible).
AI would be similar - just replace how they attack (shooting, hitting, grenading, etc) with biting, clawing, pouncing and so forth. The hunting patterns would be similar - sound, sight and the afore mentioned smell playing a major part.
The radar would remain - as long as you can see the creature, its on your radar (which is in the game already) - its "blip" is yellow/green/red (based on its level of alertness).
#3
Idle behaviours for dinosaurs would be attacking each other, eating, drinking and possibly even laying eggs - you might even be able to sneak past a Rex thats eating its meal or wait unil its full and goes to sleep (they slept immediatly after eating).
Some guns can be kept - others can be added, others just won't be included (for example, a rocket launcher).
If you want to discuss specific issues or tell me I'm fucking insane, email me and I'll ask for recommendations on a mental ward.
This is ambitious and large, I know - its probably to large, but heck, if you're going to do something, do it all the way. Whats more satisfying - a simple task that you completed well (for example, adding one new gun to Far Cry) or a really complex task that you attempted but didn't work out to well - I'd say the complex task. You've done the best you can possibly do, and no one can take that from you - if they say you didn't do it good enough then you can invite them to try and make a total conversion in which you're hunted through jungle, swamp, river and forest for almost the entire experience by creatures that no one on Earth has ever met.
Thats an experience I'd sure as hell like to try creating - its not Half Life with dinosaurs instead of aliens, which would suck, and its not Dino Crisis, which was basically Resident Evil. You're not a hunter - you're the hunted, and that never, ever changes.
If you're interested, email me - its in my profile. The impressive nature of the editor is basically whats attracting me to the game so much - I've had this idea in my head for a very long time and originally it was going to be for the Unreal Engine, but thats just not suitible for this.
11/19/2003 (1:50 am)
Herbivores would mostly be idle - some would attack if threatened by you or carnivores (if you're being chased just run into the middle of a herd) - stampeding would be great but probably a bit difficult.Idle behaviours for dinosaurs would be attacking each other, eating, drinking and possibly even laying eggs - you might even be able to sneak past a Rex thats eating its meal or wait unil its full and goes to sleep (they slept immediatly after eating).
Some guns can be kept - others can be added, others just won't be included (for example, a rocket launcher).
If you want to discuss specific issues or tell me I'm fucking insane, email me and I'll ask for recommendations on a mental ward.
This is ambitious and large, I know - its probably to large, but heck, if you're going to do something, do it all the way. Whats more satisfying - a simple task that you completed well (for example, adding one new gun to Far Cry) or a really complex task that you attempted but didn't work out to well - I'd say the complex task. You've done the best you can possibly do, and no one can take that from you - if they say you didn't do it good enough then you can invite them to try and make a total conversion in which you're hunted through jungle, swamp, river and forest for almost the entire experience by creatures that no one on Earth has ever met.
Thats an experience I'd sure as hell like to try creating - its not Half Life with dinosaurs instead of aliens, which would suck, and its not Dino Crisis, which was basically Resident Evil. You're not a hunter - you're the hunted, and that never, ever changes.
If you're interested, email me - its in my profile. The impressive nature of the editor is basically whats attracting me to the game so much - I've had this idea in my head for a very long time and originally it was going to be for the Unreal Engine, but thats just not suitible for this.
#4
On MSN Messenger someone just bought up multiplay - well, team death match is so old-fashioned isn't funny, and I think playing as a Trex would totally change how this game works - it would be silly, even if it would sound cool to be able to eat Marines - leave playing huge monsters to Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
If you're ever played Aliens vs. Predator you'll be familar with Skirmish - basically it had Marines and Predators (the players) shoot at waves of AI aliens. They didn't loose or gain anything for shooting at each other.
This would be similar but there would be two modes - maybe more, but lets keep it at two for now. Anyway, not long into the story some soldiers who were training on a nearby island (perhaps Australians and Americans, seeing this is the Pacific and we're close Allies who do that sort of thing) engaging in training exercises.
Both Governments order them to save people, but more importantly destroy the creatures before they can spread - if these things managed to get off the island it could be a huge environmental disaster.
So, in multiplayer the players (you can select from a few skins -start at a base - it has a chopper, an APC filled with med kits and lots of ammunition. Everyone starts with an M16 and a pistol - you can grab shotguns, TRQ rifles and so forth from a tent.
Its set in a small portion of jungle or on a little island - you're on one side and there are people (essentialy hostages) scattered around - you have to bring, say, at least twelve (before the clock runs out), back to the chopper to win.
Simple.
The other mode is essentialy hunting - it starts the same but the objective is different. You have to kill dinosaurs. There are no herbivours in the first mode, but they appear here (although they're mostly ones which can harm the player) - he who kills the most creatures (which continue to spawn at several inaccesible locations) by the end of the round wins.
Points are awarded depending on what you killed - killing a small herbivour results in a small amount of points, while killing a Rex might result in a massive amount of points. Perhaps range could also be considered - you should get more points if you run up to the animal with a shotgun compared to sitting far away with a high powered rifle and firing at it until it died.
Highest points will probably be used to decide the winner - it would be silly if soldiers bought their own guns, so if anything, higher points might result in your pistol becoming more powerful or getting extra stuff you normally can't pick up (you can get them off dead mates) - examples include grenades and maybe even some form of bait or "armour" which stops the creatures from smelling and seeing you so easily.
11/19/2003 (2:09 am)
Well, shit that was a long series of posts - it didn't like them all in one message due to the length, and I couldn't bothered finding the exact points where they should be seperated so I just did them by Word pages. On MSN Messenger someone just bought up multiplay - well, team death match is so old-fashioned isn't funny, and I think playing as a Trex would totally change how this game works - it would be silly, even if it would sound cool to be able to eat Marines - leave playing huge monsters to Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
If you're ever played Aliens vs. Predator you'll be familar with Skirmish - basically it had Marines and Predators (the players) shoot at waves of AI aliens. They didn't loose or gain anything for shooting at each other.
This would be similar but there would be two modes - maybe more, but lets keep it at two for now. Anyway, not long into the story some soldiers who were training on a nearby island (perhaps Australians and Americans, seeing this is the Pacific and we're close Allies who do that sort of thing) engaging in training exercises.
Both Governments order them to save people, but more importantly destroy the creatures before they can spread - if these things managed to get off the island it could be a huge environmental disaster.
So, in multiplayer the players (you can select from a few skins -start at a base - it has a chopper, an APC filled with med kits and lots of ammunition. Everyone starts with an M16 and a pistol - you can grab shotguns, TRQ rifles and so forth from a tent.
Its set in a small portion of jungle or on a little island - you're on one side and there are people (essentialy hostages) scattered around - you have to bring, say, at least twelve (before the clock runs out), back to the chopper to win.
Simple.
The other mode is essentialy hunting - it starts the same but the objective is different. You have to kill dinosaurs. There are no herbivours in the first mode, but they appear here (although they're mostly ones which can harm the player) - he who kills the most creatures (which continue to spawn at several inaccesible locations) by the end of the round wins.
Points are awarded depending on what you killed - killing a small herbivour results in a small amount of points, while killing a Rex might result in a massive amount of points. Perhaps range could also be considered - you should get more points if you run up to the animal with a shotgun compared to sitting far away with a high powered rifle and firing at it until it died.
Highest points will probably be used to decide the winner - it would be silly if soldiers bought their own guns, so if anything, higher points might result in your pistol becoming more powerful or getting extra stuff you normally can't pick up (you can get them off dead mates) - examples include grenades and maybe even some form of bait or "armour" which stops the creatures from smelling and seeing you so easily.
#5
11/19/2003 (11:10 pm)
That's a whole lot of information. I didn't read it all, since it's 2:30 in the morning, but it sounds like basically a good idea.
#6
I think the basic idea is good and it would work for me as a stealth game with limited resources/ammo. It should not be possible to play as Rambo and win, although I don't think having a rocket launcher or explosives is out of the question. Just, maybe you have one timebomb or 2 rocket shells and you have to figure out strategically where to use them best. Severely limit the carrying capacity, too.
You need sub-goals to keep the player interested. Just saying you have to escape from the island isn't enough. You should need to go certain places to flip switches and find keys. Cliche, yes, but the player needs accomplishments and reasons to go various places. He could find info about where there are more weapons/resources, for example, or need to turn on/off an electric fence.
I like the idea of smell playing a factor similar to the way sound and vision do in theif. You'd need to come up with some kind of indicator that allows the player an idea of where his smell is going otherwise it cannot play any strategic factor.
The Jurassic Park idea really lends itself to some interesting gameplay scenarios. No one has done it justice yet. Is Far Cry a new comercial game in this vein? You aren't very clear about a couple of things like that in your post. You like "the editor". What editor is it you like? It is too bad you can't just scarf the dino models and animations out of that recent sim-dinosaur game (can't remember what it was called). That stuff just goes to waste as the game didn't sell very well.
11/20/2003 (1:12 am)
Ok, you wrote a lot and I did read most of it. My initial thought is why worry about multiplayer? It doesn't seem to fit with the basic premise of the single player game. Concentrate on making the best single player game possible with replay value. It is already ambitious, so why make it more so?I think the basic idea is good and it would work for me as a stealth game with limited resources/ammo. It should not be possible to play as Rambo and win, although I don't think having a rocket launcher or explosives is out of the question. Just, maybe you have one timebomb or 2 rocket shells and you have to figure out strategically where to use them best. Severely limit the carrying capacity, too.
You need sub-goals to keep the player interested. Just saying you have to escape from the island isn't enough. You should need to go certain places to flip switches and find keys. Cliche, yes, but the player needs accomplishments and reasons to go various places. He could find info about where there are more weapons/resources, for example, or need to turn on/off an electric fence.
I like the idea of smell playing a factor similar to the way sound and vision do in theif. You'd need to come up with some kind of indicator that allows the player an idea of where his smell is going otherwise it cannot play any strategic factor.
The Jurassic Park idea really lends itself to some interesting gameplay scenarios. No one has done it justice yet. Is Far Cry a new comercial game in this vein? You aren't very clear about a couple of things like that in your post. You like "the editor". What editor is it you like? It is too bad you can't just scarf the dino models and animations out of that recent sim-dinosaur game (can't remember what it was called). That stuff just goes to waste as the game didn't sell very well.
#7
One of your major focuses in developing this, IMO, should be soundtrack/ambient noise, and lighting. In order to create the sort of paranoia and "hunted" feeling you are talking about, you will need to establish a very strong sense of anxiety even before anything happens.
Having strong shadows with slight movements in the distance that the player cannot quite discern will keep them feeling paranoid, although tense music can go a long way in that direction too. The occasional false alarm (group of birds suddenly bursting into flight nearby, etc) would add to that mood as well.
Making an emotion-effecting game like this would really be a challenge, but it would be really impressive if you could pull it off.
11/20/2003 (1:21 pm)
This does sound like an interesting idea (although I skimmed most of it's rather exhaustive length) Forgive me if I repeat anything you've said.One of your major focuses in developing this, IMO, should be soundtrack/ambient noise, and lighting. In order to create the sort of paranoia and "hunted" feeling you are talking about, you will need to establish a very strong sense of anxiety even before anything happens.
Having strong shadows with slight movements in the distance that the player cannot quite discern will keep them feeling paranoid, although tense music can go a long way in that direction too. The occasional false alarm (group of birds suddenly bursting into flight nearby, etc) would add to that mood as well.
Making an emotion-effecting game like this would really be a challenge, but it would be really impressive if you could pull it off.
#8
Music and sound effects: No music. Sound, though, is very important - the jungle is a noisy place, and, as George Lucas said, sound is fifty percent of the movie experience - if you can't see stuff, you need to hear it.
Objectives: As I've said before, you have to run around and do stuff - for example you might have to go the security office and get help, the soldiers (who can't reach you) might ask you to plant some sort of beacon so their helicopters can land in an area thats hard to see and so forth.
Fear: People fear the unknown - with games that have terrorists or soldiers as enemies, you know what they do - you're a person and they do people stuff (i.e. running and shooting) - in this you have minimal information. I think it would spoil it having a park worker pointing out the species. Perhaps if you access the labs (optional goal) you could get information on the different species. In Alien you're scared because you only see the alien right before it has you - same here.
The engine and Far Cry: After seeing the trailers for Far Cry, I thought that would be it - only being a writer with some mapping skills, I wasn't so sure. If I found people who wanted to make an engine, then sure thing - that might be better. The more I think of it, the more I lean away from Far Cry - while the editor is good (its like editing as you play - you can see it in the trailers), I don't know if its suited - sure it can do really dense jungles and is a game about an island, but I'm still not sure - the whole game seems far to bright and I don't know how it would do with rain, lightning, night time and stuff. It includes vehicles but they're not essential here (at least not for the player).
Rambo: Thats something I failed to make clear in the thread - carrying capacity IS VERY LIMITED. Perhaps two smaller weapons (pistols, uzis, etc) and two large ones - as long as you have a larger weapon in your hands, which, of course, makes you move at a slower speed. As for rocket launchers - maybe you get one with one or two shells if you go to a certain area - for example, where some of the soldiers have landed and carnivours are feasting. It shouldn't be easy to get. In this, if you crash through the bush you'll die. Health is very low, after all - realistically, if a creature of several hundred kilos in weight pounces on you and drives claws into your back, you WILL die.
11/20/2003 (2:01 pm)
Multiplayer: I didn't even think of it at first, but a friend bought up the subject and I assumed others would ask about it.Music and sound effects: No music. Sound, though, is very important - the jungle is a noisy place, and, as George Lucas said, sound is fifty percent of the movie experience - if you can't see stuff, you need to hear it.
Objectives: As I've said before, you have to run around and do stuff - for example you might have to go the security office and get help, the soldiers (who can't reach you) might ask you to plant some sort of beacon so their helicopters can land in an area thats hard to see and so forth.
Fear: People fear the unknown - with games that have terrorists or soldiers as enemies, you know what they do - you're a person and they do people stuff (i.e. running and shooting) - in this you have minimal information. I think it would spoil it having a park worker pointing out the species. Perhaps if you access the labs (optional goal) you could get information on the different species. In Alien you're scared because you only see the alien right before it has you - same here.
The engine and Far Cry: After seeing the trailers for Far Cry, I thought that would be it - only being a writer with some mapping skills, I wasn't so sure. If I found people who wanted to make an engine, then sure thing - that might be better. The more I think of it, the more I lean away from Far Cry - while the editor is good (its like editing as you play - you can see it in the trailers), I don't know if its suited - sure it can do really dense jungles and is a game about an island, but I'm still not sure - the whole game seems far to bright and I don't know how it would do with rain, lightning, night time and stuff. It includes vehicles but they're not essential here (at least not for the player).
Rambo: Thats something I failed to make clear in the thread - carrying capacity IS VERY LIMITED. Perhaps two smaller weapons (pistols, uzis, etc) and two large ones - as long as you have a larger weapon in your hands, which, of course, makes you move at a slower speed. As for rocket launchers - maybe you get one with one or two shells if you go to a certain area - for example, where some of the soldiers have landed and carnivours are feasting. It shouldn't be easy to get. In this, if you crash through the bush you'll die. Health is very low, after all - realistically, if a creature of several hundred kilos in weight pounces on you and drives claws into your back, you WILL die.
Christhoper Taylor
You're a tourist - this isn't Jurassic Park with a small group of people, theres a fair few tourists around. Most die, though, in scripted events.
A group of terrorists want the ideal weapons - bombs are so old-fashioned and they're easy to stop. The ideal is something that counters technology - and for those who saw Alien and Aliens, we know what that is - something simple and "below" humans. Something alive.
Seeing it would be a bit silly to set a lion lose in your public shopping centre, the ideal is the prehistoric predators - hunters so cunning and powerful that they'd be damned hard to stop. Some get jobs at the park. On the opening day, while the owner is giving some speach to "Gold Class" ticket holders in the top floor of the visitors centre, they blow up a heap of explosives.
The power and fences go out. Instantly. The back up generator is destroyed. Now, when you begin the game you know jack shit - like Freeman, you basically know your name and who you are - in this case a person in their twenties who won a Gold Class ticket over the radio.
The introduction is interactive - you see the speech and then the explosives blow. The fence right outside sparks a bit and then leans over and presses against the glass - the security guards say stuff like "Can everyone please leave quickly and quietly, we've just had a minor technical fault..." when the windows shatter and several smaller predators jump in - people near the windows die (I'd like those people to be the player if they stood next to the window to see what happened, if thats possible).
You have to run down the stairs while being chased - as you near the bottom of the stairs theres a scripted event. A security guard shoots at the best chasing you - so it jumps and starts clawing at him. The gun is thrown to the floor.
Pick up the gun - six bullets. No more. Kill the animal or drive it off (the sound of gunfire initially will scare the animals, if possible, but will soon attract the carnivores because gunfire = death = meat) and you go the security guard. One more clip and a basic first aid kit (think Max Payne's pain killers - no massive med kits here).
If you go into the little security office you can get more stuff - a couple of clips and another first aid kit. Thats all you have on an island full of monsters.
You go outside because the place is filling up with more creatures (if you go up the fire exit to the monorail platform you'll see it fall due to lack of power and then there will be a second of silence and stillness before creatures pounce upon the people inside) and you find you have to do the unthinkable - enter the enclosure because the tunnel entrance is blocked (theres a tunnel that leads under the island to allow people from the airport to access the starting point of the tour).
At the start you'll find yourself travelling through the near-impossible to navigate terrain with several survivors. Some armed, some unarmed - your initial goal is the security office. They can call for help, send people out to turn on the backup generator and provide protection.