Exile

It was a fine summers day in my old town, I was embarking on one of my long leisurely strolls around the CBD, the one place I can feel fine about talking to myself to express my thoughts best, pondering on what to do next. Like a brick truck out of fort Knox, it hit me!

This idea, this sick twisted graft of the Invader Zim plot and Butt Ugly Martians was its own beginning of brilliance, at first I thought: "Okay, I need a way to tell all of humanity how terrible it is, but I can't just say it! That never works..." but then, like the folks behind Abe, I had an idea, I had a wonderful awful idea!

A Galaxion who gets Exiled to Earth, and knows it! What was the defining moment of Invader ZIM is that Zim thought of his exile as a secret mission. Lyza is fully aware that this is the best she's getting, and she's complacent with it.

The goal at first was to make it an adventure game, with little to no battles... but it just was too boring! So like Hellcat, it's an Action game but with no RPG Elements this time, this makes balancing easy and allows me to focus on gameplay. It's utilizing XAS ABS which is an enormous program that I'm still working out, but bear with me!

So, Exile is about an Exile from Galaxia who has to make a living on Earth. I've pre-planned elements in games I've made roughly, but Exile is the first time I've ever done story boarding, an effecting practice as it turns out. The game is host to several endearing characters, just to name a few: A couple of goofy scientists who manifest in the form of shapes. An Aussie barbecue bogan and his first mate. Two tyrannical control-seeking megalomaniacs whose currency is ice cream and a Mysterious Wanderer who is really quite childish and goofy when you get to know him, something he LOVES to make difficult!.

Freedom and the lack there of are the solo focus are the warring constrictors of Exile's plot.

Lyza, a mature Galaxion female with enough crimes under her belt to make most of her kind fear or at least respect her-- is exiled by the directorate to a Planet they believe will challenge her whilst also removing her as a threat to Galaxion Society.

She is then sent on an odd series of tasks that don't always go as planned, it's a tale of survival in an Alien world where your only ally is yourself and the only goal is to remain free. Friends perish from your fold as soon as foes are vanquished from crossing it, the game is about feeling lost, lonely and forgotten. For what it's worth Lyza pulls through most struggles competently, perhaps because she'd never had much time for friends to begin with, or purely because Galaxion society may have treated her badly enough that she relishes the chance to be alone, only she knows.

Galaxion Exile Lyza
Age: 212
Race: Galaxion
Gender: Female
Branding: Exile, previous occupations unknown.
Homeworld: Galaxia
Basic measure of Intelligence: Quick-thinking, calculated and optimistic in most scenarios. Capable of using most devices despite the unfamiliarity they might impose at first glance.
Likes: Things that aren't trying to kill or cage her, snags, Human Art, Hubcaps and freedom.
Dislikes: Things that definitely are out to catch or kill her, chains and anything resembling imprisonment.
Quote: "My time on Galaxia is over, for them I am Lost and Forgotten... I am the only memory of my past that remains."

Lyza's strengths are in her audacity, cunning and mental stability. Her personality when feeling imposed is quickly wrought with visceral nastiness, a cold chilly demeanor and occasionally death threats, though this sort of behavior is very typical to Galaxions. To those she feels have no intent of threatening her existence, she warms up to very quickly. She's for the most part, fairly controlled and doesn't snap unless given good reason. Though she'll have no problem engaging in silly tomfoolery like violently rummaging through a city's trash or eating sausages at a barbecue.

The Galaxion Wanderer
Age: Unknown
Race: Presumably Galaxion
Gender: Male
Branding: Obscured by a disguise.
Homeworld: Presumably Galaxia
Basic measure of Intelligence: Pretty smart, but also rather goofy and childish.
Likes: Skirmishes, stealing and freedom. He also apparently has a gift for art.
Dislikes: Human Conduct, being called out on stealing, bandits who like to steal his stuff.
Quote: "Look, I feel compelled to say that while it may seem to suck now-- Exile is a gift in guise, we don't have to answer to anyone! We are actually pretty much free, funny punishment, huh?"

A mysterious outcast who aids Exiles as they settle into Earth's harsh society. Who he is, or who he was are details of little importance to him, his focus is now on you, the Exile.

Though he also just loves being Mysterious and spooky.

His personality is a mix of vaudevillian and childish teenager, he does seem concerned with Lyza's willingness to trust humans and often cautions that Humans are even more deceptive than most Galaxions. His brand is never shown but claims to be an Invader prior to Exile. He also apparently is not a thief, he just freeloads when people aren't looking! To him, unless it's got a price tag on it, it's free!

Ominous Directors
Age: ???
Race: Galaxion
Gender: Duplicitous male.
Branding: Director and Director
Homeworld: Galaxia
Basic measure of Intelligence: Logical, cold and calculated.
Likes: Nothing revealed.
Dislikes: Outside of their disposition with Lyza, no other hatreds are seen.
Quote: "As you head for the door to both freedom and farlance, it is important to remember that you will not be coming back. Your life here is over... for ever."

Their names are as ambiguous as Lyza's past crimes, they are not Slik and Vind from Menagerie's time... the differences in appearance readily shows that, they seem intent to get rid of Lyza but don't really care what way it's done. The one with square eyes seems more forgiving than his darker swirly eyed counterpart who seems to be in a constant mode of contorted anger or carelessness.

Jon and Smitty
Age: Mid 30s
Race: Human
Gender: Both male.
Branding: NIN (Jon just has a Nine Inch Nail shirt.)
Homeworld: Earth
Basic measure of Intelligence: Bright and boozed.
Likes: Snags, community, sailing and drinks, they also have a dog called "Special Delivery" who they seem to appreciate.
Dislikes: Too Jolly to hate much.
Quotes
Jon: "She catches on quick, this one!"
Smitty: "Heeeh, watch out for them drop bears, vicious creatures... claws as long as their paws and who'll drop on your head from outta trees or high places!"

A couple of Australian Realists who are fairly used to tourists, they are the first of the "voracious inhabitants" Lyza meets, and because of such she is left a good first impression. Jon's demeanor is jolly, mischievous and welcoming whilst Smitty is more snide and silly, but he's still friendly. It is Jon and Smitty who despite knowing her heritage help Lyza find the Wanderer. Jon is inspired from my friend John West who shares a similar aesthetic and appearance to the Jon here, while Smitty is inspired from one of my primary school friends Mitchell McConnor.

Professor Rhombus and Assistant Triangle
Age: Rhombus is Mid 50s while Triangle is much younger, looking mid 20s or even teens.
Race: Human
Gender: Both male.
Branding: None
Homeworld: Earth
Basic measure of Intelligence: Geniuses at their craft, share a good set of communication skills and have adept mastery in science and construction, seemingly running an Unidentified Flying Object pickup service on their own.
Likes: Truth, Knowledge and Power in all fields (Stars included) along with Science, Donuts, ETAs and Eggy Timers.
Dislikes: Uncertainty, the unsolvable or unexplained. Hair dye.
Quotes
Triangle: "So do we know the ETA on this one, before it began uh... cooking?"
Rhombus: "Aheh! I'm a scientist. You'd have to ask my wife."

Two goofy scientists who function more like two close brothers than colleagues. They both really like science and are enthusiastic about learning any mysteries that remain unsolved, they are ecstatic about the discovery of Lyza's pod, which is a fair thing to be excited about, since with all Galaxion Technology it holds many powerful discoveries for one of human ilk.

The two are eccentric, goofy clowns in appearance and prospects, but a closer inspection shows they are incredibly competent, capable of hosting up a Heavy Egg on Aluminum chains in an Underground bunker which is seemingly unstaffed. Beyond their small (though wonderful) introductory intermission at the end of Stage one, though, they aren't seen again in the demo.

Lord Dairy and Regent Yolk
Age: Regent Yolk is mid 30s whilst Lord Dairy is presumably beyond 60.
Race: Human
Gender: Both male.
Branding: None
Homeworld: Earth
Basic measure of Intelligence: Psychotic manipulative geniuses whose cunning is surpassed only by their love for ice cream.
Likes: Ice Cream, power and Control
Dislikes: Ordinarily everything else.
Quotes
Regent Yolk: "Can I go have that seemingly unwanted Ice Cream Pattie, by the way?"
Lord Dairy: "NO! IT'S MINE AND I SHALL EAT IT ONCE MY SHIFT IS OVER!"

So far the only thing the game has in the way of big bad antagonists. Their demeanor is mostly fairly written with angst and edgy evil, they lose all composure and seriousness when Ice Cream is brought to the table though.

Because fuck you it's ice cream.

Agent Noire
Age: Early 20s
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Branding: Serpent (Actually it's just a thing on her shirt that looks like the Guild Wars 2 logo.)
Homeworld: Earth
Basic measure of Intelligence: Inspective, clever and practical.
Likes: Books, sorting out Alien immigration without violence or needless trauma.
Dislikes: How people barge violently into her office.
Quote: "We aren't unused to dealing with Extra-terrestrials. The CIA takes matters of Alien immigration fairly seriously."

Noire is a calm, logical and down to the point Agent working for the Central Intelligence Agency. She seems concerned for Lyza's well being and helps her out by giving her a BOOK OF STUFF to help out with getting settled in.

The game's plot begins on Earth Year 1212, 800 years pass during Lyza's hypo-thermal odyssey through space and the time of landing is the Year 2012. Her pod crashes into Everton Park on the 14th of March. This game while serving as a close-cut prequel to Intelligence will also explain a few things that I never went into in Intelligence's story. For example... Departure Island (an island that by 2052 no longer has a name) is in fact a small island off the coast off Australia, it would be bigger in 2012 than it is 40 years later due to how the water gradually rises on Earth. The ship will be one Lyza constructed herself but never ends up using.

The area she crash-lands in is a park in Everton Park, a suburb of Brisbane which is actually not far from where I once resided.

Click!

Exile is host to several fun mechanics including but not limited to:
-Grappling
-Gunning
-Spearing
-Combo and Charge Attacks
-Time Bombs that can be placed AND thrown.
-Quick select for easy tool swapping.
-Fully explorable environments.
-Secret stashes hidden around.
-Fluid fast paced action combat.
-Destructible barrels and crates.
-Trash cans you can throw and obliterate.
-Map caching, meaning if you mess up you can exit and enter a map or save and reload to reset everything that isn't static.