MERCENARIES
A Multiplayer Action Adventure RPG that lets you step into the shoes of a mercenary on the edge of civilized space in a gritty retro sci-fi universe.
AI POLICY
At Blind Alien Productions we have a policy when it comes to AI.
Machines of any kind should catalyze the human effort and not be an outright replacement.
Only when the money is not available to close a skills gap do we resort to using AI. Otherwise we will do the work ourselves or use AI in limited capacity to close up only those skill gaps where AI can do so effectively with respect to its limitations.
As the founder of Blind Alien Productions and an independent contractor, I have used AI to generate content of various types for my own projects and client projects for almost 10 years. I have warned people of its growing capabilities and criticized those who use it without regard to its glaring limitations. AI without the human is useless, outright soulless, and should never make up the bulk of the work of a production.
At the end of the day AI is just another automation tool that needs a human who is familiar with its functionality to wrangle it in. If we allow it to do what it wants, that is exactly what it will do.
MONETIZATION
Frontiers Reach: Mercenaries is intended to be a large game and we expect to lean into proven methods for monetizing games with long development cycles. Embracing a free-to-play model that seeks to earn through individual DLC packs that are friendly for players on a budget.
- Designer Skin Packs.
- Ornamentation Packs.
- Logo Packs.
- Planetary Locations.
DESIGNER SKIN PACKS
While players will have the option to apply basic coloring with simple patterns on their gear as a part of the base game functionality, designer skins will exist for everything from weapons, to armor, to vehicles, and even the players space suit.
ORNAMENTATION PACKS
Ornamentation items will allow players to add bits and bobs onto weapons, armor, and vehicles that modify, alter, or completely change, the look of that equipment but do not change the inherent functionality.
LOGO PACKS
Logo packs will be images that can be applied to any weapon, armor, or vehicle, and even the carrier, for the purpose of identifying the player/s as individuals or clans. These will be sold in pre-approved packs. **The logos featured here were generated with AI and are only examples**
PLANETARY LOCATIONS
Each planet in Frontiers Reach: Mercenaries will be represented by a heavily designed and highly interactive sandbox level that is at least 40 kilometers in diameter horizontal space on the ground, and include a High Altitude/Orbital layer, as well as an “Underground” represented in the form of dungeon like levels of substantial size and complexity with raid type mechanics.
With each map there will also be a story driven campaign that progresses the overarching narrative of the game. New factions and main characters to interact with, as well as new types of weapons, armor, vehicles, and other forms of equipment.
The ideal release schedule for each map is 1 new map every year at the beginning of the year.
ABOVE : The desert world of Quixote’s Dream (WIP)
BELOW : The ice bound planet of Jotunn (WIP)
Frontiers Reach as an IP is styled to bring a fresh face to old ideas. Taking inspiration NOT from the artwork of older artists directly on their own, but to instead find inspiration in the same things they did.
As such my primary references for art are found in WW2 and the early to mid Cold War Era art and design from real world aviation and aerospace. With a dash of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon added for an extra bit of that retro flavor.
A layer of dirt, grime, and/or rust is added to everything to help give it that lived in feel on top of helping to sell the idea that everything is much older than the player. Like playing on rusty old farm equipment in grandpa’s barn.
I call this, Rusty Americana Sci-fi.
VISUAL DESIGN
VISUAL DESIGN
VISUAL DESIGN
VISUAL DESIGN
VISUAL DESIGN
VISUAL DESIGN
MECHANICAL OVERVIEW
Players will have the freedom to traverse large open landscapes on foot, on wheels, in the air with different types of vehicles, and when new planetary locations are available, hopping from one planet to another via a carrier which serves as the players mobile headquarters among the stars.
The goal here is to fill a gap in third person sci-fi shooter games focusing on player freedom and sandbox interaction where the players choices as an individual or as a team have weight to the game world. Allowing them to align or un-align with factions or even wipe factions off the map completely.
A major part of the game will be deep diving into ancient alien ruins and/or vast cave systems where the player/s will meet the ultimate challenges. Navigating labyrinthian structures, solving puzzles, and avoiding traps while fighting hordes of hostile aliens and creatures.
MECHANICAL OVERVIEW
The players character is the primary means by which the player will interact with the game world. Classical RPG style leveling systems with a fresh take are planned with Attributes, Skills, Jobs, and a host of different types of gear for the player to engage with.
MECHANICAL OVERVIEW
Vehicles will play a major part in how the player traverses the world and finding new vehicles will be a key mechanic of the game.
MECHANICAL OVERVIEW
Ground vehicles are also planned to be a part of the gameplay, we’ve already got a physics based vehicle controller that is similar to Halo.
MECHANICAL OVERVIEW
Creature mounts are also available for the player to use with the ability for the player to attack while mounted on the back of the animal.
MECHANICAL OVERVIEW
Frontiers Reach is a Universe that was always meant to be shared with friends and so multiplayer for this next title is a critical feature.
MECHANICAL OVERVIEW
AI for NPCs is being setup to allow for highly intelligent enemies and allies. We have AI bots fighting each other and the player in a test environment.
MECHANICAL OVERVIEW
We even have AI for hostile alien bug swarms for some of that bug smashing action that players love.
PROGRESSION OVERVIEW
Frontiers Reach : Mercenaries will launch with 1 planetary location and 1 space location. The idea is that these large open world spaces will host dynamic sandboxes with deep interactions for the player to engage with. New levels will be added as DLC.
Players will start out in the basic Mercenary job and choose a secondary job. To level up, the player will perform tasks associated with the skills tied to the jobs. Leveling up skills unlocks new abilities and enables the player to become more creative with how they engage with the world and missions. The quickest way to level up skills is to take on contracts from factions.
As the player completes contracts, story missions will become available. Completing story missions will progress the story until a “Story Pause” is reached. At that point the player is free to do as they please until the next story mission becomes available.
PROGRESSION OVERVIEW
The games story is divided into chapters. Each chapter is tied to a planetary location which may also include a space location. New planetary locations released via DLC will contain a new chapter on the new location, plus a chapter back on the Frontiers Reach Sector 73X location where the core of events is taking place. Players may revisit other locations whenever they please.
STORY OVERVIEW
The games story will be told with in-game dialogue and cutscenes, some may be pre-rendered in engine to avoid technical difficulties with rendering in engine at runtime. Unity has powerful tools like Cinemachine and Timeline to help achieve this.
The plot of the story revolves around a group of war veterans who take their life savings from years of fighting and purchase a ship to go seek their fortune out on the frontier as Mercenaries; helping those in need even if the coin isn’t always there. For their first job they are tasked with finding a missing research team on the remote moon of Frontiers Reach. In the process of looking for the research team they accidentally awaken an army of hostile biomechanical aliens known as the Vir. The Vir built the moon to serve as a mausoleum for one of their emperors and several hundred million of his soldiers and officers. This sets off a chain of events that will require the player to unite the disparate factions of the frontier worlds in a desperate defense of humanity.
**I intend to hire a writer to help with this**
AUDIO OVERVIEW
Sound is an important part of Frontiers Reach as an IP. In the first game I did most of the sound design myself but have scouted out potential candidates for sound designer.
For music I have a working relationship with one Lucas Ricciotti who has done music for the first Frontiers Reach game.
Additionally I have access to tools for creating AI generated music which I myself put together.
In an ideal situation I would like to be able to hire Lucas Ricciotti back on to work with me and be able to pay him enough to really focus on music for FR:M.
I am open to licensing the soundtrack as a standalone item for sale.
The music in this section was composed by Lucas Ricciotti for the first Frontiers Reach Game.
Frontiers Reach — Last Call
Frontiers Reach — Through the Fire
The music in this section was put together by myself with the assistance of the AI tool Udio.
Galactic Ascendency
Ascendency
**Audio files may take a moment to load**
NEW PLAYERS
New players will enter the game by creating a new character which will be done via a short character creation sequence where the player starts with Mercenary as their primary job. They will choose a secondary job later to fill out the core of their skill set.
Starting on the bridge of the carrier the player will see the vessel drop out of warp travel and the moon Frontiers Reach grow large in the window. From there they will travel down to the armory to get geared up. Once geared up they will go down to the hangar and launch into space via an old starfighter from a bygone era.
After entering the atmosphere, the player will then get shot down and eject from the fighter. Deploying their parachute and getting a good glimpse at the surface of the moon below their feet. After landing the player must take guidance from the Control Officer on the carrier as they retrieve weapons and supplies from their downed fighter and find a way to their first contract.
GAME SCOPE
The plan is for Frontiers Reach Mercenaries to be a long game with lots of depth and a story campaign spanning multiple planets represented by 40 km squared maps or larger. Each map will have an Underground, Surface, and Orbital layer containing different activities.
The main story will be expanded upon with the release of planetary location maps as DLC. Some of these DLC may also contain space only maps with asteroid fields and space stations.
To keep players playing between releases we are aiming for these maps to have enormous depth of interaction. Each map will have factions that the player can interact with in various ways or wipe off the map creating power vacuums for other factions to fill or new generated factions to rise up in. Factions will also offer the player unique gear sets to obtain, and procedurally generated contracts of various length; some gated with reputation requirements. The goal is a living breathing world on each location with their own unique challenges.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Since FR:M is planned as a multiplayer game, we are aiming to have a Clan System where players can create their own Mercenary Corporations. These corporations will have the ability to offer their own rewards, have their own reputation systems, and allow for Corporate Officers to create and template missions for both corp members and non-members alike.
Corporations will also have the ability to setup Clan Events on a planetary location where they can host raid-like missions for as many people as their servers will allow as we’re aiming to have dedicated server support for both private individuals and third party services like G-Portal and Nitrado.
We also want to host our own public servers for players to play together in larger groups with the intention of holding unique events only available on the public PVE servers.
THE TEAM
The team working on Frontiers Reach is quite small but we are not to be underestimated.
Jonathan Toney
CEO, Co-Founder,
and Project Lead
As a veteran of the United States Army I have 6 years of experience which I also draw inspiration from for Frontiers Reach as an IP. I also have a few years of leadership experience from my time in the service. After leaving the service I attended school in North Carolina where I received a Bachelors of Arts in Animation & Game Design. Upon graduating I got my first job working on AI powered smart kiosks that use Unity3D and holographic projections to provide interactive experiences for the healthcare, hospitality, financial, and government services sectors. I’ve also worked on Mixed Reality applications for the United States Air Force and a demonstrator app for a contract pitch to NASA.
To achieve the completion of Frontiers Reach : Mercenaries, I’ve conducted planning and learning over a 10 year period. Spending 4.5 years developing some of the foundational tools required to make FR:M possible with a previous game simply called Frontiers Reach. The biggest piece of that project was a custom scenario management system that I designed over 2 years which uses a completely custom scripting language and that will be ported over to FR:M for creating procedurally generated scenarios to drive dynamic gameplay.
EMAIL : sdtoney88@gmail.com or blindalienproductions@gmail.com
THE TEAM
The team working on Frontiers Reach is quite small but we are not to be underestimated.
Lucas Ricciotti
Composer
(AWAITING CONTRACT)
I started my journey in music at the age of 13 by learning to play the piano. I spent hours studying film scores and playing them on my small keyboard. Later, I took private lessons with a couple of teachers who introduced me to basic music theory and production. At 15, I composed my first piece, and since then, I have been learning and improving on my own.
My passion for film and video game music led me to compose in this style, eventually turning it into my main work. Over the years, I have focused on creating concept albums and collaborating on various projects, including Frontiers Reach.
PORTFOLIO: https://www.youtube.com/@LucasRicciottiMusic/featured
THE TEAM
The team working on Frontiers Reach is quite small but we are not to be underestimated.
Jessy Causey
Voice Director
(AWAITING CONTRACT)
A few years after finishing my education in Forensic Science. I began training for over 2 years to learn/specialise in voice acting. I then proceeded to move into the market. This ranged from doing small Indie games, Commercials for radio, Audio-books, Animated movies, Comedy videos (e.g. the series "Honest Car Commercials"), singing and being the voice director for at least 9 of those projects. I have ties to a few actors agencies, agents and many actors across the world. Due to my education, I had to learn how to be self-motivated and highly independent, working on my own 95% of the time; as well as taking extensive notes and being the last to leave a site while performing a key role in law enforcement.
To assist in the completion of Frontiers Reach. I use my training and skills I learned getting my education and skills as a voice actor to get the results we need and be as efficient as possible. This included pre-planning days, sometimes weeks in advance, to get the voice actors done with the recording, using as few retakes as possible in live recording sessions between myself and the actor/actors. Doing interactive sessions by getting visual and auditory aids to help paint a scene for the voice actor/s to set the scene as close as possible. Proofreading, improvising or re-writing the script if need be. This leads to an immersive experience to get the reactions and voice over to be as realistic as possible. PORTFOLIO : https://www.youtube.com/@JessyCausey
THE TEAM
The team working on Frontiers Reach is quite small but we are not to be underestimated.
Zack Viola
Concept Artist
(AWAITING CONTRACT)
I’m Zack, I am an illustrator with over 9 years experience under my belt. I cut my teeth drawing military equipment and vehicles for a US Army contract and have since then focused my art on designing tech and machines, alongside character design skills. My work has been featured in multiple publications under Sword & Board Games where I have done illustration, and acted as Art director for. I have also contributed extensive work to multiple independent companies across the tabletop, and video game industries.
THE TEAM
The team working on Frontiers Reach is quite small but we are not to be underestimated.
INSERT TEAM MEMBER INFO HERE
INSERT TEAM MEMBER DESCRIPTION HERE
TECH DEMO
We currently have a tech demo available for anyone to try out who is interested. This tech demo is very much in progress but receives updates about every month as I flesh out what I want to show first and develop the documentation alongside it.
You can access a build of the Tech Demo at the Google Drive link below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xg3OAWHBpNHHVYEpixE91Bjemm861vVh/view?usp=drive_link
CREATOR PROGRAM
We would like to one day explore a creator program where independent artists and fans of the Frontiers Reach Universe can contribute content to the game and get paid for it. We’ve already got a few people in our Discord community who have actively been suggesting their own designs for fighters. We will of course need to work with these contributing artists to bring their work in line with the FR aesthetic.
Created by Discord user Archangel777