State Operative

Almost fifty years ago, the city Nexus was caged inside a vast Faraday dome, removed from the outside world, thanks to hacker attacks and cyber-terror which drove it into isolation. As the fiftieth anniversary of Nexus' self-imposed isolation approaches and public restlessness begins to boil beneath the surface, a freak accident sees a dome tile come dislodged and fall into one of the outer urban sectors. While miraculously not landing directly on anyone, it shattered on impact and piercing fragments injured many, including a mortal injury inflicted on one Evren Serpentine – though that wasn't their name then. When a citizen is in need of life-or-death medical treatment that they cannot afford, the State will graciously see to their care. For a price. Serpentine discovers this when they come to in hospital, fitted with a new cybernetic throat and jaw, and are informed that they are now one of the State's BiOs - Bionic Operatives - and will start training immediately.

You are Serpentine, and your choices matter. Will you do as the State tells you, upholding their ideals and crushing all opposition? Will you side with the Anti-State Alliance and shine light upon the State's dark secrets for all to see? Or will you side with VIXEN, a mysterious hacker group, whose only goal is freedom – and chaos?

As a Joint Honours student at Brunel University, I did two dissertation projects in my final year; one for English Literature and one for Game Design. State Operative is the name of my game design project, an art project wherein I had to create an aesthetically pleasing game with a focus on art and assets. The story above unfolds in my game, as the player meets the inhabitants of Nexus – good and bad – and makes choices that will affect the ultimate outcome.

While my focus was on the visuals, the game is fully playable; I hope that you enjoy it!