Bait and Bleed
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Bait and Bleed ||
Can any man bred to kill for his country be trusted not to kill for himself?
ABOUT
Bait and Bleed, which started as a game concept made for ELVTR’s Game Narrative Design course, has since grown into my first major game pitch. Set in an alternate version of World War 1, you play as Grigoriy Kislov, a Russian Sergeant sent to a desolate frontline trench used as a dumping ground for criminals the Russian government doesn’t know what to do with. As you get to know your comrades, murders begin to occur, and it’s up to you to figure out the larger mystery of the trench.
The game draws from current events to shine light on/critique modern warfare and its negative effect on people from all sides.
INFO
GENRE - Murder-Mystery Horror
STATUS - Ongoing
ROLE - Narrative Designer, 2D Artist
TIME FRAME - Ongoing
ENGINE - Unity
As a side note, this game is currently ongoing, and I am actively looking for people interested in working on this with me, wink wink nudge nudge. Interested? Drop me an email about it at the bottom of this page!
NARRATIVE
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NARRATIVE |
Bait and Bleed: Narrative Essentials
These links will take you to some example scripts I wrote for different scenarios in Bait and Bleed, as well as the game’s pitch document, which has all mechanics, story main characters mapped out (both documents are subject to change as development goes on)
ART
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ART |
What did I do?
As my first (for now) solo game, I am responsible for creating all 2D assets for the game.
This includes all character portraits for the 9 major characters, along with different expressions for different scenes and dialogue options. A big challenge of this project was to not only make the characters look different enough to be identifiable on sight - especially as the 3D character models are much simpler - but as realistic to the 1900’s time period as possible. From referencing Russian soldier uniforms to hairstyles of the time period, a lot of work was put into making these characters visually appealing, yet just as much the kind of people one could see on the street - all while posing as visual representations of the different consequences of war.
Characters
Arthur Ovechkin
Grigoriy Kislov
Age: Mid 40’s - Early 50’s
Ethnicity: White - Half English, Half Russian
Place of Birth: Russia
Currently Living: Russian Territory - Likho’s Trench
Languages: English, Russian
Personality: Blunt, distant, but soft-hearted and caring beneath his shell
Abilities: Trained field medic, fluent in English as well as Russian
Voice: A gravelly but soft-spoken and underlyingly kind man with a Russian accent. He sounds older than he is.
Background: Grigoriy was raised by his father - along with his older sister Zoya - in Russia after his British mother fled back to England. When Grigoriy was 14, Zoya taught him English so they could follow their mother, and fled to join her a year later. The two hitched rides in military vehicles and stayed in generous people’s houses when they could, but were mostly on foot during their trudge to the border. However, during their journey through a struggling village, the pair were surrounded and robbed by a group of starving locals, with Zoya mistakenly trampled for fighting back. Grigoriy managed to kill Zoya’s murderer, but was quickly arrested. Feeling immense guilt for not saving Zoya, and developing a deep phobia of starvation, when offered the choice between staying in prison or joining the army, he chose to serve, hoping to make up for his failure and escape starving himself. He still longs to find his mother, but has given up hope on doing so.
Visual Description: Grigoriy is a tall, hunched man with a thick unkempt beard. His eyes are a deep blue, beady, and hard to see under his thick eyebrows. What’s left of his hair is thin, sparse and greying. His arms are covered in light scars from years scratching them as a coping mechanism/self punishment, almost always hidden underneath his military uniform, which he stopped properly maintaining years ago. His weariness makes him look older than he is.
Age: 18
Ethnicity: White - 3/4 English, 1/4 Russian
Place of Birth: England
Currently Living: Russian Territory - Likho’s Trench
Languages: English
Personality: Arthur is overly keen to be of use, and insecure about his inability to understand Russian. He is uncommonly willing to be vulnerable and explore his feelings for a boy in the 1910’s, a result of being raised around sisters.
Abilities: Skilled in decryption and keeping secrets
Voice: A boyish, animated and light voice. Very posh British accent, with a slight stutter. When extremely nervous, has a tendency to mutter and laugh.
Background: Arthur was born upper-middle class in England. His family consists of his half Russian father, English mother and three older sisters. Despite Arthur’s keen interest in both sides of his heritage, his father heavily discouraged engaging with his Russian culture - as his father views his own poverty-stricken upbringing and subsequent marriage into the British upper-middle class as deeply shameful. His mother, however, helps Arthur as much as she can to explore his heritage behind her husband’s back. She goes so far as to help Arthur to travel to Russia to study mathematics, with a course in cryptography, along with hiring him an interpreter while he studies. It’s at university that he meets his best friend Stanislav, who takes Arthur under his wing. However, as the lead up to world war brews, Russia announces their mandatory conscription laws for all above 18. Arthur, though not a traditional citizen, is proudly against conscription on behalf of Stanislav, attending many protests against the law. At one of these protests, Stanislav attempts to remove Arthur from the protest as police get involved, but Arthur resists, ultimately getting both boys arrested and, as Arthur has family ties to Russia, he is inadvertently deemed qualified to be sent to war with Stanislav. Arthur’s father does nothing to get him out, despite the pleas from his wife and daughters.
Visual Description: Arthur is a tall, lanky, frail-looking boy with bright ginger hair, a boyish button nose and green eyes, both he inherited from his mother. He has freckles all over his pale face, and large teeth with a gap in the middle (this feature, along with his emotional side, resulting in Fyodor nicknaming him зайка (bunny, a girlish nickname). His uniform is a size or two too big for him, though he does his best to take care of it.
Age: Early 30’s
Ethnicity: White - Russian
Place of Birth: Russia
Currently Living: Russian Territory - Likho’s Trench
Languages: Russian
Personality: Dmitri is prickly and headstrong upon first meeting him, though fiercely loyal. While he is very adept at reading people, he can be blinded by his own perception and beliefs at times, leading him to occasionally being unreasonable. However, once through to him, he accepts his fault with grace and does his best to learn from mistakes. His humour can be a little off-putting, along with his whole demeanour, but it is unclear how much of it is layers upon layers of masking and projection of how he thinks he should be as a man.
Abilities: Senior rifleman and unofficial leader between the previous Sergeant’s disappearance and Grigoriy’s arrival. Adept in survival skills, from maintaining the fire to prolonging survival with the most basic of tools.
Voice: Husky and silken, though slightly nasally due to his cleft lip. While he doesn’t speak English, he knows enough of the basics to either greet you or insult you. When provoked to anger, he loses his softer touch and jumps jarringly into sharp-tongued, bitter debate, though is quick to laugh this tone off - many of the men end up never knowing what to expect with Dmitri.
Background: Dmitri is a war dog through and through. With his parents mostly absent, he learned to survive and fight from his grandfather, a war veteran, and entered the military himself at 16, lying about his age to sign up. As an, at the time, fierce patriot with a violent streak, Dmitri knew the army was his calling, though was surprised to find he did not fit in well with his comrades due to his brash and prickly nature. He still struggles with this, especially due to his lack of trust in anyone else here. He figured out very quickly that most of the men here are not here willingly, and must have done something to earn a place in Likho’s Trench.
Visual Description: Dmitri is clean shaven and regarded as attractive, even with the cleft lip he was born with, though his tired, cold hazel eyes age him more than the rest of his youthful face suggests. He doesn’t care much for his appearance anymore, thinking about his appearance only for the sake of comfort against the cold. He always has a cigarette burning.
Arseniy Zimin
Kiril Orlov
Age: Late 30’s
Ethnicity: White - Russian
Place of Birth: Russia
Currently Living: Russian Territory - Likho’s Trench
Languages: Russian
Personality: Kiril is stoic and intimidating, keeping to himself the vast majority of the time. He doesn’t speak up often, but when he does, commands respect. He is reasonable to argue with, though there is an ever present rage that lies just under the surface.
Abilities: Construction aid, excellent hand-to-hand fighter and a good shot to boot. In charge or organising the supplies and maintaining order, even when rations are scarce.
Voice: Gruff and hoarse - the burns to his face left permanent damage to his throat. He speaks softly, but with a steely detachment that makes those around him uneasy.
Background: Kiril is the pinnacle of the 1900’s breadwinner. Growing up alongside his brother Lev, their caring parents drove home what it means to be a real man who encourages and takes care of his family, a concept that remains vastly important to him - though Lev took a different path as they got older. He is married with two young daughters at home, and worked in his village’s military camp as one of the higher-up trainers. Before the war, he took Lev in after he experienced financial difficulties, and the then distant brothers began to bond as they had as children. However, after the two’s arrival at Likho’s Trench, their bond has shattered, with Kiril refusing to respond to Lev’s pleas for reconnection.
Visual Description: Kiril is well built and tall, with a full mousy beard and short, slightly greying hair. He has light green eyes, and a large burn scar on the right side of his face and down his neck and right shoulder. He rarely cracks a smile, and even when he does he never loses his intense, intimidating stare.
Fyodor Morozov
Dmitri Malinin
Age: Early 50’s
Ethnicity: White - Russian
Place of Birth: Russia
Currently Living: Russian Territory - Likho’s Trench
Languages: Russian
Personality: Calm and kind, and has an air of feebleness, though is strong-willed and territorial when provoked. He tends to stay on the side-lines during Trials, though has a tendency to ask accusatory questions with the intention of getting the target to either slip and expose themself or prove their innocence in a way no one can argue with (though this distresses many of the men)
Abilities: Extremely capable sniper, keen-eyed and clever, adept in survival tactics and hunting
Voice: Cool yet honeyed, with a very strong Russian accent. He speaks slowly and carefully, and can jump from upbeat to cold in a way that is often jarring. Has a low, friendly laugh, though mawkish due to his habit of laughing at inappropriate times.
Background: Fyodor used to live in a much larger city, though when he got married he and his wife moved to a small town in the outskirts of Russia, as his wife wanted to be away from her overbearing father. He was the town’s primary source of game due to his hunting experience, becoming one of the pivotal members of his community. Now, Fyodor’s hunting skills make him an asset in the trench as well, being the main source of food for the men. His sniper rifle is an unusual sight for common soldiers, but through a mix of bribery and proof of skill, Fyodor managed to smuggle it in.
Visual Description: Fyodor is often mistaken for being older than he actually is due to his rugged appearance. He has thin grey hair cut extremely short, and never wears his hat. He has a large hooked nose that appears to have been broken and healed several times, long earlobes and deep-set blue eyes. He is often friendly and smiling, to the point that other soldiers refer to him as “the little old man” despite the fact that he towers over the other soldiers when upright. He moves slowly and his hands shake often, though is still an excellent marksman despite this.
Age: Mid 40’s
Ethnicity: White - Russian
Place of Birth: Russia
Currently Living: Russian Territory - Likho’s Trench
Languages: Russian
Personality: Arseniy is a shy, quietly passionate man - naïve to a fault and cares deeply for his comrades, though struggles to put it into words. He has difficulties socially, but lights up when talked to about his special interests, especially dogs. Much more of an actions man than a words man.
Abilities: Main construction of the trench - unlocks new areas to explore with every chapter. Very knowledgeable about animals, especially dogs, and decent at hunting, though not as adept as Fyodor.
Voice: Soft-spoken and deep pitched, with a tendency to mutter and mumble under his breath rather than directly stand up for himself. However, when engaged in conversation on topics that interest him, especially dogs, Arseniy lights up and speaks clearly but quickly, with enough enthusiasm to surprise anyone who doesn’t know him well.
Background: Arseniy is atypical for the 1900’s man, his father heavily discouraging his son’s softheartedness from a young age. As a result of this, as well as being bullied for his awkward personality and social difficulties, Arseniy’s best friends have always been animals, especially his family’s 3 hunting dogs. Though he didn’t grow up with her, his father remarried when Arseniy was in his early 20’s to a woman who had a daughter, Arseniy’s older step-sister Alla. Though he admired her, she never really took to him like a brother due to his awkward intensity. As he grew up, his gentle nature made joining the war a great challenge for him, and despite being one of the longer lasting members of Likho’s Trench, he hasn’t managed to properly befriend any of his comrades yet.
Visual Description: Arseniy is a broad, short man with thinning grey hair, a permanent 5 o’clock shadow and a well-maintained moustache. His glasses make his brown eyes look small, and is almost always smiling to himself. He tries to look pleasant and approachable, but sometimes comes off as too keen. He is also muscular from his time working in construction.
Lev Orlov
Age: Mid 30’s
Ethnicity: White - Russian
Place of Birth: Russia
Currently Living: Russian Territory - Likho’s Trench
Languages: Russian
Personality: Lev is carefree and optimistic, though occasionally to the point of frustration for others. He’s strongly anti-patriot, and very vocal about his politics. He is a real man-of-the-people, or at least tries to be, and is very attentive to the worries and needs of his comrades - and has made a few friends in the short time he has been in the trench.
Abilities: Construction aid, has an influence on the men due to his friendliness and fearless honesty. In the know about trench gossip.
Voice: Hearty and jubilant, with a voice that tends to ring through the room. He is always friendly, and almost never raises his voice, preferring to gently reason with those who can be reasoned with. However, he can be brash and even rude with those who can’t be.
Background: Lev was always the wild child of the family, especially when compared to his austere and regimented brother Kiril. When he failed to live up to his parent’s expectation of masculinity, preferring to pursue his whims and passions freely, he left his family home at 16 to make a life for himself. However, his adventurous lifestyle was not sustainable, especially in a culture of conservatism, which got him into financial debt. Left single, friendless and broke, Lev crashed with his brother’s new family - rebuilding the bond with Kiril and delighting his nieces as the fun uncle. Though, upon the brother’s arrival to Likho’s Trench, they are no longer on speaking terms, though Lev is not one to give up so easily.
Visual Description: Lev is not as tall as his brother, nor as burly, but has the same mousy coloured hair. He has some mild burn scars on his chest, but more noticeably a large scar across his left eye, which is missing. His hair is shaved, but he cares for maintaining his moustache.
Want to help make this game?
Drop me a message below and let me know what you can do - from programming to art, from design to sound work, anything helps!