Necessary Force
Midway Studios – Newcastle | Content Designer
A little background…
Following the release of Wheelman, I began working as a content designer on a new open world title, “Necessary Force”. In stark contrast to Wheelman’s light-hearted tone in sunny Barcelona, Necessary Force instead depicted a dark and gritty experience against a Blade Runner-inspired dystopian backdrop.
The player took the role of a grizzled detective, tasked with tracking down criminals via an interactive evidence board, which would lead to larger and more dangerous targets as the game progressed. The player could hunt for evidence, chase down leads, and eventually have a showdown with the kingpin of the city.
Responsibilities
I worked on pre-production documentation surrounding the game’s “city clean up” system.
As the player arrested criminals, the city itself would become “clean”; a drug den covered in graffiti and smashed windows would turn into an attractive coffee shop, with the dealers and hookers of the area being replaced by more affluent law-abiding citizens.
This wasn’t a simple linear form of progression, though; there was a twist! Whilst gentrification would result in lower crime overall, it would provide fewer leads, requiring players to balance how much they “clean” the city. This mechanic was to tie neatly into the game’s activity distribution and mission structure.
Outside my systemic role, I pitched mission and encounter designs to help support the numerous systems of the game.
Unfortunately the title was cancelled due to studio closure. If you would like to know more about the title, Unseen64 have archived a number of videos and concepts from the production.