Necessary Force
Midway Studios – Newcastle
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Content Designer
Project Overview
Following the release of Wheelman, I began working as a Content Designer on Necessary Force, an open-world action game in development at Midway Studios Newcastle.
In stark contrast to Wheelman’s light-hearted tone and sunny Barcelona setting, Necessary Force envisioned a darker, grittier experience against a Blade Runner-inspired dystopian backdrop.
Players would assume the role of a hardened detective, investigating criminals through an interactive evidence board. By gathering evidence, following leads and pursuing increasingly dangerous targets, players would work their way towards confronting the city’s criminal kingpin.
Unfortunately, development ended following the closure of Midway Studios – Newcastle in 2009.
Content Designer
Midway Studios – Newcastle
Unreal Engine 3 and Kismet Visual Scripting Tools
PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Cancelled (2009)
Concept Trailer
Responsibilities
As a Content Designer during pre-production, I contributed to the design documentation for Necessary Force’s city clean-up system, exploring how player actions could influence the environment, criminal activity and the availability of investigative leads.
I also pitched mission and encounter concepts intended to support the game’s interconnected systems.
- Developed pre-production design documentation for the city clean-up system
- Explored relationships between environmental changes, criminal activity and investigative opportunities
- Contributed mission and encounter design proposals
Design Work
Game Feature: City Clean-Up System
One of the systems I worked on during pre-production was the city’s transformation in response to the player’s actions.
As players arrested criminals and dismantled their operations, neighbourhoods would gradually become cleaner and more affluent.
A run-down drug den, covered in graffiti and broken windows, might eventually become a coffee shop, while criminal activity gave way to more law-abiding residents.
However, this wasn’t intended to be a straightforward progression system. Cleaning up an area would reduce crime, but it would also remove potential investigative leads. Players would need to balance improving the city against preserving opportunities to pursue larger criminal targets.
The intention was to connect the city’s visual transformation with its activity distribution and mission structure, making the consequences of the player’s actions visible while introducing a trade-off into their investigation.
Aftermath
Necessary Force was cancelled following the closure of Midway Studios – Newcastle in 2009. If you would like to know more about the title, Unseen64 have archived a number of videos and concepts from the production.