There are some parts of New Dawn City where you just don’t want to go. Crime has overrun the streets, and staying safe means staying away. It wasn’t always like this. NDC was founded on the hope that things would be different. It was a chance at a fresh start. Over the years, best intentions gave way to corruption. Elected officials betrayed their office and criminal enterprises began to flourish. Now, NDC is made up of loosely affiliated Zones, with vastly different socio-economic make ups. The dream of uniting under respectable leadership is almost dead, but there is one more chance to save the city.
In the world of In Too Deep, you play an undercover agent trying to restore order to the city. The goal is to collect enough Evidence to take down an evil criminal Syndicate once and for all. New technology allows you to hack the cybernetics and enter the minds of the criminals on the Syndicate’s payroll. While inside their minds, you’ll be able to control their actions, traveling around the city to the various Zones and committing crimes. Transportation technology has advanced with teleporters, flying cars, and digital plugs-ins at every corner. However, getting around the city isn’t always easy in the body of wanted criminals. Different Zones are always getting blockaded or having the Heat called down on them. You’ll also have to be aware of the Sentinel. It was designed a a robotic police force, but it can sometimes be hacked to help you accomplish your goals. To protect this city, you’re going to have to learn its streets.
Each of the eight Zones of the city have their own location ability. You’ll be able to access these abilities if there’s not too much Heat in that area. Zone abilities range from allowing you to collect Evidence, shifting the Blockades or Sentinel around the city, teleporting items around, gaining new Crime cards, and more. When you’re undercover in the city, you’ll need to take advantage of these abilities to complete your missions.
The rich in NDC have retreated to their electronically gated communities, like The Towers. This is where the wealthy live. Massive residential complexes soar into the sky. The higher the floor you live on, the more you're worth. From here, the elites of the city look down on the rest of NDC with a mixture of disdain and fear. These may feel like safer neighbourhoods, but they’re by no means immune from crime. Many missions will bring you down the well maintained streets where the other half lives. Their security methods may keep out some of the lower level thugs of NDC, but the sophisticated members of the Syndicate’s crew enter and leave pretty easily. Sometimes, you don’t even know they were there.
Ion Heights is the high tech industry Zone. The brightest minds in the city congregate here to work on advanced technology projects. The secretive organization we work for has plucked a number of these great thinkers out of the general population to work on our missions. It was one of these scientists that was able to find a way to hack into the minds of Syndicate criminals, giving us a fighting chance to bring the whole organization to justice.
The Skyport, Riverside, and Zinbazaar are filled with people coming and going from all over the world. The Skyport is the major hub of NDC. If you’re coming from out of town, you're likely arriving through this Zone. In the beginning, the Skyport saw tourists and dignitaries landing there daily. It was the entry point into what was to be the city of the future. Times have changed, and now the Skyport is a centre for smuggling of illegal goods and of people. There is a great deal of security there, but contraband finds a way through. Riverside is the other major entry point into the city. Used for importing goods on major vessels, there is a lot more illicit behaviour than first meets the eye. When an item is too hot to try and and bring into the city through the Skyport, Riverside is the natural next option. The Syndicate has invested heavily in controlling this Zone to ensure their products make it in safely. You can travel there, but be prepared to be challenged. Zinbazaar is the Zone you go when you’re looking for a deal. The main market area of the city has a reputation. You can find anything you’re looking for there…plus maybe a few things you’re not. It’s a bit of a rite of passage for the youths of NDC to explore the twisting lanes, tunnel, bridges, and alleyways of the Zinbazaar. There are incredible wonders to behold there to be sure, but take a wrong turn and you can find yourself in a dead end. These are the exact places where criminals lie in wait to take your credits…only your credits if you’re lucky.
The Blocks and The Parish are the Zones that the upper crust tend to avoid. They have long ago fallen under Syndicate control. This doesn’t mean that the leadership of NDC has given up on them yet. The goal is to return them to their former standing as safe reputable neighbourhoods. The Blocks is largely made up of cheaper housing stacked up from street level to the sky. The residents are as much victims of the Syndicate as the rest of the city. For many people, getting out of the Blocks is a dream. If you do your job right and curb the criminal influence, staying might be a viable option once more. The Parish got its name from the NDC Church that once served as the spiritual centre of the city. Over the years, the Zone has become the red light district of town. Anything is available here…for a price. Although the church still stands, it’s now more of a refuge than somewhere that provides spiritual guidance.
The Downtown Zone is the heart of NDC. It’s one of the few places where everyone has to go to sooner or later. As such, there seems to be an uneasy peace in the jungle of glass, steel, and concrete. Huge corporate skyscrapers disappear from view at street level, blocking out the sun. Downtown is also the seat of government for NDC. The Mayor’s office, which has become more of a secure compound recently, and NDPD headquarters are centralized here. On the rare occasion when a local dignitary comes to town, chances are they’ll spend most of their time in the downtown core.
NDC was once a rich, vibrant city state, teeming with potential and hope. Times have changed, but it’s not too late to restore it to its former glory. In your mission, you’re going to familiarize yourself with the back streets and forbidden areas as well as the upper crust neighbourhoods which protect the city elites. As an undercover agent in criminal’s clothing, you’ll have commit crimes to eventually bring order to NDC. Travelling through its streets is a good way to remind yourself what you're fighting for.
In Too Deep is coming to Kickstarter on September 15.
Read the In Too Deep Overview here.
Read about the Mechanisms of In Too Deep here.
Read about the Criminals of In Too Deep here.
