X@COM is soon to no longer be "X-COM." Now quick--
READ FAST BEFORE YOU GO INTO SHOCK:
What I mean is the game is going to be re-branded with a different name and content while keeping the same mechanics and premise--you'll still be leading an organization tasked with defending Earth against aliens; soldiers, battlescape, geoscape, bases, craft, and all. This will enable more freedom in both design and fundraising. (If you *really* want to play the original in ASCII form, I'm sure a mod will be able to help you with that--we more or less have one already, minus the geoscape.)
We don't really need
another X-COM clone, anyway, which X@COM is already decidedly not, so... first thing's first: we need a
new name to
- preferably represent what the game will be (or at least some aspect thereof)
- get at least a little further away from "X-COM"
- be easier to search for, '@' characters not being all that search engine friendly
- be pronounceable
Since this plan has been in the back of my head for a quite a while now, I've already had plenty of time to come up with, mull over, and throw out the window lots of ideas. The only one that's stuck to date:
Company X.
While X@COM is not a clone and does/will include lots of additional features, it obviously has its roots in X-COM (as well as some of the trunk as well, considering core mechanics and gameplay), so I preferred a name that still embodied those roots (okay, trunk), hence the 'X', and "Com..." (cleverly reversed, mind you!
)
In 1973 a close group of respected scientists exploring the entertaining possibility of alien life on Earth made an important discovery. Although based purely on a confluence of soft evidence, it appeared that aliens really could be responsible for a series of unexplained and seemingly unrelated events across the globe in recent years.
While they couldn't take their views to the public without risking their reputations in the scientific community, they were convinced that given more time and information it might be possible to piece together enough evidence to prove the Earth was in fact under alien surveillance for an unknown purpose.
They called themselves "The Company," a joking reference to not being alone on the planet.
Uniquely positioned to gain access to normally restricted data, The Company slowly pieced together behavioral profiles and hypothesized about technological advancements behind various unnatural phenomena, all rooted in real science. For several years they silently investigated and monitored suspected alien activity, even developing technology capable of detecting Unidentified Flying Objects and tracking them for a short distance.
It is now the year 1985, and the aliens are becoming more aggressive. No longer are incidents limited to brief sightings and random abductions. Inexplicable small-scale attacks have begun to shake the public psyche even as governments are quick to initiate cover-ups and attribute them to terrorists.
The company decides it's time to act.
Through one part pattern analysis, one part behavioral science, and two parts luck, they successfully predict the next target site. Acting in coordination with local law enforcement contacts, they have an entire squad of officers briefed and waiting in ambush when two armed aliens arrive at the scene, immediately surprising and subduing them before they can react.
Major world governments are impressed at the group's success, and unanimously agree to fund them as a new independent initiative tasked with combating the alien threat in all its forms. Knowledge of the alien threat is not yet ready to be brought before the public, thus the deal is kept secret and for now the group appears on government defense ledgers as simply "Company X."The term "Company" can be taken in the military, economic, or even "group" sense. Obviously you're leading a paramilitary organization, as well as essentially a company what with manufacturing and selling equipment on the side to supplement income...
The story is not incredibly unique, just another possible way such an organization could be formed that covers most of the necessary bases while keeping it generic enough that it could play out in any number of ways from your starting point.
What do you think about all this? Especially the name. It doesn't seem all that amazing on it's own, and in that sense it's not perfect, but it fits the theme and series well...
I'm bringing this up here and not on the blog because a forum is a better place to have a discussion (speaking of which, I'll likely be opening a new general forum once this name is decided).In other news the latest blog post I've had ready for several days now, regarding donations, is sitting around collecting dust because I found out at the last minute that PayPal donations don't work in my country--I was informed I should start a company and sell a product or service instead.
Go figure. I'll see what I can do...
Author
Topic: X@COM - Where ASCII and X-COM Collide! (Read 116953 times)