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・Overview
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Title name: XEARZ

Game Type: Action, Side-Scroller, Platformer, Metroidvania-lite
'Metroidvania-lite' means that the game is not mainly about exploration, but it includes a few exploration elements.

Desc: A type of game based on side-scrolling action, with event scenes interspersed in places along the storyline. 3DCG movies are played during the event scenes.
In addition to the usual side-scrolling, the game will feature a multi-plane system, the game's most distinctive feature, which allows the player to move to terrain at the back or front.
The Multi-plane system was influenced by SNK's 'Fatal Fury' and 'TOP HUNTER'. It is, so to speak, a development of that system.

It is a stage-clearing type game, but you can destroy various background objects and enjoy searching for items that may appear after destruction.
The map has branches in various places, and could be called a Metroidvania-lite. A boss awaits at each stage.

As for Story, it is a 'SF Philosophy Story' that combines science fiction and philosophy, as described below.

Sales Schedule: Scheduled to be available on Steam in 2022-2023.

Influenced Games: Castlevania series
Valfaris
R-Type series
Devil Summoner series
Contra series
Ghosts 'n Goblins series
Fatal Fury
TOP HUNTER
…etc


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・System
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[Means of attack]

・Melee attack
(Upgradeable with Upgrade Item)

・Gun attack
(New gun adapters exist in each area, and each gun adapter can be upgraded with an Upgrade Item)

・Sub weapon attack
(Various types appear. Only one type can be possessed at any given time. I can't do Upgrade.)


[Movement system]

・Left-right movement and crouching action with D-pad or analog stick

・Normal jump

・Quick forward dash with invincibility time

・Jump to move to another terrain (plane) in the foreground or in the background (dedicated button)


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・Story
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'SF Philosophy Story'

A future in which AI has developed to the point where it is no longer possible to tell the difference between humans and AI.
Differences in views on these AI-equipped androids give rise to a violent ideological conflict.
A fierce confrontation between the two countries ensues.

What is the difference between an android and a human being?
Can we say that androids really exist in the world like humans?
Do androids have consciousness ......?

In one country, androids with AI do not generate consciousness; they are different from humans, he says.
The other country believes that androids have consciousness and are of the same species as humans.
Moreover, they are actively mechanizing the human brain.
Others believe that humans should abandon their physical bodies and become information-only beings, living in an ideal metaverse space.

The story centers on a newly developed combat android in the conflict between these two countries.
The story depicts the battles and interactions between humans and humans, androids and androids, and humans and androids.
As various incidents occur and the truth is revealed, players will witness a startling sight at the end of the story.


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・Significance of this story
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AI has evolved at a remarkable rate in recent years.
In a few decades or a century, they may no longer be distinguishable from humans. Androids with advanced AI could be created.
How will humanity feel about androids at that time?
Can androids equipped with advanced AI be considered life forms, just like humans?

Many works have been produced on the subject of AI and androids. Can androids be considered a life form?
Of course, there have also been works that ask the question.

What is the significance of presenting further works on a subject that so many people have dealt with? Naturally, one would think so.
I have a great dissatisfaction with those works that deal with this issue, especially in the entertainment field.
Many misunderstand the issues and portray only very superficial problems.
Or, in many cases, the expressions are so difficult to understand that they do not convey the message at all to the viewer.

We wanted to depict the core of the problem in this day and age when AI continues to evolve day by day,
and the feasibility of androids that are indistinguishable from humans is becoming more and more apparent.
Are androids life forms? What is the difference between us and humans?
This question has long been asked in the world of science and philosophy, and now it has become a real issue.

I have tried to express this issue as best I can through the medium of games.
The vision of the future depicted in this work is not all fantasy, but includes things that could happen in reality.
I have tried to depict one of the future possibilities related to this issue.