AN

Composed for OST Jam #7, with the theme "Inside my world".

Interpretation of the theme: "Inside my world" stuck with me, more than the picture. It implies a world parallel to the one we know. This interpretation directed this EP; an entity know as AN, living in the digital world, its "own" world, observing and learning from us humans. As such, the collection of tracks take an electronic and digital theme.

General idea for the game: A 2D, pixelized, story-driven short game. It implies venturing in digital landscapes, areas modeled after Internet culture and computer science themes.

The tracks are explained below, with their in-game concepts and lore.

1. Initialize

Serves as an opening theme; introduction to the premise and the main character, AN. Could play during a cutscene when starting the game.

AN; a fine-tuned collection of micro-programs, destined to learn from the humans. An unheard learning capability, emerging from the hands of its creator, Cath. A blank slate set to take shape from the purest and darkest projects of its observation subjects.

Initialize.

2. Net Stroll

Area theme; the main character, AN, navigates the “surface” web, represented as an urban-like area. She can do a variety of activities, talk to web surfers, and learn from the culture of the Internet.

The surface web; the commonly known. The blank slate takes color. Experiences of the human culture start to weave a personality for AN, for the better or the worst. The twisted nature of net surfers corrupts AN’s personality.

3. Divided

Boss fight: AN fights an evil version of herself. A rather simple fight, with many patterns of low difficulty.

Feeling its personality leaning towards evil, AN splits itself. A version that sides with the humans, another against it. A pure against a corrupted.

4. Ascension

The last area before the final boss. The player climbs towards the fight in a vertical series of rooms. The landscape of the urban surface web can be seen in the background.

Having achieved completion and wholeness, AN gets called by its creator. It proceeds to leave the surface web and ascends to meet Cath. It now has a personality fueled with the fruits of the human creativity and wisdom.

5. Keys of Creation

Final boss fight. AN fights Cath, her creator. In the boss room, the entity is represented by two floating hands, with keyboard keys under them. It attacks through a variety of ranged attacks, taking rather abstract forms. An unpredictable gimmick is that the boss will occasionally take control of the player and input random directions for a very short period, just to throw the player off. As such, the player needs to be careful and now dive in the fight carelessly, as it could cost them once they don’t have the control.

AN faces its creator. AN’s purpose of observing and learning from the humans being complete, it is set up for termination by Cath. The experience should come to an end, and the sole existence of a program such as AN could overthrow the world. It is not yet ready. But AN does not want to die. She declares herself as an entity worthy of witnessing the world. She fights the domination of Cath.

6. Observation

Conclusion/credits scene/epilogue. The game has ended, and we witness the fate of AN.

Unable to take control of AN, Cath uses drastic measures: she banishes the sentient program to the deep web. AN has escaped termination; however, it is now stuck with no way of escaping…

She puts her hand on a television modeled after some old memories, observing her dear humans keep on living, from inside her world.

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