Together with external partners I am working on a small first person actiongame with the codename "R.I.A.D."
The first version will be a free playable Game-Demo.
Estimated completion of Game-Demo (alpha): Q2/2025
(the original release date was postponed from Q3/2024 to Q2/2025,
because i've decided to put more work into details and more functions)
The Story Behind The Game R.I.A.D.
(Reborn In A Dungeon)
Date: 14.03.2024
by Marcel Klee
QUANTUM - IMPACT (The IP / Universe)
REBORN IN A DUNGEON (The Sub IP / Story)
Chapter 1:
The quantum leap into the unknown
A cold shiver ran down Dr. Patrick Eisenstadt's back. The chilly air blowing through the air conditioning didn't help matters. It was a shiver of anxiety that sent goosebumps crawling up his arms and neck.
The laboratory where he had been conducting research for years was usually a place of silence and focused work. The white walls, sterile and pristine, reflected the cold light of the neon lamps. Tables were lined with meticulously arranged equipment, blinking LEDs, and humming computers that matched the monotonous rhythm of their research. But today, there was an eerie tension hanging in the air. Dr. Eisenstadt couldn't quite put his finger on it.
It wasn't the typical tension preceding an important experiment that Dr. Eisenstadt was familiar with and could manage. This tension felt different. It was subtle—a tingling at the back of his head, a faint prickling sensation in his fingertips, as though there was electricity coursing through the air.
He conducted experiments here twice a day, aiming to peer into a parallel universe using the quantum world. So far, the tests had yielded no results, just routine repetition. The same procedures, the same measurements, the same frustrating outcomes. But today, something felt off.
Today, Dr. Eisenstadt felt a tingling of anticipation, coupled with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. What if something were to happen today? Would they make a breakthrough? What if the veil between worlds was finally lifted? What if he caught a glimpse of the unknown? Was this a premonition, a harbinger from another universe?
With shaking hands, he powered on the devices and stared at the monitors displaying his measurements. The numbers and curves danced before his eyes, an inexplicable pattern to the layman, appearing as pure chaos. But this time, something was different. A slight anomaly, barely noticeable, appeared amidst the data. Was it noise, an error in the measurement, or something more?
Dr. Eisenstadt's heart pounded in his chest. He stared at the monitor, transfixed by the tiny anomaly. Could it be a sign? An energy from another world?
Holding his breath, he leaned forward to analyze the data more closely. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he frantically tried to decipher the meaning of the anomaly.
The tension in the lab was palpable. Dr. Eisenstadt was not alone. Someone—or something—seemed to be watching him, or so he felt.
Today, everything was supposed to be different. Suddenly, unknown, heavily armed men burst into the laboratory building. A firefight broke out with security personnel. Dr. Eisenstadt, who was in the laboratory, listened in disbelief, horror mounting with every chaotic sound.
Dr. Eisenstadt jumped as the first shots echoed close to his laboratory. Panic filled his lungs as he heard the explosions and the rattle of machine guns. Chaos erupted like a tsunami, sweeping away everything in its path.
In the lab, the lights flickered, and the monitors showed nothing but static.
His measurements suddenly reverted to the old pattern, the pattern of failures. Disappointment spread across his face. "Why today, why now?" he whimpered desperately. He had been so close. But as the sounds of gunfire grew nearer and the voices and screams louder, Dr. Eisenstadt attempted once more to activate the security cameras outside his lab, only to find the system was down.
Muffled screams and the wail of sirens penetrated the thick walls of the laboratory. Dr. Eisenstadt knew he had to act, but he was paralyzed, trapped in a nightmare from which he could not awaken.
Then, the door to the lab crashed open—a security door about 5 cm thick blown off its hinges. A heavily armed man in a black uniform stormed in, pointing his rifle directly at Dr. Eisenstadt.
"Dr. Eisenstadt?" the man roared in a strange voice. "You're coming with us!"
Dr. Eisenstadt raised his hands, trembling. "What's going on here? Who are you?"
"No time for questions!" the man shouted. "Move!"
Dr. Eisenstadt was dragged out of the laboratory and into the corridor, where a hail of bullets filled the air. Soldiers fought desperately against each other in a struggle for life and death.
Dr. Eisenstadt ducked behind a stack of metal boxes, seeking shelter from the bullets. Among the boxes were high-energy fuel cells used to power the quantum particle space extractor. Glass shards from broken windows flew violently down the corridor, piercing his skin, and blood ran down his forehead.
Dr. Eisenstadt pressed his shaking hand against the bleeding wound on his forehead. The attacker who had dragged him out of the lab lay motionless next to him, a red stain on his black battle suit. Dr. Eisenstadt's gaze wandered over the scene of horror: destroyed equipment, blood-stained floors, deafening noise. Panic rose within him, but he forced himself to calm down. He needed to find a safe place to survive and understand what the hell was going on.
His footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, mixed with the sounds of battle as he headed towards the lab room with the quantum particle space extractor. In this shielded laboratory, he would hopefully find protection and gain an overview of the situation. The memories of the past few minutes burned into his mind: the explosions, the screams, the cold, rough voice of the man who had threatened him. What was their goal? Did they want to steal the technology, kidnap him, or destroy the lab with all the records?
Dr. Eisenstadt reached the security door of the High-energy quantum laboratory and pulled out his ID card. A short hiss, and the door opened with a soft click. He entered and locked the door behind him. Silence enveloped him, a restful contrast to the chaos outside. He could only faintly hear shots and occasional shouts.
His eyes went to the high-energy quantum machine, the quantum particle space extractor. It pulsed quietly with energy, a shimmering behemoth in the dimness of the lab. Dr. Eisenstadt cursed his own negligence. In his panic, he had forgotten to turn off the machine. What if a foreign object got into the quantum particle space extractor? Unforeseeable consequences, a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions, would threaten thousands of people.
With clammy fingers, he reached for the control panel. A cold film of sweat covered his forehead. He had to turn off the machine before it was too late. But his eyes fell on a flashing symbol on the display. A new message appeared: "Connection to parallel universe successfully established." The measurements showed a connection to another universe!
Dr. Eisenstadt was frozen, overwhelmed by feelings of success and joy. At that moment, he was not just a scientist but a person having a long-held wish fulfilled. In that moment, he forgot all the dangers around him - the attackers, the chaos, the people being killed, and the danger that the machine was currently posing if foreign objects got into it due to the attackers or an explosion. All he had to do was press an emergency stop to halt the machine and thus the danger.
But he couldn't contain himself and was caught up in his thoughts about what this could mean for him, for science, and for the world.
The front door opened. Several soldiers dressed in black burst into the room, their sights set on Dr. Eisenstadt. He was so engrossed in his thoughts, so absorbed in analyzing the mysterious data structures on the display, that he didn't notice the attackers until it was too late. A loud crash shattered the silence as one of the soldiers accidentally knocked over a delicate instrument.
Dr. Eisenstadt reflexively ducked behind the control panel to find cover. Bullets whizzed over his head, shattering equipment and piercing the walls. A ricochet hit the quantum particle space extractor with a bright flash.
A delayed shockwave ripped through the room, accompanied by a deafening bang. Sparks flew, flashes of light illuminating the room in a stroboscopic inferno. Strange, glittering particles swirled through the air, like diamond dust in a ray of sunlight.
Dr. Eisenstadt felt a burning pain in his chest as several bullets struck him. The world around him began to shake, the sounds merging into an inextricable chaos. Darkness spread before his eyes, and everything became silent.
He heard one last sound—a massive explosion that shook the room and turned everything into blinding white.
Then, silence and absolute darkness.
After a few seconds in the darkness, he heard distant voices that grew closer and closer. They sounded peaceful, melodic, but at the same time full of wonder.
"Oh dear, what happened here?
People have left their world and traveled to another.
This shouldn't actually happen.
But how?
There… there is another person here,
but still… not quite… different, almost like us… ?
He has mixed with our blood.
How is that possible?
What do we do now?
We will also have to send him to the other world.
That's a good thing.
He could help this one world find balance again.
This world was plunged into disaster by another anomaly.
We hope this has no negative consequences for the other worlds;
we hope this world can be healed through him."
Dr. Eisenstadt tried to focus his gaze. Before him stood a group of creatures he had never seen before. They resembled twinkling stars with small, distorted bodies that looked like floating drops of water, enveloped in a deep blue shimmering light. Their movements were graceful and fluid.
"Where am I?" asked Dr. Eisenstadt with a brittle, distorted voice. "Who - what are you?"
One of the creatures stepped forward. "We are the guardians of quantum space," it spoke with a gentle voice. Every time one of the creatures spoke, they moved back and forth like Tic-Tacs, as if disappearing in one place only to reappear in another place at the same moment.
"You have broken the barrier between worlds, and now you are here for the moment, caught between two sub-worlds."
Dr. Eisenstadt tried to understand what the creatures were telling him. Him, in a quantum space? "How can that be?" he asked, upset.
“We cannot explain to ourselves how this could have happened,” said the being. "But now we have to send you away to another sub-world. It's not your world. The way back to your old world is already closed for you. Your body—it has already died. But access to another world has been opened for you. Other beings from your world have already traveled there. You will follow them. You must now leave us to restore order. You will receive another body in this sub-world. Know that you now carry our blood within you."
“From now on, you can communicate with us.
We will help you."
Dr. Eisenstadt felt panic rising within him. "Dead, no going back? But I can't just die like that! I still have so much to do! I've just made my long-awaited discovery!"
"You will be able to continue your work," said the creature. "But in another sub-world and yourself as part of your own research. We will guide you.”
Dr. Eisenstadt closed his eyes. He felt the beings enveloping him, their energy flowing through him. Then it was dark and quiet again.
Chapter 2:
Reborn in a dungeon
Dr. Eisenstadt opened his eyes. Pain shot through his body, and nausea rose within him. He tried to move, but his limbs were heavy and immobile. He blinked dazedly at the dim light that illuminated the room. Where was he? What happened? The memories of the explosion in the lab were hazy, like a dream fading into the fog of oblivion. He tried to sit up, but sharp pains all over his body forced him back to the cold stone floor.
His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. He saw that he was in a barren, gloomy room. Rough-hewn stone walls surrounded it, and the only light came from a torch flickering on the wall. An oppressive feeling of isolation and fear rose within him. Was he trapped in a dungeon? Had he disappeared into another universe, cut off from his world? In a foreign body? Questions pounded in his head. What happened to the quantum particle space extractor? Where are the beings from the quantum world?
A faint glimmer of hope rose within him. The creatures had promised to help him. Maybe there was a way back to his own world, to his old life as a scientist. Dr. Eisenstadt gritted his teeth. He wouldn't give up on himself. He would find a way to escape this prison and solve the mysteries that surrounded him. He struggled against the pain with all his strength and tried to sit up.
He crawled forward on all fours, his hands groping across the cold stone floor. The torch outside the cell provided only a small, strongly flickering light. The room was large, wet, dirty, and empty. Suddenly, his hand hit an unusually shaped stone. He lifted it up and saw an inscription in the dim light of the torch. Strange symbols, which he recognized as Egyptian hieroglyphs, were carved into the stone. Was this the key to his old world? Did it mean there was a way back?
Suddenly, the inscription shimmered bluish, and the stone began to float. From the floating stone came the familiar voices of the Quantum Beings. “You are now in the other sub-world. We guided you into this body. A body that was about to die. The previous soul has already left the body. This body is very weak. You have to heal him quickly so you can live.”
Dr. Eisenstadt actually felt that he would not last long in his new body if he didn't get medical help soon. But who could help? He was locked in a dungeon. And what era was he in anyway? What if there was no medical care yet?
“You will heal yourself, Patrick,” the Quantum Beings heard his thoughts and answered directly. “Both of these are very practical. You can read my mind, and I should be able to heal myself... But how will that work without medical equipment?” asked Dr. Eisenstadt, coughing and exhausted.
“Focus on our light. Concentrate on our quantum space. Walk through it and find yourself there. Envelop yourself with energy and let all wounds close, one after another.”
“I have no idea what you mean by that, but oh well. It's worth a try,"
murmured Dr. Eisenstadt.
He closed his eyes. His eyelids felt as heavy as lead. His body was a mass of pain, a pulsating inferno threatening to tear him apart. His head pounded, and his thoughts swirled like leaves in a storm.
“Focus on our light,” whispered the Quantum Beings. "Focus on us, on our quantum space."
Dr. Eisenstadt tried to find his focus. He attempted to follow the voices, to forget the pain. He focused on the dim light emanating from the beings, a soft glow dancing in his closed eyes.
“Pass through quantum space,” the voices echoed in his head. “Find yourself there. Envelop yourself with energy and let all wounds close, one by one."
With his last strength, Dr. Eisenstadt concentrated. He moved into a room, a space full of light and energy, full of warmth and security. A space in which he was whole, healthy, and full of strength.
Slowly, he felt something change. The light of the Quantum Beings grew brighter, and the voices became clearer. It was as if he was being pulled into a maelstrom, into a whirlpool of light and energy.
The pain in his body began to fade. The wounds closed with a blue glow, and strength returned to his limbs. He felt his body regenerate, cells renewing themselves and injuries healing.
As the floating stone began to dissolve, the voices spoke,
"You did it, you healed yourself."
Dr. Eisenstadt was overwhelmed. He could not believe it. He was healed, healthy, and full of strength. He opened his eyes and could now see better and much more clearly.
"Thank you," he said in a quiet voice. "Thank you for your help."
The Quantum Creatures smiled. "You have done it yourself. You have discovered your new power."
Dr. Eisenstadt knew he would never feel the same again. He was changed, healed, but also transformed. He had discovered the power of the quantum world, and this power would probably accompany him from now on, forever.
He had been researching for so long to discover the quantum world. And now he was part of this world himself. “So that’s what you meant. I would be able to continue research and be part of my own research. So from now on, I'm exploring myself," he spoke to himself with an emotional smile.
The Quantum Creatures didn't answer because they knew it wasn't a question but a statement.
“How do I get out of this prison cell?” he asked the Quantum Creatures.
The Quantum Creatures responded with a counter question: “How do you want to get out of the prison cell? You have many options to do this.”
Dr. Eisenstadt's eyes roamed the room in disbelief, searching for a way to leave the cell. "I don't see any possibility," he cried.
The Quantum Creatures were silent for a moment before reminding him that there was no medical care.
Dr. Eisenstadt now understood that he had to use his newfound strength again.
“So, I can do more than just heal myself?” he pondered. “How should I open the cell door? The door appears to be made of simple, unalloyed iron.”
Dr. Eisenstadt shook the door. Perhaps it was unstable. But no, it was solid and didn't move an inch. The surface was heavily rusted, especially the hinges. “Can I break the hinges with my new power?” he asked in an uncertain voice. The Quantum Creatures answered simply, “Yes.”
Dr. Eisenstadt concentrated on the hinges and tried to find the quantum world within himself again. He felt the energy flowing through his body. He clenched his fists, and his muscles tensed. He focused even more intently on the rusty hinges of the cell door. He had a clear vision of energy from the quantum world pounding on the hinges, how they then crumbled, how the metal broke under his willpower.
He let out a small scream, and the energy exploded from his hands. A blinding bolt of lightning ripped through the room, and a deafening bang echoed off the walls. The door flew off its hinges and hit the floor with a heavy clatter. Dr. Eisenstadt stood there, blinded by the bright light of the corridor. Dust with glittering particles swirled in the air, and the smell of burning metal hung in his nostrils. Impressed, he stepped out of the cell and squinted in the brightness, then inspected his hands. His hands were riddled with shimmering blue veins that were slowly losing their brightness.
Ahead of him lay a long, barren corridor. There were torches on the walls that illuminated the path better than the prison cell, and in the distance, he heard voices speaking a language he didn't know. Dr. Eisenstadt knew he couldn't hesitate for long. He had to escape before guards or worse came. He gathered all his courage and ran down the corridor. The voices fell silent when the guards saw him. They were visibly shocked. They didn't expect that the broken and dying person would be completely healed and break out of the prison cell. Dr. Eisenstadt was also shocked. Not just because he was discovered, but rather because the guards were creatures other than humans. They looked a lot more like goblins.
Dr. Eisenstadt's heart was pounding in his chest. Armed, human-sized goblins! Creatures from myth and legend that he never thought were real. Now they stared at him with glowing eyes and bared teeth. He had to escape. Instinctively, he turned and ran down the corridor. The goblins roared and chased after him. Their heavy boots echoed on the stone floor. Dr. Eisenstadt ran as fast as he could, but the goblins were faster. They were catching up more and more. In desperation, he closed his eyes and pleaded with the Quantum Creatures for help. "Please," he whispered. "Give me the strength to escape." The Quantum Creatures replied, “You know the answer, Patrick.”
At that moment, all Dr. Eisenstadt could think about was that he would prefer to be invisible. "That's it!" he thought to himself. But could he really make himself invisible? “Yes,” replied the Quantum Creatures. Dr. Eisenstadt imagined how all his cells would become translucent, how the light would be guided past the atoms and through his body. His body began to glow with a web-like glow again until his entire body began to fade into invisibility in a deep blue.
The goblins shouted in surprise. They could no longer see their prisoner. He ran past them and disappeared into the shadows of the corridor. The goblins could hear running noises, but they couldn't see anything. In crazy confusion, they just stood there and looked around, not understanding what had happened here.
Dr. Eisenstadt was a little exhausted, but he was free and safe for the moment. He had survived the goblins! He now had to find a safe place to hide and figure out how to get from this inhospitable world back to his world. He wandered invisibly through the labyrinth of corridors until he came to a small room. The door was half open, and a faint light came from inside. Curious, he entered cautiously and found himself in a kind of library. Shelves full of books and scrolls lined the walls. In the middle of the room was a desk with an open book. It was fascinating. He had never seen anything like it. As he approached the desk, he lost his invisibility. He leafed through the book from page to page in amazement. The pages were covered with strange symbols and drawings. Dr. Eisenstadt didn't understand a word, but he felt that this book was full of knowledge and power.
He was so engrossed in the book that he didn't notice the door opening behind him. A goblin stood in the doorway, a short sword in his hand. Dr. Eisenstadt turned and looked at the goblin with his glowing eyes. Startled, he reflexively raised his hands and stretched them towards the Goblin, reminding himself of what he had done with the hinges of the prison door. A blast wave penetrated the room and threw the goblin with great force out of the room against the wall in the corridor. The goblin crashed to the ground and lay motionless. Dr. Eisenstadt was stunned. He had defeated the goblin just like that. He now knew that he had the power to defend himself. The only thing that was uncertain was how he would get back to his old world and what else he might encounter in this new world.
Chapter 3:
The search for allies.
Dr. Eisenstadt crept through the narrow corridors of the goblin camp. His invisibility was a gift, a blessing that allowed him to escape. But his heart was heavy. He was alone, lost in a strange world, surrounded by vicious, alien creatures.
His mission was clear: he had to find other people, survivors from his world, who had gone through the Quantum portal. Maybe there were innocent people among them, or colleagues from his laboratory. He had to find them and save them. Then he could look for a way back to the old world.
For days he wandered through the labyrinth of corridors, always looking for a clue, a sign of human civilization. But so far, the goblins were the only inhabitants of this desolate world that he had encountered.
One day he came across a larger hall, lit by crackling torchlight and sunlight streaming through the ceiling. In the middle of the room stood a group of soldiers dressed in black, the soldiers who had invaded his laboratory. They were people from his world, but people he could gladly do without.
Dr. Eisenstadt felt a wave of fear as memories from the events seized his senses. These soldiers were dangerous, armed with firearms. So many of his colleagues had lost their lives to these soldiers. They were a different animal than the goblins with short swords.
He tried to make himself invisible, but it was too late. The soldiers had already spotted him. They took aim at Dr. Eisenstadt and walked towards him with menacing steps as they opened fire.
At that moment, Dr. Eisenstadt again felt the desire to simply be invisible. As the energy of the Quantum Creatures flowed through his body, he was able to calm down again and use invisibility once more.
He had noticed in the last few hours that the longer he used invisibility, the harder it became to maintain. When he became invisible, the soldiers were confused. "Where did he go, what happened?" they shouted to each other. The team leader calmed things down with an order to "disperse and listen for noises. Apparently there are beings here with the ability to become invisible."
Dr. Eisenstadt was surprised. "Beings? Oh yes, I'm in a different body. I wonder what I look like now. My body definitely seems human..."
He ran until he reached another part of the hall. Here he saw orcs emerging from a long tunnel, huge, muscular creatures with green skin and sharp teeth. They roared and struck at everything in sight with their clubs and swords. They approached the hall with the soldiers.
Dr. Eisenstadt didn't know if he had a chance against these muscle-bound orcs. The orcs were dressed in armor, carrying helmets, shields, and melee weapons. A few of them also had bows and arrows. He probably had to hide first, stay invisible, and wait.
Notes - what next, for the game - demo:
- Battle between orcs and soldiers.
- Soldiers win with little loss.
-Dr. Eisenstadt loses its invisibility because it has been maintained for too long.
-Dr. Eisenstadt has to fight against soldiers and later against other orcs and goblins.