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Preface
“
Five scientists from all over the world try to solve the toughest problems facing us
thanks to their knowledge. Live their experience and hear with them…
The Breath from our Earth !
“
Welcome to the gameplay instructions book of “A Breath from Earth”. Even if you don’t
want to wait to have fun, we recommend you to read this document to familiarize yourself
with the major commands of the game. You will find here all details about how to play each
games and explanations about the different modes available.
Let’s start by talking about general settings. Then we will talk about the welcome screen and
then about each mode. We will finish with some credits.
Be careful, this gameplay instruction is for the Round 1 demo release.
Some actions and ideas are still subject to change in future versions.
General Settings
“A BREATH FROM EARTH” is a PYMLS.N.TEAM project. The game is intended to work on
both XBOX 360 and PC architectures.
FOR THE ROUND 1 DEMO RELEASE : The both architectures works.
The game features different playing modes including :
A Story Mode, which treats about the story of 5 scientists each one from a different
world continent, discovering a way to use technology in order to help people.
An Arcade Mode, where some scientists are in a contest all over the world. This
contest concentrates on helping people thanks to Innovation Points. You need to win
mini-games in order to gain them, with which all scientists can, for example, build
facilities. The better scientist will be the one who has helped the most people thanks
to Innovation Points.
A Mini-Game Mode, which let us play a mini-game from previous modes. But, in
order to spice things up, you will have to unlock them.
All these features is coming with a set of bonuses like a Photo Album section, a Dictionary
section and a Waiting Screen section. These sections will be detailed later in the gameplay
instructions.
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There is also some other points we’re thinking about : adding a Zune project version and
doing a dedicated website which let people add their own questions on the Quiz mini-
game.
The PYMLS.N.TEAM group is composed of 4 members plus a mentor :
Pierre-Yves GARDETTE as the chief project leader.
Natacha ZENATTI as the designer.
Emmanuel COQUELIN as a developer and scenario writer.
Laurent QUILEROU as a developer and scenario writer.
Sonny BRABEZ as the mentor.
About controllers and keyboard, in general, you will have these buttons :
A button or A keyboard : Do an action.
B button or B keyboard : Cancel an action.
X button or X keyboard : Used for some games (special action).
Y button or Y keyboard : Go to menu.
Directional Pad or Left/Right/Up/Down keyboard : directions.
Start button or Enter keyboard : Pause the game.
XBOX 360 ONLY : LB & RB buttons : Used for some games (special action).
XBOX 360 ONLY : LT & RT buttons : Used for some games (special action).
PC ONLY : Space keyboard : Change to full screen/window mode.
Back button or Escape keyboard : Go back to the welcome screen.
System Requirements:
Operating System: Windows® XP SP2 or newer.
Processor: Pentium® III 1.0 GHz or AMD Athlon 1.0 GHz or faster (recommended).
Memory: 256 MB RAM minimum (512 MB recommended).
Hard Disk Space: 100 MB free.
Video: 32 MB Windows® XP-compatible video card (64 MB NVIDIA® GeForce 2 or ATI
Radeon Hardware T&L card recommended).
Sound: Windows® XP-compatible sound card.
Modem: a broadband Internet connection is recommended.
Resolution: The game is in a 1280x720 screen resolution.
In the PC version, it can be played in windows-mode or full screen-mode.
Welcome Screen
The welcome screen is the first thing you will see from our game. In order to understand
how it works, please read this following section.
It follows the figure bellow :
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We start with the main menu, when you enter on the game :
From this one, you can select the mode you want to enjoy. Note that you have a short
description in the lower left corner that reminds you about the type of game you will play in
the selected section.
Story Mode
The story mode is the first mode available on “A BREATH FROM EARTH”. It’s the story of
scientists discovering a way to face problems thanks to technology.
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However, in order to find these technologies, they live some special situations. Each of these
stories deals with at least one or two themes from the UNESCO “biggest problems” list,
giving to each character a different technology to develop.
Thanks to that, we also give to each character a different type of gameplay (one is an RPG,
one is a mini-game compilation, one is a FPS and so on). And in order to give more punch on
it, each story has his own atmosphere (one is humoristic, another one is realistic and so on).
Remark : Stories don’t depend on each other !
FOR THE ROUND 1 DEMO RELEASE : You don’t have any story mode available on this demo.
You have 5 characters to play with :
Scientist 1 – Thomas Lordinateur :
o Main theme : Education.
o Main gameplay : Mini-games compilation.
o Main continent : Europe.
o Main story : Thomas is just a regular French computer scientist. One day,
chatting with a foreign friend, he noticed that they both have difficulties to
understand each other. So Thomas suddenly has an idea. This idea becomes
more and more precise and let him think about an entertaining way to
develop an international education system based on IT technologies. You will
follow his evolution with the acquisition of a simple server to a big network
working all around the world. You will have to prepare your solution and
make your case during a big seminary. It will give you the key to success !
Scientist 2 – Mercedes Esperenza :
o Main theme : End Poverty and Hunger.
o Main gameplay : First Person Shooter (FPS).
o Main continent : South America.
o Main story : Mercedes is a Venezuelan scientist coming from a slum in Petare.
She worked hard to become a great engineer and today, she works for an
OGM company. One day, she unfortunately drops a solution on her chair and
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it transforms the chair into food ! This incredible solution makes her think
about her own town and she decides to go back there and test her discovery.
Now, she has a brand new idea in mind, going through the slum and poor
villages all over the world to use her new tool : a gun producing a light
which transform each hit items into food. Target well and watch out for
thieves!
Scientist 3 – Pete Pygard :
o Main theme : Combat HIV/AIDS.
o Main gameplay : Role Playing Game (RPG).
o Main continent : North America.
o Main story : Pete is a very efficient scientist working for a big manufacturer
company, in the robotics department. Since his childhood, he wanted to use
his knowledge in medicine because one of his friend, Josh, had AIDS. He
believes that he can build a robot which detect the virus and annihilate it.
For the past few years, he worked on one and now is the time to try it on his
friend. In order to complete the mission, you will have to guide this robot all
over your friend’s body in order to destroy the virus.
Scientist 4 – Wen Hachiko :
o Main theme : Child & Maternal Health.
o Main gameplay : Adventure.
o Main continent : Asia.
o Main story : Wen is a young prodigy of medicine. A day, she decided to work
on her own little clinic, in a poor region of China where help is needed. But,
what she didn’t know is all the stories she will be in ! Let’s discover with her
this new situation and how to resolve problems surrounding the town.
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Scientist 5 – Bob Lee Weed :
o Main theme : Environmental Sustainability.
o Main gameplay : Racing.
o Main continent : Africa.
o Main story : Bob lived in America for quite a while. But he feels like going back
to his ethnic origins, in Africa. One day, working as an automotive engineer,
he wanted to test his ideas for an environmental car (because no automotive
company wants his ideas), it reminded him of a race in a natural environment
: Dakar. Bob suddenly says to himself : “It’s the best way to show that my
ideas work ! I’ll go to Dakar !”. However, in Dakar, in order to follow his ideas,
he needs to cultivate gardens to concoct his special fuel. Thanks to this, he
can show off about his car and prove that it can be the best one, for the
environment…and for racing !
Arcade Mode
The Arcade mode is the multiplayer mode available in “A BREATH FROM EARTH”.
You and your friends will have to compete in order to be the first to help the largest number
of populations all around the world !
The arcade mode is a turn-based board game where each player travels through a map,
searching for populations in difficulties. In order to travel, you need to throw a dice which
let you go to as much cases as the dice number you have obtained.
When you found one of these population’s place, you will be able to help them by using
Innovation Points (IPs).
In order to earn IPs, you need to win a mini-game launched when all players have finished
their turn. You can also earn IPs when you come back to a population’s place you have
helped.
At the end of the game, the player who helped the largest number of populations is
congratulated as the winner.
In this mode, you can be 2 to 4 players. You can choose a number of turns (20 by default)
and a map.
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Figure – The Arcade mode.
Controls used on the Arcade mode :
A button or A Keyboard : Launch the dice, do an action.
B button or B Keyboard : Cancel an action.
Y button or Y Keyboard : Open game menu.
Directional Pad or Left/Right/Up/Down keyboard : Camera directions.
Start button or Enter keyboard : Pause the game.
Back button or Ctrl Keyboard : Exit the game.
FOR THE ROUND 1 DEMO RELEASE : The arcade mode can only be played by one player. You
cannot choose the number of turns or the map. Also, you don’t have the Innovation Points
and helping population notions.
Mini-game Mode
The mini-game mode is a compilation of all the games you will be able to find in this project.
Of course at the beginning only one or two will be available, but you can unlock new ones
each time you play it on Story mode or Arcade mode.
This mode is designed to train or play mini-games without having to launch a full game.
FOR THE ROUND 1 DEMO RELEASE : There is only 3 mini-games available: Shoot then…Eat!,
Race To Maternity and Quiz. The others are not finished, so they don’t appear here yet.
Bellow, you will find a listing of our mini-games :
Shoot then…Eat !
Description : You travel the world with a gun you invented which transforms everything you
hit into food. You will have to shoot everything thrown by villagers you encounter and
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satisfy them with food. In multiplayer mode, be careful to other scientists coming with the
same technology !
Number of players : 1 to 4 players.
Game Type : FPS.
Come from : Story Mode – Mercedes Esperenza’s story.
Gaming Tips : Move the fastest possible and touch the most items.
Controls :
A button or A Keyboard : Fire.
Left Stick or Mouse : movements of the gun sight.
+ Right Trigger (XBOX 360 only) : accelerate the movements.
+ Left Trigger (XBOX 360 only) : accelerate the movements even more.
Back button or Escape Keyboard : Quit the game.
Start button or Enter Keyboard : Pause the game.
Figure – 1-Player mode.
Race to maternity
Description : A woman needs your help ! She’s in labor and no doctor is around ! Someone
tells you how to find her. You have to get there as soon as possible ! Run and DO NOT
FORGET the way to her house !! The road (as buttons) is written quickly on your screen.
When the road disappears, push on the right buttons (one by one) in order to find the
woman’s house.
Number of players : 1 to 4 players.
Game Type : Memory.
Come from : Arcade Mode.
Gaming Tips : Check the middle of the screen in order to see the road to take !
Controls :
A/B/X/Y button or A/B/X/Y Keyboard : Push them as indicated (one by one).
Select button or Escape Keyboard : Quit the game.
Start button or Enter Keyboard : Pause the game.
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Figure 1 & 2 – Two-players mode. Figure 1 : Prepare to run (you’ll have to push on B then X).
Figure 2: You both go left.
Figure 3 – Four-players mode. Dead end for everyone ! You have lost !
Quiz
Description : In order to test a new automatic world education system, you decided to help
by trying it. You will have to answer a set of general culture multiple choice questions by
pressing the good button (a button presents a choice). Prove you’re the best. Be careful :
you can’t go back to previous questions.
Number of players : 1 to 4 players.
Game Type : Quiz.
Come from : Story Mode – Thomas Lordinateur’s story.
Gaming Tips : Do not go to other questions too quickly because you can’t come back.
Controls :
A/B/X/Y button or A/B/X/Y Keyboard : Answer a question.
Start button or Enter keyboard : Pause the game.
Back button or Ctrl Keyboard : Exit the game.
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Figure – 1-Player mode. Push on B for the right answer.
FOR THE ROUND 1 DEMO RELEASE : Bellow, you have an explanation of others mini-games.
These one are not finished yet.
Some descriptions to not finished mini-games :
Wild Green Garden ! : This game consists in managing your own garden. The one
having the most blossomed plants is the winner. You will have a panel of actions to
do like digging, adding plants, watering and so on.
Race in peace : This game consists in a race with environmental cars. The winner is
the one finishing the race the quickest and this, without having polluting the
environment. So you can have penalties if you don’t care about the environment !
Send to Good Port : This game’s goal is to unload food packs at the right time.
Beware not to unload it on people or buildings and so on. You must stop your jet
plane at the right time (you will notice it thanks to a big red cross).
Constitute Vaccines : This game needs you to show some dexterity and memory. You
have to do the good vaccine and this, in the quickest way possible ! Do not forget
cleanliness rules and each item you need to assemble. The one doing the most
efficient vaccines is the winner.
Wonderful World ! : This game invites you to put animated icons on the right world
place. It can be flags, hymns (music, not icon), traditional food and so on ! The one
having the most right answers wins.
Garbage them all ! : The game’s idea is to collect filths and put them in the good bin
depending on the filth’s type. It’s a two-step process : first collect all and second
throw them all. Can learn to people where you need to put your trash : paper in
paper recycle bin and so on.
Don’t Hit me ! : This game consists in finding out who dares to hit who. There is men
and women in a room, two of them had a fight but we don’t know who because of a
power failure. You need to find the culprit of this fight thanks to the attitude of each
person. The main goal of this game is to persuade people to not do that.
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Firetrucks in Panic : The game’s goal is to go the quickest to the right place without
doing any damage. Be careful about the indications that are coming very late, so
don’t go to the wrong place ! You control a firetruck (racing game). Don’t hesitate to
use your headlights to help you out !
First Aid Movements : This game propose you to give first aid to a patient. Retain all
the steps and react well !
Don’t sleep if you’re not cautious ! : This game requires you to be careful about a
range of people. You first see each one, some have condoms and some have not. You
need to remind about the one who haven’t condom. These range make couples and
you need to find out the couple (or couples) who hasn’t any condom (thanks to the
range you see earlier).
I give in ! : This game consists in finding for a same word in different world
languages, the good country flag.
Bonuses
Thanks to the different modes of “A BREATH FROM EARTH”, you earn prizes. These prizes
can be unlocked each time you finish a mini-game or a story path.
FOR THE ROUND 1 DEMO RELEASE : There is the Photo Album bonus for this round 1 demo
release.
Here are some of the bonuses you can unlock :
Photo Album section : almost all of our arts come from real towns, real items and so
on. So here we propose you to see what inspired us by showing the real image and
our own art. There is also some descriptions that will appear plus sources from the
real image.
Dictionaries section : the most important section containing some definitions and
explanations of computer scientist terms, robotics terms or biology terms. It can be
earn thanks to the Story mode only.
Waiting screen section : each of our waiting screen deals with some messages about
the 8 UNESCO “biggest” world problems. So, you can view them in this section.
Unreleased section : this section treats about what we cannot have implemented on
our game. The most of this section deals with some arts we don’t use.
Music box section : hear all the music from our game here.
The Team section : a funny presentation of each member of PYMLS.N.TEAM.
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Options
“A BREATH FROM EARTH”, like any other game, proposed some options to help user
changing problems’ settings.
FOR THE ROUND 1 DEMO RELEASE : There is no option for this round 1 demo release.
Our game proposed the following options :
Screen configuration : change the X/Y axis from your screen.
Region configuration : choose between PAL or NTSC.
Music configuration : change volume settings.
Export your score to Internet : export your score to our website.
Changing Quiz MCQ Pool : create your own MCQ pool for the quiz and import them
here. Go to our website in order to create the MCQ pool easily.
Credits
Thank you for having read this gameplay instructions.
The presented game was developed by PYMLS.N.TEAM under XNA Game Studio 3.0 for
Imagine Cup 2009.
