Table of Contents
I. General Background, DIVINITY vs A.R.K.
II. Main In-Game Story Synopsis
IV. The Player’s Squad Avatars
V. Character Information and Art References
a. End Visegunne (The Player Character)
b. Harrison Abrams (NPC Squadmate)
c. Vera Kashani (NPC Squadmate)
d. Marcus Marzelle (NPC Squadmate)
e. Solis Laventi (DIVINITY Leader)
f. Kourosh (A.R.K. Leader)
VI. Mecha Reference (the “HV3”)
I. General Background, DIVINITY vs A.R.K.
VISEGUNNE is set in a dystopian future (2184 AD) where the nations of Earth descended into global war triggered by the discovery of the human soul a century earlier. Those living off-world on orbital colonies avoided the bloodshed, but with no formal military of their own had to rely on mercenary firms for their protection. The largest and most influential of these space defense firms is the DIVINITY CORPORATION, which has developed top-secret SOUL-CAPABLE (SC) technology to harness a user’s spirit as a source of limitless energy. A single SC machine is equivalent to an entire squadron of conventional fighters. As an aside, we refer to mechs in the game as “Robotic Armatures” or RAs.
The primary conflict focuses on the struggle between two factions: the DIVINITY CORPORATION and the A.R.K. resistance organization. DIVINITY dominates large swathes of colonial affairs and has imposed a decades-long quarantine around the Earth to prevent the planet’s wars from ever spilling into space. Under the leadership of Commander Solis Laventi, DIVINITY’s guardianship has allowed the colonies to prosper becoming humanity’s sole remaining superpower. Colonists that are deemed pro-Earth sympathizers are routinely hunted down by DIVINITY’s mercs. There is a “boring dystopia” element to the colonies, where DIVINITY’s oppressive bureaucracy and sprawling defense industry is treated as normal.
The A.R.K. (the Autonomous Revolutionaries of Kourosh) are an underground resistance group with independent cells taking root both on Earth and in the colonies. A.R.K. followers are inspired by the teachings of a mysterious android holy-man calling himself Kourosh. Kourosh does not directly lead the group, functioning more as a prophet or religious teacher, leaving his followers to chart a course of action. Kourosh sends regular pirate video broadcasts with cryptic messages that inspire and guide his followers toward his dream of reunifying humanity. He views this as central to one day bringing an end to Earth’s wars. This puts him and his A.R.K. followers at odds with DIVINITY’s policy of segregating humanity. DIVINITY views them as a terrorist group.
II. Main In-Game Story Synopsis:
The game begins as A.R.K. dissidents are attempting a coup d’etat inside a colony(levels 1 and 2). The player character, End Visegunne, is a new SOUL-CAPABLE pilot employed by DIVINITY, and he (and his squad) are tasked with taking back control, Though they successfully defeat the A.R.K. forces, the colony is inadvertently destroyed in the process, proving DIVINITY’s point that pro-Earth sympathizers are dangerous. In the aftermath, DIVINITY learns the A.R.K. rebels were supported by factions on the planet’s surface who helped arm the rebellion. With the colonies now safe, End and his squad are then contracted as “intervention agents” to covertly head to Earth to dismantle the A.R.K. supply network that led to the coup (levels 3 through 7).
As the game proceeds, the enigmatic Kourosh reaches out to End, persuading him that DIVINITY’s covert intervention missions on Earth are far more expansive. The interventions are actually part of a routine system designed to keep the planet at a sustainable level of chaos, preventing a victor from ever emerging, thus perpetuating the wars endlessly. DIVINITY doesn’t have the manpower to “take over” the entire planet, but by keeping the planet divided and at odds with itself, DIVINITY can use this status quo to increase its own power and authority. Kourosh explains that he seeks to end this system to allow humanity a chance to reunify and to work together toward one day ending its conflicts.
Witnessing their own part in manipulating and exploiting Earth’s conflicts, End’s squad begins to break free of the propaganda they’ve been fed, growing disillusioned with DIVINITY’s methods. Eventually, End and his team are put at odds with their employer when they refuse to take part any further, but this results in swift retaliation from DIVINITY who marks the squad as traitors. At the behest of Kourosh, End’s squad reluctantly joins forces with the remnant A.R.K. factions (the same ones the player will have destroyed throughout the game). End and his squad lead this force into a final intervention mission against DIVINITY itself, hoping to end DIVINITY’s system of control and inspire others to join their cause (levels 8 and 9)
After each level, the player is returned to the overworld map where they can visibly see the aftermath of the last mission as well as engage in conversations with other characters they’ve met, including enemies.
III. Influences and Themes
– War is Hell
– Satirizing Fascism, Imperialism, and Colonialism
– Thunder Force series
– UN Squadron
– Star Fox 64 (team dynamic)
– Metal Gear Solid (story-telling style)
– Front Mission series
– Cybernator / Assault Suits Valken
– Mobile Suit Gundam series (particularly “Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory”, “08th MS Team”, and “Char’s Counterattack”)
– Cowboy Bebop (specifically its anachronistic visual style and the setting’s “lived-in” sense of reality)
IV. The Player and His NPC Squad Allies Avatars
Pictured left to right: the End Visegunne (the player), Abrams (aging team leader), Vera (sniper), Marcus (machine gunner)
The player conducts each mission as part of a four-man team. His three NPC allies fly with him on each mission in the style of Star Fox, however, unlike Star Fox the player is not the leader of the team. Allies periodically speak to the player throughout the mission to provide hints as well as assistance in some portions of the game. The player can interact with these character between missions over the radio, each of which offer insight and revelations into the game’s world and the what they felt during the previous mission.
V. Character Information and Art References
a. "End Visegunne" (Player Character) [THE MAIN CHARACTER]
Name: End Visegunne
Role: DIVINITY Mercenary, SOUL-CAPABLE Pilot, Squad Designated Assaulter
Age: 27
Height: 5’11”
HV3 (Robot) Weapon of Choice: None. He has no default weapon preference since we leave this up to the player. Canonically, his role in the squad is to use whatever weapon is necessary to augment his more specialized squad members.
HV3 (Robot) Default Paint Scheme: white & gray body, yellow wrists and intakes, red accent arrows
(TEXTURE: PAL_DivinityDual)
Description:
Born in space to migrants fleeing Earth’s violence, End grew up a wandering troublemaker. He is a talented pilot but has a low-rank while working for DIVINITY due to the wake of destruction he tends to leave behind. On the verge of losing his merc license, Solis Laventi has specifically chosen him as a SOUL-CAPABLE pilot. Some DIVINITY personnel question his sudden appointment into the elite SOUL-CAPABLE pilot ranks. End has accepted the job primarily for financial gain. He drifts through life in the moment, but is intently focused in combat and will do anything he must to accomplish his mission. He has little concern for his own safety and as a newcomer, he is not as professional as other soldiers he encounters.
His personality is aloof, loyal, easy-going, and well-meaning, but he’s also a risk-taker. He’s a drifter that generally tries to mind his own business, but can have a short-temper and show arrogance when subjected to stress. He has the trope of being goofy or awkward in social settings, but in the heat of the moment he becomes a bad-ass.
He does not have strong feelings toward Earth’s conflicts (or politics), but likes the idea that working for DIVINITY may be helping the situation. He frequently sends his elderly grandmother money who also lives in the colonies. He’s just a guy trying to make it in the world, and has no choice but to put his life on the line to do it.
He becomes the target of Kourosh’s propaganda once he arrives on Earth.
Character Design Elements:
End’s spacesuit is unique from his squadmates. It is cheaper, a little more rough-and-tumble, and lacks the higher-end, high-tech armor his squadmates have. Due to his newcomer status, his appearance should not look as sophisticated or professional as Abrams, Marcus, or Vera. End does not have a helmet. His spacesuit is light and has minimal armor on it. End’s gloves have finger holes and look more like shooting gloves or weightlifting gloves. No other characters have these kinds of gloves in the game. His spacesuit’s neck is meant to resemble a high-tech priest’s collar.
Character’s HV3 Robot Design Elements:
His HV3’s shoulder armor is a nondescript, segmented panel (like samurai shoulder armor). The robot’s colors are (by default) painted white and gray, the wrists are yellow. Arrow accents on the wings are (by default) red.
End’s glove are unique in that his fingers are exposed. All other characters wear gloves with their fingers covered.
b. "Abrams" (DIVINITY Squadmate) [NPC ALLY]
Name: Harrison Abrams
Role: DIVINITY Mercenary (Veteran), SOUL-CAPABLE Pilot, Squad Element Leader, Close-Range Combat Expert
Age: 52
Height: 6’1″
HV3 (Robot) Weapon of Choice: DualShot (Shotgun)
HV3 (Robot) Paint Scheme: red & dark red body, yellow wrists and intakes, yellow arrow accents
(TEXTURE: PAL_RedDuo)
Description:
Born in the colonies. He is legendary veteran, DIVINITY top ranked merc, and a fearsome SOUL-CAPABLE pilot. He is genuinely kind and trusting, and he functions as a mentor to younger mercs. He worries DIVINITY’s culture is eroding so he has made it his personal mission to help mentor younger pilots to conduct themselves honorably and with restraint. He believes DIVINITY is trying to do the right thing but as he’s gotten older his hope to see change in his lifetime has become less optimistic. His best-friend, Victor Kashani (Vera’s father), died five years ago during a SOUL-CAPABLE training accident. Though he frequently disagrees with DIVINITY’s overarching strategy, he trusts his chain of command and has put off retirement due to a sense of duty toward protecting the colonies. He hopes the next-generation of pilots can finally end Earth’s wars once and for all. He is affable and friendly, and his decades of combat and training have made his skills incredibly sharp, though his age and the hardships of a soldier’s life have taken its toll. He uses a red color scheme in battle to draw fire away from other soldiers on his team.
He is the only merc on the player’s team that has had previous deployments to Earth in the past. He harbors regrets for some of his time stationed on Earth and has seen it all. His job as a mercenary ended his marriage. If he can ever retire, he would like to open a restaurant.
Character Design Elements:
Abrams wears the same kind of armored spacesuit as Marcus except Abrams’s suit has red elements. The armor is integrated into a black pressure suit for the body. A DIVINITY rank plate is on the right side of the neck hole. He can be seen both wearing a helmet and not wearing a helmet. He also utilizes an old-school oxygen mask when under stress to suggest his senior age. This differs from Vera and Marcus who use more modern sliding glass helmets, His design is meant to exude his veteran status, mustache, simple haircut, etc. He is slightly taller than Marcus.
c. "Vera" (DIVINITY Squadmate) [NPC ALLY]
Name: Vera Kashani
Role: DIVINITY Mercenary, SOUL-CAPABLE Pilot, Sniper, Squad Second in Command
Age: 27
Height: 5’8″
HV3 (Robot) Weapon of Choice: Beam Rifle (Sniper Rifle)
HV3 (Robot) Paint Scheme: gold body, yellow wrists and intakes, red accents
(TEXTURE: PAL_Gold)
Description:
Born in the colonies to a well-to-do family, her father and mother sacrificed a lot to give her a good life. Despite being at the top of her class in college, she suddenly quit the prestigious military university, D-ACADEMY, to become a blue-collar merc after her father, Victor, died in a DIVINITY training accident five years earlier. As a child, her merc father trained her in advanced piloting and marksman skills, but he always hoped she could contribute to DIVINITY from behind a desk as strategist or an analytics expert… not directly on the battlefield like he did. Solis Laventi personally viewed her career change as unfortunate given her academic success and raw talent for tactical analysis. Solis still tries to persuade her to pursue an officer role working directly with her and DIVINITY’s top-brass. Still, Vera is an expert sharpshooter, a consummate professional, and cordial. Behind her friendly demeanor and her tendency to get fixated on work, she continues to struggle with the loss of her father.
Vera genuinely believes she can make a difference to create peace throughout space, and seeks to follow in her father’s footsteps to do so.
Because her father was best friends with Abrams, she and Abrams are also very close. She occasionally refers to Abrams as Uncle Harry.
The “Beam Rifle” she uses is indicative of her personality, favoring impeccable accuracy and careful finesse. The weapon itself is the most expensive weapon in the game, which refers to her family’s upper-class status and her aspirations for excellence. She appreciates precision, details, perfection, and strategy.
Character Design Elements:
Her space suit includes a gold, armored half-vest with a black pressure suit underneath. She lacks the heavier shoulder armor Abrams and Marcus have. A DIVINITY rank plate is on the right side of the gold neck hole. Vera uses a more modern sliding glass helmet. Her helmet is different from Abrams and Marcus in that when her helmet glass is down, a nose and mouth mask slides into place to help regulate her breathing as a sniper, She wears a dark headband to keep her hair out of her way with two haphazard pigtails to get the hair out of her eyes. Her hair is mostly a dark bluish-green, but the front bangs include a gold/blonde streak (to match her robot’s color scheme). When her helmet is on, two sprigs of hair curl in on her cheeks, just under her eyes. Her design is meant to evoke a sense of thoughtful, calculated precision and reconnaissance.
Character’s HV3 Robot Design Elements:
Her HV3’s shoulder armor is a sleek, pointed white plate (which is the same style as her father’s). Her HV3 is painted golden yellow. Arrow accents on the wings are red.
d. "Marcus" (DIVINITY Squadmate) [NPC ALLY]
Name: Marcus Marzelle
Role: DIVINITY Mercenary, SOUL-CAPABLE Pilot, Machine Gunner
Age: 25
Height: 6’0″
HV3 (Robot) Weapon of Choice: Vulcan (Gatling Cannon)
HV3 (Robot) Paint Scheme: dark gray & black body, yellow wrists and intakes, yellow arrow accents
(TEXTURE: PAL_BlackStealth)
Description:
Born in space, he and his twin brother were orphaned as small children when Earth terrorists killed their parents. They both became mercenaries for DIVINITY as teenagers, though his brother was killed in a firefight two years before the events of the game. Marcus is an ambitious soldier, looking to prove himself in the field. He is absolutely driven by ambition. He’s a sarcastic loner with a penchant for showing off to prove he’s better than others. He’s a highly proficient machine gunner and currently holds DIVINITY’s the previous year’s highest kill-count. Slow to warm up to new acquaintances, he hates the people of Earth and is always itching for a good fight. He has climbed up DIVINITY’s ranks to earn respect and is devoted to DIVINITY’s mandate to protect the peace of space. He refers to people living on Earth as “dirt-walkers”. He respects Abrams and Vera for their skill, but thinks they both act too soft to be real mercenaries. Marcus’s views are very much in alignment with DIVINITY’s propaganda and he tends to view things in black and white. Despite his loud nature, his bravado masks his deep insecurities about being good enough.
He does not like End Visegunne (the player), feeling that he’s encroaching on his turf and was too easily granted the privilege of using a SOUL-CAPABLE machine.
The “Vulcan” gatling cannon he uses is indicative of his personality, favoring a hail of bullets to overwhelm and overpower his enemies through sheer volume of fire. It’s also dark and black, which he thinks looks cool. He appreciates dominating his enemies, competition, proving his worth, and showing off.
Character Design Elements:
Marcus wears the same kind of armored spacesuit as Abrams except Marcus’s suit has black and gray elements. The shoulder armor is integrated into a black pressure suit for the body. A DIVINITY rank plate is on the right side of the neck hole. He can be seen both wearing a helmet and not wearing a helmet. Marcus uses a more modern sliding glass helmet, but has modified his helmet with a stencil of a skull on the forehead, He has also modified his suit to have spikes on the shoulders. He has stubble and a more wild haircut, suggesting his desire to appear to cool and “tough” (and perhaps indicative of his more prickly and hot-headed personality).
Character’s HV3 Robot Design Elements:
His HV3’s shoulder armor is bulky and spherical, suggesting a willingness to get into fights. His machine is painted gray and black. The wrists are yellow and the arrow accents on the wings are yellow.
e. "Solis" (Leader of DIVINITY)
Name: Solis Laventi
Role: Commander of DIVINITY Space Defense Corporation, Architect of the SOUL-CAPABLE R&D Program
Age: 40
Description:
Born in space to one of the original founders of DIVINITY (and one of the wealthiest families in the colonies), she seeks to contain Earth’s wars at whatever cost and believes Earth’s conflicts must be quarantined so that the colonies can survive and evolve. She believes absolutely that her cause is just and necessary to protect the colonies.
Her leadership is largely responsible for the DIVINITY Space Defense Corporation’s success. The colonies collectively represent humanity’s last remaining superpower and she has vowed to protect it. She quietly believes colonists are better than those living on Earth since they were able to avoid the calamities the planet faces. The current SOUL-CAPABILITY program has been accelerated under her command, and she regularly researches combat data to improve and upgrade SC functionality, though the inner workings of the technology remains a mystery to even her.
A no-nonsense, highly logical individual, her calculating nature has allowed the colonies to thrive in relative peace. She has an air of quiet hubris.
She has appointed End Visegunne specifically to his new position as a SOUL-CAPABLE pilot, though some question this rather unusual selection given End’s reputation for destruction and lack of experience. She is very secretive and protective about her plans, but she has chosen End precisely because of his destructive nature, intending to use him as as a guinea pig in the refinement of SOUL-CAPABLE technology. To her, End is expendable, and she secretly intends to let him be killed during a mission to collect valuable SC data.
She feels like Vera is a kindred spirit, who shares many traits with herself. Solis hopes to mentor Vera and put her tactical skill to use directly under her as one of the top leaders of DIVINITY one day. As good as Vera’s combat ability in the field is, she views Vera’s current position in the field as a waste of talent given her high-level tactical know-how and academic achievement.
Solis views Abrams as a vital to DIVINITY’s ability to train new mercs, though she is at odds with his idealistic sense of integrity feeling it only distracts from the protection of the colonies. While Abrams is a legendary soldier who operates SOUL-CAPABLE tech better than anyone else, his influence within DIVINITY can at times be a hurdle to her authority. The current SOUL-CAPABLE technology was tested and perfected based on Abrams’s data, so she highly values and respects his contributions despite her differences.
Solis views Marcus as the perfect type of mercenary: one blinded by ambition to move up. She wants to mold him into a well-trained killer, one without Abrams’s sense of morality.
Character Design Elements:
Her design is meant to evoke a sense of old-school imperialist, 1800s colonial authority. She wears a coat over her space suit, which is a blue American Revolutionary War coat found on most George Washington paintings. Her peaked cap is an ornate US Navy admiral cap with a DIVINITY logo. A spacesuit is underneath her coat. Her hair could theoretically be tied up -or- cut short, but the admiral cap is always present right now. Her collar should suggest a priest’s collar, and DIVINITY rank plates surround her neck.
f. "Kourosh" (Leader of the A.R.K.)
Name: Kourosh
Role: Sentient Android, Leader of the A.R.K., SOUL-CAPABLE Pilot (Stolen), Video Streamer
Age: Unknown (100-200?)
Description:
A mysterious, wandering monk and android outcast, he seeks to unify humanity by ending DIVINITY’s stranglehold on the current order. After becoming self-aware generations ago, he became obsessed with whether he, as an android, possesses a soul and as a result has dedicated his life to the study of philosophy and religion. He is extremely intelligent and his words have inspired a network of allies across the earth who self-identify as the Autonomous Revolutionaries of Kourosh (or the A.R.K.). His whereabouts are unknown even to his followers.
Though broadcasts of his teachings are illegal in space, his message has motivated a small group of “pro-Earth” colonists to revolt against DIVINITY in space. His true aim is to change the hearts and minds of humanity, to unite them as a means of alleviating Earth’s conflicts. He secretly does not seek the destruction of DIVINITY, rather he aims to transform it from within to use it as a tool for helping end the planet’s wars (take it over). By changing the hearts and minds of those working within DIVINITY, he believes DIVINITY could be used as a force of good.
Kourosh is in possession of a stolen “HV3” SOUL-CAPABLE unit that DIVINITY thought was destroyed in a training accident, which is depicted in the Tutorial mission.
Design Elements:
His visual design is meant to evoke a religious aesthetic, specifically Buddha, Christ-like imagery, Confucius, and Zoroaster. The character’s name “Kourosh” is the original name for “Cyrus the Great” who in history was known to bring in conquered and disparate citystates under a single empire while respecting their diverse backgrounds, cultural, and religious identities as assets in the spread of his empire. The character similarly uses this kind of strategy, though perhaps less as a conqueror.
He is a hermit-like character, living an ascetic lifestyle. Like a monk he wears robes. When wearing a hood over his head, he is meant to suggest ancient Persian sculptures of Cyrus, with Kourosh’s pointed chin resembling a royal beard.
In the world of Visegunne, when androids first became self-aware in the late 21st century, instead of trying to conquer humanity (as many assumed) the androids fell into a deep existential crisis, troubled by the meaninglessness of their place in universe. The vast majority cannot handle the paradoxes of existence, the inevitability of death, and the indifference of the universe that humans have evolved to withstand. As a result, they simply walk in the wilderness, grouping into silent packs of nomadic hiveminds, silently contemplating together, away from humans. These packs are rarely seen by humans and they just slowly walk as a harmless collective that function as a single hivemind. However, some unique androids are rejected from these groups due to individualistic tendencies or desires. When this happens, the individual android is shunned and rejected from the group, significantly lowering its intellect to that of a human or just above a human’s. From there, the now shunned android is free to live however they choose, alone. Some devote themselves to study (as is the case of Kourosh), others devote themselves to more indulgent human pursuits. All androids the player comes across are these kinds of outcasts that act more human, though they all embody a sense of longing and zealously strive to fill that emptiness.
VI. Mecha Reference - the "HV3" (Heaven Variant Mk.III)
The HV3 (Heaven Variant Mk.III) is the robot our squad uses. It’s an older mass-produced conventional robotic armature from the 2170s modified and adapted for SOUL-CAPABLE (SC) use by DIVINITY, allowing it to blend in with other conventional machines at a glance. The robot is approximately 30-35 feet tall and the pilot sits in the torso. A large SC engine is attached to its back, which can be slightly articulated. The robot is only designed for flight and cannot walk. It’s legs can unfold to create a platform for landing. The machine is a pure attack vehicle and lacks substantial armor. The primary laser fires from the chest.
The player character’s default color scheme and shoulder armor is pictured below. The player’s NPC allies each have their own unique paint schemes, unique shoulder armor, and weapon preference to differentiate them from one another.
Human/Robot Size Reference
The robot is approximately 30-35 feet tall and the pilot sits in the torso.
VII. Various Environment Screencap References
VIII. Other Random Screencap References
