Assignment 1: Unit 74

Unstoppable Game Story Elements

Plot:

Disaster Movie- The story is about an unmanned train that was accidently is carrying flammable contents and is soon to de-rail which can cause many deaths due to the possibility of the contents exploding. The two main characters task themselves to stopping the train before it de-rails.

Both main characters express their emotions by talking to one and another about their personal lives and current problems. On top of that the problems are heightened due to the extreme problem they currently face.

Intro:

The intro follows a train worker operating a train carrying a large cargo that contains highly flammable liquid/Gas. The operator loses control of the train after getting off it to change tracks/check the brakes. However the air brakes were not functional and train was lost when the throttle fell causing the train to gain speed drastically.

The main characters are introduced. The plan is to board the train, but it is gathering speed faster than predicted and other trains could be in danger of collision. After that realisation the middle of the film then concludes.

Middle:

Different methods are considered to stop the train. Towns/Cities are evacuated, this is when the main characters are informed of the oncoming train which happens to be on the same track as them. Conversation between the ‘Connie’ and the manager of the company reveal the plans of the manager’s intentions, which is to manually drop a person on to the train via helicopter. A single train is used to slow down the runaway train, however the speed is too great and the single train is pushed aside killing the driver and presumably the person being lowered on to the speeding train.

Following from this a plan is conducted to trigger the safety switch on the locomotive's side with close-range shotgun blast at a grade crossing, when they realize the switch's proximity to the fuel tank ceasing fire in case the tank is hit with a bullet, which would of course caused an explosion.  Connie is upset with this decision however does lead is to the last option which is to derail the train before the major city causing significantly less damage.

The main character who is a veteran for the company continually expresses his opinion on the matter, he believes the train will not be derailed. Both Barnes and Colson later narrowly miss the oncoming runaway train after they are ordered to switch tracks to prevent a full on collision with the runaway train 777. After this they decide to release the carts they are pulling and switch tracks to reverse at a higher speed toward the runaway train, to connect to it to slow it down enough to board it and fully stop the train.

During the time between them reaching the train they ‘reminisce’ about their lives which reveals the current situation of one of the main characters, Will Colson. He reveals that he confronted a friend of his who he believes is seeing his wife behind his back. Unfortunately Will had a weapon on his car dashboard. The friend he confronted is a police officer at the time, so he reacted to the current situation and presumably arrested Will. Later Will’s wife ordered a restraining order on Will preventing him from seeing his son any longer.

End/Conclusion:

In another attempt to stop the train with derails in a small town fails, as he train is too heavy and too fast. Evacuations begin as the train approaches Stanton, where it crosses the town on an elevated curve where it will derail at its current speed. If it does, it could fall into a fuel oil tank farm, causing a major environmental disaster.

Barnes and Colson catch up with the runaway. After Colson manually couples their locomotive to the train, severely injuring his foot in the process, they begin slowing it down with their own brakes but not enough. Barnes goes out onto the train and begins setting each car's brakes manually, slowing the train enough to get it past the curve without derailing. In the process the locomotive's brakes blow out and the train begins to pick up speed again.Ned the welder catches up to the train, and Colson jumps into the back of his truck. Driving at high speed they make it to the locomotive, where Colson is finally able to get into the cab and stop the train.

Game:

In terms of turning this film into a game there are several aspects to cover after watching the film. The game can have several different genres that can be played around with for this game concept. Initially the movie shows the audience the choices and decisions people need to make in a short space of time, which means a game that features choices that later affect the story further down the line similar to Mass Effect and The Walking Dead. However The Walking Dead is not an action RPG, however it resembles a comic book, where you only control the characters for short amount of time and have limited access, however dire choices are made, and are needed to be made fast. This can be a good possible platform to work from considering the type of movie. However choosing such a genre for the game the ending and story will become clear and will be very linear. For example the ending will be either the train is stopped or it is not. However there could be a slight twist on how it ended for both options and what happens in between could determine this.

Characters and Sub-Characters

Unstoppable is a film that is loosely based on the real life CSZ 8888 incident. Unstoppable is not based upon a book nor has a book been written from the movie or event. Within the movie the main characters are Veteran Engineer Frank Barnes and freshly hired Will Colson who is the new conductor.

There are a handful of sub-characters however there a certain characters that are important than others, such as Connie, essentially the organizer of the train line. Dewey is another character but doesn’t come up all too often even though he was the one who unintentionally let the train go, starting off the story.

Main Characters

Frank Barnes:

Barnes is a railway veteran, working with that particular company for all his working life. He has two daughters at the age of 18 and 19 his wife had died leaving him and his daughters. Frank tells Will that they both work at hooters, laughing as he says it. During the film as a viewer it is clear that Barnes is very intelligent about working on the railway, and it also becomes apparent when he is ordered to stop his actions when going after the train 777, he knows how to react in that certain situation. Towards the end of the film Barnes has a heated convosation with Galvin the manager of the company and therefore Barnes. Barnes disagrees with a decision of Galvin’s which leads to Barnes being threatened with being fired from his Job. However Barnes reveals he already had received a 90 day notice and continued to work 72 days later for the company. The character is played by Denzel Washington.

 Will Colson:

Colson is a newly introduced inductor. He recently took the job after the problems he was having with his family and is currently living with his brother who is helping will out throughout the time. He has a wife and a son however it is revealed early on that he is dealing with a restraining order on his son, which is implicated by his wife. Later on in the film when Barnes and Colson are going after train 777, he reveals to Barnes about the situation. He reveals that he confronted a friend of his who he believes is seeing his wife behind his back. Unfortunately Will had a weapon on his car dashboard either from security reasons or to threaten he says it wasn't as it seemed. The friend he confronted is a police officer at the time, so he reacted to the current situation and presumably arrested Will. Later Will’s wife ordered a restraining order on Will preventing him from seeing his son any longer. Unfortunately his friend wasn't seeing his wife behind his back and helping her with a personal matter. The character was played by Chris Pine. 

Sub-Characters

Connie:

Fuller Yardmaster Connie organises and runs the management in the train yard. She is first revealed to us when the train 777 is accidently shifted into full throttle after the conductor gets out of the train to realign the train by switching tracks. Throughout the film the role of Connie is to relay information to the vise manager of the company, Galvin. Both Galvin and Connie don’t see eye to eye all that often. Connie organizes the train line and commands trains to change tracks keeping out of the way of the coaster train 777. Connie usually contacts Barnes and Colson. The character is played by Rosario Dawson.

Galvin:

Galvin is the vice-president of the company and therefore is responsible in making the final decision throughout this film, although he doesn't necessarily make the correct decisions in the eyes of Barnes and Connie. Faced with several difficult decisions he is faced with reducing the cost of the possible damage the train can cause. He is based within his office throughout the film. He is later fired from his position due to the poor decision making and bad management on his part, Connie takes his place within the company.

Ned Oldham:

Ned Oldham plays a simple role within the film. First he’s shown to the viewer’s when Connie contacts him about the coaster train. He is told to flip the switch in order to change the train’s path, however fails to see the train within the time frame that is predicted. The train had already passed which led Ned to believe the train was under power, Connie also realized this when talking on the phone to him. He is the one to pick up Will from the train and drive him up alongside it to finally begin to stopping the 777.

Dewey:

Dewey plays the pivotal part of the film. The beginning of the film, Dewey is followed as he gets off the train to throw a misaligned switch, knowing the air brakes were not connected, but he didn’t worry about that due to it being a short trip. The train switched itself to full throttle, he attempted to board the train but could not catch up with it, causing the whole next chain of events. Dewey is the one to blame for the whole problem, and it is revealed to everyone that he lost his job and is now working elsewhere in a less established place of work.

Emotional Themes/Relationship

The main characters both share their life stories and current situations throughout the film in stages. However both characters seem to have friction and don’t meet eye to eye all the time. Having their differences they both eventually swap stories and later become friends. Will is going through a court case with his family and is facing a restraining order not allowing him to see his son due to threatening behaviour that is later revealed in the film.

The Relationship is not so strong between the two main characters initially, which is suspected. Eventually the relationship grows when they both are faced with the runaway train problem, both join together to help solve the situation, during this time this is when they share their stories and current mishaps. Towards the end of the film it is apparent that the two main character and Connie have a better relationship and seemingly become friends after the whole disaster.