Production Cycle: Two Months
Concept Overview
Written casually over a period of two months Sanctum is an experiment in the idea of episodic narrative-driven content. Seven episodes in whole make up the series’ narrative following various stories of love, grief, betrayal and politics.
A future of important events was plotted out from present day to the desired time period in order to establish a believable foundation for the colonization of the Local Group; the galaxies immediately around and including the Milky Way, and also the setting for Sanctum.
High-Level Story Summary of Sanctum Series
Sanctum’s story begins with Noah Lansing, a rookie Earth Sphere Kingdom (ESK) pilot that along with his wingmen Charlie and Rei are called to arms against a Syndicate threat. When their colony is destroyed during the battle they are reassigned from their defensive duties to a major ESK fleet.
An alternate segment of the story also follows Vero Nagaram and Leona Aldridge, pilot and mechanic of the notorious Tizona a ship that Noah runs into right after the Syndicate attack, which he identifies as an enemy.
Noah discovers that the ESK is perpetrating an insidious plot using a faux-Syndicate fleet to destroy innocent civilian colonies in order to cause Intergalactic outrage and garner support for the ESK’s failing war on the Syndicate. Outraged Noah flees the ESK fleet along with the equally outraged and now endangered young Queen Madeline.
Meanwhile Vero, curious and never one to keep his nose out of trouble investigates leads related to the ESK’s new plot, only to find himself set up repeatedly and that the price on his head is rising. When the Queen is endangered Vero kidnaps Madeline from a very angry Noah.
In desperation Noah inadvertently leads the enemy straight to Vero and all four of them are captured. Vero helps the three of them escape but forfeits his life in the process. Noah takes over the Tizona and becomes number one on the entire Universe’s most wanted list.
As Noah attempts to get a handle on his new fate he investigates Project Origin, supposedly the project responsible for the Tizona, and the origin of all Syndicate technologies. Traveling to the Syndicate’s Cassiopeia Galaxy he discovers the relationship between the project and the disproved theory of the conservation of matter.
After discovering the origin of the Tizona he returns to the Local Group with a new take on his role, not only due to his discovery but also social exchanges with Madeline and Leona. He discovers the culmination of the ESK’s plan, Sanctum IV, a large weapon capable of wiping out large parts of a planet’s surface in a single shot.
Forced to kill his old comrades; including his love interest Rei, Noah narrowly stops the weapon, leaving a large scar on Gaea’s surface. When all is said and done, Madeline must return to her role as Queen but Noah cannot resume his old life, he must pick up where Vero left off and watch over the Tizona.
Low-Level Story Summary of Sanctum Series
Series Exposition
Sanctum 1
Exposition
Trip to the Movies
A short scene introduces the protagonist Noah and female character Rei as they enjoy a day off on their way to the movies. Throughout the scene a chemistry between the two characters is hinted at. When they arrive at the movies they find out they are early and Rei takes this time to play an arcade game flying a spaceship, Noah teaches her how to play and afterward they head into the theater to get their seats. The scene ends when Rei unexpectedly begins screaming over the com at Noah and he awakens finding himself strapped into the cockpit of his destroyed spaceship with blood splattered over the inside of his helmet. After a few moments of confusion Noah passes out.
Syndicate Attack
An ESK capital ship jumps through the nearby gate attempting to escape from a Syndicate fleet. Noah and all available pilots are scrambled and the player enters this scene in medias res. In the end Noah and his comrades end up being too little too late and the Syndicate fleet takes out not only the capital ship but the nearby colony it was fleeing to. Noah, Rei and Charlie barely escape with their lives.
Enter the Tizona
Vero Nagaram arrives on the scene in the Tizona both out of curiosity and for an opportunity to loot. Noah marks him as an enemy, both due to his actions and his ship being reminiscent of Syndicate ship design as it is in fact the prototype on which all Syndicate designs are based. Vero disables Noah’s ship and almost kills him, only later when informed by his comrades does Noah learn how lucky he was and that he was up against the legendary Tizona.
Resupplying
Perspective shifts when the Tizona escapes into hyperspace, Leona Aldridge is introduced as Vero’s partner and engineer. Vero and Leona make a detour into Local Trade Group Organization; LGTO, controlled space to re-supply. The Tizona encounters more resistance than expected when they discover the LGTO mining facility has been occupied by a hostile Syndicate force.
Reward and Reassignment
Noah, Charlie and Rei are reassigned from their positions defending a backwater colony due to it’s destruction. They join up with a major ESK fleet currently in Gaea Colonization Organization; GCO, space. During a short shore leave on the colony they are entered into the Order of Valor by Queen Madeline herself who is visiting New Sydney on mission of goodwill. Noah along with three others are awarded with the Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery. Unable to wrap his head around receiving an award for failure Noah tells Rei to keep the medal because stars are lucky. Aided by the GCO the ESK fleet including Noah and company is dispatched to the surface of a nearby planet to wipe out a small anti-ESK terrorist faction in an attempt to gather information on the attack on their home colony of New Dubai.
Rising Action
A Second Failure
The Syndicate unexpectedly ambush the GCO colony, taking out a large portion of the ESK fleet in a surprise attack. Noah and company fight alongside the fleet to push the interlopers back but they’re too late to stop the destruction of the colony.
Ambushed
Vero comes across some information from one of his informants, having never been let down by this particular source before he proceeds to the coordinates expecting an opportunity to ambush a convoy and instead finds himself the subject of an extensive ESK ambush. The Tizona narrowly escapes the full forces of an entire ESK fleet by fleeing into a nearby nebula.
Save the Queen
With no major victories to speak of since the ESK’s declaration of open war against the Syndicate over 50 years prior, many of the ESK higher ups are fed up with the lack of results and disenfranchisement many of the citizens are experiencing. In order to garner support, these individuals have set out to use a faux-Syndicate fleet to wreak havoc on ESK and foreign civilian and military targets. Noah discovers what the ESK is up to and that the attacks he had born witness to were the work of the faux-Syndicate fleet controlled by ESK itself. Meanwhile the hardheaded Queen Madeline has discovered the plot as well, Noah narrowly rescues Madeline and they flee the Fleet in Noah’s ship. Their difficult escape culminates in a battle against Rei who doesn’t believe Noah about the ESK’s plot. She fights hesitantly as she starts to believe what Noah is saying and Noah is successfully able to flee without taking her life but Charlie and Rei disown Noah when he makes his escape.
Intermission
Rest and Relaxation
Noah and Madeline attempt to lay low on a neutral colony, there is quite a bit of time for character development here, probably the slowest and longest intermissions in the first episode. The mood is heavy but also fun as the proud and proper princess must adapt to living low.
Climax
Bang! It’s not Over Yet
Without warning Noah and Madeline find themselves under attack by Syndicate agents. In an attempt to escape they make it to their ship but realize too late as they escape the colony that they were corralled into an ESK fleet. Narrowly they escape into a nearby nebula.
Standoff
Noah encounters the Tizona inside the nebula and he goes head to head with Vero despite Madeline’s protests. During the battle they find themselves surrounded by intrepid ESK assailants. Seemingly defeated in the battle Vero turns the tide in an instant when Noah realizes Vero had been playing around the entire battle. The Tizona crushes Noah but Vero once again leaves him to live, they drift into the nebula with a disabled ship.
Intercepted! The Hyperspace Battle
The tides are turned quickly on the ESK fleet by a transformed Tizona, the Admiral attempts to make his escape by using the rest of his fleet as countermeasures while his ship makes it to the gate. The Tizona pursues the head of the fleet in hyperspace engaging in those conditions. The Tizona defeats the capital ship single-handedly.
Falling Action
SOS & A Haircut
Stranded in the middle of nowhere drifting just outside a nebula in the aftermath, Noah and Madeline are left with no choice but to activate their SOS and set it to a civilian channel, episode 1 comes to a close.
(Mentioned in episode 2.) After over a day stuck together in the tiny ship a luxury liner receives the signal and informs them that they are en route. Not wanting to be reported as MIA soldiers and equally not wanting Madeline to be identified Madeline is forced into the hard choice and cuts off the majority of her long hair. Noah and Madeline detonate their ship after ejecting in flight suits and are picked up by the luxury liner.
Series Rising Action
Sanctum 2
Exposition
Man of the Hour
Vero finds himself once again atop everyone’s hit list. After managing to lay low for some time in GCO controlled space he runs into an old acquaintance, soon after he is found out and flees from a GCO fleet.
The Casual Life
Having been picked up by the luxury liner and made their way to a large but inconspicuous merchant colony Noah and Madeline attempt to live under the radar while things cool down. With no ship and no new info to go on they attempt to scratch together an existence. Some chemistry between the two is introduced. Madeline channels her knack for baked goods by opening a small bakery and Noah delivers her goods free of charge to incite business.
Rising Action
Risk and Reward
With the price on his head once again so high one could purchase a small galaxy and the Syndicate feverishly in pursuit of the Tizona, Vero finds that even the mercenaries and bounty hunters at his usual watering hole have let the price get the best of them. With the reward now exceeding the inherit risk in the minds of most of these men and women he finds himself pursued by a rag tag team of hired guns and hunters, including some old acquaintances.
Blue-collar Blues
Things are down for Noah and Madeline as their business are not doing so well. There is a period of both conflict and reconciliation that bring the two closer together in their hardships.
Red Herring
An as of yet introduced Amaj Al-Zuhwan, LGTO CEO and acquaintance of Vero provides some interesting information. The untouchable status of the Syndicate as the leader in black market trading had caused prices for services and goods to sink gradually over the last few decades, smaller local crime rings began to spring up causing prices to sink further. Some indication is made that the Syndicate itself may be behind the recent turn of events. With this information in hand Vero pursues a lead and interrupts a Syndicate-ESK trade deal.
Intermission
A Beautiful Day
Business starts to pick up for Noah and Madeline, the first signs of their chemistry going anywhere start to appear, but they are still subtle. Noah continues with his deliveries also taking freelance piloting jobs.
Climax
Hunt for a Martyr
Vero learns through his sources that the ESK extremists plan to martyr Queen Madeline and use her extreme popularity both within ESK and abroad to give the anti-Syndicate sentiment a catapult forward. Vero also learns that the whereabouts of the Queen have been discovered and races to prevent the catastrophe. Narrowly making it in time he kidnaps Madeline leaving Noah behind and escaping before the arrival of ESK hired Syndicate agents.
Friend or Foe?
Noah cashes in everything for the fastest ship he can get his hands on and attempts to pursue the Tizona. Despite his best efforts the trail goes cold and Noah is left hopeless searching for the next clue to Vero’s whereabouts. When he finally does get back on the Tizona’s trail he finds himself in an ESK fleet feeling the aftermath of their attempt to take on Vero. A patrol attempts to notify Noah in his civilian vessel to turn back when Noah realizes the patrol is none other than Rei. realizing the situation Noah tries to escape without calling attention to himself but Rei catches on quickly that it’s Noah and pursues him as he attempts to outrun the fleet. Noah learns that Rei has come to accept the ESK’s plan and believes it the only way; their bonds are for the most part completely severed. In an unexpected turn of events an unidentified ship provides just enough cover for Noah to make his escape.
Falling Action
Chasing a Star
Once again finding himself with a cold trail in pursuit of the Tizona Noah runs into the same band of outlaws and bounty hunters Vero had dispatched earlier. A threat to their profit margin they attempt to take Noah out and collect the bounty on his head. Noah takes out their leader before making his escape only to find himself in much the same position as before, without any clue as to where to go next.
Sanctum 3
Walk the Line
Still directionless and unable to pick up the Tizona’s trail, Noah runs into a man familiar to the player, but not yet to Noah. The still as of yet identified Amaj Al-Zuhwan approaches Noah with an offer, information to help Noah catch up with Vero, in return for the Tizona if he should be successful, he also promises that the Queen will not be harmed. Not known to the player at the time, but Al-Zuhwan’s motives are those of self-preservation, with an increasing number of LGTO operations being seized by the ESK through their faux-Syndicate operations, Al-Zuhwan needs the demand for raw materials to go down, and for the Syndicate to owe him a few favors. Noah hesitantly accepts, with the offer as his only apparent way to save Madeline. Noah feels no reservations about Vero’s fate, but about the Tizona falling into the Syndicate’s hands.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Vero, Leona and Madeline stay at a small mountain town on Gaea, attempting to lay low while Vero waits to make his next move.
Overview
Noah pursues the Tizona with new purpose and intelligence on his side. Some character development occurs revealing to Madeline that Vero and Leona are not so bad after all. Noah is confused when Madeline protests to Noah’s attempts to rescue her. Most of this portion focuses on Vero, Madeline and Leona with Noah reoccurring as an antagonist. Noah eventually causes the capture of the Tizona but also finds out he’s been had when he is imprisoned alongside the others.
Admiral Samuel Walsh; grandson of the venerable ESK hero Sir Zackary Walsh, is introduced as one of the larger hands behind the ESK plot as he takes to personally visiting the prisoners aboard his vessel. Vero manages to help everyone including Noah out of their cells, but must sacrifice his own life in order for the others to make their escape. Distraught and angry with himself for causing the horrible present situation Noah escaping with the women into the Tizona flees from the flagship, destroying it from the inside out in the process.
After his escape he manages to take out a huge chunk of the fleet before jumping out of the area. Though she should Leona does not blame Noah for Vero’s death, though she wants to, Vero saw something in Noah and she tries to give him a chance, though she is exceedingly cold at first. Though also angry with him Madeline tries to be a pillar for Noah who is in a bit of an unstable state.
Sanctum 4
Overview
Now the #1 target on the most wanted board of all factions in the Local Group Noah finds himself overwhelmed. The direct human interfacing is also taxing on Noah’s inexperienced mind. The Tizona like all ships borne from it’s design function by interfacing with the pilot’s neural network and utilizing the brain as an advanced targeting and navigational computer, essentially making the ship an extension of the pilot’s body. Unlike basic Syndicate ships however the Tizona essentially overclocks the human brain forcing it to process equations in complex non-conservation of mass based physics which allows the Tizona such an unparalleled advantage on the battlefield.
Noah runs into Syndicate ambushes and ESK fleets, mercenaries and the GCO as he attempts simply to keep the Tizona out of enemy hands. Feeling the affects of the stress and with a sense of self-failure Noah pushes Madeline away as he tries to protect her. Noah is forced into one on one combat again with Rei and this time is left with no choice, she dies in the firefight, after confessing on the Victoria Cross he gifted her that she had once had hopes for a family together with Noah.
When they finally get a chance to lay low on a small ESK colony Madeline helps Noah to remember what he is fighting for by showing him and reminding him of the people and ideals he is fighting to protect. Regardless Noah is in a state of inconsolable grief for some time over the loss of Rei. Leona manages to find some information regarding Walsh’s next move with the faux-Syndicate fleet.
Noah races to stop Walsh from taking out the emergency meeting of the Local Group security counsel. Arriving just in the nick of time, the locally stationed GCO and ESK fleets are ambushed by the faux-Syndicate fleet. Noah with new resolve turns the tide of the battle in favor of the local GCO and ESK forces. With revived purpose and confidence Noah mends his relationship with Madeline and gains some respect and trust from Leona. He continues to pursue information regarding the plot, how deep it is and what’s coming next so he can stay always one step ahead. Leona sees the toll the Tizona’s systems are having on Noah and encourages Madeline to do anything she can to keep Noah’s mind stable. Privately Leona also begins to see the emergence of a more mature person inside of Noah which she compares in her own grief to the late Vero.
Intermission
Sanctum 5
Overview
This episode serves as filler, it has no real bearing on the series, involves Vero and Rei despite their deceased status and turns out to be a dream/nightmare. It does further develop some of the game’s characters though.
Sanctum 6
Overview
Noah takes matters into his own hands with Al-Zuhwan, something that the LGTO CEO respects; Noah learns that his escape with the Tizona has increased tensions between the ESK sub faction and the Syndicate. As of such, trade has ceased and due to recent failures Amaj notes that there will likely be a period of calm in the near future while the faux-Syndicate fleet is replenished.
Additionally, Noah learns about Project Origin, and that the Tizona is somehow connected. Al-Zuhwan is able to provide little more information and informs Noah that if he really wants to know, he’s going to have to go to the Cassiopeia Galaxy, the Syndicate home galaxy.
Noah pursues a Syndicate vessel into deep space outside of a Galaxy, into a large nebula. Finding one of their mobile gates, he takes the Tizona through into the Cassiopeia Galaxy. Not quite what he expected, Noah discovers the Cassiopeia Galaxy to be full of well-developed and unique Syndicate Colonies, not filled with crime but seemingly normal and high-minded societies.
Attempting to lay low comes rather difficult, and the Tizona is engaged on multiple occasions as he attempts to find out any information relating to Project Origin. The only general information he is able to garner is that Project Origin is the source of the Tizona and hence the source of all Syndicate ship technology.
Finally grasping onto the first lead he gets, Noah flies straight into the hornets nest to get five minutes with the Syndicate lead engineers, said to be working on the research of Project Origin. Noah discovers that Project Origin was an initiative started over 200 years ago by Aerospace Engineering Company Hoshiyume’s Research and Development team.
Project Origin was the culmination of research into the creation of matter and the relationship between biological initiatives and universal truths. Project Origin successfully disproved the theory of conservation of matter and rose the idea of the universe itself being, to some extent a living being.
The Tizona a 200 year old ship was the apex of Project Origin’s research. The ship’s biological relationship with its pilot as well as its ability to produce matter from seemingly nothing all related back to Hoshiyume’s work on project origin. Noah also learns that all of Project Origin’s work was lost and the Tizona stolen, and that though the Syndicate’s technology emulates that of the Tizona as best they can, the ship is the final puzzle piece needed and holds the key to piecing together the last of the research.
With no more time to chat Noah barely escapes the Syndicate’s proverbial hive and not long after leaves the Cassiopeia Galaxy.
Series Climax
Sanctum 7
Overview
Noah liberates an LGTO mining facility from the faux-Syndicate to elicit a favor from Al-Zuhwan. Noah learns that the ESK has increased their resource drive far over normal levels, even with the necessary replacements to the faux-fleet factored in.
Noah investigates further and takes out a large mining operation on an uninhabitable planet. Noah learns that the resources are all being redirected to a single destination but is unable to pinpoint the location, as too many proxy gates are used.
In the meantime the ESK is no fool and uses hit and run tactics all over the Local Group to keep Noah and the Tizona distracted and busy plugging leaks. Noah finally locates a lead on where the raw materials are going, but finds he is too late and that whatever was being worked on is already complete and gone.
Noah finds that he has fallen straight into a trap lead by a vengeful Charlie. Not at all wanting the same thing to happen that happened with Rei, Noah attempts to reason with Charlie. Noah quickly realizes that Charlie’s mind is made up on revenge, and that there is no way to avoid it. Charlie and Noah go one on one, Noah defeats Charlie and he is killed.
Charlie does reveal that the area had been the construction site for Sanctum IV, a high-powered weapons platform capable of wiping out part of a planet’s surface in a single blast. He also reveals its destination, realizing perhaps at the last moment from Noah’s conviction that he has failed.
Noah heads to Gaea with little to no time to spare, arriving at the last moment, Sanctum leaves an enormous scar across the surface of Gaea that Noah is unable to stop, but the brunt impact of the weapon is turned away from the planet.
Falling Action
The ESK plot is revealed to the universe and Sanctum IV is disabled. An intergalactic inquiry is led into the ESK military and the criminals are purged, the ESK’s power is checked.
Queen Madeline hesitantly returns to her duties as Queen, and though Noah still considers himself ESK at heart, he knows that he can’t return. The two despite strong feelings for one another sadly part, and go their separate ways. Noah takes the name of Vero and vows to watch over the Tizona with Leona from that moment onward and repent for the death of his predecessor.