Where we started
The opening had to do three things at once, establish the world, introduce the Hive without showing too much, and give the player a reason to care about the UNCC before they ever click a unit.
The first draft had a five-minute monologue. It was terrible. We cut it.
What changed
- Dropped the narrator entirely
- Moved the Singapore bloom from a flashback to the cold open
- Let the silence breathe before the first scream
The Witness
The Witness almost didn't make it into the opening. We were worried about showing the final boss in the first thirty seconds. But here's the thing, you don't see the Witness. You see what people do when the Witness is near. That changed everything.
What's next
Audio pass next week. Then color grade. Then we ship a snippet to the Discord.
