G String (video game)
G String | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Eyaura |
Publisher(s) | LunchHouse Software |
Engine | Source |
Platform(s) | Windows |
Release | October 16, 2020 |
Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
G String is a 2020 first-person shooter video game developed by Eyaura and published by LunchHouse Software for Windows. The game is set in a dystopian cyberpunk far future North America ravaged by climate change, pollution, economic inequality and civil unrest. The player controls Myo Hyori, a teenage girl fighting to survive against the hazards posed by the state, their corporate backers, rogue machines and the polluted landscape.
Gameplay
[edit]G String is a single-player first person shooter. The player takes control of Myo Hyori, who has both telekinesis and pyrokinesis. Mechanically, G String functions very similarly to Half-Life 2, which the game's code was based upon. All of the G String enemies and weapons are reskins of those in Half-Life 2. There are a few new additions though, such as Myo's pyrokinesis ability, the scanmine and the sizzler.
Synopsis
[edit]Setting
[edit]G String is set in the far future in the fictional nation of the North American Union (the N
As a result of climate change and mass pollution, air has become so scarce that it has become a commodity. A company by the name of Murdock Air is the largest distributor of air in the modern world, with its CEO Ted Murdock being the richest man alive (and a multi-trillionaire). Murdock Air's pyramid-shaped primary air facility is the largest manmade structure in human history. Murdock and his company reside in the N
NATO (which the N
Plot
[edit]This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (January 2024) |
The game begins in orbit above Earth, where Martian separatists are planning to ram their ship into the Interplanetary Trade Center (a much taller replica of the World Trade Center). A NATO fleet commanded by Admiral Cyd Scoble fires on them and their debris fall into Earth's atmosphere.
On Earth, within an unnamed N
Making her way through polluted industrial and residential landscapes, the police chase Myo. Rebels soon begin to take notice of Myo and help her as she goes by. Bortz attempts to track her but fails, and requests the help of Scoble, though Scoble dismisses Myo as a threat. Myo eventually reaches an AI detention and extermination camp, overrun by a rogue AI named LOG-9, who is leading a machine uprising against the N
Later, Myo is contacted by a rebel hacker named Riley Verge, and Myo witnesses rebel forces detonate a nuclear bomb on the N
Myo eventually manages to make her way into a weapons and drone manufacturing plant called "Kobi Shipyards", narrowly managing to escape it before entering the Murdock Air Pyramid itself (the largest single air production and distribution facility currently on the planet). After fighting he way through waves of N
Myo soon finds her way near a massive spaceport which Riley recommends she try to break into so she can sneak aboard a ship to Mars where she can be free at last. After making her way through the spaceport, she eventually manages to sneak onto the ship. As it enters Earth's orbit, anti-NAU forces begin to attack the ship. As the ship begins to break down around her and as N
Myo is then captured yet again and is taken to a space station attached to the elevator. Myo is forced to take a pill to remove her powers and she is then sent to Scoble's ship where her punishment awaits her. After meeting Scoble for the first time for a brief moment, Myo's pod breaks after rebel forces begin to attack the ship. She manages to find her way to an old Martian fighter, and takes off with it. She joins up with a fleet of anti-NAU rebels (primarily Martian separatists) to fight against Scoble and his fleet. After teaming up with them to destroy several large ships (including Scoble's although he managed to escape from it) and just as they begin to plan to make their escape, a massive ship enters the battlefield. It activates a gravity well prohibiting anyone from leaving. The pilot of the Martian separatists' head ship decides to ram their ship into the ship grounding them in order for everyone to make their escape. Myo and the rest of her compatriots attempt to flee however the blast kills Myo (and presumably everyone else on the battlefield).
Myo begins to see a series of strange patterns and visions as she passes on. After passing through several different locations, she finds herself at the bottom of a flight of stairs with a glowing white a top them. She begins to ascend them, eventually finding her way into a house of some sort. She eventually finds her way into a living room of some sort where her parents are sitting. The woman who has been giving her visions throughout the game greets Myo. She asks Myo how she thinks she did in life and that she knew her parents did well. As a series of Buddhist chants begin to fill the background, a door opens where the woman says that Myo will receive her judgement. She enters the room, seeing a massive ship floating above Earth. Murdock can be heard furious and upset about the lack of respect that he feels he gets due to the rebels' recent activities. He commands the ships to fire on Earth. As it does, the ship as Murdock's pyramid and the ITC are enveloped in a wave of light. A shofar horn can be heard as this happens. The player teleports to a white void where all of the character seen throughout the game are setting. Several TVs are laying around the void. Images from throughout humanity's history (including events that happened in the game) are playing on it. The woman whom has been guiding the player throughout the whole game can be seen amongst the crowd. The player is then taken to another realm, where they are flying rapidly above the ocean as the sun sets. The game's credits music begins to play and then soon after, the game ends.
Development
[edit]Eyaura began developing architectural study maps in Garry's Mod in 2006, and these maps eventually became the basis of the game. After a couple of years, she turned the maps into a mod for Half-Life 2. The project was initially called Garbage In, Garbage Out and later Slacker, before receiving the name G-String.[1] The Half-Life 2 mod was released in 2011.[2] Eyaura initially planned to abandon the project, but kept working on it due to fan feedback, eventually turning it into a full game.[3] Although she made the original G-String mod by herself, she decided to get a team together to help make the full game.[4] G-String released in October 2020,[5] published by indie publishing company LunchHouse Software. The A-Cup update was released on December 21, 2020, and included bug fixes and reworked level design.[6] Soon after the release of A-Cup, another larger update (the B-Cup update) entered the works. It released on July 16, 2021 and it redid much of the game's mapping, fixed a lot of the game's bugs and provided many other small adjustments to the game as well.[7]
Soon after another version of the game entered production however its development was kept relatively quiet up until June 29, 2023, when it was revealed that this version of the game would be known as G String - Ultimate Edition, with a trailer releasing for it on the same day as well as a ModDB article explaining what it was meant to be. The Ultimate Edition is still in development, and according to the article there are plans to make the game as detailed and polished as it can be by polishing up and adding new things to the game's pre-existing maps, adding in new scripted sequences and redoing some of the character and weapon models. Recent upgrades LunchHouse has made to the Source Engine have allowed Eyaura to make her game much more detailed and expansive than it was beforehand also according to the article. Additionally, an expansion pack and a full-fledged sequel for G-String that would be titled G-String: Off World were also revealed to be future possibilities for the franchise after the Ultimate Edition released in the article.[8]
Reception
[edit]G String has received generally positive reviews, with reviewers praising its atmosphere, themes and worldbuilding although it has received criticism for its gameplay and its storyline.[9][5][10][11] ModDB awarded G String's mod version the Worldly Award for their 2012 Mod of the Year Editor's Choice competition.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/1224600/manuals/G_String_-_Beauty_Secrets.pdf?t=1633031794
- ^ "G STRING mod for Half-Life 2". ModDB. December 18, 2011.
- ^ "How a Half-Life 2 cyberpunk mod became its own game after 13 years". PCGamesN. October 26, 2020.
- ^ "Interview: A glimpse into the rain soaked dystopian future of G-String – LambdaGeneration". lambdageneration.com. October 9, 2013.
- ^ a b Lane, Rick (2020-10-28). "G String is a captivating cyberpunk shooter, made almost entirely by one person over twelve years". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ^ "Steam :: G String :: G-String : A-Cup Update". store.steampowered.com. December 21, 2020.
- ^ "Steam :: G String :: The July 2021 Update (codenamed the B Cup) is out". Steam. December 18, 2011.
- ^ "G STRING - Ultimate Edition Trailer and News". ModDB. June 29, 2023.
- ^ Beahm, Elijah (2020-12-17). "G String Is a Dystopian Cyberpunk Gem 13 Years in the Making". The Escapist. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ^ Vega, Sin (2021-08-20). "G String is like Half-Life 2, except that I like it". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ^ "G-String Review | bit-tech.net". bit-tech.net.
- ^ "MOTY Editors Choice 2012". ModDB. Dec 24, 2012.
External links
[edit]- 2020 video games
- Cyberpunk video games
- Dystopian video games
- Apocalyptic video games
- Transhumanism in video games
- Video games about artificial intelligence
- Video games about cyborgs
- Video games about mass surveillance
- Video games about robots
- Video games about crime
- Video games about terrorism
- Video games about virtual reality
- Video games set in outer space
- Video games set in the future
- First-person shooters
- Science fiction video games
- Single-player video games
- Source (game engine) mods
- Windows games
- Windows-only games
- Source (game engine) games