Fading Existence

"What did we want most? We wanted to exist as individuals."

- The Protagonist in the game's trailer

Fading Existence is a fictional first-person sandbox game developed by DICE, BioWare, and Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts.

Gameplay
Fading Existence is a first person game, where the player will assume the role of a Protagonist, the main character of the game. Gameplay includes a multitude of different play styles, from first-person shooting to fast paced free-running in a large-scale city setting to high risk hacking situations and much more.

With the Unreal Engine 4, the game contains many high quality and definition aspects that not only enhance the game itself, but also immerse the players into the game much more. For example, the stunts performed whilst free-running are more feasible than in other games, where players are able to perform a wide variety of cool, cinematic stunts. In Fading Existence, where physics come into play, players are generally limited to what their character can do, based on traits and the physics of a situation.

Every aspect of the game, including during missions, is open-world. The player is free to roam where they want within the enormous map that is Arcadia. In addition to this, most buildings can be entered. They aren't there for show and actually can have real purpose in the player's game, whether it be a rest stop convenience store selling food that can replenish health or a bank that the player can use to withdraw/deposit money or even steal from. The ability to roam in Fading Existence is basically restricted.

General gameplay, when not on a mission, is calm. The player will be able to roam wherever they may choose in any mode of transportation, whether it be in a car, on foot, by rooftop, or anything else. Unless there is some sort of combat, gameplay will be rather neutral. The player will be able to do what they want, both legal and illegal.

While on missions, there will both be slower parts and faster parts. Regardless of the mission, the player will almost always be doing something that puts their life on the table. Free-running, one of the more prominent activities that appear regular throughout the game, can result in the player's death if they are not careful, and even fighting with weapons, such as firearms, is a main component in the game, as players can be killed by enemies or even other players.

The game only features singleplayer, but with a multiplayer integration component within it.

Story
Set in the fictional city, Arcadia, in 2097, Fading Existence is the story of a protagonist who leads a widespread resistance against the controlling, totalitarian government. The government, originally intending to create a utopian society, evolved into something more vicious and evil, becoming overbearing on the privacy of society, forcing its citizens to live in fear.

The Resistance for Existence, or simply known as The Resistance, is bent on toppling the current government to free the society of fear and overwatch as well as install a new, free government.

Prologue
The Prologue is primarily divided up into two separate parts, namely because it spans over the course of 25 years of the Protagonist's life.

Part One takes place in the early points of the Protagonist's life, mainly in 2077, when the Protagonist is seven years old. This is also the point in time when the government is in the process of having Arcadia become a utopian society. Many citizens are outraged and distraught over the matter and as a result, form riots across the city. At first, the secret police force, various hired mercenaries, are told to control the riots, but are eventually told to kill all of the rioters. This is the point in which the government now becomes very strict (but not that strict yet).

The Protagonist is born into wealth, as both of their parents are high ranking government officials. With the change of government, all of the officials from the now Old Regime are killed, ethically. The Protagonist, a curious and adventurous seven year-old, finds out about the death of his parents and runs away from home, resorting to living on the streets.

While living on the streets, The Protagonist gets involved with the underground crime world and is renown as one of the best thieves in Arcadia. When 15 years old, the Protagonist is caught attempting to rob from one of the governor's house and is eventually caught. They are forced to serve in the Arcadia Police Force, really the city's secret police force to spy on its citizens, for ten years as a consequence.

Part Two of the prologue takes place right after those ten years pass. The Protagonist finally finishes their sentence and is released, only to be even more dissatisfied with everything. Over the course of their sentence, the leadership has changed and the government has become more strict, overbearing, and feared among its people, who are now put in their place by the government with fear and violence. The Protagonist is assigned a usual "9 to 5" office job in the City. Angry and disgusted with the system, the Protagonist attempts to escape. While they are successful at evading the police for a while, they are eventually cornered. They are saved by a mysterious figure who takes them in.

Main Story
This section is not complete as of yet...

This is the story that is mainly covered in the game, taking two years after Part II of the Prologue in 2097, when the Protagonist is now 27 years of age. The mysterious figure who saved them earlier was a member of the Resistance, a well known underground group who resisted government control and urged its citizens to do the same. Over the course of the two years, it is hinted that the Protagonist joined the group and learned how to become an efficient member, also using some of the knowledge gained from being an APF officer.

Multiplayer Integration
There is no separate multiplayer option for the game, as it is integrated with singleplayer in a few ways. One of the more obvious ways is for leaderboards. Players can compare mission times, high scores, challenges, and all time records with friends and other players around the globe.

Characters
Important characters are listed here, while other characters and more detailed listings of important characters are listed here.

The Protagonist
The Protagonist is an unnamed character controlled by the player. Virtually, almost everything about the Protagonist is customizable, from appearance to biological information to voice actor and traits. The only aspect of the character that remains the same is the Protagonist's background and history, as both of those set up the entire game as it is.

The default Protagonist, depicted in other media of the game such as the Reveal Trailer, is male, although players can also make their characters female in-game as well.

Gov. George Mason
George Mason is the governor of the Government of Arcadia and the main antagonist of the game. He controls everything that goes in the city and calls all the shots. He, along with his predecessor, is responsible for converting Arcadia to a utopia. Unlike his predecessor, however, Mason is the governor who has made the government and bent on specifically controlling its people. This reveals that Mason has a hunger for ultimate power.

Alex Thompson
Alex Thompson is the original leader of the Resistance and the Protagonist's main mentor throughout the early stages of the game. Thompson acts as a makeshift father figure for the Protagonist, as the latter's parents were killed when they were young and they had no one else too really look up to.

Rain
Rain is a prominent member of the Resistance who assists the Protagonist throughout the game, lending a helping hand and helping them complete missions. She is essentially best friends with the Protagonist because of how much time they spend together, not to mention under a plethora of circumstances.

Reveal Trailer
The reveal trailer of Fading Existence was released on June 1, 2014, the same day that it was announced. The trailer utilized the song above (without the singing and just the instrumentals), performed by American post-hardcore band, Our Last Night.

While all this is happening, messages praising the game appear as well, such as "Best open-world game of the year!" - GameInformer.
 * 0:00 - 0:43 : Depicts Arcadia both in still pictures and videos and non-action shots of the Resistance, leading up to the Protagonist, whose back is facing the camera as it gets closer to them.
 * 0:44 - 1:09 : Shows action shots of the game from the player's point of view, such as freerunning through the city, heated firefights with unknown opposing forces, and action-packed car chases.
 * 1:10 - 1:32 : Shows the government and it's control of the whole city, displaying their overbearingness on the citizens, its ruthlessness in forcing its citizens to abide by its rules, and the unhappy citizens.
 * 1:33 - 1:49 : More action shots...
 * 1:50 - 2:29 : Shows action shots of one of the pivotal moments in the game, one of the last battles between the Resistance and the government.
 * 2:30 - end : It introduces the game's developers and publisher, all while showing even more intense shots in between companies, and finally shows the game's title and logo. The music and logo fade away.

Trivia

 * The city's name, Arcadia, means "paradise," which was originally intended by the city's government in making the city into a utopian society.
 * A lot of this game is inspired by the Mirror's Edge series, as well as other modern open-world and sandbox games.