(primary gameplay mode)

The mission mode consists of organising the French Resistance cell’s fighters on the battlefield, changing plans mid-fight, sneaking around, acquiring hidden information and documents, and reverting to force when necessary.

In general, the player is encouraged to solve problems and missions in a peaceful but cunning manner. Violence is sometimes part of the game, but as Dures is a middle-aged woman, her principal strengths lie in organising troops to fight to the best of their ability, and performing covert actions.

Some players prefer the shoot’em-up way of solving problems. Progression through the game in this manner is a viable option, but it will be difficult. In addition, pieces of key information may be missed, and Dures is an expert at eavesdropping on unsuspecting German soldiers. This information can then be used to blackmail people at the bar.

Setting: outdoor/indoor scenery in France

Perspective: third-person

Interaction Model: avatar – direct control over Dures. Rapid decisions are made via the Decision Circle interface.

Challenges: support positive mission outcome, gather items & information, accomplish crucial tasks

Actions: assign tasks to loyal persons, solve mission critical puzzles & tasks, distract or defeat enemies, talk to persons

Mechanics: mission goals are guarded, hidden or locked, loyal persons need support and orders, timing is important

In this gameplay mode, the main character moves through a level and tries to accomplish the mission goal.

The main character can handle most weapons in the game, but is especially good in using the pool cue as the favourite weapon. However, stealthy actions are encouraged, such as:

- Picking locks

- Sabotaging things

- Stealing

- Taking pictures

- Listening to conversations

- Forging and replacing documents

Talking to other persons is another major element in this gameplay mode, which may take place in two different forms:

- Conversation with other people, talking with them about things

- Giving commands to AI controlled loyal persons (blow this or that up, attack guards over there, drive this car, switch on/off that thing etc.)

Once an AI controlled loyal has been given commands, he or she will try to execute this command. Feedback about progress is reported to the player during the mission (unrealistic, but better gameplay). The player may and often must perform actions that support other persons during a mission, such as distracting guards or opening doors.

(secondary gameplay mode)

At the Chien Noir, Dures can interact with the German Officers out front, and the French Resistance cell in the secret rooms out back.

With the German Officers, Dures can order contraband to bribe them, blackmail them with information, or get them drunk and ply them for secrets. Also, the player can inquire into the Officers’ lives, and get a feel to what lead them into the army, and their degree of loyalty to the Nazi Regime.

With the French Resistance, Dures is involved in the planning and briefing for the next mission, and the management of personnel and resources. This resource management component is fairly lightweight, yet it is integrated into the ongoing story by tying it into the narrative interface. I.e. While Dures is talking with one resistance member, he may say “This next mission looks tough, I’ve allotted four clips of ammunition to each soldier, but no grenades. Does this sound alright to you?”. The player will then be able to tweak the numbers, of leave it at the sensible default.

Setting: Chien Noir, a bar in Paris Latin Quarter, which is popular with German Officers.

Perspective: third-person

Interaction Model: avatar – Direct Control Over Dures. Conversations are made using the Decision Cirle interface.

Challenges: plan and prepare missions, gather information about oncoming events and about people involved, influence people’s loyalty

Actions: talk and listen to people, approach them with offers, threads and favours, trade items

Mechanics: material and information resources must be gathered in missions

Talking to other persons is a major element in this gameplay mode. This provides information about things that are going on or enables the player to offer goods or favours to that person.

Resources

The main resources in the game are money, weaponry and a range of items. These resources belong to the main-character, Dures.

For each person in the game there is also the resource loyalty.

Converting between money and weaponry is not always easy and may be the subject of a mission. Weaponry itself may be a general resource, which can be spent in preparing a mission to buy certain weapons, explosives or just ammunition.

Items

The game features many different items, which are acquired and used in missions. Items may also be traded with other people in the bar for money or loyalty. Some special items will be acquired by following a narrative tree by talking with characters in the bar. These items are generally harder to come by, and are used to affect the gameplay in the mission mode, see below.

The range of items includes:

- maps

- pictures of key persons

- contraband goods

- documents (originals or forged)

- passwords and access codes

- different kind of weapons, e.g. ranged weapons, explosives etc.

- different kinds of tools, e.g. stuff to pick locks, keys, a camera, a radio etc.

The internal economy brings together the Mission Mode and Bar Mode. The information and items acquired during mission are useful for interacting with German officers in the bar. This in turn can lead to changes in the next mission through information, or changed troop placements.

For example, Dures is sneaking around in a mission, and overhears two soldiers discussing evidence that Officer Fritz is a closet homosexual. If the other Officers were to know, then Fritz would be ruined.

Back in the bar Dures blackmails him with this information, and promises not to tell, in return for Fritz pulling out a squad of his troops from a key waypoint in the next mission. When they get out onto the field, it is one less problem to be solved.

Alternatively, Dures may try to build up a rapport by using covert imformation. In another example, Dures is sneaking around and hears that Officer Fritz has a hankering for Single Malt Scotch Whisky, but finds it impossible to get in France. By talking with contacts in the bar, the player can procure some whisky to bribe the German Officer, in attempt to affect his loyalty. At the same time, she may extract information on the location of a key needed in the next mission, making the upcoming mission simpler.

Players can choose to take advantage of this interaction between the two modes, or they may just prefer to skip through the bar scenes to get straight into the next action scene. The game caters for this, but obviously they will not have the additional advantages that blackmailing and character manipulation can bring.