Waste Island : A Rundown Focused DLC Project
We have been discussing a Rundown or Dystopian City DLC extensively both in the forums and discord, amazing posts about it are:
- Dystopian, Or Cyberpunk Gameplay by @kaos0007
- Dystopian furniture ideas I would like by @PinkRemix
- Enhanced Macro Simulation based on Karma System by @GDfromRivendell
All this made me reflect on how would a fully rundown-focused city and DLC look like, while mantaining the immersion of the already existing cities and Inzoi’s unique universe. With this in mind I took my love for both Abandonalia and Inzoi and started “working” towards how a city that could coexist and make sense while beign completely rundown and chaotic could be. A city of crime, exploration and survival, yet fitting to the realism of this game.
Hence, Waste Island was born.
What is Waste Island
Just as it has happened to very much real places like Abjasia or Centralia, a city like Waste Island can exist with no hocus pocus reason behind it, other than the greed and corruption of some big corporations. After an accident at a local factory, the waters around Waste Island became contaminated, impeding the work of fishermen and bringing down the economy of the city.
Little by little, most of the locals had to pack their lives and leave, and nature reclaimed the streets that once bloomed with human life, making flora invade the abandoned buildings. Only rascals and those who had no choice stayed, and now the city beams with crime, survivalism and an unique way of living, oftentimes underground.
Waste Island has no school, no taxi service, no police, no overpopulated streets… once a city like any other, in tis dying days it attracted all those type of people that could not find a home nowhere else, whatever their stories might be.
I imagine Waste Island to feel liminal, helpless, and even a bit nostalgic. A vibe that you would find in Silent Hill, Death Stranding, Disco Elysium or Disaster Report, but with a soul and an aesthetic of its own, one that can fit inZOI’s universe.
What the DLC would add to the game
- Gang gameplay in which the player can choose to join one of the two rival gangs and take part in their activities (petty crime, no explicit violence except for punches and fist fights). Players can also choose not to join any gangs and stay out of it.
- Low karma players from other cities that are thiefs can come and sell the stolen goods in the dark alley markets.
- New traits: survivalist, hero
- New vehicles/vehicle styles: pick-up truck, bikes
- Repurposed House
- Repurposes metro system
Waste Island as I imagine it would be divided in 3 main parts, with a system that would guarantee optimization while still feeling alive:
- Underground City: where the life is at
- The Outside: hosting housing, exploring and some housing
- The Outskirts: With farms, housing and an Heliport/ Port (hopefuly this last word is the correct term)
1.Underground City System
For maximizing optimization and populating areas while maintaining the eeriness meant for this type of world I propose locating most of the social life of Waste Island in its Underground City System, just like in places such as Moscow, Fukuoka or Seoul, the underground is full of stores, restaurants, hairdressers and other types of businesses.
Nightlife, gambling and socializing is mostly carried out here in this underground area of the city. This means this complex would be more populated, to avoid excesive emptiness but the rest of the island does not require for such efforts, as its meant to be quite a hollow place
2.The Outside.
For a lack of a better name, this is the over the ground island per se, with its old city buildings barely standing, its repurposed stores, some sparse shops such as a convenience store, a gas station and a car repair.
This part is intended to be more empty, no need of dozens of cars or NPCs on the streets, and quite some abandoned places to explore.
Adding rare materials and collectibles around the island would be great to motivate players to explore both the buildings and the overall island.
The Outside is were the heaviest part of the Gang Activity, minus the gambling, would take place.
3.The Outskirts.
Away from the old city centre, lost among the trees this area offers:
- Farms (farming activity is important in this DLC for survival and commerce)
- Housing: bigger houses and repurposed homes.
- Heliport/Port: to leave or enter the city, this would be the place.
Rival Gangs System + Revamp of Crime Life
With this DLC and since there is no police in Waste Island, I propose the introduction of two rival gangs that your zoi can choose to join (or simply ignore and live their own lives) and a wider yet still PG-13 criminal life and nightlife.
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These two gangs originate from two different families that have a long-time feud and are always at odds with each other. One gang is called Sokoke, the other fang is called Nebelung. When being part of a gang, you are able to engage in activities against the rival gang like vandalising their properties, picking up fights, stealing their belongings and other minor or petty crimes.
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Vandalism and other petty crimes like theft, pickpocketing, disorderly conduct that I mention in my other post about the darker side of life. Vandalism, for example, would allow zois to destroy public property or the property of others zois by kicking, hitting stuff with a baseball bat or other handheld weapons.
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Injuries, bandages, and several types of wounds both as a CAZ item and something that can happen to the zois if they get in fights or have an accident with the motorbyke, etc. These can apply outside of Waste Island if the players so desired.
New Jobs, New Places and Fauna
In a DLC that by design cannot be focused on family gameplay, poses a challenge when it comes to adding content. So what do you fill a kind of isolated place like this with?
New jobs
These are the jobs that I believe would be fitting for the city:
- Car repair garage (repairsmen).
- Gas Station (clerk).
- Mixologist.
- Local doctor.
- Tatoo artist.
- Farmer and butcher.
- Delivery driver.
New places
- Hardware store.
- Underground trading.
- Nightclubs.
- Casino or underground gambling place.
- Gang Headquarters:
- Abandoned factory.
- Abandoned Shopping Mall.
- Net fishing spot.
- Abandoned places: an amusement park, a school, a hospital and others.
New lodgings
While this island was one time not much different from other cities, with the changes coming after the disaster, their population had to adapt and with them the housing system.
- Repurposed Wagons.
- Condominiums.
- Motel.
- Repurposed Bus/Trucks.
- Repurposed stores.
- Bunkers.
New Fauna, Flora and Activities
- Waste Island is brimming with cats and crows that your zois can interact with (Maybe in the future adopt!). If you become friend with a crow, there’s a chance he will gift you some rare item after interacting with them.
- Nature has reclaimed the old city, so it’s not uncommon to see overgrown vegetation taking up space around the buildings and in the streets.
- No swimming in the waters around the island, as they are still contaminated due to the disaster caused by the Factory (If you try to swim with a zoi for long in this area, the zoi might get seriously ill).
- Net fishing: there’s no edible fish known around but net fishing might bring you some junk to sell, rare items and collectibles.
- Farm animals are tended to in the farms on the surface that are still active. Zois can get milk from cows, wool from sheep and eggs from chickens, or purchase these items at the flea market underground if they don’t want to be farmers.
- New minerals and new harvestables can be found all over the city. Exploring its vast emptiness, zois will encounter several items and materials unique to Waste Island.
New Weather & Particularities
With towns like Centralia and Silent Hill in mind but trying not to go too crazy with the concepts, I believe Monzon would be the best weather to fit this city, humid, foggy and stormy at times.
- Power Outages: this could add moodlets to the zois, from scared to annoyed. And of course, they would become more clumsy as they, well, can’t see.
- Leaks and electric storms: Walls become “fixable” so to speak, with humidity spots and leakages due to heavy storms and poor materials
- Fog… a lot of it
New furniture
- Knocked and/or broken out chairs, tables and other pieces of furniture.
- Worn down furniture.
- Overgrown plants for walls and floors.
- Windows and doors with broken glass and frames.
- Rusty and dirty walls, floors.
- Sleeping mats, floor matresses.
- Repurposed pieces of furniture like, stools that work like tables, barrels as tables, cushions to sit instead of tall chairs.
- Overall less modern, minimalistic furniture.
A DLC focused in exploration, survival and self-sufficiency…well, and crime.
DISCLAIMER: This post is a work in progress, I will keep updating it with new ideas 
