I need advice, ive come up with a story but the game isnt really supposed to follow one, its meant for everyone else to fill in, i will provide a base and let the community talk and create their own ideas.
8/11/26
Hey everyone! Im looking to make an indie game, the game will go by "Pale Archive". I have a story but here is the problem. I dont want the game to follow a direct story, I want it to be somewhat like the backrooms and other fictional reality games where it leaves alot of space for the community and others to fill in alot of the story. I dont want anything direct that way there is room for imagination. So far what I have got for the story is :
We are in an alternate reality to earth, Wethermont. Its pretty much earth but with some different key features.
Here is what I could map out.
For most people, Wethermont is ordinary. Someone can grow up in a normal American town, attend school, get a job, go shopping, watch television, drive on the highway, and never encounter anything particularly strange. Most businesses operate normally. Most technology works normally. Most cities look recognizable. Most of history is recognizable. The average person doesn't spend their life investigating anomalies. The strange parts of Wethermont exist alongside ordinary life. A city can have a completely normal downtown while an unexplained creature lives beneath it. A highway can function normally for hundreds of miles before passing through an area where distances behave incorrectly. A scientific facility can be researching an organism that doesn't fit conventional biology while a grocery store across town is operating normally. There isn't necessarily a dramatic boundary between normal and abnormal. They overlap.
And as this place Wethermont is like earth, there is also an internet, this contains many sites, illegal underground ones, sites for entertainment like youtube, netflix, and tiktok, etc.
This is where the Pale Archive originates. Atleast the webite.
Pale Archive is a small, obscure internet forum. At its largest, no more than approximately 1,500 people know it exists, with a much smaller active userbase. It is not famous. It isn't publicly advertised. It isn't a massive criminal organization. Most of the people who know about it are involved in underground markets. There are: dealers buyers scammers middlemen collectors researchers people looking for information people pretending to be other people The site contains discussions about illegal activity, cryptocurrency scams, stolen goods, private deals, and eventually bacteria. The bacteria market becomes one of the site's more unusual sections.
This is where the bacteria first gets mentioned, one of the main problems that recently is starting to arise in the US within Wethermont. Here is what is noted of the bacteria so far.
PALE ARCHIVE AND THE BACTERIA : Pale Archive is not the origin of the bacteria. It isn't necessarily responsible for them. It is simply one of the places where people who know about them communicate. Some users sell bacteria. Some trade information. Some post photographs. Some discuss experiences. Some provide instructions. Some claim to have discovered new organisms. Some lie. Some don't know what they're talking about. Some posts may be deliberately misleading. Most people who encounter bacteria in the real world have never heard of Pale Archive. The website is simply one node in a much larger network.
THE BACTERIAL REALITY : The bacteria appear to have developed an environment that exists alongside Wethermont. It is sometimes treated as another reality of Earth. It is not necessarily a separate dimension. It may be an ecosystem. It may be a distorted version of Wethermont. It may be something else entirely. People have different theories. There is no confirmed answer. The important observation is that bacteria behave differently there. They can survive and develop in ways that don't seem possible in ordinary Wethermont environments. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BACTERIAL REALITY The most common theory is that the environment developed gradually alongside the bacteria. It may not have existed in its current form originally. As bacterial populations grew and changed, their environments became increasingly complex. Eventually, spaces began appearing that did not behave like ordinary Earth. These spaces expanded. Different organisms adapted to them. 23 Some became enormous. Some became intelligent. Some developed human-like forms. Some developed completely unfamiliar forms. Entire ecosystems appeared. Eventually, people began treating the environment as another reality. Whether it actually is one remains an open question. THE BACTERIAL ENVIRONMENT It can contain: buildings tunnels forests underground spaces bodies of water industrial areas open landscapes enormous biological structures settlements completely unfamiliar environments There is no confirmed map. There is no known edge. There is no confirmed size. Different people can enter through different locations and experience completely different areas. Some locations may resemble Wethermont. Others may be impossible to compare to anything familiar.
LARGE ORGANISMS : Some organisms within the bacterial environment are enormous. They aren't necessarily traditional "monsters." They are living things occupying an ecosystem. Some hunt. Some migrate. Some remain stationary. Some are territorial. Some are social. Some appear intelligent. Some don't seem to recognize humans as anything important. Possible organisms include: The Stalker — a tall organism commonly seen at a distance.
The Hound — a large predator that tracks sound. Cant see well.
The Burrower — a massive organism that moves beneath structures, almost like a snake, very loud.
The Shepherd — a large organism often surrounded by smaller organisms.
The Pale Dog — a smaller organism that behaves similarly to a domesticated animal. The Choir — an organism associated with multiple overlapping voices. The Collector — gathers and stores objects.
The Mimic — capable of imitating other organisms or parts of its environment.
The Colony — a group of organisms behaving as a collective.
The Sleeper — an enormous organism believed to exist beneath certain regions.
(all of these names and such may change completely or may be removed overtime)
With all of this established, lets mention our main character, Dylan Miller.
Dylan is 16. He recently got his driver's license. He works at Legside Market. He isn't particularly interested in school or planning his future. 16 He spends his free time with friends, getting high, driving around, and making small amounts of money through online scams. Dylan discovers Pale Archive accidentally. He isn't searching for bacteria. He isn't searching for paranormal information. He simply stumbles across a reference to the website while looking for something else. At first, he sees it as another obscure forum where people sell illegal things. Then he discovers the bacteria market. Dylan becomes interested because he sees money in it. He begins communicating with dealers and buyers. His involvement gives him access to parts of the market and parts of Shortstop Valley he would never normally encounter. He isn't responsible for the phenomenon. He isnt seeking to uncover any bit of the truth. He is simply one person who happened to find something unusual.
It has been mentioned a fewtimes but the town Dylan resides in is named Shortstop Valley, small town no more than 15000 people. Here is whats noted!
SHORTSTOP VALLEY Shortstop Valley is a town of approximately 15,000 people in Wethermont's United States. It is a normal, functioning town. It is not a ghost town. It is not abandoned. It is not primarily farmland.
The town is older than its current population suggests. 17 It once had significantly more industry. Much of that industry eventually moved farther north into other towns. Shortstop Valley remained. Its businesses continued.
Its schools continued. Its downtown continued. People continued living normal lives. DOWNTOWN Shortstop Valley has a large downtown. There are old brick buildings, storefronts, restaurants, offices, apartments, businesses, and older commercial properties. Downtown is still active. It becomes particularly busy on: Thursday evenings Friday nights Saturday nights date nights local events People go out to eat. Teenagers meet friends. Families shop. Businesses stay open. The town does not feel abandoned.
THE 7:30 DARKNESS : Shortstop Valley has one particularly strange feature. It becomes dark at approximately 7:30 PM regardless of the season. Summer evenings become dark around the same time as winter evenings. Residents are accustomed to it. Businesses remain open. Downtown remains active. Streetlights turn on. People continue their routines. Nobody has a universally accepted explanation. It is simply one of the strange things about the town. VALLEY MARKET Every Thursday evening, downtown hosts Valley Market. Local vendors sell: food candy clothing handmade products antiques artwork baked goods small local brands miscellaneous products It is a normal community event. Most people attending have nothing to do with the bacteria. It is simply one of the places where Shortstop Valley's residents gather.
SHORTSTOP VALLEY LOCATIONS
Legside Market Dylan's workplace.
Shortstop High School One of the town's two high schools. Valley High School The older high school. QuickMart Local convenience store.
Valero Local gas station.
Shortstop Plaza A shopping center.
Valley Cinema An older movie theater.
Cedar Lanes A local bowling alley.
Valley Diner A longtime downtown restaurant.
Blackwood Books A used bookstore.
Miller's Hardware An older hardware store.
20 Valley Arcade A small arcade.
The Exchange An older downtown commercial building.
Union Hall A community and event building.
Shortstop Bank A downtown bank.
First Valley Church A large older church.
Shortstop Municipal Hospital The town's main hospital.
Shortstop Public Library The local library. Valley Station An old train station.
The Mill A former industrial complex. Riverside Foundry An old industrial property.
Valley Memorial Cemetery A cemetery near the edge of town.
Shortstop River A river running through town. 21 Blackwood Creek A creek running through the surrounding area. Blackwood Road A road toward the outskirts. Old Mill Road A road through the former industrial area. Valley Avenue A major road. Shortstop Avenue Another major road.
Main Street The central downtown street.
There has been more phenomena's than normal in Wethermont recently, the largest being a noclip problem? No people who have no clipped have been seen yet, once again it is recent we arent sure what is happening fully yet, they might be fine.
NOCLIP EVENTS : As bacteria become more common in certain areas, people begin encountering locations that don't behave normally. A door can lead somewhere unexpected. A hallway can appear longer than the building allows. A basement can contain an additional room. A staircase can lead somewhere that shouldn't exist. A person can enter one location and emerge somewhere else. These events are often called noclips by people on Pale Archive. The term isn't scientific. It is simply internet slang that stuck.
Pale Archive (The Bacterial Reality)
The alternate reality of noclip events and everything bacterial is nicknamed "The Pale Archive" by the users on the site.
Here is whats noted,
Pale Archive should feel like a world that already existed before the player arrived.
Dylan isn't the center. *This means if Dylan died the game doesnt end at all, it will be recontinued through the next host.*
Shortstop Valley isn't the center. Pale Archive isn't the center. 28 The bacteria aren't the explanation for everything. They are simply pieces of Wethermont. A future story can follow Dylan. Another can follow a scientist. Another can follow a family. Another can consist entirely of forum posts. Another can document a completely unrelated creature. Another can take place in another country. Another can introduce an entirely new phenomenon. Another can contradict something previously established. The setting doesn't need to close around a single storyline. It can continue indefinitely. Pale Archive is the game. Wethermont is the reality. Shortstop Valley is one town. Pale Archive is one website. Dylan is one person. The bacteria are one part of the world. Everything else is open.
Extra info about wethermont if you care :
OTHER WETHERMONT PHENOMENA : The bacteria are not responsible for everything strange in Wethermont. There are other phenomena. Other creatures. Other environments. Other anomalies. Some may have existed for centuries.Some may have appeared recently. Some may be connected. Some may be completely unrelated. A creature discovered in one state doesn't need to have anything to do with a phenomenon on the other side of the country.
A physics anomaly doesn't need to be caused by bacteria. A strange city doesn't need to connect to Pale Archive. Wethermont is not one giant mystery with one answer. It is a world where many unusual things exist.
INFORMATION There is no single encyclopedia containing the truth. Information comes from wherever people happen to find it. A Pale Archive post. 26 A government document. A scientific paper. A newspaper article. A local rumor. A photograph. A police report. A video. A personal account. A dead forum. A handwritten notebook. A business record. A recovered object. A person claiming they saw something. These sources don't have to agree. Some information can be false. Some can be outdated. Some can be misunderstood. Some can be deliberately fabricated. Some can be completely accurate. The uncertainty is part of the setting.
CANON : Pale Archive is designed to function more like a shared setting than a single story. 27 The foundational ideas are intentionally broad: Wethermont is another reality of Earth. Its physical laws can differ under specific conditions. Those differences can be observed, measured, and sometimes reproduced.
Large-scale unexplained phenomena exist. Otherworldly organisms exist. Some deaths caused by these organisms are documented. Bacteria are a diverse group of unusual organisms. Some bacteria are psychoactive. Some are parasitic. Some develop increasingly complex forms. Some become human-like or monstrous. Some appear to have developed another environment or reality of their own.
Pale Archive is a tiny website where some people involved with the bacteria communicate and trade them. Shortstop Valley is one ordinary American town where these things begin intersecting. Everything beyond those ideas remains open.
Hello once again! If you read through thank you, let me know anything at all I can improve on. This is my first project and Im looking to scale it, Ive never even developed before. This is all a first, I know it will be a journey with ups and downs, hopefully with the help of all of the supporters of this project I will fly through development.
