Hello there Operators! Today we will meet another field agent of the Geist Unit: Marcus Fox.
Born in Baltia but raised in the American Empire, Marcus had a happy childhood. His father was a respected member of the Empire´s military, thus Marcus followed his steps. He joined the Army, applying to the Imperial Rangers. He saw combat in several low key conflicts, until assigned to serve as part of the Quick Reaction Unit created by the Assembly of Free Nations (AFN) to enforce a no-conflict area in Baltia.
After witnessing the desperate condition of Baltia’s self-defense forces, he deserted his unit and joined with the local militia, becoming a mercenary. He fought the last 4 years of the war against NCE forces, briefly meeting Ellen at the battlefield. After the war, the Empire Army charged him with desertion and treason, arresting him. However, General Daumantas helped in clearing his name: the General was interested in recruiting him from the start. He was selected as a member of the Geist Unit due to his combat record, as well as for his will to leave everything behind for the sake of Baltia.
Marcus will usually serve as field leader, specializing in hostage rescue and facility infiltrations. He and Ellen have a special bond, forged in the battlefield as brothers in arms.
Cyber Ops: Cyborgs are real?
Cyborgs are very real! Well, in this world, at least.
Baltia’s importance for the NCE is two-folded. In order to maintain its local influence, the NCE needed to avoid areas of its territory to go rogue to form an independent country. However, the biggest loss for the NCE was Baltia’s next gen industry: body augmentation.
Baltia was considered the center of technological development inside the NCE. Almost all new advances related with cyberization and NInternet (New Internet) came from Baltian companies and industries. The large international support for Baltia’s cause was, in part, related to this. If the country was independent, anybody could buy these technologies without having to deal with the NCE.
Once Baltia was free from NCE’s control, the civil and military markets were flooded with affordable and excellent quality cyber augmentations and prosthetics. More and more people, due to health conditions or hazardous occupations, or just mere curiosity or vanity, decided to augment parts or even their whole bodies.
Most, if not all members of Geist have some sort of augmentation. New recruits are offered basic cyberization kits, military grade, so they can expand their abilities if needed.
What kind of augmentation would you like to have?
Characters and World Context: Ellen Verstek
All members of the Geist Unit (GU) actively participated in the Liberation War, which lasted five years. Some of them had to join the fight to protect their loved ones. Others jumped in by pure conviction. But none came unscathed.
Ellen Verstek could be defined as a “child soldier”. Something as inhuman as this could easily break a young person, but Ellen was strong enough to endure the battles. Starting with logistical and communications duties, Ellen was quickly assigned to field tasks as part of a sabotage unit, disrupting NCE comms and ambushing enemy recon teams. Daughter of Ignatius Verstek and Leena Marev, Ellen was named “the silent witch” by the end of the war, due to her ability to blend with the environment and score silent kills. She briefly met Marcus and Borko during the war, and by the end of it, age 18, Ellen was scouted by Daumantas and began an elite training program. She was to be the leader of the first Geist Unit.
Are you ready to be Ellen's guardian angel?
Cyber Ops: Characters and World Context
When creating Cyber Ops (CO), we knew that, for a game to succeed, having excellent graphics and mechanics is not enough. We wanted the protagonists to feel somewhat real, with motivations and experiences that could drive their journey through the game.
We love the concept of Special Units. A group of soldiers, well trained and focused, usually under a competent command, trying to complete mission objectives against all odds. And there is no other unit more iconic for us than Section 9, from the GITS universe. But even this powerful elite group had to accept the politics and machinations coming from the Government. And usually, their human side was what made them as memorable as they were.
The members of the Geist Division have their own stories. All of them were part of the Liberation War against the NCE, a large nation looking to maintain its former geopolitical power. When your enemy is that powerful, you can expect the war to be brutal and merciless. The stories of the cast try to reflect on that. Sometimes, there are no “correct” choices. Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do.
What's your main motivation to join our battle? Tell us in the comments ;)
Cyber Ops: Dev Blog update
It has been a long (but fun!) process for us in developing CO, so we want to share part of it with you! So, we will start making regular “dev-blog” like updates, until the game releases.
Many people ask us “why did you choose this retro-style design”? Well, there are several reasons. Even though we contemplated the idea of generating more detailed assets during the design phase, we chose the current CO look and feel for its stylistic value. We love the cyberpunk aesthetics, so for us it was logical to take inspiration from masterpieces like Blade Runner and the original Ghost in the Shell movie, to name a few (the original Alien is another one). The mixture of a futuristic world with retro style computers and interfaces (in the case of GITS it was more due to the early stages of CGI development) provides the user with a nostalgic feeling, and we wanted to convey that to the player.
What do you think about the visual style? Let us know in the comments! :)
Call for Youtubers and Twitchers!
If you are an established Streamer or Youtuber and looking for a review key to play Cyber Ops, feel free to contact us through the keymailer via link below:
https://www.keymailer.co/g/games/74531
Hello there, Cyber Operators!!
We are thrilled to reveal Cyber Ops: Tactical Hacking Support!!, our own take on mission support simulation.
This project can be traced back to 2017, where it all started with a few simple questions...
- How would a stealth game like Metal Gear or Splinter Cell look from the perspective of the people in charge of radio/satellite support?
- How can we create a bond with the agents on the other end of the line?
- How can we make this new perspective a challenging and engaging experience?
With Cyber Ops, we are looking to provide an answer for these questions by creating a deep, real-time experience where real agents depend on you to complete their missions and get back to base in one piece.
Our take is a story-based novel experience, where you will assist the top agents of Baltia's Geist Division; strong characters facing complex missions in a tech-noir cyberpunk world.
Political intrigue, conspirations, high-tech body upgrades, brain hacking, mechs, synths and everything we love about movies like Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner, Escape from New York, Alien and more.
We really hope you like the vibe of Cyber Ops. We are a passionate team and this is the kind of game we've been wanting to make for a long time, so we are giving our best to deliver the coolest cyberpunk experience you can get in 2019 ;)
Feel free to post any questions or feedback! We're looking forward to talk with you!
Thank you all,
Julio Marambio
Octeto Studios
CEO and Game Designer
