Project 04: DeadHorizonOnline [DHO]
This project combines two creative mediums I’ve been exploring for years — light novels and manga — and merges them into a single serialized storytelling experience.
At its heart, Dead Horizon Online is a story about people trapped in a digital realm that mirrors our world’s complicated relationship with technology, escapism, and identity.
It’s a narrative about connection — what it means to not be human but also the why.
D.H.O
Main Party Cast Volume 1)
The Leader / Survivor
Real Name: Marcus Alvarez (Mexican-American, 22)
Character Name: Cole “Sixshot” West
Role: Gunslinger / Cowboy hybrid
Background:
College dropout, former rodeo enthusiast, and amateur marksman.
Played games casually but idolized the old spaghetti westerns his dad watched.
Chose the Cowboy role because it matched his fantasy of being a wasteland hero.
Personality: Charismatic but reckless; his leadership comes from instinct and optimism more than planning.
Motivation: Wants to prove to himself he’s not a failure like in real life — in here, he can be the hero he couldn’t be outside.
Player Roles Breakdown
DHO: Hollow Springs
Raider
Core Identity: Aggressive, chaotic frontline brawler who thrives in close combat and looting.
Weapons: Melee weapons, shotguns, explosives.
Style: Rushes into battle, breaking enemy formations and sowing panic.
Specialties:
Gains buffs from killing/looting.
Can intimidate weaker foes.
High risk/reward playstyle.
Personality Fit: Hotheaded, brutal, often enjoys the game’s darker mechanics.
Jackal
Core Identity: A scavenger-assassin, built for ambushes and stealthy survival.
Weapons: Knives, silenced pistols, and improvised traps.
Style: Strikes from the shadows, avoids direct confrontation, vanishes before counterattacks.
Specialties:
High stealth/detection resistance.
Resource efficiency (finds loot in hidden places).
Ambush multipliers.
Personality Fit: Paranoid, cunning, thrives in survival over glory.
Viper
Core Identity: Wasteland chemist and poison specialist.
Weapons: Toxic grenades, gas traps, chemical darts, and improvised explosives.
Style: Area denial and attrition combat, turning battlefields into death zones.
Specialties:
Rad-poisons that weaken both players and NPCs.
Can brew addictive chems (for buffs or debuffs).
Ghoulification accelerant (mutant/ghoul tie-in).
Personality Fit: Twisted scientist or survivalist, thrives on manipulation.
Cowboy
Core Identity: Old-school wasteland survivalist with rifle skills and charisma.
Weapons: Lever-action rifles, repeaters, hunting rifles.
Style: Balances survival skills with leadership charisma.
Specialties:
Survival buffs (food, water, rad-resistance).
Mounted combat with wasteland creatures.
Passive morale boosts for allies.
Personality Fit: Charismatic wanderer, pragmatic but usually idealistic.
Mercenary
Core Identity: A disciplined, professional soldier-for-hire.
Weapons: Assault rifles, machine guns, grenades.
Style: Tactical, team-oriented fighter.
Specialties:
Balanced stats, fewer weaknesses.
“Contract” system (bonuses for protecting/serving others).
High armour proficiency.
Personality Fit: Calculated, practical, loyal only for payment.
Combat Medic
Core Identity: Support role, keeping squads alive with tech and improvisation.
Weapons: SMGs, pistols, shock batons.
Style: Balances healing with self-defence, often works mid-line.
Specialties:
Stim healing + debuff cures.
Improvised prosthetics and gear repair.
Buffs allies with chems.
Personality Fit: Pragmatic, caring, but sometimes morally gray (“patching up raiders for loot”).
Thief
Core Identity: Agile infiltrator and saboteur.
Weapons: Daggers, throwing knives, lockpicks.
Style: More focused on infiltration and sabotage than combat.
Specialties:
Pickpocketing other players.
Lockpicking, hacking, and sabotage of defences.
Bonus XP for stealth objectives.
Personality Fit: Trickster, opportunist, thrives on mischief.
Nomad
Core Identity: Caravan fighter, thrives on mobility and trade.
Weapons: Rifles, melee weapons, and thrown weapons.
Style: Designed for mobile combat and protecting allies on the move.
Specialties:
Speed/mobility buffs.
Pack mule perks (extra carry weight).
Caravan defence skills.
Personality Fit: Restless, freedom-driven, thrives on travel.
Marksman
Core Identity: Long-range precision expert who controls the flow of battle.
Weapons: Scoped rifles, DMRs, long-range bows/crossbows.
Style: Patient and deadly, providing overwatch and precision kills.
Specialties:
Suppression fire + overwatch kills.
Critical damage to weak points.
Ammo conservation mastery (ties into bullet economy).
Personality Fit: Calm, strategic, and detached — the eyes of the team.
Gunslinger
Core Identity: Pistol master, thrives in fast-paced close-quarters duels.
Weapons: Revolvers, semi-auto pistols, dual-wield builds.
Style: High speed, quick-draw kills, thrives on reflexes.
Specialties:
Critical chance buffs with pistols.
Duelist system (extra bonuses in 1v1s).
Bullet ricochet tricks at higher skill.
Personality Fit: Flashy, cocky, often showmen of the wasteland.
Wanderer
Core Identity: Jack-of-all-trades drifter, built for survival anywhere.
Weapons: Mixed; survival knives, rifles, or bows.
Style: Balanced adaptability, not excelling at one thing but surviving all things.
Specialties:
Can swap perks mid-battle (adaptable).
Unique survival bonuses in every terrain.
Minor crafting buffs.
Personality Fit: Lone wolf, adaptable, and often reluctant leaders.
Class Types
Human – adaptable, versatile survivors.
Mutant – warped by the Erebus Strain, often powerful but unstable.
Android – synthetic survivors, feared and distrusted by most.
Volume 1 – Expanded Wasteland Map & Faction Integration
NPC Gangs (Enemy Factions)
Inspirations Behind Dead Horizon Online
Dead Horizon Online is inspired by a wide range of stories, games, and philosophies that explore identity, survival, memory, and what it means to remain human in digital and broken worlds. These works shaped the tone, structure, and emotional direction of the series.
Video Game Influences
Fallout: New Vegas
Inspired by the morally grey world design, faction conflict, and player-driven narrative consequences. The idea that “every choice has weight” is core to Dead Horizon Online’s storytelling.
NieR: Automata
Influenced the series’ emotional tone and its themes of memory, consciousness, and identity. Its melancholic atmosphere and philosophical edge helped shape the heart of the story.
The Last of Us
A major influence on emotional realism, relationships in catastrophe, and quiet character moments within a brutal world.
Cyberpunk 2077
Inspired the exploration of digital identity and the blurred line between the virtual and the real.
Dark Souls
Its environmental storytelling, melancholic world design, and sense of isolation make Hollow Springs feel desolate yet meaningful.
Anime & Manga Influences
Sword Art Online
Inspired by the framework of a locked VR world, but Dead Horizon Online aims to push deeper into the psychological and societal impact of being trapped inside it.
86 – Eighty-Six
Inspired military themes, emotional realism, and character-driven tragedy.
Made in Abyss
Influenced pacing and tone — the way innocence slowly gives way to horror and emotional weight.
Drifters
Helped inspire the brutal, chaotic energy of characters thrown into unfamiliar war zones.
Ergo Proxy
A stylistic and thematic influence on existential questions and surreal digital environments.
Books & Narrative Worlds
The Witcher
Inspired morally complex heroes and a world filled with uncomfortable truths rather than clean victories.
Ready Player One
Influenced the idea of scavenging digital worlds for scattered artifacts and lost knowledge.
Re: Zero − Starting Life in Another World
Shaped the focus on suffering, repetition, and how failure reshapes identity.
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Philosophy, Psychology & Digital Culture
Life on the Screen — Sherry Turkle
Explores identity and self-expression in digital spaces — a core theme of the series.
Reality is Broken — Jane McGonigal
Influenced how games are portrayed as emotional ecosystems rather than just entertainment.
Half-Real — Jesper Juul
Helped shape the concept of living inside systems governed by both code and emotion.
Simulation Theory
The intellectual backbone of Dead Horizon Online — questioning whether reality itself can be trusted.
Let’s work together
Sample User Testing Questionnaire
