Game idea using this game as a "core" Not sure how to build a story around the outline, but as a sandbox...
Futuristic setting. MC was a prodigal neuro-surgeon. Making a killing doing "blackmarket" surgeries, implanting by a wealthy patrons request, a personality module into a recipient patient. These modules, would completely override the patients original ID and replace it with one entirely programmable by the patrons words. The modules "imprinted" to the 1st voice they heard upon regaining full consciousness (brought about by injection while in the presence of the intended programmer) of a the patron, who then had but to issue commands, and the module would instill those commands as the base personality. Every once in a great while, the patients ID was strong enough to conflict with the implant module, and in those cases the patient had to be put down. (died on the table was the 'official' finding) However, play in the gray/black shadows and eventually, the monster will win.
An exceptionally wealthy, and twisted man, submitted his minor HS daughter as a recipient. Turned out she had a very strong ID. Not only did her own mind override the personality module, but she remembered it was at her fathers behest that she had been hospitalized to begin with. Putting 2 and 2 together, she blackmailed the shit out of him and he eventually committed suicide to keep his part hidden, but you? You were left hanging in the wind. Sentenced to life in the Orbital Super Max.
Since you WERE a world reknown neuro-surgeon, you served as the prisons physician. There was no staff in the facility. Robotic shuttles brought prisoners to the facility, and then returned to Earth w/o life support functioning. Further, there were no flight control inputs on the shuttles. Piloted entirely by remote from a C&C Center on the planet's surface, they arrived, docked and prisoners would offload. Inmates would then offload supplies and the shuttle would return to the surface. Think Star Trek replicators for food purposes.
Your medical facility, was heavily shielded with redundant systems, to ensure sanitary conditions. This is where you were, when the accident occurred. A freak "solar storm" for lack of a better term, rendered visual communications inop, shorted about half the facilities power relays and computer systems. Maybe 1/3 of the inmates, died from some form of radiation like sickness, though no lingering radioactivity was monitored.
Having to rebuild systems, having to graft skin, having to implant these various things, you self taught to Level F of DSCS, the manufacture of the various bot components. At first, you were just trying to restore function to enough people, to keep the facility functioning. It is a massive structure, and simply cleaning the floors and walls takes dozens of man hours daily. Since no one slated for parole or eventual release wasever confined at the facility, and since no crew was ever present, the idea of replacement parts and such was a non-existant priority for the controllers. The standard supply shuttles, with new inmates, continued to arrive at ever increasing time intervals. As time went on, your skills improved to level E of DSCS. You could build vocoders, optics, powercores, etc. You developed Duraskin for grafts, as diseased skin of expired inmates was not satisfactory, simply sharing the disease/illness that killed the original individual.
Your goal? Develop to A or S level proficiency. Establish sufficient nr of combat bots, to return and take control of the C&C, and send a shuttle WITH life support for a return trip to the surface.
You'll need inmates proficient in Social skills, to help you with that coding. Proficient in combat, to help you there. You will obviously, have to give them things for their cooperation...things being properly spelled s-e-x-b-o-t-s. You will have to extend your own skills/abilities
That's the crux of my "idea". I'm not a coder, not since COBOL and FORTRAN so.....thoughts?