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^ At that time, virtual reality protection wasn't made yet. Some regarded the last incident as an isolated case, and the employees involved in the "mysterious deaths" were once avid MMORPG gamers. This is where Exa-Stream began taking 15 prisoners, promoting them as the alpha testers for the "immersion program" devised for Vexel's project, thus this is where the N-Shell (Network Shell) was implemented in virtual reality systems.
Where will the player enter?
1 and 1/2 years after developing the game, and then the game was now branded as "File of Mankind Online" or FoMO. Vexel Entertainment handed out 50 keys to different countries with high gamer counts. To name, Japan and South Korea were obviously chosen, then they chose USA, Philippines, Europe, Russia and China.
File of Mankind CBT: South Korea (cbt.ngcs.kr)
The game series start in South Korea, and you'll play as Park Jin-Yee, a 1st year high-school student who obtained a beta key from her uncle working in Vexel Entertainment.
File of Mankind CBT: Japan (cbt.ngcs.jp)
You play the role of a 16-year-old hikikomori named Junko Amai, where he received the "beta kit" from another player who first volunteered for the Japan CBT, but it backed out after his/her research about the game.
CBT Japan and CBT Korea run on one timeline though.
^ At that time, virtual reality protection wasn't made yet. Some regarded the last incident as an isolated case, and the employees involved in the "mysterious deaths" were once avid MMORPG gamers. This is where Exa-Stream began taking 15 prisoners, promoting them as the alpha testers for the "immersion program" devised for Vexel's project, thus this is where the N-Shell (Network Shell) was implemented in virtual reality systems.
The question is why a special protection is even needed. If you get stabbed in the back by a knife, you will feel the pain even though you didn't see or were aware of the knife. The body does not only rely on visual impressions, some part is actually telling the brain "warning, flesh is penetrated and organs are ruptured" without the need for the eyes to see it. There is no reason whatsoever for the game to trigger that function. When a player's avatar is hurt, the game should only send the player the visual data of that happening, it should not send the "warning, flesh is penetrated and organs are ruptured" impression as well to the brain. Instead it should abstract the injury like games always does. As long as the game doesn't send the dangerous kind of data in the first place, no protection against it will even be needed.
Magic and science
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Of course, the characters know nothing about that. Especially since they live in a non-science-fiction setting. All they need to know is that with enough mental discipline, they can manipulate a stream of mana they can feel to transform a pebble into a fireball.
...
About particles. There really are mysterious particles like that. Example : the graviton, responsible for gravity. Well, it's theoretical, but apparently, since the particles are so rare it makes gravity a super weak force (compared to electromagnetism and all). Apparently it's because they never stay in one dimension for too long. So mana particles could be somekind of cool force that flows like a river, like wind, but in four or five dimensions instead of just three.
...
Nice, I would like to hear more of your thoughts on this topic. The particle-based magic system is certainly interesting and something I have used in many stories. The latest (but no longer worked on) I called "The Catalyst: a Travesty of Beliefs" and was in fact set in a world where most lands were in fact ruled by magocracies of competing theories of magic (the segregation has historical roots and is not that pronounced for most countries) with an imminent change in balance. Understanding and being confronted with different ideas of how magic worked was a primary aspect of the game I had in mind, but it wasn't aiming at being mainstream.
In this story, the idea being magic was the existence of a dense set of parallel universes (i.e. arbitrarily small differences for "close enough" universes) which particles can freely move between. Normally, one would not notice trifle effects of the usual particle migration because of the infinitesimal differences between adjacent universes. When major changes become apparent to people, it is called magic (or miracles, or neither, depending on who you ask). The society of the story was designed with the idea that wildlife and culture evolved hand in hand with such effects. In particular, humans can produce magical effects by applying forces (due to special organs) to interdimensional particles which do not interact much with the world until they decay (and produce other particles). If properly applied, however, these particles will within shortly propel affected obstacles through the universes, causing things to be summoned into or expelled from our world. One downside with this system however is that, to achieve all the effects I would like, these particles must be possible to "screw". This enables one to summon fire from hot universes, odd creatures from some planes etc. I still need to work out details such as how to locate a monster before summoning the region it is in. Going deeper still, the system is based on a blatant continuous version of the many-world interpretation where the interdimensional particle is a quantified force acting to undo the splits.
In designing the primary schools for the world, I brainstormed possible aspects of magical systems, picked out some of the observations that should been made by the societies/laws of magic, and proceeded by picking out the schools that appeared the most consist, internally and with respect to the observations while avoiding any schools too close to the real thing. I list some of these aspects below, feel free to add to the list.
The three primary categories of schools in the story I was working on were "particleists", "will users", and "deitists" but all of them had phenomena that they (deliberately) couldn't explain, although the particular school might not see it that way. Each school also developed its own conventions, philosophies, and ideals. An example would be the people of Skarasia which had captured and built a castle around a giant beast which they believed was a god of the world (but was incidentally an anomaly that raised the flow of particles in its vicinity significantly). To keep their god satisfied, a large amount of livestock humans were sacrificed regularly. As they believe that they must pay for the use of magic, skarasians (and dimensionalists) advocate abstaining from the use of magic and are particularly aggravated by the other magic schools, with lots of interesting quirks in culture and diplomacy.
Just something funny from the story:
Annoyed impact character: "At least the 'great wizard' is with us. Do you thing and get us out of here. Throw a fireball or something."
Main character: "I'm not that kind of wizard. I'm theorist!".
(the main char actually made her living as an underachieving artificer)
Some aspects of beliefs in magic (please list your own). Zero or more of any aspect can be present in any given belief.
How are magical effects realized?
* Physical / Chemical reactions
* Transformation of energies
* Changed by deities
* Changed by human will
* Nothing, only perception changed
What are the effects of magic?
* Change in structure
* Change in location/time
* Replacement
* Elementary transformation
* Change in state of mind
What is real?
* Oneself. Other minds?
* All humans connected / one
* Deities
* Reality. Other worlds? Afterlife?
* One elementary particle versus several. One form of energy versus several
* The mind is omniscient in physical worlds
How is magic evoked?
* Willing a realization
* Realizations are requested (diety, yourself, collective?)
* Evocation only possible if agreeing with certain norms. By entities? Intent or effect?
* The right natural combination. Do we have special tools?
What is the price of magic?
* Part of your life force.
* Reward for good living.
* Knowledge
* Material
* Spiritual
Why does magic and/or our tools for magic exist?
* By design
* By chance.
* By necessity
* Evolution? (could belong to either)
Restrictions of magic
* Knowing true names
* Demanding mental focus
* Symbols, gestures, and other arrangements necessary
* Analogies required
* Only through subconsciousness
What's up now with the "protective systems"? This might end up as a spoiler though.
There is no reason whatsoever for the game to trigger that function. When a player's avatar is hurt, the game should only send the player the visual data of that happening, it should not send the "warning, flesh is penetrated and organs are ruptured" impression as well to the brain. Instead it should abstract the injury like games always does. As long as the game doesn't send the dangerous kind of data in the first place, no protection against it will even be needed.
That's what the Net-Shell/N-Shell's role, to prevent sending certain feedback like "warning, flesh is penetrated and organs are ruptured" impression, or even worse "Y00 H4V3 B33N SH00P-DA-WHOOP3D" (Erased by a laser blast) impression. In the present MMO setting, this is like GameGuard, AhnLabs Anti-Hack, XTrap and some other unknown anti-hack devices acting as one, for defending the game's integrity, and also of the player's too.
FoMO was the 2nd game to utilize VR, aside from The World, but they're trying to outwit The World by really making players involved in the game, as if they are really there in FoMO World.
Note: I've gathered ideas from .hack games and anime, Baldr Force EXE Resolution, Avalon (2001 Mamoru Oshii's), Stay Alive and Final Destination, then combined into one.
FoMO was the 2nd game to utilize VR, aside from The World, but they're trying to outwit The World by really making players involved in the game, as if they are really there in FoMO World.
I figured that out. However, I think I know where the confusion came from.
You think of the technology that involves the player as whole. A program makes the player experience the game as if he was the character he's playing and a secondary program is then needed to filter away dangerous experiences. At least that's how I think you think.
I broke down the program into components. The program has to send to the brain the image your avatar is supposed to see in a way that makes the brain interpret it as if you saw it personally. If you want to move, the program has to interpret the brain signal and translate it into a command for your avatar to move. The program also has to interrupt the signal so that your real body doesn't try to move as well. If you push at a rock, the program has to send you the sensation that something is resisting your attempt at moving. And so on.
With the program broken down into components instead of as seen as a whole, the pain signals would be just one component among others. In this case, that component could simple be left out completely and never programmed in the first place and that way the program cannot cause the player any pain.
With that in mind, you're probably safe with your story. I suspect most players will view the virtual reality program as a whole like you probably do rather than breaking it down into components. That or they just won't care.
...was in fact set in a world where most lands were in fact ruled by magocracies of competing theories of magic (the segregation has historical roots and is not that pronounced for most countries) with an imminent change in balance. Understanding and being confronted with different ideas of how magic worked was a primary aspect of the game...
Very interesting concept for the game. That is still near today's reality, with competing religions, theories (Darwinism, creationism, etc).
In this story, the idea being magic was the existence of a dense set of parallel universes (i.e. arbitrarily small differences for "close enough" universes) which particles can freely move between.
Also close to reality. In string theory, we have our three dimensions being very large and present, and all six others being tiny and curled up at every point in space. So near, yet so unreachable. There are so many things you can do with dimensions. Every dimension is a new direction, a new degree of freedom. To overcome and obstacle in space (distance or wall), all we'd need to do is step into time. Now that would allow us designers to create complex structures to define the multiverse of our world.
What I'm considering is to have every reality considered like a grain of sand. The whole multiverse (6D to 10D) could be an ocean of these grain of sands. I saw that in the storyline of MTG and though it was really a nice way to picture the immensity of reality for the average person.
Normally, one would not notice trifle effects of the usual particle migration because of the infinitesimal differences between adjacent universes. When major changes become apparent to people, it is called magic (or miracles, or neither, depending on who you ask).
Makes me think of Quantum Mecanics, were the erratic behavior of the small appear smooth in the large. In fact, it would be possible that all subatomic particles have no set location in space (keep teleporting) because they exist in higher dimensions, and we can only observe them when collapsed in three dimensions.
One downside with this system however is that, to achieve all the effects I would like, these particles must be possible to "screw". This enables one to summon fire from hot universes, odd creatures from some planes etc. I still need to work out details such as how to locate a monster before summoning the region it is in. Going deeper still, the system is based on a blatant continuous version of the many-world interpretation where the interdimensional particle is a quantified force acting to undo the splits.
My original idea was that at one point, the main character would realize the existence of higher dimensions and would "pull" energy and matter from them. Get a fireball from a volcano, as you said. If you've seen the movie "Jumper", where the teleporter teleports entire cars to small someone, it would be a similar concept. In the end, it was a little abusive to have this unlimited amount of energy. Basically you could do whatever you wanted.
So we need to be careful when going into big big places that humans shouldn't be able to comprehend. Keeping things in 3D keeps things under control.
*About generating energy. In an atomic reaction, a single particle collides with an uranium atom, splitting the 92 protons from the 100+ neutrons and generating energy. Those streams of particle from over dimensions we are talking about, that you can momentarily control/deviate, they could be like a grapeshot, that hits millions of particles of matter and splitting them. The way it is split (or the type of matter used) could change the type of energy generated.
My original idea was that at one point, the main character would realize the existence of higher dimensions and would "pull" energy and matter from them. Get a fireball from a volcano, as you said. If you've seen the movie "Jumper", where the teleporter teleports entire cars to small someone, it would be a similar concept. In the end, it was a little abusive to have this unlimited amount of energy. Basically you could do whatever you wanted.
Seems fairly easy to limit the powers because of bounded resources. The problem seems to retain a fair amount of balance and tactics. In some stories, it might be interesting for the most efficient way to kill someone to be to summon a handful of salt in a compressed region in someone's brain, and possibly to execute even by novices. For other realms, we might the best method to be highly skilled-based, depend on the particular situation, and encourage the development of individual styles. In the case of the particle-based system, one is probably has a limited supply pool, organs that get exhausted, a limited efficiency or intensity, bounded particle densities, a need to charge or collect energy or particles before casting, or a means of preparation or the weaving of intricate effects. The particles may be obstructed by solid objects, thereby limiting access. For the dimension-based system, locating the appropriate dimension to summon from certain takes studies and/or skill and all spells you cast may strengthen or weaken as characters in parallel universes do the same or similar things. For instance, the use of magic disrupts the ordinary flow of the interdimensional particles which, if done in your "downwind", may deplete your own resources. If, in particular, done extensively, the density and amount of magic casting depleting your resources is stronger and more consistent. I had as one of the "observations of magic" that when something is summoned, it either disappears in the next few minutes and otherwise usually stay indefinitely (leading to interesting and different explanations by the various schools).
*About generating energy. In an atomic reaction, a single particle collides with an uranium atom, splitting the 92 protons from the 100+ neutrons and generating energy. Those streams of particle from over dimensions we are talking about, that you can momentarily control/deviate, they could be like a grapeshot, that hits millions of particles of matter and splitting them. The way it is split (or the type of matter used) could change the type of energy generated.
It's a nice idea to explain magic trough science and all, but 1: How are you going to explain al that information in a game, and 2: Wasn't the whole idea of magic that it did what science could not do?
Something I need to be careful with, yes. I'll probably refer to it as general terms, were the said hyper-particles could be refered as "a stream of dust, like the wind" or so. Pretty much everything technical will not be in the main plot - there could be some NPC's that you can talk to to know more, though.
, and 2: Wasn't the whole idea of magic that it did what science could not do?
Usually, yes. But we don't have to stick to that do we? This is more science-fiction then science. It could be even be classified as science-fantasy (like star wars and the force) since manipulating those stream is not as realistic as building machines to colonize space.
Agreed, the whole idea of the "science of magic" in my opinion is explaining where magic comes from and how it works. What it does is not really part of the equation. That's a separate issue in itself, IMO of course.
What I mean to say is, you can have an explanation for where the magic comes from without making it any less magical. Just saying "this is how he's able to throw fireballs" does not change the fact that he's shooting fireballs from his palms which is scientifically not possible.
I think that having an unique and explained system of magic stimulates imaginations. While some people may think it is childish, many people, after reading a good book or so, imagine themselves with the power in that book. Same applies to movies and games. Magic is boring if it's just "use MP!" "cast fireball!".
Anyone ever play the Parasite Eve games? They had all sorts of crazy magic stuff and it was all explained remarkably well in a scientific way. Magic and science can work really well side by side, depending on how you handle the explination.
OK. Working on a concept for a game.
Short, sharp Horror themed game. No battles, but plenty of exploration, interaction, puzzles and some slick atmospheric storytelling. [Story is complete, just writing up scripts and fleshing out a couple of side characters]
The game [no title yet] centres around a woman called Jennifer Hale who's "perfect" life with her husband Cameron is torn apart when she discovers that Cameron has been sleeping with her sister, Izzy. The pair seperate and Cameron goes to stay at his parents holiday home, which he recently inherited.
Jennifer, not quite able to let go of Cameron just yet, starts to become increasingly worried when, after two weeks of trying, she is unable to reach him. What follows is a twistedly askew look at how we as people treat those we love. Lies, jealousy, hypocrisy and hatred all boil to the surface along with something else, far darker and with a supernatural edge.
With this game I want to explore just how dark the human heart can get. So there should be plenty of chills and I already have some ingenious puzzles planned. Also, the game will be highly interactive. Jumping, climbing, crawling and shimmying to name but a few of the ways Jennifer will be able to move around the twisted environments. (these are all already event coded and work smoothly, without glitches)
The downside? Lack of modernday tilesets. And will people care enough to play a game where you dont get exp. or kill anything.=/
A game like that totally depends on story, and the quality of the puzzles. You got puzzles like "push the boxes in the yellow spots", I'd probably turn it off in a matter of minutes. Also make the story get to the player and make sure you tell it in a good way. If you're willing to go even further, a little voice acting here and there can also help.
