I have had this story idea/headworld thing for a long time, and I have been writing a story with it but...It's really boring to write alone. So I am interested in anyone that wants to 1x1 Rp in this world, or possibly do a small group Rp of it! [b]This Interest Check has been moved to Advanced Group Rp and the new topic can be found here:[/b] [url]http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/94641-project-viruul-virtual-reality-fantasy-world/ooc[/url] [u]Basic Premise[/u] Viruul is the next generation of virtual reality gaming, making the giant leap from VR headsets to a full mental experience. Project Viruul is set in a massive, living, simulated world with a generic medieval fantasy setting to start with. Beta testers are being brought in from all walks of life, from hardcore gamers to those with almost no gaming experience at all. The game is in beta testing for a week and they sent invitations out to at least several hundred people. I'm not sure, but enough that 30% of all people in-game are Players. They were told they'd be provided room and board at the facility. [u]Game Mechanics[/u] Viruul is essentially a full life simulation that feels completely real. There are not only sights and sounds as many games have, but also scent, feelings, and tastes. It's nearly impossible to tell it's a game aside from the obvious features like player re-spawning. There is no UI, no name tags, no virtual inventory, no health bars, nothing that breaks immersion. [u]Non-Player Characters[/u] Non-Player Characters are all individuals with their own lives, experiences, memories, personalities, thoughts, the whole package. They were born and raised in the world of Viruul and do not consider it a 'game'. They are aware that Players are from a different world and are 'playing a game' or so they think. Non Player Characters are not immortal and suffer permanent death, as such they value their lives highly(unless they really don't care for personal reasons). Their world does not revolve around the Player's experience. As far as they're concerned, Viruul is their world and Players are just visitors. There's no definite way to tell the difference between a player and an NPC besides actually admitting to one or the other, or dying and re-spawning or not re-spawning. [u]Being a Player[/u] Players create their characters with the basic line-up of fantasy races like human, elf, dwarf, and giant. (It is possible to create a character that is not the same gender as the player.) Other races are possible, but only available through in-game means such as infection, magical effects, and rarely GM intervention. Players enter the world in one of several Starter Towns, with simple linen clothes, where they receive free equipment including a basic weapon of their choice, and a pack with some food, a map, a small cooking pot, and striking stones. There are also simple lessons in how to use their weapon of choice, how to build and start a fire, and how to cook. Of course, all of this is completely optional and can be completely ignored by players who'd rather make their own way. Another thing is that the complex simulation of life in Viruul also applies to the Players and NPCs, and all biological effects will effect them. Hunger, thirst, sickness, the need to go to the bathroom, menstruation and pregnancy in females, etc. It's all there. [u]Currency[/u] The main currency of Viruul is Gold, Silver, and Copper coins. One Hundred of a kind equals one of a higher value(unless it's gold coins, then it is at it's highest value form). A gold coin is extremely valuable to a commoner, and could feed them and their family for a year. Silver is moderately valuable and more common, and the typical adventurer or mercenary usually wouldn't be carrying around more than fifty silver. Copper is pocket change. [u]Death[/u] Death is permanent for NPCs, but for the player it's a very complex experience. When a player dies, they leave their body and all their stuff behind aside from a small amount of the money they already had, if any. They will respawn with this small amount of money to pay healers and get back on their feet. [hider=Re-Spawning] After a time, they will re-spawn at a Healer's House or Hospital. I haven't decided if it should be the closest one or a random one. They will retain all wounds they had except the one that killed them. For example, a player has a broken leg, got stabbed in the gut, and finally got stabbed in the heart. The stab to the heart killed them, so when they re-spawn, they will still have the broken leg, the stab to the gut, but not the stab to the heart. It is entirely possible for them to die again from the stab to the gut after they re-spawn, in which the 'random healer's house' mechanic would make more sense. It is in the Healer's best interest to save the player because they'd be paid for their services. [/hider] [hider=Mental Impact] Death is a huge hit to a Player's mental state the first few times. Because everything feels so real, the Player's mind treats it as real. Dying can be severely traumatic to the mind, but it depends on who's experiencing it and how ready they were for it. The first time is understandably the harshest. In the most extreme cases, the Player's brain will shut down in a way, turning the Player into a living shell of a person often called "Addled Wretch"s. Addled Wretches will just sit there and won't do anything complex that they aren't directly guided to do. They can still eat and drink if given food or drink, and will sleep when they need to. They could be trained to do basic tasks. Addled Wretches aren't completely lost, and can be rehabilitated in various ways from having a compassionate person helping them, to being in fatal danger, or coming out of it on their own as their brain figures out they are actually still alive. [/hider] [u]The Main Conflict[/u] There is one main huge issue with Viruul that every Player eventually finds out about. [b]There is no way to log out.[/b] Players are stuck in the game from the time they log in, to supposedly when they die of natural causes or old age. No one is sure. Most players struggle with feelings of whether the game is actually real or not. [u]The Main Goal[/u] The overall goal of all players is to find a way out of the game. There are many theories and rumors of various methods of exiting the game that can be investigated. However, some Players eventually come to accept there is no logging out, and choose to focus on their new life more. [u]Player's Effect on World Development[/u] The world is based on generic fantasy, but Players can potential influence the development of the world. For example, knowledgeable players might figure out a way to bring electricity, or combustion engines to the the world. But some NPCs might not like Players bringing these new foreign things into their world. It is questionable whether this is the GMs trying to keep the world from developing in that way, or if it's actually the NPC's personal feelings. [hider=Super-duper Meta Info] This is probably super unrealistic, but time is going a whole lot faster in-game than it is in Real Life. I'm not sure on the exact ratio, but an entire lifetime can be lived in the game in a week. The makers of the game figure out some way of speeding up brain function to do this or something. Don't expect an explaination, I'll just say "Science" and smoke-bomb outta there. So the players get very worried when months and years pass by, but they can't tell time speed has changed at all. The GMs timed all player's entry into the game in a staggered way so everyone's not shoved in at once. Waves of players entering the game months or years apart actually only waited a little while in RL. More Meta information, there's no way of exiting the game early aside from glitching yourself out way too badly, or GM intervention if you're screwing up the game too much. Once a player exits the game, there is absolutely no getting back in until the whole 'session' is done for everyone. [/hider] ---------------- So! This is all I can write so far as I have to go, but I'm going to keep developing this. Please let me know if you have any questions about anything or if anything wasn't touched on that should've been. I'd also appreciate tips on Organizing all this information, because if you didn't notice already, I'm very scatter-minded. As someone Rping this, you'd have the choice of being a Player or an NPC so I included the mechanics and global mindset of both. This is a interest check so checking if ya'll are interested~! More to come!