[i]"[b]eSports.[/b] Otherwise known as Professional Video Gaming or 'Pro Gaming'. This career-path was once only available to gamers who resided amongst the upper-echelons of the digital scoreboards, whose minds calculated strategies in mere seconds and executed them with extreme precision and sheer efficiency. When 400 Actions-Per-Minute could only be reached by the true greats amongst the Pro Gaming scene. In 2015, the global eSports audience was estimated at around 226 million. At the present year of 2040, that figure has just reached a staggering 5 billion. Finally surpassing Association Football/Soccer as the [u]World's Most Popular Sport[/u].

Throughout the years, the games used to test the abilities of the World's Greatest Gamers have changed many times. From legendary First Person Shooter titles such as Quake, Counter-Strike & Halo. Fast-paced Real-time Strategies like StarCraft 1 & 2. Bone-breaking Fighting games in the form of Street Fighter, Tekken & Super Smash Bros. And the ever-enthralling Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas spearheaded by Dota 2 & League of Legends. Regardless of the title of the game, however, one thing has always remained: Only the greats are remembered.

With the meteoric rise of the NovaStar Corporation globally, the world of eSports has been propelled to new heights and has earned its' spot as the top sport in history. But with new money, popularity, technology and the ever-changing times, there has been a call for new gaming titles to set the standard for the next generation of 'would-be' Pro Gamers. That's why, we at the NovaStar Game Studios are proud to present to you, the next generation, with this..."[/i]

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/DREwfyL.png[/img][/center]

The crowd at E3 erupts into thunderous applause, shaking the very foundations of the LACOEX Main Hall. Michael E. Festo, President of the NovaStar Corporation strides across the stage, his trademark smile beaming out towards the adoring press and public alike, as the stage lights illuminate him for all in attendance to see. Despite being the head of the Corporation, Mr. Festo had taken a personal interest in the Game Development division in order to bring about fully-immersive Virtual Reality as a genuine and superior option for gaming around the globe.

[color=92278f][i]"Now, I know y'all have been waiting a long time for this!"[/i][/color] Another cascade of cheers fill the air. [color=92278f][i]"Well we wanted to make sure that it was ab-so-lute-ly [b]perfect[/b]!"[/i][/color] Michael punches the air to exemplify his point. The crowd continues to cheer, followed by further applause. [color=92278f][i]"Today, at E3 2040, I stand before you more humbled than I've ever been in my entire life! But also excited! Excited for this announcement, excited for you guys, excited to be stood on the precipice of the future for all Gamers alike!"[/i][/color] He takes a few seconds to look out into the thousands that have arrived for this moment, savoring it. [color=92278f][i]"Today, I am honoured to announce that we have completed the development of the Arcade All-Star Virtual Reality System. A fully-immersive gaming system that lets you dive right into the action and experience the game like never before."[/i][/color] The room is filled, yet again, with raucous applause.

[color=92278f][i]"But that's not all!"[/i][/color] He roars, animating his point with the wave of his arms. [color=92278f][i]"We are, also, delighted to announce [b]three[/b] new eSports titles that will ship alongside the System completely and utterly for free!"[/i][/color] Yells, shouts, even screams of surprise come from the crowd in acknowledgement of the man's words. [color=92278f][i]"That's right, Ladies & Gentlemen, for free."[/i][/color] Michael smiles more sincerely than he ever had before now. His whole life had been leading up to this moment.

[color=92278f][i]"Now, without further ado, allow me to share them with you!"[/i][/color]

[center]____________________[/center]

[center]Welcome to the Interest Check for Arcade All-Stars. An RP set in 2040 on Earth, where the advent of fully-immersive Virtual Reality Gaming has arrived, allowing for the World's Most Popular Sport, eSports, to transcend to the next tier of greatness. In this roleplay, the VR tropes usually seen and explored in similar RPs of this genre will play a backseat to the actual characters themselves. 

You are Gamers. Either Professionals trying to deal with being thrust in the spotlight of billions of people, or Amateurs working your way up the scoreboards to finally be recognised amongst the World's elite. Whilst this RP will obviously focus on how well you perform in-game, I also want to focus on how your characters react with the outside world. Maybe you're a gaming prodigy, a high-school dropout, a NEET, a scrub or an aging ex-Pro. Either way, these are the stories I'm looking to explore.[/center]
The eSports games themselves will all be tied to the Arcade All-Star Virtual Reality System and have all been created by me, with some inspiration from a few games of today. Whilst I will go into much more detail about each title in the OOC, here are the games themselves:
 
[i]Convict Crucible[/i] - A 4v4 Fighting/Sports Game heavily inspired by Deathrow, that includes 1v1 and 2v2 modes. 

[i]Roller City Raiders[/i] - A 5v5 MOBA Game with multiple levels, first-person camera and Jet-Set Radio-style gameplay.

[i]Triple-Tag Strikers[/i] - A 3v3 FPS Game with similar gameplay to Tribes: Ascend, that includes 1v1, 2v2 and 6-player free-for-all modes.


[color=9e0b0f][b][i]Please Note: I don't expect this Roleplay to start before the turn of the New Year. I still need to write the OOC and even despite my best efforts to tone it down, it looks like this is going to be another High-Casual RP with a lot of detail. So I'm definitely going to need a Co-GM for this, maybe even two depending on the number of players.[/i][/b][/color]