Virtual Reality

[If this RP concept seems familiar, perhaps it is.  My personal view of a virtual-reality RP has been mostly the same since its May '10 debut and I've run it on five sites with varying degrees of success.]

Prologue Part I – Advertisement

Suppose that in the future, gaming systems had increased in quality to the point where a person didn’t just see the game, hear it, move and the character moved, or any combination of the above, but they quite literally were injected into the base game template, ceasing to exist in real life but for a backup genetic copy, any number of which could then be sent into the game to assist if necessary. Complete loss would eject them back into reality. Of course, to the outer physical world, no time passed at all but in the player’s mind. This technology might be wildly popular in the future, possibly, but the future is now. At least, somewhat. A group of the best young video gamers will be chosen to test this new technology. Over varied games they may go, but the overall experience they had will be the determining factor in if this is mass produced. Will you be one of those first players, who leads the charge?


Prologue Part II – The Story (Futuristic Background Info)

The applicants were selected, and all tested positive in the final examinations. They bravely went through the pains this would take, including having monitoring chips put in their heads. These would keep track of their statuses, as well as contain advice. Then, through the prototype portal they went, to their respective places. All seemed well…too well. Then, it happened. An overactive day and newly activating magnetic field was all it took, and several components at the nearby electric plant flickered ceaselessly. Traveling down the line, the resounding power surges wrecked the equipment, as well as messing with the monitoring chips. As the reality/VR portal broke, all its data fused. Now, all find themselves again together in this newly muddled world. They must wander, fight, and search to find their way out before their respective characters' identities started to encroach on their own. This raises questions, as to what would happen when they got back? They would remain the same, as the researchers agreed amongst themselves. They would have to live with it until a way to ‘cure’ their condition was found.


Condensed Prologue/TLDR Version

The players are video gamers in a VR simulation that breaks, sticking them inside with no apparent means of exit.  They have to find a way out - and fast - because the video game characters will start taking over the human minds in the broken virtual reality.


Application Forms

As it happened, all the gamers were Sonic fans.  They thus chose characters from the games of the series.

[I ask that you PM these forms to me so the RP thread stays uncluttered.  Please submit only one.  All game characters must be canon characters from the game series.  More than one RPer can be the same canon character.  Might turn out very interesting that way.]

Tester name:
Age: (Under 18)
Favorite video game character from the Sonic series (Or whichever character you want to play):
Description and location (first game) of above character:
Abilities of above character:
Other relevant information:
How the  tester's personality and Sonic character's personality work with or against each other:


[I'm hoping to get at least ten players.  If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know ASAP.  If anyone wants an example sheet, I'll provide it.  And I hope that wasn't too confusing.]

[I only have one other player so far, Galemeshi, and as such I will waive the requirement about not publicly posting the sheet.  We'll also start in-game.

I will list characters here.]

Galemeshi - Ramira Araya - Tikal
Quiet Light - Jaye Granger - Tails

[I'll also list my own sheet.

Tester name: Jaye Granger
Age: 15
Favorite video game character from the Sonic series: Miles 'Tails' Prower
Description and location of above character: Westside Island (presumably), Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Abilities of above character: - Note the following:
- Famous helicopter-like flight, propelled by spinning twin tails.
- Reaching extremely high speeds in the air, on land, and in water, especially when spinning tails for propulsion.
- Strong attack and defense with tails.
- Potential but very rare (for him) ability to manipulate Chaos energy.
- Innate intelligence and skill with machinery, especially airplanes and other flying devices.
Other relevant information: Jaye has been a fan of the Sonic series for as long as he can remember, and often been a dreamer about such an opportunity as this...if only he knew.  He identifies closely with Tails.
How the tester's personality and Sonic character's personality work with or against each other: Probably leading to the identifying, the two have some major similarities (which is not likely to work in Jaye's favor).  For example, much as the young fox, the tester tries to take a back-seat to others, shyly avoiding the limelight.  He wants to help, and would appreciate recognition but usually doesn't ask for it.  However, in other important ways they're quite different: Jaye compares his own will to iron, incredibly determined.  He confidently chooses a path and sticks with it...although when this gets him into a mess he deeply relies on others to help pull him out of it.  And while the tester is arguably of above-average intelligence, he doesn't measure up to the raw mental power of mechanical faculties of the gold-orange fox.
Secretly, dreamer that he is, Jaye idolizes game characters to an extent.  This, his greatest secret, he would be horrified to have known, even as close as he might get to the characters.

There's that.  Writing up opening post soon.]

Tester name: Ramira Araya
Age: 13
Favorite video game character from the Sonic series: Tikal
Description and location of above character: Sonic Adventure; The Shrine of the Master Emerald.
Abilities of above character: In Sonic Adventure she was able to appear as a ball of light, assume a ghostly form of herself, give visions to other characters, communicate to Chaos, and use the power of the Master Emerald.
Other relevant information: In Sonic Adventure 2, she can glide, dig, and climb.
How the tester's personality and Sonic character's personality work with or against each other: Tikal's personality very heavily contrasts with Ramira's. While Tikal's demeanor is very sweet and caring, Ramira might rub off as a bit of a punk to some as she doesn't smile very often is is very quiet. Having to respond to a question or comment, her input may very well be sharp and showcase her distrustful nature. Deep down, she is a hurt little girl. While all that has been said is true, however, she really does have a few things in common with Tikal; she has genuine concern for others and their well-being, she often wants to do what is right (and feels very guilty if she cannot deliver), and hopes that the future ahead will be better.

Slowly, a figure on the smooth, verdant grass blearily opened his eyes.  This figure - a young, gold-orange anthropomorphic fox - shook his head a bit, as if trying to awake from a dream.  He forced his sky-blue eyes open, and with some difficulty sat up, twin tails - yes, two, not just one - waving behind him.

He glanced around, noting the green grass and checkered earth.  He noticed another figure unconscious on the ground not too far away, probably in the same position he was in - a pink-orange echidna girl.  At this point he finally seemed to notice himself and stood, frantically looking around and looking at himself, gold-orange fur, twin tails, and all.  "...wha...?"

The girl lay face down, arms folded just in front of her forehead. She was still and silent, the only signs of life she had shown had been her slow and steady breathing. It would seem that she was asleep.

After a few moments of just lying there and being still, she began to stir. A faint utterance of agitation came from her as she rolled over. She took a deep breath in. To the fox, it might look like she was still not awake. This wouldn't be the case. She was instead looking up at the sky, which had been its normal blue color. It took her a few seconds to notice that the clouds in it looked a bit odd today. Not as fluffy as usual-- perhaps even painted, or fake. As her vision settled, she realized that they were pixelated. Where was she?

She spent the next few moments jumping to her feet, confusedly staring at her abnormally sized hands and body, and then catching sight of the fox who had first spotted her. She stopped all together, holding a cautious eye on him.

When the new hedgehog came rolling down, the echidna was in for quite a shock. Having focused so much on Tails, a character she admittedly recognized, she pretty much tuned all other surroundings out. Her cautious stare quickly shifted into a wild-eyed glare. Her stance was quick to change along with it, too.

Her body was stiffly in place. Her arms were held up from her sides, her fingers were drawn down into protective claws, and her bent knees were locked. The look practically screamed the stereotypical, "I'm outta here," or "I'mma cut somebody."

The fox, noticing that Tikal didn't look entirely friendly, backed away a bit...and got knocked over when a silver hedgehog bumped into him from behind.  Before getting up but after catching sight of the hedgehog who rolled into him, Jaye curiously glanced at both of them. "...Tikal...?  ...Silver...?"

He paused for a moment before getting up and shaking his head, fluffy orange-and-white tails shaking along with it.  "This seems too real...it was supposed to be a test of the VR system..."  He sighs and looks down.  "Never mind, that probably sounds crazy."

Her reaction to the commotion would have given anyone the impression that she was hostile at first glance, especially before meeting properly. Seeing that this seemed to be a surprise to at least two of the three present at the time, it could be said that this meeting was nowhere near proper, nor close to being. She was breathing rather comfortably, now. That, or perhaps she'd adjusted to her racing heart. Whatever the case, she began to relax a little after observing the two in front of her. The distance between them allowed for her to feel at ease.

She listened closely Tails, or whoever else it was, join in on expressing his own confusion. She watched him gradually pick himself up from the ground and waited for Silver to do the same. "This seems too real," she heard Tails say. She barely caught the last few words of the sentence. Something about a test of the system. Her face moved to the side, her eyes remaining fixed, ponderously shaking her head as he continued.

"This whole thing is crazy," she interjected.

The responses snapped Jaye to attention.  "You're not characters; you're actually other testers?"  The inflection and his step back highly suggested surprise at this.

Meanwhile, a wind began whistling by, blowing the checker-green grass slightly.  The clouds overhead continued passing, while the waterfalls off to the sides continued cascading.  The whole setting was actually rather idyllic, save some clearly-polluting robots visible in the distance.

After taking a moment to decide that she would rather opt-out of the spiral of confusion that was sure to ensue, she chose to remain silent and listen to whatever else the two beside her might say. She had no puzzle pieces that would fit into the picture, and though she was worried, she thought it may be a good idea to try and not express too much of her fretting.

Slowly, as conversation was sparking, her view panned over the landscape all around them. The breeze was soft and sweet, which was a bit odd considering that this was a game. She couldn't pretend to comprehend what was going on. Mist from some of the waterfalls nearby was sweeping towards them on the same breeze, but there was something wrong. The awe on her face quickly dissipated and her brow furrowed. She spotted colorful, shiny things in the distance, which to her, seemed ominous and fairly out of place when the world surrounding them seemed nearly vacant just moments before.

The twin-tailed fox glanced around, almost nervously, at the hedgehog's reply.  His blue eyes passed over the green hills...green hills..."...stupid question, but does this place seem familiar?  As in, really familiar?  As in...Green Hill Zone?"

Around this time he also blinked, repeatedly and rapidly.  His vision swam for a moment, as a brief dizzy spell overtook him and he stumbled slightly.  When he looked back up, and looked around...he could swear that the pixilation was gone.  The entire world around him looked whole and complete, like a real environment - not a matter of coding or side-scrolling art, but three-dimensional.

The girl in possession of the body of Tikal would answer to at least that, keeping a watchful and troubled eye on the robots marching forward. She hardly took note of how the pixels finalized to bring forth such realism until she finally loosened her gaze and turned back around to the group. Her eyes were lit with wonder and fear, "Yes. This does look familiar.. But I don't think we have time to admire such things right now," She pointed a gloved finger hastily to the small army that had lined the horizon. "Look over there."

Another robot materialized a good distance away from the group and spun its head around.  It then panned its eye cameras downward to study its hands, or rather, hand and missile launcher.  "Sweet," it remarked, its fairly monotone voice defying the excitement held by the mind that possessed its mechanical form.

After marveling at the fact that he had become his favorite Sonic character, 15-year-old Andrew Vincent scanned his surroundings again.  Eventually, he caught the group of robots heading for Tikal.  "It looks like it may be time to test my weapons," Andrew said out loud before locking onto a cluster of five or six robots and launching a series of missiles, all of which hit and destroyed their targets.  He then began to walk towards the peach-furred Echidna, taking out all the robots in his way.