Post by The Necromancer on Jan 24, 2011 19:55:38 GMT -5
Thirty-Five years ago, Virtual Reality technologies were perfected- the world was changed. Earth was a polluted, destroyed husk, and the government had yet to perfect a viable space travel engine- so, a massive virtual reality called Gaia was created by computer geniuses Marko Lithen and Nicholas Miyall. The government had, in secret, developed cryo-pods called Eternity Chairs. These devices were capable of keeping up to six humans alive and un-aging, but still conscious inside Gaia. People lived endless lives inside this virtual reality- it was like a utopia. Pollution wasn't a problem, war was illogical as it would have no real effect, and the government was always fair... until just recently.
When the virtual world was designed, Marko and Nicholas were instructed to leave consoles, codenamed "Glitches", where Government employees could access and change the code of Gaia if needed. A few... exceptional individuals, learned of these consoles, and after some experimentation, learned to copy them. These "Hackers" had found the keys to the kingdom- they'd learned how to change this great virtual world, how to alter the programming, changing landscapes, cities, weather, climate... anything they chose. At first, the consoles were only accessed by a select few hackers- ones who had no real intention to damage anything- they often would just alter their own lives- make themselves rich or powerfully placed, give themselves valuable items such as expensive vehicles or diamonds, stuff like that. Sadly, Lucas Kial, a bitter man who was unhappy with the government was invited to join the "Guild" of hackers. Before long, he had made a small but deadly altercation to the programming- dying in Gaia would kill your body. After doing so, he gathered the other hackers together and killed them all, leaving himself the only person with knowledge and access to the Glitches- he had locked the government out. When the government launched a raid on his Virtual Neighborhood, seeking to suppress him, he used the console to provide the locals with weapons, vehicles and armor, successfully repelling the task force. Before long, he rallied more to his cause, and a full blown war broke out between the "Militia" and those loyal to the Government. In the midst of all this, small-scale hacking and recoding became popular with civilians on both sides.
Gaian Society:
Government: Unknown to the inhabitants of gaia, besides perhaps Lucas, the "Government" is mostly made up of AI's... "NPC's" if you will. There are still elections, and most people are unaware that all of the candidates are re-skinned and re-named NPC programs.
Currency: As the United States was the dominant government when Gaia was implemented, U.S. Dollars are used as currency- though, in rebellion, the Militia use their own form of currency, Lucan Dollars.
Small-Scale Hacking/Recoding: Usually minor things- changing one's appearance however they please, customizing weapons, making themselves look younger or older, perhaps spawning small items. (ammunition, throwing knives, food/drink, etc.)
Weapon Types: Based mainly on modern weaponry, there are some moderately futuristic weapons- Laser, Plasma, Gauss, etc.
"Codeborn": A select few individuals with an extreme gift- they can hack without needing access to a console- basically recoding with their brains. Generally, this coding doesn't extend much further than themselves- move faster, jump higher, hit harder, change appearance at will, etc. Most of the physical actions (move jump hit) take little energy, but changing one's appearance is often exhausting, leaving one tired and all but incapacitated.
(Player Characters can be Codeborn- no limit to how many... but there won't be god-mode-ing. Changing appearance will make you unable to use your other skills, and your other skills can't be overused.. NPC Codeborn will be similiar to bossfights if hostile)
Note: As I read over this, it makes me wonder why the government in the real world wouldn't simply unplug Lucas' cryo-pod, and the answer is thus- There is noone left in the real world besides a handful of savages who refused to enter the pods and went insane alone on the outside- as all the Pods are in secured locations, the Savages would be unable to destroy or damage pods. Moderate-Level Robots maintain and repair pods/structures.
Note2: Yes, this was inspired by The Matrix.
When the virtual world was designed, Marko and Nicholas were instructed to leave consoles, codenamed "Glitches", where Government employees could access and change the code of Gaia if needed. A few... exceptional individuals, learned of these consoles, and after some experimentation, learned to copy them. These "Hackers" had found the keys to the kingdom- they'd learned how to change this great virtual world, how to alter the programming, changing landscapes, cities, weather, climate... anything they chose. At first, the consoles were only accessed by a select few hackers- ones who had no real intention to damage anything- they often would just alter their own lives- make themselves rich or powerfully placed, give themselves valuable items such as expensive vehicles or diamonds, stuff like that. Sadly, Lucas Kial, a bitter man who was unhappy with the government was invited to join the "Guild" of hackers. Before long, he had made a small but deadly altercation to the programming- dying in Gaia would kill your body. After doing so, he gathered the other hackers together and killed them all, leaving himself the only person with knowledge and access to the Glitches- he had locked the government out. When the government launched a raid on his Virtual Neighborhood, seeking to suppress him, he used the console to provide the locals with weapons, vehicles and armor, successfully repelling the task force. Before long, he rallied more to his cause, and a full blown war broke out between the "Militia" and those loyal to the Government. In the midst of all this, small-scale hacking and recoding became popular with civilians on both sides.
Gaian Society:
Government: Unknown to the inhabitants of gaia, besides perhaps Lucas, the "Government" is mostly made up of AI's... "NPC's" if you will. There are still elections, and most people are unaware that all of the candidates are re-skinned and re-named NPC programs.
Currency: As the United States was the dominant government when Gaia was implemented, U.S. Dollars are used as currency- though, in rebellion, the Militia use their own form of currency, Lucan Dollars.
Small-Scale Hacking/Recoding: Usually minor things- changing one's appearance however they please, customizing weapons, making themselves look younger or older, perhaps spawning small items. (ammunition, throwing knives, food/drink, etc.)
Weapon Types: Based mainly on modern weaponry, there are some moderately futuristic weapons- Laser, Plasma, Gauss, etc.
"Codeborn": A select few individuals with an extreme gift- they can hack without needing access to a console- basically recoding with their brains. Generally, this coding doesn't extend much further than themselves- move faster, jump higher, hit harder, change appearance at will, etc. Most of the physical actions (move jump hit) take little energy, but changing one's appearance is often exhausting, leaving one tired and all but incapacitated.
(Player Characters can be Codeborn- no limit to how many... but there won't be god-mode-ing. Changing appearance will make you unable to use your other skills, and your other skills can't be overused.. NPC Codeborn will be similiar to bossfights if hostile)
Note: As I read over this, it makes me wonder why the government in the real world wouldn't simply unplug Lucas' cryo-pod, and the answer is thus- There is noone left in the real world besides a handful of savages who refused to enter the pods and went insane alone on the outside- as all the Pods are in secured locations, the Savages would be unable to destroy or damage pods. Moderate-Level Robots maintain and repair pods/structures.
Note2: Yes, this was inspired by The Matrix.