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Post by woventears on Oct 12, 2016 0:17:43 GMT
The year is 2046 and virtual reality gaming has reached it's peak. Handheld gaming devices and home consoles are now things you've only seen in museums or editorials online, but one series has managed to grow and adapt with the times: Pokemon. The world seems to never grow tired of capturing, training, trading, performing, or battling with the adorable monsters which have now been around for over five decades. In celebration of half a century of bringing joy to people of all ages Pokemon is releasing a new game: Pokemon Ages for Nintendo's first VR console, the NR (Nintendo Reality). Ages promises to be a recreation of every monster, region, and memory in a fully immersive environment, in line with technology of the time period. With the first six generations available at launch and the others promised to be added as free updates, you couldn't wait to get your hands on it. Maybe you even participated in the beta.
The big day arrives: release day. Maybe you made plans to meet up with your friends in Pallet town and train your starters or maybe you wanted to go shopping in Lumiose city and try on clothes at Boutique Coiture. No matter what you planned to do on your first day in the world of Pokemon you didn't get to accomplish it. After creating your character and listening to the traditional welcome messages given by your chosen professor you are teleported to not a starting town, but a cobblestone plaza floating in the sky along with what seems like every other player. As panic and confusion begins to build a mysterious voice booms over the crowd. "Welcome to my world."
The crowd gasps at the surprise and murmurs erupt among the players, some even yelling it must be a joke or the welcome event. "This," the voice continues with a pause, "is the world I created. This is Pokemon Ages." Cheers erupt as the tension begins to ease; people assuming they're right. "I created this world to be the perfect getaway from the real world." Another round of applause. "In fact, you could say it's a permanent getaway." The voice sounds as if it's smiling, but the crowd doesn't pick up on it. Before you appears a menu with the word Starter at the top and the words Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos appearing as drop down menues. "Before you is where you choose your starter," the voice explained. "You may choose one of the eighteen regional starters in the game or you may choose from a handful of others from each region." Another cheer. Then the voice (almost literally) drops a bomb on the group. "One final note: my comment about this being a permanent getaway from reality; it was serious." Someone in the back of the group starts to laugh. "Until you complete the tasks I will set forth at the end of this, you will not be able to log out of the game." The voice pauses to let the thought sink in. "But," it continued "for those of you who do not possess the skill or drive to complete my challenges, you will also be able to log out after the first ten players complete them." With that feedback echoes across the group and everyone is suddenly aware that the announcements were over.
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Post by Jacior on Oct 17, 2016 0:25:30 GMT
Dale had spent way too much time obsessing about the game leading up to the launch. He decided that when he had spent oh... probably 6 hours on a character customization program just to make sure He turned out exactly the way he wanted him to. It was a really good thing that they let him upload it to the game instead of having to try and fix everything in game. He'd have missed the sign in time! But it did so that was a moot point wasn't it!
He couldn't help shaking with excitement as the spiel about becoming a pokemon trainer started up. It wasn't what he was really gonna do, but come on, this was hella-awesome. And then he was signing in and this was not the starting town, what was happening. 0.0 Oh, it was a world start event! Et- Dale had never been a part of something like that, so this was cool too. Looking down at his hands, he clenched them. This was so much better than the real world already. He could even clap! Applause! Applause! "Ha ha!"
"Wait what did he say?" Dale was talking mostly to himself now, looking up at sky as if someone was going to be there to answer the question. "We're... stuck here?" He reached up to feel his head and face. He didn't... look like himself. Or he looked like Dale now. Like... himself? Was that the way to look at it now? reaching around with his left, he felt his right arm to make sure... yeah. "Uh... well... fuck." He clapped a hand to mouth, that was a little rude. But... well... Dale was a rude dude sometimes! "Yeah, I am!" He scrolled down the list of starters and pressed a finger to the one he wanted. "I guess I'll have to change my plans a bit after all. I'm not gonna stay here forever."
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Post by ThRevanchist on Oct 17, 2016 0:38:07 GMT
All the promise of "reliving the past" of that Pokemon stuff didn't really mean much to Nika. Really, whether it had been like a whole new experience, or just a retelling of ages past wouldn't, couldn't have made a difference to her. Outside of some preparatory reading, she really hadn't had much experience with this whole "Pokemon" thing. It wasn't that she was just here for the Virtual Reality or anything, she had still come to play Pokemon, it was just that this was going to be her "Glorious start to the world-renowned franchise!", and what an exciting start it had shaped up to be!
When the Big Voice offered them their first Pokemon (finally, how much longer was this speech going to take?), Nika, or rather Ain wasted no time navigating to Unova's menu and selecting an Oshawott. She figured the little Otter Pokemon would eventually be a perfect match for someone as formidable as her! Plus, until that time, Oshawott were just adorable, it was a win-win!
Ain had refrained from cheering along like everyone else. Not because she wasn't excited (she was), but because she was predisposed to look down on their free-flowing excitement. So why should she act like them at all? Instead, she stood up straight, confident, and took careful note of what the Big Voice was telling them. She didn't expect anything important to come out of the speech, but it would be remiss of her to not pay attention, like the cheering masses.
Of course, then the Big Voice said something particularly important. Tasks? Permanent? No logging out?! That couldn't be right, she'd done her research, and Nintendo had said nothing about trapping them in here. That was just silly! Probably a way to set the mood or something... Yeah, this whole speech was probably just to get them all riled up, and ready for a challenge! It wasn't a necessary move for her, though; Kaiser Ain had been ready for any challenge Pokemon Ages could throw from the moment Nika had logged in. But... that said, it would be best if she tried to log out in a few minutes, just to be sure. Or maybe she'd watch some people log out, and that'd be the end of it?
...There wasn't much Ain could think to do yet, especially before the mystery of their logouts had been answered. So for now, she would just watch the crowd to see how they fared... and maybe find out how to leave this weird plaza.
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Post by lymia on Oct 17, 2016 23:44:16 GMT
... character creation. Thankfully VR devs started to get the message and actually let people import body plans from standard formats. ... switching body types around in VR was always a pain, and getting it right on those crappy builtin editors was always a chore. You'd always end up tripping over yourself for a day or two before figuring it out... Or bumping your head all day when the only available body type was "hulking marine". After a bit of fiddling around to make sure her username and everything displayed right, and getting the settings back to what she had in the beta, Eirafell launched the game.
"Loading Zone, please wait..."? Doesn't Pokemon Ages preload the starting town... oh, huh. Some kind of release event, I guess. What a strange place to start a game in... Eirafell had expected something more impressive or lavish, like a party, but this looked quite ominous. The voice of god effect certainly didn't help matters. ... nor does this guy and his strange wording, for that matter. Are they introducing the villain or something...? There wasn't a plot during the beta, so... ... well, I'm not here to roleplay, so, let's just get this partner thing out of the way... Hope this cutscene doesn't go on too long. Eirafell started recreating her partner from the beta, a Ralts. ... not the best starter, but, whatever. She's got tricks to make for that.
...then... she realizes what the voice was saying, she quickly opened up the main menu, and took a look around. ... then, in confusion, tried to find the emergency shutoff. ... no, no log off button... and I guess they swapped out the neural interface chip with a custom one, so they can disable the emergency shutoff. Is Nintendo trying to get VR outlawed, or something? They aren't really doing this, right? ...There's no way this can end well for them.
After a few moments of confusion, she brought up her hacking menus, making sure everything's in working order. She had always wandered what her antics looked like to others. At least I got the console mods in before logging on... Nobody else could see the screens, but, they'd certainly be able to see her looking in weird places. She figured out how to use the neural interface for input, so she doesn't have to type on an invisible keyboard anymore, at least. That cut down on the number of people questioning her tremendously.
... I wonder if... nope... I'd need to use my computer to analyse this data properly. Should have gotten that HDMI uplink to my computer up earlier... Maybe the challenges aren't too long, then. Let's see if there's anyone up for that, then. She looked around the plaza, at the other players. ... quite the diverse group. ... I wonder how they feel about this... I'm sure some people are happy about this too, but... She walks up to... anyone who looks like they might be taking this incident seriously. Might as well as make some allies... Who knows what she's going to have to do.
Hopefully people in VR take little girls seriously... Maybe that character creation decision was a mistake. ... might as well as play innocent for now, then. Not like I know much more than anybody else. She tugs on their clothes, trying to get their attention, then speaks up. "... uhm... Hi. Do you know what's going on?"
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Missing: One Skeleton
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Post by sandsofazorin on Oct 18, 2016 21:42:15 GMT
Unlike his step-brother, Caleb was more or less 'meh' about the whole wait regarding the new MMO launch date. He didn't have a lot of time to play in them, and he was going to have even less after his second term of study. The last one he played was FFXI, and he played a weird mix-mash of an off-tank Samurai. It was a shame that it was shut down when it did, he loved that class. It was a rather cold winter morning, as he played around with the sleeves of his oversized university hoodie. Despite how wonderful internet connections have gotten in the last couple of years, he was waiting for that damn bar to go pass 99%.
"Every god-damn time..." Caleb muttered as he tapped impatiently on his chair. Just then the door to his room burst opened, as a boy with reddish hair ran in.
"Are you almost done? I've been waiting for hourrrrsss." The boy said, drawing out the last word through his missing front teeth. With a small size, Caleb turned around and looked at him with an amused, tired look.
"Marco, its only been twenty minutes." Caleb said, looking at him directly. In retaliation, the young boy's face huffed and puffed. For an eleven-year old boy, that was hours for him. Not to mentioned that he could be a rather drama king when he wanted to be. When Caleb finally turned around, it was then that the progress bar became fully green, with the option "PLAY" now available.
"Okay, I'm done. Make sure to join the discord before you hop in." Caleb said, but all he got back was the hurried footsteps of an excited child leaving his room.
"MAKE SURE TO JOIN ME IN SINNOH" He yelled out just before the boy got out of ear shot. He quietly placed the VR, made sure he was connected to his discord chat before hitting play.
Instantly the world around Caleb vanished, as he was brought to the title screen. For the next half-an-hour, the chat was filled with talks of planned characters, memes and speculation on future content. Caleb just decided to use his own appearance... with a few changes. He changed his hair colour, eye colour and gave himself a rather fancy labcoat that came with the Medic's starter pack. As soon as he finished entering into the game, his discord chat was quickly cut off. Damn it, he was gonna have to alt-tab after loading.
... that is, until he found himself in a plaza with a whole bunch of other people. This was not Sinnoh, not by a long shot. Still, at least he got his Chimchar. The voice began to do the whole "Welcome to my game" speech, and Caleb was uninterested... until the voice mentioned that they were stuck here till they completed his challenges. Har fucking har, he had seen a few animes with this stupid premise. For now, he was just gonna alt-tab and connect back to discord.
After a few unsuccessful alt-tab commands, he tired to issue a voice command to his computer. "CABINET, RESTART." He called out, before waiting. After two minutes, he just simply placed his hands on his face and sighed loudly.
"Are you fucking kidding me..." He muttered into his hands, just how much of his computer was underneath this arsehole control? Damn it, a whole year's worth of study material, assignments and reviews was on his computer. If he started messing with his files, there will be hell to pay. But that was for another day, he needed to join up with his step-brother.
"MARCO, MARCO ARE YOU HERE!?" He called out a few times, moving around the plaza as he tried to find his step-brother. He had to be here... right?
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Post by Jacior on Oct 18, 2016 23:28:15 GMT
Dale was startled out of his sudden reverie by... a little girl? I guess you were allowed to make your avatar what you wanted, obviously, by how he looked himself. "Uh... I mean, you heard the guy right? We're like, locked into the game. You're smart enough to make a character so don't pretend you can't understand a basic concept like that." He gave her one of those looks that spoke volumes of what might be construed as: duh. "So I guess there needs to be people working towards those goals... whatever they are... You know, he just gave us some tauros-shit spiel and didn't tell us what we're actually supposed to do."
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Post by lymia on Oct 19, 2016 0:41:43 GMT
Eirafell gives Dale somewhat of a confused look for a few moments... or is that her dumbfounded look? Hard to tell. ... g-geez... I guess that explains why he picked that look... She takes a good look through the crowd before turning back to Dale, taking a moment to consider what to say. "... it's... well... ..." ... she gestures to the people around her. Those groups who are cheering, those who seem confused and lost, people ranting and raving... "... It's... I don't know anybody here, and everything's a big mess. ... it sounds like we're going to be here for a while, and... well..." She pauses for a few moments. "You looked like you weren't totally lost and confused... Uhm, sorry if I bothered you."
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Post by Jacior on Oct 19, 2016 1:49:48 GMT
Dale shrugs. "You're not bothering me. It's not like we're doing anything waiting for this guy to send us on our way or anything." He cracks his knuckles and runs a hand through through his mohawk. "And I'm not. We just have to do the tasks right? Seems simple enough to me. Well, whoever I supply anyway. I'm going to be the greatest crafter in this world and forge the most powerful weapons ever. Among other things." He grins to himself and looks up at the sky as if trying to challenge someone to doubt him.
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Post by lymia on Oct 19, 2016 2:09:15 GMT
Eirafell still has somewhat of a confused expression, blinking at Dale a few times. ... isn't our enemy here the system? Playing by the system's rules...
"You think that'll be enough? I mean, considering the situation... Well, I'm glad to hear that. It never hurts to have people on your side... right? ... it'd be pretty bad to get stuck here all by myself."
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Post by Jacior on Oct 19, 2016 2:28:20 GMT
"Well of course I'm gonna help in the field. I have to see how my equipment works out. Best way to make improvements, you know?" He clenches his fist and flexes his right arm. "Besides, I'm no slouch in a fight!" He gives her a look. "Unless you wanna test that."
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Post by lymia on Oct 19, 2016 2:45:26 GMT
"... sorta like the Cursed Wave from that one game, right? ... you want to fight... well, the game itself with the game's own rules?" Eirafell glances around stares off to the side for a few moments... seemingly? "... a-and... I didn't put any points towards combat... so..."
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Post by woventears on Oct 19, 2016 2:49:00 GMT
An exclamation mark appears on your heads up displays and another murmur ripples through the crowd. You all decide to see what the outburst is about so you open your menu and notice another exclamation mark next to your quest log. The First Challenge: Swarms of Fans The games have just begun. Let us see just how fun you all can make this for me. I've released swarms of Pokemon across the regions and they're stopping the Pokemon Centers' supply deliveries; in response they've decided they need to close until the problem is taken care of. Since you all will be here for a while I suggest you all complete this challenge, for until you do the Pokemon Centers will be locked to everyone with the quest in their log.A blinding white light envelops you and your bodies feel warm. The sensation of the ground under your feet disappears momentarily before quickly returning. When you open your eyes again you are in a new location. Tall buildings surround you. Some of them appear to be apartments while others look more industrial. The smallest building in the city seems to have younger NPCs running in and out of it. Some kind of school? Route 202 flashes on your HUD. Eirfall and Dale: You two are standing on either side of the door to an industrial building. On the roof wave flags and banners with the word Poketch.Ain: You are standing in front of the most polished looking building. The sign on the door reads Jubilife TV. You notice a camera crew rushing south, seemingly having just left the buiding. Healslave: You are standing by the smallest building in the city. A sign nearby reads Trainer School and children are running out of it. |
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Post by ThRevanchist on Oct 19, 2016 3:14:00 GMT
Ain hadn't seen anyone actually test the logout feature. That was... slightly alarming, she had to admit, but maybe it was because they were in an event location? Whatever the case, there was more to worry about that some hokey "System Controller" who thought he could keep them all here against their wills. Err, kind of? When you put it like that it sounded sinister- Anyways! Enough dwelling on that stuff!
Challenges, Nika (and Ain) both thrived on Challenges! That would be a whole lot more fun to focus on than something she couldn't do. Plus, taking down those swarms'd give her a chance to test out the combat stuff that everyone had been so excited about! That did leave just where she had to go to actually fight them, but if anything said "go this way", it was rushing NPCs, right?
Set on her "plan", Ain runs off after the camera crew, eager to 'begin the game' in earnest!
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Post by Jacior on Oct 19, 2016 3:59:38 GMT
Dale waited until after the transfer to answer her question. "He didn't say to break his game. He wants people to play it! So that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna play it till I win. However I choose to play it. Come see me in a week or two kid, I'll have a weapon I'm sure you can use by then." He grins at her and then turns and starts to run off. "I can't be late for the swarm event! See ya around!"
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372 posts
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Missing: One Skeleton
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Post by sandsofazorin on Oct 19, 2016 5:33:08 GMT
"Marco... Come on you deaf idiot answer me!" Caleb shouted, his voice getting rather sore from all the shouting he's been doing. Despite the some odd looks, a few others were also doing the same thing he was, looking for others who joined up with them. Soon he found himself muttering under his breath, the topic of which vary from worrying about his step-brother to cursing the fact he could be doing studying right now. What if he was stuck here when the next term began? How could he explain to his professors that the reason he didn't show up was because he was trapped in some MMO ran by a narcissistic GM.
"All the more reason to finish this stupid game and get out..." Caleb thought, before sighing out loud. He stopped and opened his log, planning his next move. It seems that he had already posted his first challenge.1
"Right... So pokemon are stopping the supply routes for Pokemon Centers...Nice way of fluffing it." He said, mostly to himself. He had to give the man some measure of credit, it was a good way of making this serious. No Pokemon Centers meant no mass healing, and that could only mean people like him were going to be highly in demand for the next couple of hours. Good thing he picked a Medic instead of another DPS class.
Just as Caleb was about to close the log, a blinding white light enveloped him as a wave of warmth filled him. After hovering for a few seconds, he felt the ground once more. When the world revealed himself, he found himself facing a... rather small building. The building's doors soon opened as children ran out, for whatever reason. With a simple shrug, he passed the children and entered inside.
"Hello? Is anyone in here?" He called out, hoping a teacher or someone of the like could help him out.
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Post by lymia on Oct 19, 2016 18:24:02 GMT
Eirafell looked through the menu when the quest notification arrived. ... so this is the first challenge... no Pokemon Centers, huh... ... the game's creator said this world was meant as a paradise. That... I don't understand, he can't seriously think that... This kind of challenge makes it look more like some sort of sadism... no, he isn't to be trusted.
She doesn't seem too perturbed by the zone transfer, at least. That part isn't new to her, at least... unlike all this stuff about Pokemon Centers being locked out, and this "being stuck here" thing. Or the creator apparently being a total lunatic and Nintendo going off the deep end alongside him. That part's definitely unfamiliar.
"I'm... I guess that's one way to look at it. If that's what you want to do, then..." Sighing, she turns to Dale... just in time to see him running off into the distance. "-- w-wait, where are you going?" She stares, dumbfounded. Definitely dumbfounded this time. ... I guess... he doesn't really see this whole thing the same way I do...
She follows along after Dale, making sure to keep an eye on her minimap. Both for Dale, and any items she might come across. That part still seemed to work, at least. ... in fact, everything she's tested so far seems to still be working just fine. ... and if there's no Pokemon Centers, the random item spawns are the next best thing. ... for Eirafell at least. It's definitely not the next best thing for people who have to actually search for them...
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Post by woventears on Oct 19, 2016 22:49:23 GMT
Ain, Eirafell, and Dale: You arrive on Route 202. You see very few other players on this route despite this being where your log says the event takes place. The trees loom well above your heads and a lake (newly added for Ages to allow easier access to water Pokemon) sits quietly as the Pokemon below the surface cause ripples to appear occasionally.
Ain: A group of Pichu scurries past you and into the bushes leading away from Jubilife City; they seemed to be running from something. A sweet aroma wafts through the air around you. Roll Pokemon Ed to see if you can identify the source of the smell please! DC of 8 to identify!
Eirafell and Dale: You see sticky white strings blocking the path as you exit Jubilife city. The smell of a campfire meets your noses as well. Roll Pokemon Ed to try to identify the source of the strings. DC of 8 to identify. Alternately, Eirafell may roll Perception to use her hacking equipment to identify the strings' source. DC of 14 for this!
Caleb: A beautiful woman with light brown hair tied up in a ponytail approaches you as you enter. "Why, hello there," she says with a kind smile. "What can I do for you?" The school is filled with desks in neat rows as well as books and pictures of Pokemon lining walls and bookshelves. Around the top of the wall is the ABCs of Pokemon. A for Abra... B for Bulbasaur... C for Charmander...
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Post by ThRevanchist on Oct 19, 2016 23:25:01 GMT
Ain didn't care too much that other players were taking their time to arrive; that just meant she would have time to wrap things up before the obnoxious crowds got here! Then maybe even scope out some promising allies... Not, not because she needed them, though. Purely because she could afford the luxury once she'd finished this easy quest. As adorable as those Pichu were (and they were. VERY. Adorable), there was more important business to attend to. After all, it didn't look like they were part of the Event. While contemplating where they might have left in such a hurry, Ain detected a pleasant smell... Probably from a Pokemon, maybe even the one that scared away the little group of Pichu? What sorts of Pokemon were supposed to have a strong aroma, again? Whatever the case, she boldly begins walking in the direction the Pichu had fled, confident that the mysterious and fragrant Quest Monster would reveal itself soon enough. Pokemon Identification: 7 |
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Post by woventears on Oct 20, 2016 0:12:37 GMT
Dale: You notice three pink cotton candy balls floating toward you, Swirlix. Above their heads floated small yellow exclamation marks, indicating they were the Pokemon required for the quest. Their expression is angry as they chase away a group of other Pokemon.
Eirafell: You see a small brown fluff ball floating by some burned down trees, seemingly spitting fire. It's similar to the other Swirlix except for the color.
Ain: The scent is familiar to you, but you can't seem to place to which Pokemon it belongs. Out of the corner of your eye you see a single Swirlix floating toward you, chasing after the group of Pichus.
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Post by ThRevanchist on Oct 20, 2016 1:33:27 GMT
Well... it certainly didn't LOOK threatening, but why else would the Pichu be running?, Ain thought. Deciding to treat it with a little caution, especially since there were no Centers yet, she preemptively releases her new Oshawott, then points out the enemy to her partner. Opting to stand her ground and face the Swirlix head on, since it was so kindly coming toward her, Ain waits for her opponent to approach, anticipating the fight that was to come! Oshawott "Vidra" released beside Ain.
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