Plot, Continuing from Ideas. Options

[Sparrowsmith]

The closest thing we have to a plot synopsis can be found here: http://www.rpgrevolution.com/forums/index....st&p=557072
but there is still a lot of work to do.

Mainly, we need to work out some characters. Who are they and, more importantly, how do they behave/develop?

We have a few character outlines:
-The 'main' protagonist. The first one to log off the game/one who returns to his original body in layer 3
-The fighter. One of the two members of the group who does not own the game. He is an adept martial artist of some kind and spends his introduction robbing a warehouse for a copy of the game and then saving the 'main' protagonist from a group of monsters.
-The fighter's accomplice. An unwitting ally. Also doesn't have the game.
-The programmer that shoots the Rogue Program
-The programmer that contacts Matryoska (spell fail) might be the same programmer as above
-The Rogue Program (quite developed, but still a little weak in characterization)

We need to develop these, and make some more, then develop them as characters. I'd rather not have us submitting characters, but trying to work out how these people should act according to their situation.
Let's get these characters worked out, nice and logical like. Also, any additional plot points. We gotta work them out too.

We're kind of slowing down here, let's not have that.

[Sparrowsmith]

Oh yeah, that's really good. Having multiple ways to solve it makes the game way more fun.
And also, being caught by the junkyard owner would be very good for character building.

Also, it might be interesting to have a hidden way of having it both ways (if you give the item away, but actually wanna keep it you can steal it back but only by sneaking in at another time. There's some guard minigame when you need to slip by when his back is turned). There might be an added cutscene where the guy still thinks he's got it, and goes to check and is like "how'd I manage to lose it again?"

I like this idea very much.


Seeing as we're discussing plot, I thought of a pretty big plot point recently (I think I might have mentioned it elsewhere...).
The programmers aren't coding a virtual reality, they're beta-testing a new programming language that they have created. I'm not fixed on a name yet, but I'm thinking either Prestige or Darwin.
It's a programming language designed to do seemingly impossible things, like create virtual worlds, or artificial intelligence. A programming language with intuition (different to intelligence). It runs on trial and improvement. You start by coding a draft of whatever you are trying to create (an AI, an object, anything) and then the program renders variations of that code. The programmers then identify the worst and best of the batch, and clean up the code where they can, and re-run it through the program. Over time the program learns what it is the programmers are trying to create, and will run multiple generations instantly. The program requires ALOT of data to run, and so the programmers have been feeding it data for decades. Eventually it knew enough to render realistic people, who have lives, and act as if they are real. They have food preferences, music they like to listen to, everything. All of this is generated and varied by the data supplied.
The final phase of the language is the ability to generate its own data. Subjects within the virtual world were given the ability to influence the program, to tell it what is good and what is bad (not morally, but realistically) and so the virtual world was crafted and made better by the AI within the world, and the AI were also improving each other. The problem is, this could only ever make AI seem real, it was Johnny's influence once he was plugged in that brought consciousness to the AI.

Anyway, this explains the security systems, the robot, and the virtual world. They are all things the programming language has designed, and the programmers are part of the refining process. They're basically beta testing all the things the language designs. Once the language is sophisticated enough to spontaneously generate intelligent security systems, purposeful robotics, and simulated worlds, it will be worth more money than anything ever invented ever.

However, the program wasn't learning fast enough, so the programmers decided they would release the virtual world to the public so that the program could gather more and more data from the people playing. Layer 1 was a trial version of this. While the characters in layer 2 play on keyboards, people in layer 3 can plug themselves into layer 1. This is why they're all kept on separate servers, so that people from layer 3 don't communicate with the AI from layer 2.
Layer 1 was found to be excessively violent though, and the programmers worried that people might die in layer 2 as well. This is why they made the resurrection code which corrupted the junkyard owner and turned him Rogue.

It's also why the Rogue Program is so dangerous. Not only does he pose a threat to layer 3 just by existing, but he's adaptable. The language that he runs on is changing his code according to his will. Every second he becomes smarter, more powerful. Once a copy of him is inside the robot, he's even more dangerous. He's learning how to improve his design.
Also, when he first comes to power in layer 2, he accidentally blows up the town, revealing the data underneath that he escapes into. What's he gonna do when he escapes into layer 3? Exact same thing, but on a much bigger scale

As always, the above is subject to change or just not being involved in the plot at all. Thoughts?