Jidai Geki Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Hardwired: from a hobby to a way of life Nina Hendriksen, May 15th 2068 It all began in the late twentieth century, with a slew of what were then entitled ”˜MMORPGS' (massively multiplayer online role-playing game). Relatively unpopular at first owing to the relatively primitive internet connections of the day, the initial MMO's consisted of standard hack ”˜n slash fantasy fare populated with all the elves, goblins and dwarfs the developers could throw in. The market was initially restricted to hardcore gamers who had cut their teeth on the bevy of RPG's provided by the burgeoning gaming industry; they were followed, at the turn of the century, by the more lucrative casual gamer. By 2006, the western market alone was worth over one billion USD (c4.6 billion). Less than a year later, the booming Chinese market was estimated at 1.7 billion USD (c7.8 billion) per year. The MMORPG had just moved out of the basement and into the living room. The above figures, of course, do not reflect the equally prosperous economy-within-an-economy that rose with the advent of the MMO. In the Far East, Korean schoolboys made a living their fathers would have envied ”œfarming” http://www.themire.co.uk-- being a veracious and lurid account of the goings-on in the savage Mire and the sootblown alleys of Portstown's Rookery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amidala Skywalker Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 The Matrix has you, Geki. Interesting start. I don't have much to say other than that. I like how it is written in a different voice--it's more like a newspaper article than a book. Good work. SHE MEANS TO END US ALL!!! DOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!11eleventyone! There goes Ami's reputation of being a peaceful, nice person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyGal Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Ohhh! Nice! I agree with Ami I like how it is written in that different voice. Almost reminds me of a history text book but not. I like it. looking forward to tit One flash of my perfect chest and he'll be knocked out in a happytime daydream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthBrendo Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Very nicely done. I do like the newspaper article feel to it as well. Is there more coming? Member of Jnet Addict Club 12/05 Order of the Nocturnal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakin T Skywalker Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Games take over the world! Yeah, sometimes I feel like I see that coming! You write well, like it's something real that already happened. With perhaps a bit of a tragic note to it, too. Thanks, Tiana! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jidai Geki Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Thank you for your feedback guys, it's appreciated. Brendo, there is more at the moment. Like all my other fics (except one), this is unfinished. I really need to develop a longer attention span. The remainder of the introductory news article below... _____________________________________________ Simply put, ”˜hardwiring' entails uploading the gamers' neural data- their entire mind- to the MMO's dedicated servers, and then shutting off the body. Bye bye, Joe Bloggs. Hello, Hadros Grimbeard. Anti-hardwire groups, an evolution of earlier organisations vehemently opposed to infiltrating people's minds in order to allow them a more ”˜authentic' experience, are understandably incensed. The new legislation is tantamount to murder, they say. Sounds hyperbolic, perhaps, but to understand it, one needs to understand a little more about the mechanic behind hardwiring. The first question that springs to any right-minded person is: why the hell would anyone sacrifice their life in order to play a game full-time? Moreover, why would they pay a small fortune and sign over every one of their possessions to Tempest or whomever is offering in the process? One need only drop into a Totim gaming centre, take a look at the rows of sleek, shiny stasis pods filled with society's forgotten and forsaken masses, to see the answer. The people for whom this project is designed, and who are eagerly signing up as this is written, have no life outside of their virtual world, and nor are they interested in pursuing one. Real life, they say, is too much hard work for too little gain. They would gladly give it up for a shot at ersatz glory. Hadros Grimbeard can go places, and do things, that they could never do. Screw the real world, give me the Matrix. Tempest are offering substantial incentives to their newly indoctrinated hardwires. None of these make sense to the laymen, but these incentives are sufficient enough to make forsaking the material world an attractive proposition to their demographic. In-game wealth, powerful weapons, virtual properties furnished with the finest the game engine can offer. An increased resistance to death. And here's where the sanctimonious naysayers of the anti-hardwire lobbyists really have a problem with the new project. Death, for a hardwire, takes on a whole new meaning altogether. These new incentives, Tempest informs us, are not without their drawbacks. How else are they to retain the lucrative fanbase of casual gamers if they log in to find the world populated with nigh-unkillable hardwires? The answer, of course, is to give the hardwires an 'Achilles Heel'. A normal user of Tempest's flagship MMORPG, Theraeis, can expect to be resurrected at a nearby shrine upon death, less a little loot and experience. A hassle, of course, but not exactly game-breaking. A hardwired user, however, whilst boasting considerable advantages over their casual brethren, can expect no such courtesy. Whilst they are immune to the effects of aging once uploaded into the system, and boast considerable combat prowess, once they're dead, they're dead. Their neural data is so inextricably linked to their avatar that if it dies, so does the brain. As the character ”˜Morpheus' so eloquently stated in the Matrix: ”˜the body cannot live without the mind'. The door, apparently, swings both ways. The mind cannot live without the avatar. Philosophical implications aside, more moderate critics of the hardwiring project speak of the fact that Tempest have, essentially, legalised murder. They refer not to the act of discarding a hardwired user's body once they are uploaded, but instead the fact that other gamers have the ability to ”˜permakill' the hardwires. More than this, they are encouraged to do so. ”˜Any user who manages to best a hardwired user shall be awarded a considerable XP [experience points] bonus, as well as the ability to loot any and all of the user's possessions”¦' reads an official news update on the Theraeis website. Theraeis forums are abuzz with speculations, challenges, and boasts as old hands get ready to take up the gauntlet. The fact that real human beings will be killed is barely mentioned. Moral issues, it seems, are irrelevant to the online gaming community. ”˜We are not in a position to dictate ethical or moral imperatives to our customers,' responded Tempest's acting CEO, Vincent Graywater. ”˜Theraeis features a world as authentic as the one you and I walk in, complete with a working economy, government, and judicial system. Much like the ”œreal world” http://www.themire.co.uk-- being a veracious and lurid account of the goings-on in the savage Mire and the sootblown alleys of Portstown's Rookery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthBrendo Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Brilliant. A good expansion on the original piece. I like the detail going into permakilling and hardwiring. Very well executed. Member of Jnet Addict Club 12/05 Order of the Nocturnal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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