Dystopian Tales Online

DYSTOPIAN TALES ONLINE

In year 3000, one game changed the life of all humanity.

Dystopian Tales Online [DPO] is a Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game introduced by the Foster Science and Toys Corporation, a leading billion dollar gaming company that is known for their extensive gaming preferences attracting players in all ages.

Known as the Foster Gaming Co., the games are created by a team of professional programmers and network technicians resulting to a highly defined computer generated graphics with effects almost close to reality. Now, one of their newly created game, [DPO], is said to be the promising 'new generation' gaming.

DPO is a new game defined for its unique first person gaming experience. According to the creators, the name Dystopian is placed as the front title because of the self-generating genre of the game. That is to say, choosing between worlds and maps is possible. Unlike in a normal MMORPG where quests and the maps given are commanded by default, in DPO, each decision will lead to a [Happy End] or [Bad End] giving players almost real-to-life situations.

Not only that [FREE WILL] existed in this game, also, a self character personalization and weapon creation is possible. Self Character Personalization [SCP] is a character generator where you can freely design your character. Hair color, eyes, accessories, even the arrangement of buttons and ribbons on the selected clothing can be adjusted.

There is also the Face Copy Recognition where you can make your characters look the same as you! All you need to do is to take a picture of yourself and crop the part of your face. Paste it to the editing software and do the favorable adjustments.

Weapon Creation also works the same. For all the players who are weapon creation enthusiasts, this generator created a huge impact to these people who are tired of using market weapons or droppings. Through this generator, the player can costumize the power level and attributes of the created weapon. You can also add and modify, or just simply disassemble it. The generator has the Blueprint option and Copy that helps in creating the weapon smoothly.

However, even though this Weapon Creation is a good extension of the game, the weapons created under this method happen to process a 'trial and error' command. Due to the Blueprint option, one can simply create a weapon. But the blueprints that are present are coming from the game itself, which only shows that creating a new specialized weapon would mean that the designer shall start from scratch.

One material might not fit the other. The concept is almost the same with forging equipments where only chosen crystals can match the weapon's requirments. If it exceeds the valu, the weapon or equipment will break. The Weapon Creation might need an all out plan but the success of a created weapon outlimits the normal ones.

Another factor of the game is its classification of Races and Archetypes. Races are the so-called bloodlines that is divided to five main races: Beasts, Elven, Humanoid, Half-Ling, and the Undead. One player will choose a race and after that they can freely choose whatever archetypes they want.

Archetypes are like sub-classes. They are divided under the races. for example, under the Elven Race comes the archetypes of mages and witches. One can choose their original race, and also can choose archetype from other races.

The archetype of warrior is under the Humanoid RACE. If the player chooses the Elven Race, he or she can freely have the warrior archetype. Meaning, each player has his or her own characteristics almost different from the other.

A single player can choose up to ten archetypes.

Other than these features, DPO is also using a virtual reality helmet. This makes players to see and experience the world of Dystopian as if they are really there. Buying the console includes this freebie, while those who already have their VR can just simply exclude it.

Like in any known VR games, this equipment will be worn by the player. The specialized screen inside the VR will reflect the game. But before playing, one should log-in by using the computer keyboard and stuff. Once in, voice command and hearing effects will be possible. Though, joysticks are still needed to move the character of the game.

However, no matter how advance or interesting a game can offer, the decline of such products is gradually showing all throughout the years. It is true that the Fosters Gaming Co., is a truly advance company for online gaming, but this is not the only company that issues high rated games. As the year progress, technology also have risen to its peak, reaching its final destination in the middle of the 25th century.

Holographic TVs, skin thin smart phones, garbage androids, automated cooking utensils, electricity generated wheel-less cars, nanorobots constructions, humanoid artificial intellegence, highly advanced security system, traffic drones - everything around the world changed from the primitive lifestyle to an all technology yet nature friendly world.

After the 5th world war, the countries of the world signed a pact to create a more peaceful world out of violence. Reaching the 25th century changed the course of all the humanity that was totally devastated by the preceeding wars. Laws are reformed, new kinds of goverment are experimented, and technology is tested. At the end of this century, a new form of beings are created that advanced to the present date.

The progress is fast paced. New inventions are created, making life in Earth easier than before. Voilence is banned that lessened robbery and murder. Education was taken high priority, giving almost a ninety-nine percent literacy rate, one percent as the exception of the newborn babies. Medicine is also enhanced with humans reaching a hundred years an average because of good health.

Famine, floods, earthquakes are now can be measure through computers. By just guessing when these events will happen, the authorities will create an evacuation plan to ensure the people's safety. Other than dying of old age, none of the people of the earth suffered.

Well, this is just the first chapter of the humanities greatest change.

After 5 melleniums, the technology slowly advanced. Though the peace is being maintained, no new discoveries were learned. The laws that was created along time ago didn't change. The lifestyle and everyday life continued but nothing much added to it. With all the diseases, infections, disasters being surpressed by machines - it is as if the world suddenly stopped caring.

Nobody actually cared.

That is why games suddenly became a big hit. With violence out of the way, people seem to find games as creative and fun. With most of these computer games required combat and skills, plus the settings on the primitive time, the people are piqued with interest. Each house is estimated to have at least one gaming equipment for the family to play.

But then, this generation also never lasted.

Every year, the same style genre of games are being released with only quests and names different from each other. Pro-gamers can finish playing these games for a week that will be given a rate in website where guides and maps of any games can be found. This online ranking is worldwide, meaning, if one pro-player says that this one game is crap, expect that everyone will read about it.

And nobody will buy the game.

Just in time of the release of Dystopian Tales Online, only those gamers who are hardcore fans of this company's games bought it. Almost a month has passed but they didn't even reach the quota of selling the only one thousand copies they distributed. Though, this changed drastically after the end of second month.

The reason why nobody bought the game, aside from the few, until now is because most of the gamers are waiting for the pro-players to give their rate. After a month and two, these pro-players only posted the picture of the game and only single sentence of review made the whole world wanted to grab a copy of it.

"However, that is not what actually happened to groups of people who are not able to play this game."

Questions started to rise when the demand of the game suddenly bursted. Knowing the excellence of this game, there's no doubt that it will sell great. But then, why did the Foster gaming only released one thousand copies? One could expect that investing more copies could give them more profit.

"An experiment to a selected few..."

Unknown to all is a hidden agenda created by the company. To enhance the gaming experience and to create a new technological advancement, the team invented a kind of the game that will bring the players to a virtual reality. That is, conjuring the whole being of the player to the game where they will experience ALL of their senses without restrictions.

It is true that with their current technology, games can now be done with three of the senses present - sense of sight, touch, and hearing. Some games may include the sense of scent and taste but still not fully intact with the game. They still need props like preparing food beforehand or creating a room while wearing a VR to fulfill the sense.

But this is different.

A known engineer, Tristan Foster, the son of the head of the Foster Gaming Co., designed a theory that suggests that creating a dimension of games is possible. However, creating this world using computers of THIS world will only create a form but not the experience. In order for them to create [THIS] dimension, they must look for something that is existing in this world, but in the same time, not happening in this exact world.

DREAMS - this word perfectly fit the needed requirement.

Tristan explained the run through of his creation. According to him, a machine will be created to stimulate the brain while undergoing REM. Synapses will be controlled using vibrations, sending signals to the control center of the brain where dreams are created. This will send the compacted information clearly, attaching it to the game's server, then entering the world of dreams as if logging-in in a game.

Experts asked about this weird experiment. Of all, why did he chose dreams? Up until now, it is still a mystery to them why people dream and what is its purpose. Inserting a variable that is not tangible would be useless and can be held to be a dysfuction. Besides, of all the body parts, brain contains the biggest mystery of all.

The approval of this project lasted for years. Tristan showed data and statistics, including familiar theories and common sense. As years pass by, all the members of the team realized the point slowly. Few pages of research started to pile up with complex equations only they could understand. Experts are called in to help and somehow proved the theories possible.

It is as if creating a new world is this generation's mission.

Five years of work and Tristan succesfully earned his reward. Showing the detailed blueprint of how the system works left those people who mocked him for being mad. Human ethics and rights are not violated, the safety of this whole experiment showed through trials that he himself created. Tristan became the first test subject.

Applying this, Tristan planned a worldwide experiment but with the condition that the subjects should be as well as smart as him. The safety of the experiment is succesful due to his intellegence. Tristan is a prodigy, started studying computer engineering at the age of twelve. If this variable cannot be met, he's afraid that the results would be different.

That is why he designed the Dystopian Tales Online. And in this game, a real world is hidden. Everyone thought that he named it Dystopian Tales due to the game's feature of choosing a specific genre. But nobody knows that his real reason of choosing this word is from the description intself.

Dystopian - the world of suffering. The ability to twist reality.

After the first release of the game, some of the players reported that there is this weird test with one thousand questions in multiple choice right after the installation is finished. Taking the test or not taking it will not actually affect the game's features. However, to those people who took the test and passed the margin was not able to play the game.

Instead, at the end of the test, the whole game was terminated and a black screen will show up. In the middle of this black screen is a set of numbers that happen to be a telephone number. Of course, as if common sense, everyone called the telephone number. And then they are greeted with:

[HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A FALSE LEGEND?]

Inside the game, Dystopian Tales Online, runs the world they called [VIRTUAL REALITY]. Those who managed to praise their worth are called to create a contract with the Foster Gaming Co. By participating the experiment, the subjects will be called as adventurers of the Virtual Reality.

They are requested to play the game every night during their REM sleep with a technology the company will provide. Also, they are not just playing for fun. Because of the vitality of this experiment, the subjects are given insurances and a salary of ten thousand pesos per month (about 200USD$). All they have to do is play and level up.

"It's something new and kind of amazing," Aud said, playing the straw of his juice.

Looking around, faces of men and children gathered around him. His group occupied half of the seats in front of the bar, rather, they are found on their usual places again.

Aud always sits on the middle most part with Frass on his left. Leon and Shin would sit anywhere they want but often sits beside Aud. Two kids will be sitting beside them with another girl at the very end.

For seven years, these people sure have grown old.

"Wait a second," Shin called out, touching the tip of his chin thinking. "How did you know that we are playing Virtual Reality? I mean, we are playing with DTO players right? The difference is that they are seeing it through a computer while we are all inside the game."

Aud blinked, wondering what he should answer.

He looked over at Leon who is in between them, currently staying away from their conversation because he is playing a bonus mini game in front of them. A black translucent screen is floating at the front of the elf. He's actually duelling with the bartender who is cleaning glasses at their front while waiting for Leon to move.

"Hmmm? What?" Leon noticed Aud looking over him. Despite of not joining the conversation, he knows what they are discussing about.

"You have something to say?" Aud said.

"Ah... let's see..." Leon clicked the screen on the mini game to show his move.

"First of all, DTO is a first person perspective game. Unlike any games, you can never have a full control of the actions especially that everyone is still a noob at it. I guess even the players who played the year earlier will not ever be able to move it flawlessly."

"However, we managed to break it as if we are actually in the scene. Can you remember the Speed Combo that you did? If it was from a computer's perspective, you will be hitting the monster in one place. You can't move to places due to the rate that you have."

"Whoa, so you mean you were able to recognize us by just looking? Wait a second, how did you know about that," Shin exclaimed. "Are you watching us the whole time? Why didn't you help?"

"Not really," Aud took a sip from his juice. "We are actually heading to the floor's boss when we saw a group of low level players entering the dead end. We just followed and watched. It's not that we have any responsibility to help you."

Shin grumbled, not believing the words he said.

A loud alarm suddenly sounded making Virtual Reality players to look up. Like in any other day, a rectangle with smooth edges will appear above, showing number in zeroes. The VR players recognized it, stopping or hurrying whatever they are doing to log out.

This zeroes inside the rectangle is the system's time for all the virtual players. That is, the VR server will start as early as six and ends at three in the morning. Whenever the clock hits three, an alarm will appear across the accounts to announce that it is their time to log out. Only twenty minutes extension is allowed.

The purpose of this action is to run the maintainance to collect the data of the game. Also, the REM state would be very weak during these hours and the machine might not be able to grasp the needed information. Once the player is logged-out, he or she will continue sleeping until their body clock wakes them up.

Moreover, if a VR player fails to log out in the game with the given time, the account will be forced erased and the player has to restart again.

The twenty minutes time is now counting down.

One by one, players' status changed to offline with green dots turning red. Some are still on the process of saving their profiles while checking their inventory. The twins and the girl from their group exited first. Frass also took his way out only waiting for Aud to finish.

"Another day, another game. Well, see you later guys," Shin said, looking at them while pressing some commands in his profile. After a second, his character vanished and his status is now offline.

"I guess we have to continue this game later," Leon heaved a sigh.

The bartended nodded with the agreement. Leon closed the mini game screen and opened his menu. Other than him, nobody can see. Actually, nobody can see the other's player menu unless if shown purposely. He scrolled the space in front of him until he reached the end of the line.

"I'll be off now," he told the two. "See you again later."

"Bye," Only Aud responded.

All of the remaining players logged out in a succession until no one is left.