Technolust: Usenet (world within world) Idea

no ideas? hmmm

to summarize:
-I set this world within a world up as the most closely guarded world ran and managed by anonymous hackers (gamers)
-gaining access to this world would be like completing a quest

i have committed to the idea that the Usenet world would be the VR equivalent of a social forum or chat.

it will have a futuristic campus setting



why campus?

a campus setting is the perfect setting to facilitate seamless voice chat from one to many without having to include some third party social network system....

4 key components to how this will work;
-campus
-podium
-desks
-rooms

each campus could be its own forum (i.e technolust campus, oculus campus et all). and each campus could have its own unique design. the class rooms inside these campuses would essentially be the VR equivalent of threads. who ever is at the podium is broadcasting their voice to the entire room (similar to karaoke night demo). when you sit down at a desk there will be a virtual interactive screen on it. you can use this screen to input votes and/or generate emoticons or otherwise communicate with the room or speaker. if you dont like what the person is saying just get up and leave the room.

as you are wandering around the campus you will be hearing speakers talking to groups when you pass by their room.

if you like to host your own discussions the goal would be to find a room with an open podium. podiums are first come first serve? so you will have to claim it as your own and essentially from then on you are free to host a VR talk show.

telepads all over the place; use pad to switch to different campuses

done and done :)

hahaha the "majestic 12" bot trolling my thread :)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majestic_12

usenet:
V1: focus on dialing in the podium and desk system to facilitate proper 1 to many "talk show" like rooms
V2: experiment with incorporating group phone conferencing chats within the context of a virtual campus like setting
V3: dial in a VR main menu and roll out a new feature called "open campuses" essentially just user generated campuses...

on second thought...

im considering that the 'usenet' should be more ubiquitous in the technolust world. probably would be best to associate it with something other then telepads too. how about telephone booths?

if the technolust world becomes huge; telepads could be used as a ubiquitous means to fast travel around the technolust world...

i still want to make cyberpunk clubs and have some super secret hard to reach world within a world guarded closely by anonymous in the VIP section of these clubs...

i just dont think usenet is it. usenet would be better as an easily accessible social layer...

i still want to make the usenet though :)

but as far as what world and what interface will be closely guarded by anonymous im back to the drawing board again...

running with the idea that 'Usenet' is a ubiquitous social layer kind of world. accessed easily by telephone booth. no code or specially printed objects needed.

to get to the usenet:
-start playing technolust
-find a telephone booth?
-call the operator
-watch a nifty jack in animation
-when you first enter the Usenet world you are dropped in virtual "avatar" editor
-when you finish editing your avatar you will enter a VR mode that looks similar to the steam client VR mode
-you will choose a campus similar to browsing games or the store via VR mode
-when you select a campus you will enter the campus grounds

Version 1:
-version one will have only 1 campus
-no VR mode
-after you finish editing you are automatically entered into the 'technolust campus'

Version 2:
-add new features for the campus
-start to build new campuses

Version 3:
-steadily roll out new campuses
-offer a platform for users to generate their own "open campuses"?

from what i gather from their videos they are planning on adding the following venues to the technolust world;
-movie theater venues
-arcade venues
-lots of interfaces to "jack in" to worlds within worlds

the venue I want to add to the technolust world specifically is a chain of really trippy cyberpunk clubs. and i want to use this venue to present a very interesting world within a world that can only be accessed with specially printed objects so that gaining access to this world is like that of completing a quest.

there could be a whole plethora of venues though and many of them could be just like their real world counter-parts. but you have to remember that technolust is a dystopian future narrative world where you can print whatever you want as long as you have the rights to the blueprints and available materials. however since the corporations still have control, i suppose there could still be retails venues like malls and shopping malls for lower class citizens who cant afford to print their own products.

the question is should usenet or the idea of a "campus venue" be more adequate as a world within world? or a venue for the technolust world itself? im leaning more towards it being better off as a "world within world" accessed via telephone booth for now...

what are your thoughts?

hmmm there is always plan B....

for instance:
keep the club venue idea but drop the idea that the clubs are a front for anonymous. the VIP section of these clubs would be a way to access a world within a world called "lust". once you have completed a series of quest and have the specially printed key you are able to access lust in any of the technolust clubs.

lust:
would be an interactive stripper world. a la gorgeous NPCs giving the player a VR lap dance 8-) however lust would require a mature rating. and yes lust would have a good chance at becoming popular, but not for the reasons i was going for....



to enter lust the player would:
-load up technolust
-find one of the many club venues
-enter the club
-walk to the back and present a specially printed key to access the VIP (received from completing a list of quests)
-once in the VIP you pick a room (like in the image above)
-these rooms would have a lavish and sexy looking NPC
-these NPC would be selling hologram discs
-the hologram discs would represent the "VR porn stars"
-pop the disc in the hologram projector and voila you just entered lust
-from here well.... it gets hot and sexy...
-it should be noted that this would be a stationary interactive experience
-and it should be noted that if you play your cards right (or spend the credits) it could escalate into more then just a "lap dance"

still like i said that would require a mature rating and personally im not necessarily interested in creating VR porn

moving on....

im also starting to lean more towards 'usenet' being a ubiquitous world within a world that can be easily accessed rather then closely guarded.

with that in mind i see no reason why not to make initial access to this world an end result of some quest related activity. but instead of having to go back to a specific place in the world each and every time, you could just go to any telephone both dial the operator and jack in to enter the usenet world.

im also starting to think about very interesting worlds within a world for the arcade venue now. personally the way i see arcades in the technolust world would be a mix of small venues and large venues. with small venues being quaint old school arcades and the large venues being more like a futuristic looking GDC in a huge building

im also on the fence about multiplayer. i think the technolust world itself should be optimized for a solo experience, utilizing worlds within a world to provide the multiplayer experience. i mean multiplayer on the technolust world level would be interesting and i can definitely see co-op style multiplayer fitting in nicely. however im not so sure about MMO style multiplayer.

what are your thoughts?

you know it would be nice if i could bounce these ideas off of someone :) sure i can rebounce my own ideas but i would much rather collaborate! any feedback would be much appreciated!

general "worlds within worlds" thoughts;



first thought: i absolutely love the idea of "worlds within worlds"

insight: might want to keep the virtual world experiences short and sweet. what interests me most about these virtual worlds is how they could tie into the overall narrative and progression of the story. as in you have to jump in a virtual world to acquire some blueprint or complete a quest in the overall narrative itself. but other then that the virtual world itself would be merely a minor distraction that can be replayed at will after said mission has been completed.

in short: very ambitious and large virtual worlds would seriously bloat the filesize of technolust....

so far i have two ideas;
-usenet
-lust

with that in mind im starting to think about dropping usenet from technolust world entirely. giving the size and scope of the project and its complete detachment from cyberpunk themes im not sure it would justify the large file size bump. so at this point im seriously considering that usenet would be more adequate as a completely separate product.

if i drop usenet from the technolust world all i have left is "lust" and while lust would certainly become popular and appeal to the core demographic this game is targeting, im not sure it would make a good pitch....

and would probably go a bit like this:

Me: "hey anticleric i am creative mofo you should hire me to help you build technolust."
Anticleric: "awesome what do you have in mind?"
Me: VR porn?
Anticleric: .......

so i am back to the drawing board yet again...

so far i conceptualizing the following ideas:
-moon launched
-cypher
-shadow box

keep in mind i envisioned these worlds in the context that you would have to enter them to acquire some blueprint or otherwise complete a mission and progress the story of technolust.

*probably would be best if i created separate threads to detail these ideas....