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utopiamods) wrote2010-12-05 04:47 am
utopiamods) wrote2010-12-05 04:47 am
Entry tags:
TUTORIAL
During their train ride to Rakuen, characters will briefly fall asleep and experience an incredibly lucid, if bizarre, dream in which a disembodied voice guides them through a variety of simple challenges such as walking in a straight line or looking up and then down. This is the tutorial. Its purpose is to teach each character the basics of the world they're about to arrive in.
Upon waking, no one will be able to remember anything beyond vague impressions and dislocated words, but they will be able to recognise the shop, draw a weapon from a partner, and remember the absolute basics of the Upgrade system.
A character will also remember what their weapon looks like; its name; and its full capabilities. That is, they will have drawn their own weapon during the tutorial in its fully unlocked state. Whilst they won't know what upgrades it has specifically, they will have some idea what its capabilities are and what it can do.
Writing out a tutorial is not obligatory as it is assumed all characters have had the dream before they arrive, but we recommend at least looking through past tutorials to get yourself used to the system. Below is the basic scenario which may be rewritten for your individual character and their reactions. If you wish you can contact others who are apping at the same time as you and join up as a party for the tutorial.
This can be used as the prose sample of your app if you wish. Please post finished tutorials here and they will be archived.
The room is featureless and grey. Formless. Oddly soft around the edges, it shifts and warps if you try to concentrate on any one piece of it. There are no doors or windows, or openings of any kind; you are alone. You cannot hear anything; it is not so much that there are no sounds, instead, the concept of sound itself seems to be lacking. Time passes. The room is still featureless and grey. There is nothing but you and the blurred walls, but you are not alone.
“Hello, [your character’s full name].”
Perhaps you blink, perhaps you are surprised. Who is speaking to you, and why would they know your name? Your vision is blurry and if you try and move, you find it impossible. Perhaps you reply, perhaps you ask where you are. Whatever your reaction, the room soon starts to define itself. You feel a floor below your feet, even though you hadn’t needed one before.
The next time the voice speaks, it sounds like it comes from in front of you. No matter how tall or short you are, it sounds as if it is coming from someone your own height. If you asked who was speaking to you or where you are, the answer is simple. “I am nothing. We are nowhere.”
Further questions are mostly ignored, you are nowhere, after all, but that will soon change. “Are you ready? Please step forward.”
Do you step forward? You can if you wish, your limbs now work as if they have just remembered how to. Any questions after this point will be ignored, with the reply of, “Please be patient.” Step forward, don’t be scared.
“Every journey begins somewhere. You have taken the first step towards Utopia.”
Utopia. The word is said with reverence even if the voice doesn’t even seem human. Before your eyes a door begins to form. You take a deep breath of air. Was there air before? You don’t recall.
Do you wish to go through the door? Should you? If you ask, the voice answers in its emotionless voice, “If you are ready. Do not be afraid.”
Are you afraid? Worried about what might await you? Excited, unable to resist the thrill of adventure even when you do not know where you are or why you are here? Either way, the only exit is the door. And so, you open it and step out into the world that awaits you.
A myriad worlds await you. Is it a snowy mountain peak you face? A fairytale forest? A maze made of the finest crystals? Everyone who manages to recollect this half-remembered dream tells it differently. Some details are always the same. For the first time as you step into the bright sunlight, pale moonlight, or the gleaming of countless gemstones, you see your shadow stretching out behind you.
It smiles.
“Do not be afraid,” the shadow says, in a familiar voice. “I am here to help you.”
Help you with what? “To find Utopia, of course.”
You begin to walk further into your world. You are more aware now, feeling different things, the shadow walks independently of you and for a while you walk in silence. Taking in the new environment, or contemplating your fate. As you walk, the shadow gains shape, consistency, form. It walks alongside you as an equal now, steps mirroring yours perfectly.
It stops. It looks at you, smiling.
“Will you fight?”
Fight? Who are you fighting? Perhaps fighting doesn’t bother you, or perhaps you are a pacifist. Perhaps you only fight if you are guaranteed a decent payout. The voice continues. “To fight is the only way to achieve victory, you know. The only way to achieve Utopia.”
That word again. Utopia. Perhaps you wonder about it, perhaps you don’t. Will you fight? What can you fight for? To go home? For your friends?
The voice is persuasive and finally you agree, or nod, or think that, if you had no other choice, fighting wouldn’t be too bad.
“The pact is made. I am yours.” What pact? You are, perhaps, understandably confused. The voice has changed; it sounds like a thousand voices speaking as one. The shadow reaches for your hand and pulls it towards itself. Part of the shadow is beginning to glow, just below its collarbone.
“Draw your weapon.” You reach into the growing light and pull. The weapon that comes out belongs to you, you know that instinctively. It is yours, just as the shadow is yours. Not just belonging to you, but part of you. Even if you hate weapons, even if the look of it makes you feel ill. It is you, a part of yourself you cannot escape.
Before you have any time to react, a creature approaches. Again, recollections splinter at this moment, but it is familiar to you. Perhaps it resembles an animal? A monster from your homeland? Or something you read once in a children’s story.
“This is you,” the voice is telling you, seemingly unaware of the thing drawing closer. “A power that dwells within you and within everyone.” The monster is nearly upon you now, closing in, ready to attack.
“Its name --” You turn to face the creature; “-- is....”
It’s a good name. And you will never forget it.
Do you attack? You should, it is close now. If you hesitate, the voice speaks again, “Use it. You vowed to protect me.”
You fight. Whether you knew how to before is irrelevant; the weapon is you and its powers are many. Victory is hard-won, but won nonetheless. As the creature vanishes in a haze of coloured smoke, six small metal discs clatter to the ground at your feet.
“You kept your vow. In payment, take those coins.” You pick them up. Maybe because it seems like the correct thing to do, or because you won’t pass up a reward. Who knows? Coins in hand, you follow the shadow and soon come across a small shop.
It is the first building you have seen since entering this land, and so you enter it. Inside, a small goblin stooped behind the counter is serving a hazy customer. You look at the boards: many things are for sale. Things you don’t recognise, for money you don’t know. Memory charms, rings, link charms...
“A memory? That’ll be forty Raks.” The customer pays, and leaves with a smile. They vanish without a trace the second they pass through the open doorway. The goblin turns to you.
Perhaps you are wondering what a memory charm is? Perhaps you are wondering if it is worth buying, but the shadow nods at you and that’s that. You ask for one.
“Sixty Raks for a memory charm,” the goblin tells you. Do you take this price? You have enough, but it seems higher. Do you haggle?
Whichever way it goes you soon leave with a lighter purse, figuratively speaking, and a memory charm. The shadow smiles at you, “It goes on the chain round your wrist,” it tells you.
You notice the chain, but you swear it wasn’t there before. You go to clip the charm on when you hear another voice, a chorus of voices. Sing-song voices. The shadow joins in.
This is a very simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her.
The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess.
No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end...
And from somewhere else entirely, invading your consciousness and forcing away the shadow and its strange home, you hear another voice. “Next stop: Rakuen Station. This train terminates here. All change...”
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Upon waking, no one will be able to remember anything beyond vague impressions and dislocated words, but they will be able to recognise the shop, draw a weapon from a partner, and remember the absolute basics of the Upgrade system.
A character will also remember what their weapon looks like; its name; and its full capabilities. That is, they will have drawn their own weapon during the tutorial in its fully unlocked state. Whilst they won't know what upgrades it has specifically, they will have some idea what its capabilities are and what it can do.
Writing out a tutorial is not obligatory as it is assumed all characters have had the dream before they arrive, but we recommend at least looking through past tutorials to get yourself used to the system. Below is the basic scenario which may be rewritten for your individual character and their reactions. If you wish you can contact others who are apping at the same time as you and join up as a party for the tutorial.
This can be used as the prose sample of your app if you wish. Please post finished tutorials here and they will be archived.
Tutorial Senario
The room is featureless and grey. Formless. Oddly soft around the edges, it shifts and warps if you try to concentrate on any one piece of it. There are no doors or windows, or openings of any kind; you are alone. You cannot hear anything; it is not so much that there are no sounds, instead, the concept of sound itself seems to be lacking. Time passes. The room is still featureless and grey. There is nothing but you and the blurred walls, but you are not alone.
“Hello, [your character’s full name].”
Perhaps you blink, perhaps you are surprised. Who is speaking to you, and why would they know your name? Your vision is blurry and if you try and move, you find it impossible. Perhaps you reply, perhaps you ask where you are. Whatever your reaction, the room soon starts to define itself. You feel a floor below your feet, even though you hadn’t needed one before.
The next time the voice speaks, it sounds like it comes from in front of you. No matter how tall or short you are, it sounds as if it is coming from someone your own height. If you asked who was speaking to you or where you are, the answer is simple. “I am nothing. We are nowhere.”
Further questions are mostly ignored, you are nowhere, after all, but that will soon change. “Are you ready? Please step forward.”
Do you step forward? You can if you wish, your limbs now work as if they have just remembered how to. Any questions after this point will be ignored, with the reply of, “Please be patient.” Step forward, don’t be scared.
“Every journey begins somewhere. You have taken the first step towards Utopia.”
Utopia. The word is said with reverence even if the voice doesn’t even seem human. Before your eyes a door begins to form. You take a deep breath of air. Was there air before? You don’t recall.
Do you wish to go through the door? Should you? If you ask, the voice answers in its emotionless voice, “If you are ready. Do not be afraid.”
Are you afraid? Worried about what might await you? Excited, unable to resist the thrill of adventure even when you do not know where you are or why you are here? Either way, the only exit is the door. And so, you open it and step out into the world that awaits you.
A myriad worlds await you. Is it a snowy mountain peak you face? A fairytale forest? A maze made of the finest crystals? Everyone who manages to recollect this half-remembered dream tells it differently. Some details are always the same. For the first time as you step into the bright sunlight, pale moonlight, or the gleaming of countless gemstones, you see your shadow stretching out behind you.
It smiles.
“Do not be afraid,” the shadow says, in a familiar voice. “I am here to help you.”
Help you with what? “To find Utopia, of course.”
You begin to walk further into your world. You are more aware now, feeling different things, the shadow walks independently of you and for a while you walk in silence. Taking in the new environment, or contemplating your fate. As you walk, the shadow gains shape, consistency, form. It walks alongside you as an equal now, steps mirroring yours perfectly.
It stops. It looks at you, smiling.
“Will you fight?”
Fight? Who are you fighting? Perhaps fighting doesn’t bother you, or perhaps you are a pacifist. Perhaps you only fight if you are guaranteed a decent payout. The voice continues. “To fight is the only way to achieve victory, you know. The only way to achieve Utopia.”
That word again. Utopia. Perhaps you wonder about it, perhaps you don’t. Will you fight? What can you fight for? To go home? For your friends?
The voice is persuasive and finally you agree, or nod, or think that, if you had no other choice, fighting wouldn’t be too bad.
“The pact is made. I am yours.” What pact? You are, perhaps, understandably confused. The voice has changed; it sounds like a thousand voices speaking as one. The shadow reaches for your hand and pulls it towards itself. Part of the shadow is beginning to glow, just below its collarbone.
“Draw your weapon.” You reach into the growing light and pull. The weapon that comes out belongs to you, you know that instinctively. It is yours, just as the shadow is yours. Not just belonging to you, but part of you. Even if you hate weapons, even if the look of it makes you feel ill. It is you, a part of yourself you cannot escape.
Before you have any time to react, a creature approaches. Again, recollections splinter at this moment, but it is familiar to you. Perhaps it resembles an animal? A monster from your homeland? Or something you read once in a children’s story.
“This is you,” the voice is telling you, seemingly unaware of the thing drawing closer. “A power that dwells within you and within everyone.” The monster is nearly upon you now, closing in, ready to attack.
“Its name --” You turn to face the creature; “-- is....”
It’s a good name. And you will never forget it.
Do you attack? You should, it is close now. If you hesitate, the voice speaks again, “Use it. You vowed to protect me.”
You fight. Whether you knew how to before is irrelevant; the weapon is you and its powers are many. Victory is hard-won, but won nonetheless. As the creature vanishes in a haze of coloured smoke, six small metal discs clatter to the ground at your feet.
“You kept your vow. In payment, take those coins.” You pick them up. Maybe because it seems like the correct thing to do, or because you won’t pass up a reward. Who knows? Coins in hand, you follow the shadow and soon come across a small shop.
It is the first building you have seen since entering this land, and so you enter it. Inside, a small goblin stooped behind the counter is serving a hazy customer. You look at the boards: many things are for sale. Things you don’t recognise, for money you don’t know. Memory charms, rings, link charms...
“A memory? That’ll be forty Raks.” The customer pays, and leaves with a smile. They vanish without a trace the second they pass through the open doorway. The goblin turns to you.
Perhaps you are wondering what a memory charm is? Perhaps you are wondering if it is worth buying, but the shadow nods at you and that’s that. You ask for one.
“Sixty Raks for a memory charm,” the goblin tells you. Do you take this price? You have enough, but it seems higher. Do you haggle?
Whichever way it goes you soon leave with a lighter purse, figuratively speaking, and a memory charm. The shadow smiles at you, “It goes on the chain round your wrist,” it tells you.
You notice the chain, but you swear it wasn’t there before. You go to clip the charm on when you hear another voice, a chorus of voices. Sing-song voices. The shadow joins in.
This is a very simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her.
The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess.
No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end...
And from somewhere else entirely, invading your consciousness and forcing away the shadow and its strange home, you hear another voice. “Next stop: Rakuen Station. This train terminates here. All change...”
COMPLETED TUTORIALS
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