Not Just another MMO
EOO represents both a Pen & Paper styled role play (best designed for online use), and the game within this RP, Eidolon’s Oasis Online. This puts three levels of perspective for a campaign, the perspective of the Player in the real world, the perspective of the Gamer in the campaign world, and the perspective of the Gamer’s Character in the game world, often called an Avatar by the people of the campaign world, and an Eidolon by the game itself. The structure of such worlds puts a lot of similarity between the campaign world and the real world, with most of the elements of the campaign world being realistic and almost non-fiction, but the existence of the game world gives the campaign world a feeling of sci-fi. This is because the campaign world exists in a world that runs mostly like our own, with the same known technology. The locations and major events might often have a comically twisted element of following the concept of “the names of people, places, and such being changed”, which gives the purpose of fulfilling a sort of alternate reality. For example, some might feel this sort of setting would be perfect in Japan (especially due to its small size), and some might want it to occur in their own homeland (because things follow the english design), so for the benefit of mixed perspectives it would simply occur in a place that doesn’t actually exist, while being capable of taking from the benefits of both (so think technological superpower small island that runs on english, which still isn’t automatically England).
The campaign world however is not simply an alternate modern real world. While all people in the world will treat it as such otherwise (making background knowledge for players very easy), it is the game world’s existence that molds sci-fi into the campaign world. Eidolon’s Oasis Online is a Full Immersion Virtual Reality Fantasy MMORPG. While the real world is capable of VR itself, the qualities of FIVR is entirely impossible in reality as it is currently, as FIVR includes a fully realistic immersion effect of the gamer in the game, where they not only feel as if everything is there with a surprising degree of realism, but the game itself has an AI engine that is beyond anything that could be produced in reality (with a few traits of MMOs still kept in tact for “legacy reasons”). Keep in mind too, this FIVR Engine (online slang used is “Fever”, which also is why the headset used for this process got the name “Fever Gear”) is thought to have been impossible in the campaign world as well, but Project Oasis was formed on the discovery of how to achieve this. Project Oasis (Oasis for short) is also the name of the company developing the MMO, while the main publisher is called ION, both new companies created while the game starts on it’s early steps in a public beta.
The additional feature of the game world is that Oasis keeps sending patches to ION for the game, causing not only new content to explore, but also new mechanics to work with, as well as the sort of content adjustment expected of a game patch. This also means that some options might be overpowered at creation, but might suddenly become nerfed on patch day. The servers undergo regular maintenance wednesday morning every week, which is also when any new patches are applied. While normal for an MMO, this feature can cause the rules of the RP itself to flux according to a new patch, although in this same way it means that all mechanics and rules are constant while the same patch is in effect, and only features of the game itself change by patches.
Understanding the threat of online gaming
Stories based upon this concept of a virual mmorpg are becoming more and more common with the growing development of real world VR, leading to a lot of forward-thinking vision of the kind of promise possible from this kind of technology. This can be seen some video games, as well as more than a few anime and manga. However, there isn’t a single model for this concept in the pen & paper role play system, even though pen & paper is entirely ready for online and could itself gain a lot from VR. EOO was designed to fill in this gap of theme (leaving virtual tabletop software for someone else to address). In connection to the online theme, it is recommended to run this style of campaign online over a Voice Chat tool that can still type messages, as this best builds the atmosphere for EOO.
One thing very common in current media on this subject is the whole theme of having a VR threat threaten the real lives of people. While there has been quite a few good stories made from this concept, it also builds a bad atmosphere behind the real growth of VR in reality (and this is why there was people too afraid to participate in the beta in Japan for Sword Art Online when it was released for VR). Impossible is a great draw for a story, but there are other ways to fill this. EOO offers two different “impossibles” that throw it into an obvious Sci-Fi story. First off, in touch with the fiction behind it, more than just visual virtual reality, the Fever Gear is capable of complex messages through the nervous system (which is part of the original fiction as is) as well as the sub-consious dream-like visions into the mind that inspire the reflex response system of the Fever Gear (which is even more fictional than most fiction for VR gear). Secondly, the FIVR AI draws upon fictions of unnaturally intelligent AI, which while it does not affect the gamer’s reality or physical well being while in reality, is then almost god-like within the game for it’s exceptional power, doing things that are even unexpected of the development and publishing staff, such as drawing events from the gamer’s reality. The themes behind this draw from themes of ambitions behind AI (also very common), but does so in a model that is designed to represent the power a person’s dreams can have over them while they are sleeping, which is also the big key behind everything. The entire MMO is like a giant dream engine, with multiple people participating, and an AI that feels like the god of the entire dream.
This sets the stage for the challenge of the entire campaign. While the game itself can throw standard encounters at the gamers as minor challenges to address, the major antagonists of the entire campaign come from certain other sources. First off, the developers will apply patches frequently to either offer new content or change current content, and the gamer (as well as player) need to prepare as best as possible for new patches. On top of this, when ION releases a server Event (usually because Project Oasis told them to), gamers might want to be ready as Events are always temporary objectives with a significant benefit to those who accomplish them. This establishes the Devs as an unseen antagonist, trying to outwit the gamers with sudden changes, similar to the Campaign Master doing the same thing for the players (although the Campaign Master may actually in fact be doing this explicitly). In a very similar manner, the FIVR AI is also a monarch to try and outwit (in its own universe), which is trying to toy with the ‘mortal lives’ within its own domain. However, both these entities work entirely behind the scenes, there is no way to directly confront the Devs or the AI itself. The third antagonist however is not anything close to being out of the reach of the gamers. In any MMO, the game itself isn’t real, but every gamer within it is, and in an MMO every gamer has to also work around the lives of other gamers. With two antagonists well beyond the reach of the gamers, it is quite often another gamer (or group of gamers usually) that is built up to be a direct rival to deal with. Sure, there may also be the story of the MMO itself which presents an antagonist to deal with, but the game is designed so that this antagonist is simply dealt with by beating the appropriate quests and dungeons. However, when it comes to other gamers as rivals, success is in no way guaranteed. Also, if a gamer rival is suddenly removed as an antagonist, there is always other gamers that might take their place. And any MMO gamer knows, trying to out perform “one of those no-life 24/7 hardcore gamers” can be very difficult when you don’t have as much time to play.
When it comes to forging allies, everything remains quite similar in contrast to the mentioned antagonists. Patches might require a lot of preparation to counter, but many patches are simply good for the gamers and offer new promise, making both the Devs and the AI a sort of double agent to the gamers. While in game (or in social media or on the game’s forum, both which can be accessed while in game from the game menu’s Browser Command), ION will have a Community Manager (CM) present watching over things (who ends up very promising for building a good reputation with), as well as the associated Game Masters (GMs) who work for the CM. While the Gamers controlled by the Players form the entire in game Party, a Party is capable of joining a Raid Team for larger dungeons, as well as having the guild feature as promising for forging allies. Even other guilds can form unofficial alliances with the player’s guild (which can be useful once the Fortress Siege Patch is released). In game friends are one of the best counters for in game rivals. AI Characters however can be surprising allies as well, as such characters are controlled by the FIVR AI, so some may help with things that are not related to the in game story (which itself can be bad as well).
Luminaeris 