There is a very particular prompt that is currently nagging at the fringes of my imagination and yearning to be fleshed out. So rather than throw out a list of more general roleplay suggestions I am partial to - my preferences can be gleaned from my intro thread - allow me to throw this particular one out there in the hope of finding a kind soul willing to help me turn those idea fragments into exciting prose.
Without further ado, here we go:
Without further ado, here we go:
Any minute now.
I lean back in my comfortable chair and watch the progress bar on the screen. It currently hovers at 98%. Any minute now the download will be complete.
'Cyclopean' it is called. Considering what it promises it is surprising the game had not been hyped more. 'Fully immerse yourself in an antique world of barbarism, wonder and grand adventure'. 'Highly advanced next generation AI custom tailors the game experience to each individual player' I had stumbled upon it by pure chance on Vapor's online store. The screenshots look amazing, and since Vapor has a generous reimbursement policy I had not hesitated with my purchase. I could afford it.
My looks aren't that impressive, I openly admit that. In the mirror I see a thin and flat chested wallflowery kind of person in her thirties, wearing her brown hair in a practical short cut. But at least I am smart which had gotten me a well paying job that could easily finance my high end rig and whichever game I would want to feed my escapism with. This one seemed right up my alley.
There, the download is finished, and the red 'Downloading' button changes to a bright green 'Start'. A quick click. An intro starts playing on the screen. It shows a large chamber, likely underground since the only light source are a circle of torches on the walls. At the center three males in long black hooded robes stand at the corners of a triangle inlaid in the floor. Thier hands are outstretched and they were chanting unintelligibly. As they do, a shimmering globe of light begins to coalesce in ther midst.
The trailer pauses itself and the camera zooms into the glowing sphere. The completely nude model of a man appears on the left side of the screen. Looking at the freely exposed private parts I was surprised how openly X-Rated this game seems to be. Pleasantly surprised. On the right side are a lot - an awesome fucking lot - of menu options. Everything about the model seems customizable. The first one is easy, and immediately that naked male is replaced by a nude woman. Next there are species. The lore window informs me that humans are the dominant species in the world, but there also are other metahuman minorities. I did not even bother to read past 'Elf', and my character model becames lither, paler, and grows elongated pointy ears.
That is when the detail work starts. Apparently every minor body part is customizable. Within limits. I get to work. It takes me more than 30 minutes, but eventually I am satisfied with the results. A gorgeous blonde elven lady of ethereal beauty stares back at me from the screen, swaying slightly in her idle animation. I had chosen a fair skin complexion, bordering on pale, hairless except for her scalp. The facial features have a delicate quality, almost angelic. For the body I had picked a lithe build of slightly above average height, slender toned limbs and a small but firm behind. If only I could have given her larger breasts, somewhere between C cup and D cup the slider would not budge any further.
Once finished the next screen pops up. Now it is time for the nitty gritty character stats. Apparently the game uses an entirely point based system, no levels, no classed. Stats, skills, abilities, everything has to be bought with those 400 character points. And there is a cap of 10 for attributes (standard D&D fare) and a tiered proficiency system for skills. Also some helpful pre-selected templates as a starting point. The 'Elven Mystic' immediately calls out to me, and it quickly turns out to be their version of the D&D Monk, a Martial Artist with some Ki powers.
After a bit of fiddling it soon becomes frustratingly clear that those 400 points are not enough. Not if I wanted all the most fun sounding goodies. But I am a smart girl, am I not, and I earn my living with programming. There is a 'Back' button and thankfully also an option to save that visual model I spent more than half an hour to create. Whew.
Quitting the game, another thirty minutes are spent scouring the game files. At first I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume, but the developers had been very disciplined, with clean folder structures. And they did not use any fancy decryption or compression, so eventually I find a file named characterCreation.json. Inside there's startingCharacterPoints: 400, maximumstartingSkillTier: 1 and maximumAttribute: 10. I quickly make a backup, then change those values to a more generous startingCharacterPoints: 4000, maximumstartingSkillTier: 4 and maximumAttribute: 30 for good measure.
Holding my breath I start the game again.
The first relief comes when I can indeed load my visual model without hitch.
And then ... it worked, 4000 points to spend! Yay, much better!
For attributes I settle on
Strength: 30
Dexterity: 30
Constitutuion: 15
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 30
Charisma: 15
Next skills. Mastery proficiency in Unarmed Fighting, Bladed Weapons, Perception, Insight, Stealth, Persuasion, Deception, Athletics, Acrobatics, Thievery and ... 'Skill cap reached'. What? Okay, those will have to do, too lazy to hack this again. No Intimidation, Leadership, Streetwise or Survival, but I'll probably find some NPCs to help me, right?
For abilities I settle on the Wuxia fare the game seemed to offer. Become an awesome Martial Artist with fist and sword, amplified further with Ki. Jump obscenely high and wide, run really fast, even a short range teleport was in there.
Lastly some advantages. Elven low-light vision is upgraded to Devil's Sight, some Immunities against Magic, Disease and Poison, Keen Senses. The disadvantages section I mostly check out of curiosity, I do not need the extra points those provide. Until I read 'Sterile'. That was a thing, you could get knocked up in the game? Not something I wanted, so I very quickly picked that option, ignoring the lore text about 'social stigma'. Oh and there, almost missed. 'Attractive' and 'Very Attractive'. I had just enough points left for the latter. The moment that one was selected a popup showed with 'New customization option unlocked'. Curious I followed the link which ... brings me back to the breast size slider. What the .... NOW I can get herself an F-Cup? Briefly I wonder what had went on in the game developer's heads, but then I just yank the slider all the way to the right. On the slender elven frame that heavy pair now looks positively enormous, crowned by thick nipples.
Finally done I eagerly press 'Start Game', and only as the screen collapses do I notice the last menu option 'Purchase starting equipment'
However, the game does not start he way I expected. After the screen goes dark, so does the whole room around me. An inpenetrable darkness engulfes me, and before I even have time to panic I lose consciousness.
Once I wake again and look down at myself I have to shake my head in disbelief. It is not easy to comprehend what just had happened. Because ... that is not my body I am looking at. I am butt naked. Prominently in the center of my downward vision is a mountain range consisting of two massive udders. I can feel them tugging heavily at my chest, quite the novel sensation. I am that sexy bombshell now? No idea how the game did it, but that is hot! Is this a VR game? But I did not even put on my VR goggles, or did I? And there, jingling in my hand, a leather pouch with some coins, the cash I should have bought my starting gear with - clothing included.
Finally I am able to focus my attention on my surroundings. I am in the underground chamber from the intro. More specifically in the center of the triangle. The three robed dudes are looking at me. From close up it becomes clear that they are all of advanced age and not particularly athletic. And they all have a certain lecherous quality in their stares, their gazes for the moment glued to my bare tits, until at least one of them manages to reign himself in and establish proper eye contact. Wow, the game does react to my state of undress? That was novel. And promising.
Mr. 'Oh, your eyes are up there' finally takes a step forward, extends a hand and asks in a rasped voice that seems to make an attempt to be friendly: "Welcome, please introduce yourself to us!"
So this is where I have to pick my character name? All right, something Elven. How about ... I shake the hand offered and reply
"I am Aeliana"
I lean back in my comfortable chair and watch the progress bar on the screen. It currently hovers at 98%. Any minute now the download will be complete.
'Cyclopean' it is called. Considering what it promises it is surprising the game had not been hyped more. 'Fully immerse yourself in an antique world of barbarism, wonder and grand adventure'. 'Highly advanced next generation AI custom tailors the game experience to each individual player' I had stumbled upon it by pure chance on Vapor's online store. The screenshots look amazing, and since Vapor has a generous reimbursement policy I had not hesitated with my purchase. I could afford it.
My looks aren't that impressive, I openly admit that. In the mirror I see a thin and flat chested wallflowery kind of person in her thirties, wearing her brown hair in a practical short cut. But at least I am smart which had gotten me a well paying job that could easily finance my high end rig and whichever game I would want to feed my escapism with. This one seemed right up my alley.
There, the download is finished, and the red 'Downloading' button changes to a bright green 'Start'. A quick click. An intro starts playing on the screen. It shows a large chamber, likely underground since the only light source are a circle of torches on the walls. At the center three males in long black hooded robes stand at the corners of a triangle inlaid in the floor. Thier hands are outstretched and they were chanting unintelligibly. As they do, a shimmering globe of light begins to coalesce in ther midst.
The trailer pauses itself and the camera zooms into the glowing sphere. The completely nude model of a man appears on the left side of the screen. Looking at the freely exposed private parts I was surprised how openly X-Rated this game seems to be. Pleasantly surprised. On the right side are a lot - an awesome fucking lot - of menu options. Everything about the model seems customizable. The first one is easy, and immediately that naked male is replaced by a nude woman. Next there are species. The lore window informs me that humans are the dominant species in the world, but there also are other metahuman minorities. I did not even bother to read past 'Elf', and my character model becames lither, paler, and grows elongated pointy ears.
That is when the detail work starts. Apparently every minor body part is customizable. Within limits. I get to work. It takes me more than 30 minutes, but eventually I am satisfied with the results. A gorgeous blonde elven lady of ethereal beauty stares back at me from the screen, swaying slightly in her idle animation. I had chosen a fair skin complexion, bordering on pale, hairless except for her scalp. The facial features have a delicate quality, almost angelic. For the body I had picked a lithe build of slightly above average height, slender toned limbs and a small but firm behind. If only I could have given her larger breasts, somewhere between C cup and D cup the slider would not budge any further.
Once finished the next screen pops up. Now it is time for the nitty gritty character stats. Apparently the game uses an entirely point based system, no levels, no classed. Stats, skills, abilities, everything has to be bought with those 400 character points. And there is a cap of 10 for attributes (standard D&D fare) and a tiered proficiency system for skills. Also some helpful pre-selected templates as a starting point. The 'Elven Mystic' immediately calls out to me, and it quickly turns out to be their version of the D&D Monk, a Martial Artist with some Ki powers.
After a bit of fiddling it soon becomes frustratingly clear that those 400 points are not enough. Not if I wanted all the most fun sounding goodies. But I am a smart girl, am I not, and I earn my living with programming. There is a 'Back' button and thankfully also an option to save that visual model I spent more than half an hour to create. Whew.
Quitting the game, another thirty minutes are spent scouring the game files. At first I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume, but the developers had been very disciplined, with clean folder structures. And they did not use any fancy decryption or compression, so eventually I find a file named characterCreation.json. Inside there's startingCharacterPoints: 400, maximumstartingSkillTier: 1 and maximumAttribute: 10. I quickly make a backup, then change those values to a more generous startingCharacterPoints: 4000, maximumstartingSkillTier: 4 and maximumAttribute: 30 for good measure.
Holding my breath I start the game again.
The first relief comes when I can indeed load my visual model without hitch.
And then ... it worked, 4000 points to spend! Yay, much better!
For attributes I settle on
Strength: 30
Dexterity: 30
Constitutuion: 15
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 30
Charisma: 15
Next skills. Mastery proficiency in Unarmed Fighting, Bladed Weapons, Perception, Insight, Stealth, Persuasion, Deception, Athletics, Acrobatics, Thievery and ... 'Skill cap reached'. What? Okay, those will have to do, too lazy to hack this again. No Intimidation, Leadership, Streetwise or Survival, but I'll probably find some NPCs to help me, right?
For abilities I settle on the Wuxia fare the game seemed to offer. Become an awesome Martial Artist with fist and sword, amplified further with Ki. Jump obscenely high and wide, run really fast, even a short range teleport was in there.
Lastly some advantages. Elven low-light vision is upgraded to Devil's Sight, some Immunities against Magic, Disease and Poison, Keen Senses. The disadvantages section I mostly check out of curiosity, I do not need the extra points those provide. Until I read 'Sterile'. That was a thing, you could get knocked up in the game? Not something I wanted, so I very quickly picked that option, ignoring the lore text about 'social stigma'. Oh and there, almost missed. 'Attractive' and 'Very Attractive'. I had just enough points left for the latter. The moment that one was selected a popup showed with 'New customization option unlocked'. Curious I followed the link which ... brings me back to the breast size slider. What the .... NOW I can get herself an F-Cup? Briefly I wonder what had went on in the game developer's heads, but then I just yank the slider all the way to the right. On the slender elven frame that heavy pair now looks positively enormous, crowned by thick nipples.
Finally done I eagerly press 'Start Game', and only as the screen collapses do I notice the last menu option 'Purchase starting equipment'
However, the game does not start he way I expected. After the screen goes dark, so does the whole room around me. An inpenetrable darkness engulfes me, and before I even have time to panic I lose consciousness.
Once I wake again and look down at myself I have to shake my head in disbelief. It is not easy to comprehend what just had happened. Because ... that is not my body I am looking at. I am butt naked. Prominently in the center of my downward vision is a mountain range consisting of two massive udders. I can feel them tugging heavily at my chest, quite the novel sensation. I am that sexy bombshell now? No idea how the game did it, but that is hot! Is this a VR game? But I did not even put on my VR goggles, or did I? And there, jingling in my hand, a leather pouch with some coins, the cash I should have bought my starting gear with - clothing included.
Finally I am able to focus my attention on my surroundings. I am in the underground chamber from the intro. More specifically in the center of the triangle. The three robed dudes are looking at me. From close up it becomes clear that they are all of advanced age and not particularly athletic. And they all have a certain lecherous quality in their stares, their gazes for the moment glued to my bare tits, until at least one of them manages to reign himself in and establish proper eye contact. Wow, the game does react to my state of undress? That was novel. And promising.
Mr. 'Oh, your eyes are up there' finally takes a step forward, extends a hand and asks in a rasped voice that seems to make an attempt to be friendly: "Welcome, please introduce yourself to us!"
So this is where I have to pick my character name? All right, something Elven. How about ... I shake the hand offered and reply
"I am Aeliana"