Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 12: New Game Launch [Complete]

1400: Everyone Smoothly Enters Their Roles

When engaging in real-time role-playing, players inevitably encountered hundreds, if not thousands, of minor situations. It was impossible to define rules for each one, but there were fundamental principles that all players were aware of.

Firstly, actions and speech must align with the character's knowledge and understanding.

Of course, a child can be mature or thoughtful, and a cranky old lady might have a warm heart. But common sense dictates that five-year-old Silvan shouldn't discuss the side effects of dimethyl sulfoxide with the pharmacist, Jet. Similarly, the black-haired girl, Leah, shouldn't show disgust at her beautiful roommate, Jessica, even if Jessica's dwarf appearance seemed frightening.

The character manual also provided guiding behavioral principles, so everyone needed to keep it handy. As long as you carried the manual, you could act according to the character's general behavior pattern, which was safer than improvising. Plus, the manual included detailed descriptions of one's character and basic outlines of other characters for reference.

Second, players could not leave the apartment building. The game area was confined to this building. Lin Sanjiu wasn't sure how others with jobs handled it, but her job was straightforward: hang a sign on the door, draw the blackout curtains, light a candle, and wear a tablecloth. Whether she looked like a psychic or not, she certainly looked like a mad woman.

Third, although physical strength, abilities, and tools weren't suppressed, they must be used cautiously and selectively, adhering to what would be common sense for the character to have.

Ms. Chen on the first floor could undoubtedly run fast and climb walls, but as a regular old lady, she had to move step by step. When going upstairs to warn Pink not to jump around in the house, she had to stop and catch her breath after a few steps. Even though five-year-old Pink was two heads taller than his grandma, he couldn't help carry things for her. He needed to ask Mr. Grant, the high school teacher next door, for help.

The most exasperating part was that Jessica had to wear brightly colored hot pants, showing off the character's proud legs. The most mind-boggling aspect of this game was that, even though you saw and interacted with one thing, you had to pretend it was something else according to the character's perspective.

Once they got used to it, they might smoothly enter their roles and see the game world through their characters' eyes.

The last principle was simple: characters couldn't communicate their objectives to each other. If someone guessed another player's objective, it was not within the restricted scope.

What happened if these principles were broken?

The character manual didn't' offer an answer. The less you knew know, the more hesitant you would be to try. Fortunately, the volunteer didn't lie. On the last page of the manual, there was a statement: "Players who die in this game won't truly die in a physiological sense, and the physical injuries they sustain won't persist. Once the game is over, players will return to their original state. The game lasts for thirty days. Players who achieve their personal objectives will successfully clear the game, while those who don't will face a penalty: they will have to participate in the next round of the game."

In other words, if you didn't meet your objectives, you'd have to play repeatedly. Compared to many other games, this was indeed more lenient.

As Lin Sanjiu sat by the window browsing the manual, she spotted Ji Shanqing's head below. She pondered how to convince everyone of her psychic abilities. With no good strategies coming to mind, her thoughts began to wander. What might the catmint's objective be? More sunbathing? And what objectives could a five-year-old have? Eating popsicles?