System Jazz

"You have to be kidding."

The scenery changes and a small bustling settlement takes shape out of nothing.

Some people look like the avatars from the selection but must have found the hair color palette.

A few kept this edgy black, and there's a wide variation in clothing.

They wear armor and tools hang from their belts.

Spawning from thin air, others disappear without a trace, and many idle around.

Most only run through the streets, either towards the stairs in front or some pavilions to the left.

Their names float over their heads like mine, which says Noob, Level 1.

The title offers anything for money, and the one thing you can't change is this text.

There should be an option to roll a new character, there's no way to play like this.

Well, looking around can't hurt before restarting. Since it's the first look at this Deep Dive, let's explore the controls.

The graphics are insane, and it's not an overstatement. Baldie mentioned something about it, fangirling about the brand.

There's no display, they render the images inside the mind.

The game engine shows you a dream, sending the context to the brain, and leaving the scene up to the imagination.

It's hard to tell if the others see the same, it might look different for everyone.

The place seems real and the senses come to life.

The muscles move, tense up, and relax with each step. The classic trope of pinching the face to see if it would wake me up confirms it.

The movements aren't limited, the controller translates it all within the system.

And yes, the pinch was a bit stronger than intended, and the face hurt, which is amazing.

No wonder Baldie scoffed at the VR headset, going on about how different these two were.

It's clear as a day, one shows images through those goggles, and the other places you inside them.

It allows you to feel the surroundings, and smell the fresh air.

The game's in a first-person view, and it would be weird if it weren't.

With the scene so lifelike, this brain would melt seeing itself from the outside. Every item is interactive.

The village is full of clutter and tiny objects.

As the hand grabs a lamp post, pressure builds up on the palm, and the fingers can feel the cold texture of the metal.

The tunic doesn't follow the movements exactly, and the rough fabric rubs against the skin. It's crazy how detailed this is.

A guy bumps into the avatar, throwing it off balance.

It takes effort to stay upright because the controller won't do it.

The eyes won't squint when looking into the sun, so if you're not fast enough, it will blind you for a while.

It's a lot to take in, this thing might be even worth playing.

Of course, it would become boring fast for twelve hours a day, unless it offers good content.

Icons appear in the periphery, not in your face like regular UIs; it's a subtle reminder that this is still a game.

And if there's anything to go by, most menus should pop up from thinking about them.

The downside of being so subtle about it is that a rookie will not consider them if they can't see the option.

Feeling lost will trigger a system message too.

[If you struggle with the controls, try our tutorial.]

"No. Shut up. Tutorials are for noobs."

Saying it with this exact name is ironic. How long is this avatar standing in the middle of the village?

An exclamation mark icon appears in the upper right corner, drawing attention.

"There's no rush here, right?"

[We recommend starting your first session with the tutorial. It can help you get a feel of your character and the controls. You can repeat it many times until you reach level 10.]

"No is no. What's that sign?"

The text disappears, reinforcing that simple thoughts can control the UI.

How can it read the mind? It's creepy and fascinating at once.

The mark opens a dropdown window where a task appears.

[Government Issued Quest: Reach Level 10 within 3 days. Importance: Utmost. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 1/10, Exp to next level: 0/100. (71/72 hours left).]

Okay, if it's of the utmost importance that might be relevant.

The Experience Bar is at the bottom, how hard could it be to reach the tenth level?

Baldie said to do those missions as soon as possible, but three days are plenty.

"Isn't there a detailed character sheet?"

The system seems programmed to respond to thoughts which is neat.

There are no signs of stats, and the surroundings are too overwhelming to think.

[Attributes unlock at Level 10. Until then, values default to 10 (average). It takes a while to calculate them to match each player. This also helps them get used to the controls before they decide to change these values. You can buy a one-time Remap to change these values.]

Of course, they paywalled it, well, at least it's something.

And that Level 10 again, they sure push you towards reaching it.

It means grinding, so let's figure out how it's done.

The inventory is below the Exp bar and has three slots with a shovel and an axe. The last stays empty.

"Is this it? Open inventory."

The command pulls up a half-transparent window with thirty more empty boxes.

For now, this actor is as poor as the real deal, with nothing to his name, which is maddening.

Let's take one last glance to enjoy the view, and log off.

The button appears, to mirror those thoughts, and the main menu comes up with the swirling letters.

The feeling of the body disappears, no longer anchored into this new world, and it's impossible to get used to it.

Some parts are so unnatural, while others feel amazing.

"Delete the old player and create a new one."

[As a member of a government program to prevent crime, some settings will remain disabled for you. You can't create more characters, and as abuse prevention, you can't delete your current one. Contact your handler if you have questions outside of the FAQ.]

"What? Is this stupid name stuck?" This sucks.

Baldie should have said this; even the menu worded it as 'let's set up your first character'.

Of course, people would assume they can have more than one.

"This must be a joke."

[Your total gameplay today was 30 minutes, 11 hours left until you fulfill your quota. Would you like to continue?]

It tracks the progress yet won't realize this day has less, so what?

[In special cases, less than 12 hours a day is acceptable. Below 8 hours you'll incur a warning. Three warnings will lead to an investigation and might lock you out of the program. Failure to complete your first quest will lead to an investigation and might lock you out of the program.]

Only bad news.

This stress triggers the cravings after logging off, and nothing but a deep drag can help to calm down.

The program closes, and my real body jolts to life when the headset comes off.

All the limbs are asleep though.

This will be a long day...