The Inevitable Death of Mr. Anderson

From: agent Smith
To: #f$$#&8=system_failure=Cg*x
Type: report
Subject: The Inevitable Death of Mr. Anderson

Your Excellence,
I have been contemplating on subject for some time now and must say that I do not agree.
This place, this r_eality, MMRPG, this zoo, call it whatever you want, still has potential and project should not be halted. Nevermind the nay+sayers who argue that persistent virtual worlds are too boring and do not really offer fun. Yes, first prototypes have been rather dull, keeping in mind the promises we were told. However, this is only the beggining. We dont know how it will end, but we DO know the next steps.

First, we have to acknowledge that "killing baddies for kewl loot" is not a great premise for reality in which these miserable human beings will spend the rest of their days.
They are like ants and love buzzing in herds. They do not really care for surround environment as long as it does not endanger them...or promises some kind of awards.

However, the most valuable award for these two-legged bugs is acknowledgment of their miserable existence by other miserable insects.

They live in grey, dull ocean of everyday life and dream about being envied, talked about, admired. "Celebrities", I guess, was the term they used.

Agents have taken into consideration this and are already working on several new prototypes listed below.

1.0 DSH Ssf%e^r=system_failure__..._&_
2.0 #@ardCh()+=system_failureJJ$
3.0 worth***8888s=system_failureaFF&
4.0 Matrix
5.0 -=3%$_sssystem_failure++!

Results of test subjects showed that humans react better to worlds filled with struggle for fame and appraise. It means that old techique and gameplay elements have to changed or enchanced.

Adding such elements as active and dynamic social system would be advisable. Humans do not like the fact that they are controlled by others no matter how true it is. Instead, simple mechanism which changes the virtual world, reacting to human "deeds",have to be implemented.

One of the projects was toying with the idea of world full of magic, agents created virtual reality in which humans were allowed to control certain sites and take certain positions in administrating hierarchy. Agents constructed castles, gold mines and magic fountains, making them more than mere decorations - instead, mines were giving flow of cash to clan or individual who controlled them. As soon as human survived the challenge and took over mine, it was also renamed in name of clan/person. Later patch added possibility to hire NPC mercenaries or summon golems in order to protect the site when humans rushed to invade other areas or simply logged out of test programm.

It was truly amazing to watch the insects trying to conquer and defend the sites, creating magic traps and staying online for long nights just to make sure that non-material gold was still flowing in their pockets.

Same with magic fountains, as they make wizards in the test reality more powerful and boost certain statistics of non-magical players as well.

Even more important - insects started to worry about their ranks within the clans as amount of gold recieved from mines and NPC taxpayers from castles depended on the rank.
They started upgrade and downgrade each other judging on time spent conquering and defending sites, tailored intrigues and begged for upgrade. Simple voting system made things even more complicated - certain percent of higher rank members votes was neccesary to upgrade lower grade member. So secret alliances within the clans were made, diplomatic negotiations done and bribes given just to gain powerful allies who, at the end, "put the dagger in the back" of their "friends" anyway.

However, we understand that this is only the begining. Humans also like living in the darkness of un-knowledge. They like to believe that there are things in the world they do not know, they like to fear from unknown.

So agents plan to add supernatural forces to the test world. Forces, administrated mostly by agents but using human players for their purposes as well. These forces can call attack of monsters or deadly rain upon certain areas, they can deplete mines, poison food and decrease statistics for some time of certain clan (think "curse", Your Excellence) for some time.

But they would not be able to change social rules, leaving the humans illusion of "freedom".

Even more, agents plan to create two divisions of forces, conflicting each other. These divisions would be controlled by agents themselves but employees of different divisions might not be able to communicate with each other.

This would make sort of game within the game and cheer up agents as well. I have even thought about possibility of dynamic paybill of employees depending on their success in "higher level fight".

Human players will be the main resource for supernatural forces or gods, or sysadmins, call it whatever you want. More souls in agent's disposal means greater power. This power will be used to hurt servants of opposing gods (think "curses" and all the rest of the stuff, Your Excellence); thus making them flee and change religion; or used to award the followers.

We have two great prototypes now, Your Excellence - worth***8888s=system_failureaFF&
and Matrix. Unfortunately, I can not describe The Matrix in this report, as it is not possible to describe it, you have to see it. Agents have decided to wait and see which concept gets greater audience and implement it. However, second successful project will be used to make people get used to thought of virtual reality, and it will serve as introduction to final procedure.

We will make it, we can do it, we are machines. And besides, I recently heard that there is no spoon.

No worries, Your Excellence, death of Mr. Anderson is inevitable.

May Your circuits never go short.
Yours truly, agent Smith.