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PLOT ENGAGEMENT (ARCHIVED)
What is Plot Engagement and how does it work within Meadowlark? This is the page where players can come discuss with us how to facilitate plots within the setting. However, there will be occasions where a plot doesn't work within Meadowlark's world, and we'll suggest alternative routes. For small worldbuilding or gameplay details, please direct your question to the FAQ. If you're ever not sure if you're at the right page, don't worry—we'll help you get it sorted out. We know we have a load of info!
WHEN WILL YOU HEAR BACK?
◉ All Plot Engagement answers go out on Sunday, except during events.
◉ The deadline to submit a question and ensure you'll hear back from us on Sunday is 11:59 PM UTC on Saturday.
PLOT ENGAGEMENT INCLUDES
◉ Player plots! If you'd like your character to become a mafia boss, this is your place to start. Typically, this involves anything that could impact the setting or other player characters.
◉ Character career advancement that gives the character additional power or status within the setting.
◉ Metaplot exploration and information! We plan all events to give characters something to explore after the event ends. This is the place to do it!
SUBMISSION TIPS
◉ Specify what your character is looking for when they're investigating. What questions are they asking and what angle are they trying to explore?
◉ If you have a specific goal in mind but don't know how to reach it, please let us know.
◉ If you link a thread to us, please summarize it! That helps us process the plot in question.
◉ Don't worry about not knowing the setting like the back of your hand before you submit the plot—that's up to us! We're here to help you with any adjustments to get you on the right track.
NOTES & THINGS THAT YOU CAN HANDWAVE
◉ Characters always start out in entry level positions. Characters can update their skill sets to the 2512 standard through paid apprenticeships or internships.
◈ If a character is advancing within a major corporation (as noted on the Setting or Locations page) or one of its subsidiaries, we will need to approve this advancement.
◈ If a character becomes a supervisor at a local bar or other small business, we do not need to approve this advancement.
◉ Joining the police force within a city requires three months of IC training (six months OOC).
◉ We'll approve whether someone has social media fame, but we will not be providing social media follower counts. Once you have a plot for how to use those followers, that's where we step in!
◉ All Morningstar business goes on our Morningstar page. Please feel free to discuss specific plots here (including joining), and go there for signups and anything else.
◉ Characters getting jobs, finding apartments, participating in the fighting rings, getting married, making workplace friends, the creation of minor NPCs, etc. do not need to be run by us. Please let us know if these expand into player plots or other plot bits!
QUICK LINKS
◉ FAQ: For small worldbuilding or gameplay details.
◉ Setting: Our setting page! We'll update as needed.
◉ Jobs: A reference for who's working where!
◉ Locations: Both major and minor locations within New Amsterdam, as well as outlines for other megacities.
◉ Mod Contact: For wider game concerns.
◉ The Story So Far: Gamewide plot events up to current (your CTRL+F best friend!).
◉ NPC page: Includes NPC blurbs and inboxes.
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no subject
what I want is..... a museum (so Simon can work in it, but also maybe homesick time travelers can hang out there).
What kind of history would the people of New Amsterdam be into (history of technology, maybe?? anthropology??) and what would be kept there? What eras of human history have been well preserved after the shakeups that have culminated in 26th century Earth being what it is.... like would there be 21st century stuff in a museum? Like would there be paper books and Nokias held reverently in glass displays?
no subject
Most anthropological history is heavily monetized and used so that people can spend money and give back to the economy (or so the major corporations say). That said, there is a heavy focus on human ingenuity and technological progress, so there is definitely a museum in New Amsterdam that focuses on that! Simon can get a job there as a security guard, a janitor, or a floor monitor who keeps people from deciding to put their hands through glass. There aren't any tours that happen in these museums, as they're all pre-programmed and set up through the neural implant when someone arrives.
The museum largely tracks human technological progress from the mid-19th century until 2511. There are a lot of replicas of early cars that have been rebuilt - since many of them didn't make it to 2511 - as well as early planes. Imagine an entire section dedicated to the early automobile specialists, the Industrial Revolution, and eventually the first computers in the 20th century. Yes, that means they track the quick advancement of technology during the 21st century, and that there is an iPhone where someone can interface with a "surprisingly advanced" program by the name of Siri. None of the records refer to Siri as a "weak AI" like we might today, instead treating it as evidence of early human progress with complicated software.
In fact, aside from referring to AI as the enemies during the Xelkoven War, it seems as if this museum doesn't track human development of AIs at all. At this point, there would be a definite deviation leading up to the Xelkoven War, which started in 2095. Because human beings weren't satisfied with the level of intelligence that a "program like Siri" would provide, they went too far, and eventually found themselves on the bad end of this decision. Most of this part of the museum would focus on the heroes of the Xelkoven War: the men and women who fought on the front lines against the AI, as well as the individual who found a way to EMP all of the AI and end their assault on the world. This is partly just propaganda, but it is what the world of Meadowlark genuinely believes about AI.
Another section of the museum would be focused on the neural implants. The neural implants were actually developed before the Xelkoven War. They were first developed in 2030, but it was considered a risky venture, and scientists didn't yet know how to keep the brain safe. By 2035, many people were outfitted with neural implants in childhood, showing the rapid advancement and hope for improving human life in a rapidly evolving technological world. At this time, neural implants were still considered risky by some, and there were people who opted out of getting the surgery done. By 2040, most of these concerns were either null and void, or most people who didn't have them fell off the grid.
This risk was considered fair, especially considering the Xelkoven War and how the AI attacked neural implants. They figured out how to implant viruses, disconnect humans from the world around them, and even set off EMPs from a safe distance that could render a human braindead. The next advancement of the neural implant involved EMP protection so that they could EMP all of the AI and finally put a stop to their reign of terror. Every human being had to undergo new surgery to have this new, safer wetwear installed.
From there, neural implants continued to progress rapidly. The processors became more and more advanced, as well as the amount of space. They could interface with VR, different AR displays, and more on the fly. Now they're considered a standard of life.
Most other parts of the museum would cover the trajectory of hover cars and why they're limited to cities. They cover the maglev trains that traverse the planet in place of the highly toxic airplanes that used to bring people from one place to another, ensuring that people are safe. They also cover the first of the megacities and how they rose up to provide a new place for humans to survive, designed around the idea of scaling up instead of out. Based on this idea, man-made cities like New Tokyo were born.
Most of the displays at these museums are either digital/VR in nature, showing off large displays of information depending on what the user decides to interact with there. There are some display cases that show early hover car engines, the first neural implants and a long history of how they advanced - though there are no current neural implants there - as well as other display cases holding early 21st century video game systems to remark on their technological evolution to the ubiquitous VR arcades of the "modern" world.