GURPSception

Last night while falling asleep, I had an idea. It was simple, to have a character with Knowledge (games) (GURPS). But, it set me thinking.

I want to run a game within a game. This would work at any modern TL with roleplaying games, but would work even better at TL 9+, using Virtual Reality. Virtual reality takes roleplaying to a whole new level, and it wouldn't be hard to code a VR game to handle people playing characters with skills they don't have (if you handle it as working similarly to virtual tutors, the real players can learn by playing as their virtual characters).

You can handle the real live players (rather than their virtual characters) any way you want. It can be a ship's crew, stuck on a long trip with lots of downtime but little free space, to a group of friends relaxing from their fairly normal lives with very few points to each (0-25 point characters).

If you want to play with the combat system, they can boot up a VR first person shooter program. Play a game at any TL, and have it be as cinematic as you please.

I'd think points in acting represents the ability to roleplay. Require rolls whenever the character would react in a way much different from the character they play, such as a straight character playing the opposite sex and attempting sex appeal, or reacting properly in the face of mortal danger to their character, particularly if it isn't REAL danger to the character which is known by the player but not by the VR char, perhaps a roll or two just to get into and stay in character if the player is fatigued or distracted, etc.

You could use the outer-game as an interesting framing device with occasional action (a ship's crew still has to do stuff occasionally!), or have it build into its own more serious adventure (the friends gradually build their point values by learning as alternate selves, and either get more adventurous or get embroiled in something as they start to get more competent and capable). Maybe the VR is used as a more fun, interesting, and safer way to train by the players, allowing them to farm points by learning on the job or learning under stress, without any real danger.


This seems like it would be a very interesting thing to do, if you can pull it off.