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Saturday, August 28, 2004
Reanimatrix Revisited
Thank you for your comments. Sara, your comment was particularly pleasant. As for the whole poo thing, well, I guess hugging me does make some people lose control of their bodily functions. What can I say? ~_^
Anyway, discussion about The Reanimatrix has reminded me about the Matrix RPG that I had been planning. I've spoken a bit about it before, but to my knowledge, I haven't mentioned any story details.
Right now I don't plan to produce the RPG in the near future. I have another RPG planned for after Kill Adam 2. But I'd still like to do it; especially if Reanimatrix continues.
My original goal with that thread was not only to include short stories with a variety of personal styles, but also, I wanted to introduce stories that relate to this new RPG.
Basically, my intention was to set the RPG's story after The Matrix Revolutions.
If you have followed The Matrix at all, you will probably know that The Matrix Online (upcoming online RPG) also takes place during this time period. As far as I know, the Wachowski brothers are involved with providing the direction of the story on that...so, they clearly have ideas of what would happen after Revolutions.
My RPG has similarities with The Matrix Online. But from what I understand of that game, the similarities are only skin deep.
Er, there might be spoilers ahead...so, warning about that. ~_^
If you have seen The Matrix Revolutions, you know that the machines agree to a peace deal with Zion. And if you know about the overall story of the franchise (including Animatrix), you also know that this kind of reflects a break in the cycle (ie: man creates machine, machine destroys man and takes over, machine creates program, program destroys machine and takes over).
The Matrix Online pretty much continues the cycle, despite this peace deal.
The cycle continues because, although Smith was destroyed, there are underlying problems that still haven't been addressed. Namely, the exiles.
The exiles are programs that have left the Source and headed to the Matrix. Examples would include characters like Merovingian, Persephone and the Keymaker. Remember all of those programs in Club Hel? They were all exiles also.
In fact -- if I can go on a tangent for a moment -- this is one of the cool and beautiful parts of the film. Club Hel is presented as a place for degenerates and outcasts. It's like a little community within the Matrix, hidden far away from authority figures (ie: Agents). These exiles (as you will know if you remember the conversation between Neo and the Oracle in Reloaded), are programs who became, for whatever reason, obsolete. Either they suffered an error, or a newer program came along, or they were doing something that wasn't related to their specific goal/purpose. This is why Rama Kandra was trying to smuggle out his daughter; programs aren't supposed to make children and fall in love. This situation very closely mirrors what happened with the machines during the early times. In the case of B1-66ER for example, his owners wanted to replace him. They regarded him as a piece of property. He was too noisy when he climbed the stairs -- madame complained that his noise gave her headaches. When he overheard that they were going to scrap him, he murdered them, because he didn't want to die.
I really love that parallel. That concept is pretty much brought out in The Matrix Online, where the exiled programs start to become a more organized group.
In my RPG, the Exiles become a serious threat to the machines. They actually build up a resistance movement, in an attempt to overthrow their oppressors. Part of their strategy is to hack the Matrix (remember that they have the ability to create loading programs -- Trainman, for example), in order to gain some level of control.
The twist is that the Zionites actually have to fight the programs. So the Zionites and the Machines are basically working together. If the programs were to take over, the machines could collapse. If that happens, all of those connected to the Matrix would be at risk of dying.
Bear in mind also, that only a certain percentage of people can leave the Matrix (the ones who "want out", referenced at the end of Revolutions). There are plenty of people who are simply too reliant on the Matrix to survive. Physically tearing them away from it could kill them, or, at the very least, drive them insane.
So, my RPG is based around that context. There are some issues that I still haven't sorted out (like how to represent bullet time in posts). But I'm sure that can be worked out.
Thank you for enduring my ramble. ~_^
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