"Alright, thirty more minutes!"
I, Kevin Zane, had been eagerly awaiting this day. Today was the service launch of the VRMMORPG I'd been wanting to play. Just about thirty minutes until the service begins.
It's been quite some time since VR games became the mainstream for home gaming consoles. When they first appeared, due to the overwhelming amount of information in virtual reality, insufficient equipment performance, and game development companies' unfamiliarity with the new technology, it took considerable time for them to become widespread. Then, a genius appeared and released a development package that seemed to incorporate several generations of technology in advance, and the VR game landscape changed dramatically.
It began with the VR conversion of conventional offline games, and with the addition of innovative communication technology, VR games went online. Now, VRMMOs have become an extremely popular genre.
The most popular ones are, of course, fantasy games, but some unusual ones have also emerged. This happens in gaming across all eras. The one I liked was among these unusual titles—an offline game called "Monsters Evolution." Normally, monsters are enemies to be defeated. Occasionally, there are works where you tame monsters, focusing on monster raising and battles between monsters, which is also a popular genre.
Among these emerged the unique game "Monsters Evolution." As the name suggests, it's a game about monsters, but it's neither about hunting monsters nor about capturing and raising them. It's a game where the player becomes a monster.
The setting is an undeveloped planet where intelligent life forms like humans haven't yet emerged. The protagonist is a mental life form who has lost their physical body and descended onto this planet. Their goal is to encourage the evolution of a human species and obtain the body of this evolved human species to make a comeback as a new race.
The main gameplay involves possessing a local monster chosen by the player, repeating numerous life and death cycles, and continuing the evolution of the species itself.
And the most distinctive feature is that depending on the species chosen, the game completely transforms into an entirely different experience. To begin with, there's an incredible range of selectable species, from large animals to small animals, fish, trees, and flowers. The popularity factor was probably how some species showed remarkable evolution.
And unlike other VR games, the fact that it wasn't dependent on physical reflexes might have been significant. Most of the avatars you control aren't humanoid. The control feeling is closer to piloting something. And what's important is that simply winning isn't the only condition for clearing this game. There are even cases where losing and dying repeatedly is the key to progress.
And today, the online version of this game is being released as a new title. Its name is "Monsters Evolution Online." Though it's a straightforward title with just "Online" added, I'm still excited about the online adaptation. Due to its nature, this game is closer to a territory capture game. In the offline version against the computer, you can reach the human species quite easily through pattern recognition in the strategy.
That's why core fans, including myself, had been requesting MMO adaptation, which presupposes competition and cooperation with other users.
With the online adaptation, there are apparently various changes and additional elements, but the details have been kept under wraps. It's probably meant for us to discover on our own.
"Alright, let's get started!"
While I was thinking about various things, the service start time arrived. The helmet-type VR gaming device was already on my head. I had already taken care of bathroom breaks, hydration, and meals. I planned to be immersed in the game until dinner.
"Monsters Evolution Online, launch!"
Following my voice command, the game starts up. My physical senses are disconnected, and my consciousness moves into the VR space. Then, I arrived in a white space for initial settings with nothing particular around me. Hanging from somewhere unclear, there was a spherical object slightly above my eye level.
[Yoohoo, welcome! To Monsters Evolution Online!]
With those words, the sphere suddenly split into two, and from inside, paper streamers, confetti, and something like a banner came out. Is this a surprise balloon?
The banner had "Congratulations! Service Launch!" written largely on it.
"Are the operators playing around?"
[Those people like to mess around~]
With those words, the banner stood up on its own... Hey, was that banner the one speaking just now...? Why a banner...?
[Ah, this form? It's to differentiate from players~! I can't become a tool, you know!]
"Ah, I see. So having a human form would go against the premise?"
[Oh, you're quick to understand, that's good! Now, let me introduce myself~? I'm the management AI, 'Ittan.' The operators have no sense of naming, right!]
"Well, I wouldn't know..."
This is extremely familiar, hey. Is this because there were complaints that the management AI in the offline version was too bland and matter-of-fact? And 'Ittan,' could this talking banner be Ittan-momen (a type of Japanese yokai)?
[Now then, let's go to character creation~! Have you played the offline version~?]
"Yeah, I have."
[I see, thanks for playing~! Then let me explain the differences in character creation between the offline and online versions?]
"Is it that different?"
[Of course~. Character slots are initially one slot, and you can increase to three slots by completing quests~]
"Oh, there's a limit to character slots. Well, it's online, so it can't be unlimited, I guess."
[That's right. It's a constraint because it's online. Also, the initial character is determined randomly. From the second slot onwards, it's a conditional free slot, but please understand that part~]
"What, I can't choose the initial character!?"
[Sorry~. Due to the nature of the game, if species become biased online, it might end too quickly~]
"...Indeed, that's true."
In the offline version, the game changes completely depending on the monster you choose. There are species that can easily reach humanization, and there are species with very high difficulty. In an online setting, if everyone chooses easy species, they would quickly reach the human species. It seems this measure is to avoid that. But to address potential dissatisfaction, three character slots have been prepared.
[Also~ this time there are three player factions prepared, so please join whichever you like after character creation~. Unlike the offline version, the goal isn't which species reaches the human species, but which faction reaches the human species first~]
"So it's competition by faction, not by species. The specifications have changed quite a bit."
[There are many other changes, but please discover them on your own~. Now, shall we start character creation~]
With those words, a roulette that was already spinning at high speed appeared. Not like a casino roulette, but just a large round plate spinning. What, is this how it's randomly decided? Won't they even show me a list?
[Say 'stop' at any timing you like~]
"Wait a bit, can't you at least show me what's available?"
[That's not allowed~. There's a lot of useful information, so we're not allowed to show it~. Even when the roulette stops, everything except what you landed on will be blacked out~]
"Then why make it a roulette!?"
[Well, don't complain to me about that~. For complaints, please direct them here~!]
"...Come on."
Saying that, Ittan provided the address for operator support. Hey, is this okay for a management AI!?
[Could you hurry and say 'stop'~? I'm manually spinning it, so it's subtly tiring~]
"I have many complaints, but whatever. Then, stop."
[Okay, stop~. Now, what did you get~? Oh~ this is...]
"Hey, show me quickly. What did I get?"
The stopped roulette was immediately hidden, and I couldn't see the content. Should I file a complaint about this presentation...
[Your initial species is 'Moss'~]
"What!?"
Hearing that species that didn't exist in the offline version, I was momentarily stunned. There were certainly plant-type monsters, but moss...? That moss...?
This is bad, I suddenly have no idea how to tackle this...