I'd like to entertain an idea I had, consisting of an open-world, free-form RP, driven by the players. The setting of the RP takes place in the city of Hokuko, a metropolitan urban jungle comparable in size to the Greater Tokyo Area. Hokuko sits on the east coast of the XCD – Xiang Cooperative Dialogue, a fictional nation-corporate conglomerate pulled from the world of my FRAMEs RP. I will still dedicate myself to FRAMEs if this gets up-and-running. The universes will not overlap; this XCD and FRAMEs' XCD should be treated as separate-but-similar entities.
Players will build and take control of anything from individuals to gangs, businesses or city administrations within Hokuko, adding to the setting and feel of the city as they see fit. The aim is a loose, but cooperative effort in shaping and manipulating the day-to-day affairs of Hokuko – eventually leading to the development of loose plots and sub-plots. I have several 'current affairs' that can be teased with at the RP's start, which can help set players in one direction or another.
The RP is heavily rooted in the cyberpunk genre, and borrows from movie, game and anime franchises, including, but not limited to Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed, Bubblegum Crisis, Deus Ex, Syndicate, Blade Runner, etc. Themes to be explored may range from blurred lines between man and machine, corporate espionage and manipulation, government corruption, transhuman ethics, cyber and augmentation-related crime, and so on. This will obviously depend on the actions of the players and what route they take the RP.
I'm hoping that an open-world format will allow people to contribute on levels that they feel comfortable with – from a plant worker who's aim to climb the corporate chain is in a loosing battle with drug addiction, to a network of terrorists bent on fighting a war against human augmentation, or even a prosthetic company with its own private security detail, doing battle with rival corps both on the streets and in the markets. At the same time, I don't want this freedom to give way to a lack of direction, so I will tease the RP with significant events, should things stagnate. Players will, of course, be encouraged to stick around for as long as possible, but once the ball gets rolling, it should be possible for them to come and go; the city at large living on. As such, the RP will always be open for recruitment.
These are only preliminary thoughts, to tease some imagination out of you. More information is to be revealed in an OOC, or upon request; so shoot any questions my way! As this is intended for the Advanced section, attention to detail should be high, and factors within should be realistic, given the boundaries of the setting. This is going to be a highly-collaborative effort, so an external chat may be something to look for.
