PREMISE

You are not coaxed from a deep slumber. Instead, a snap of white fills your vision and consciousness resumes as if a switch has been flipped. As your vision adjusts, you find yourself staring at a pristine wall that curves around you. Any attempts at movement are met with resistance, as your limbs and torso have been securely strapped to a clinical table with reinforced steel bindings. These restrictive straps allow only for a fruitless struggle or anticipation of what is to come.

The wait isn’t very long. The white space above you flickers to life and begins to expand before your eyes. It pans over the appearance of a small town, but the footage becomes choppy. Pixels of noise begin to streak across the screen, causing the panoramic view to skip and repeat before finally it cuts to a black screen.

“There has been an error in loading the perimeters of the ʙʀɪᴅɢᴛᴏɴ, ᴍᴀɪɴᴇ setting,” a neutral, unnatural voice begins. As they speak, their automated cadence is followed by captions on the screen in neat, white text. “Performing a system reboot. Your cooperation is appreciated.”

Within seconds, a new video begins to play. While another small town is shown, it is markedly different from the one shown previously. This town is even smaller, details hidden away by autumn-dusted foliage and vast fields. With the new feed of video, the androgynous voice of a machine begins once more.

“Welcome to your next setting,” the voice states, making no further reference to the error from moments ago, “This location is based on a small town in the midwestern region of the United States of America, Earth. The year is 2008 in ᴄᴏʀᴡɪɴ, ɪɴᴅɪᴀɴᴀ. You have been selected to participate. Obedience ensures an enjoyable and immersive experience for our audience. If you have been granted a role, instructions will follow. Do not talk about your role. Do not attempt to go off-script. Following the instructions delivered to you will guarantee the best possible experience.

Your assigned role will be as follows…”

Uploaded is a panfandom technological/psychological horror game based on the concepts in USS Callister - a stand-alone episode of the science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. Within the world of Uploaded, a technology exists to create advanced, biometric clones in a virtual setting from the slightest amount of DNA. These clones have been recreated exactly, are completely self-aware, and retain all knowledge and unique qualities that make them who they are. These virtual clones have been uploaded into a virtual reality setting that is controlled by an outside entity. Virtual characters are limited by the constraints of the setting they are placed in and assigned unique roles in order to fulfill the entity’s “vision” for the setting. Essentially, these characters have become wholly fleshed out NPCs to be used as entertainment against their will - facing consequences if they fail to play the role they have been assigned.

The setting within the game is set to change every two to three months, switching characters into new stories and roles. With each setting shift, characters will retain their memories from previous settings and will have chances to uncover clues pertaining to the entity that controls them and the mechanism in which they are trapped.

In addition to the the storyline roles and the overarching plot, the settings themselves will offer chances for characters to explore. Glitches within the system will also allow players more opportunities to build CR or develop their characters.

Premise

PREMISE