Fountellion in The Spiral: First Progression
(EARLY ACCESS !)

Featuring: the Original Walkthrough
Gameplay Design & Development notes,
Extracts,
Fragments and Voices relating to the ‘Nature Game-World’ of Fountellion
at the Time of The Spiral (compiled by John Leaven)

2017

“They say that those who find Fountellion...
Find themselves…”
(from the game teaser trailer)

‘An understanding of evolution can teach us our true place in nature, as part of the immense array of living forms which the impersonal forces of evolution have produced.’
- Brian and Deborah Charlesworth: Evolution, A Very Short Introduction

‘Know Nature… Know Thyself… Get into the Game… Get back to the Source.’
- Fountellion Promotion Campaign

Note: This is a project of speculative Virtual Web science-fiction / litRPG / GameLIT

Revised edits may become available and are best followed by subscribing to Email Updates on The Spiral Times, [now via Paragraph, X, or Gitbook] the early website for the project.  

• Ade M. Campbell, France 2017

Fountellion Project Dedication:
for Corinne, for all the love and support,
for Lucas and Lydia - and all the players of the future...

I had to find my friend Dan H.

He’d gone missing for a week or so, in both the real and the super (virtual).

I'd received a handwritten pencil note in the mail. All it said was:

'Jon... my old friend, we must, first, save Fountellion...'

After failed efforts at finding out much about this Fountellion... game? World? Simulation? I have at least made progress: There were vague ideas online that it was an island... a simulated model of nature (of the boreal biome) akin to a northerly island such as Sakhalin island. There was artificial life there; an entire food chain, from bears and wolves to taiga bluet damselflies. A living, growing world, evolving around its players. There were 'visions' to be found there. And there were other players... hunters, with powers... and an NPC who spoke to illuminate all the ways of the natural world…

And I even (finally) had found a key. After posting for help on social media someone piped up and sent me an old, rusty-looking key that had been scanned in, virtually. 

Next, all I had to do was match it to an old, weathered-looking, secret garden-style door. This was an overgrown thing, with ivy and vegetation around the edges, and it only lay visible for a short time in The Spiral Tower (metaverse portal).

So here I am. All geared up in my interface and stood with the key in the lock. The weight of contact vibrates up my arm via the haptics. 

I hope I'm not too late to save Dan's hide from another crazy, immersive game, or project, or whatever…

I'll admit: I'm intrigued. Maybe it's something I've never played before. Maybe it's something... seamless, highly addictive, or... old, in fact. A mirror to a world which already exists, but which many of us are - these days - disconnected, or live too-far from.

It certainly feels... early access... closed beta even...

The door opens, only just. I have to push against it to get in. Suddenly it bursts open and disappears around me and instead I'm kneeling on thick grassy land.

I'm near the coast. I can hear the crash of surf and a strong wind is blowing individual grass blades near my hands. That is the level of detail we're talking about. 

Then I look up. 

A rough, seasoned voice speaks: 'Welcome, seeker. I am Greenwise, the guardian...'

GAME HINTS: Explore the nature, the artificial life, evolution at work...This is a game of understanding nature; of life, death and balance. How will players be changed and their peace of mind by surviving and, even, changing the game? 

(Tattoos on back of hands are energy and power meters.)

Dec 2022

…Someone spoke, but I’m finding it hard to focus in this world. It’s like the device is using different settings. My head is taking longer to acclimatize. Let’s just say the detail is even more a feast for the senses (and my mood) than I’d imagined. The super, VR itself - clearly, was now getting even more breathtaking. In fact, I needed a breath before I could speak to whoever was welcoming me here. The nature all around me was just intense. It flowed, and it glowed; the sunlight; it moved incredibly across a land of long grass and pine trees, casting shadows through them, because of amazing clouds, which allowed it to. There were insects in the grass, where I found and activated my virtual, leather-booted feet. The nearby figure - named Greenwise he’d said, or something - was some robed monk-style figure holding a staff like one of Robin Hood’s men, but my eyes and ears were busy, still soaking up the scene. 

I was in a wide estuary where stunning sea - along with minute, white-cresting waves  - were all moving inland near to where I stood on a grassy bank. What a game-scape it was! Somewhere below, there’d be a way to reach such dark, blue water and an equally large bay, plus beach surely, to explore beyond groups of trees. 

But before any of that… my wooden door - and my key - were gone it seemed. Not that I’d want to leave, but it’s good to have a visual option, or an icon or something. It was so real, like I’d teleported to a real…island? How would I possibly find my friend Dan quickly at this scale of a place, just like a real environment? Dan was an addict of these games and would be as thrilled as I with such scale and possibility, and atmosphere. But, he was also a depressed alcoholic right now. It was no wonder he was out there - in here - lost to all this. 

Hopefully, my new friend and lightly-bearded NPC - or fellow player - would have some answers. He was leaning on his staff now and looking at me, with a vaguely amused, but far-off expression.

I noticed I was wearing sort of medieval-style garb, but my body/avatar was likely my own at least: the Spiral avatar I’d scanned in to match up with my RL appearance.

This was certainly the best Spiral world I’d visited. But why was no-one else been talking about this? Why no hype and all slow reveal? This didn’t seem like a game, more of a… simulation, of a real place. I’m just thinking this when I notice two tattoos on the backs of my hands. They’re both in the same shape - of a rune, forked in nature. My left is red, and my right is blue - and they are full, and glowing slightly. 

So it’s a game then. My best guess: Survive, for as long as possible...

It seemed I’d have to play along, but strangely for once, it wasn’t just for fun or my own longevity.

A WHILE LATER…

To cut things short, the rustic style of speech in my guide Greenwise is relaxing to hear. But, he has no idea where Dan is. He keeps mentioning something about ‘Stokermen’ and how I need to be prepared. He’s willing to be my own boy-scout instructor. He also tells me, mystically of course, that there are seven ‘Insights’ that can be unlocked by free-roaming and ‘progressing’ around this world/game. 

He tells me there are Powers… to do with hunting and surviving, and interacting with Nature. And finally, he tells me that I must find some village, with villagers living here, to help me out further. That makes me feel relieved: there are others here. Maybe Dan is already chilling out with them, fishing with new friends, and I won’t find a crumpled avatar jerking about in strange, worrying movements. Like before, which I won’t go into.

Oh, and the good news is that I can exit the game easily, via gesture. But it won’t pause anything. My avatar goes to sleep, but the world - or possible island - persists. Apparently, everything I affect here, stays affected. The question is: how will it affect me? I’m already wanting to stay, and keep on ‘playing’, and experience so much more. I’ll have to force myself to just go searching, and that’s all, for now.

But that is… until I see two, strange shadow-like figures - truly wretched avatars or characters and pretty darn sinister - neatly armed with long lances. It’s like they’re ready to burst my balloons, appearing from out of the woods, and out of a convincing horror movie too.

Looks like it’s gametime, and just as I was ready to play around with the world. Greenwise has already told me he’ll kick me out if I cause damage. What about these guys? And who would want to damage anything here, when the insects, and this nature, is so real, and growing, via some kind of super-coding, all around me. I want to survive here. I want to persist… 

Greenwise isn’t near me anymore. So I decide to run towards the dark cover of a nearby forest. But I will have to do more if I am to escape in time and hide, so I use one of my Powers. 

Or at least, I try…

...

[Continued in 'Fountellion in THE SPIRAL: Greenwise and The Nature of the Game'...The Full Version.]

‘Until I had played our ‘game’ I had not lived...and even today it fills my mind and my longing… I am still playing… yet of course, it is all around us…. And where I live I am lucky. I need only walk into my garden and feel the spring breeze engulf me with the thoughts of all I have learned of it. They intertwine and fill my mind; my ‘doors of perception’ are - even just in a moment - cleansed… thanks to the lens - and reflection - we felt we had to create.’

• John Leaven, former Virtual Game Designer and Web Salvager

Prof. Ben Fielding Development entries
Fragment 401: FOUNTELLION in THE SPIRAL

I cannot see the future, but I can see many possibilities, and above all, it's these I would like to say a little about, here and now, in case I may be distracted by my own projects, and become narrowed by them.

My team - of talented, dedicated individuals - works intensively around me, here in the seclusion of the Division. Of course they are inspired by interfaces, by new things, by technologies and by the control of sound and form… Their eyes light up in the many testing sessions.

But where ours is only another project, hidden within it lies a big idea: affinity and re-connection with Nature - the ultimate source and fabric. A fabric which all of us strive to be immersed in, or be near to, to ride on, feel a mastery of, to understand, and, of course, to plunder for - ideally - our harmonious survival.

But it is a fabric that I suspect the majority of busy people – beyond my fellow scientists in the fields of virtual development, evolution, geography, mathematics – still do not understand much of, especially in its own language.

'A fool sees not the same tree a wise man sees…'

At this time, we know we have constructed a new and potent medium for accessing alternative worlds, and a platform for building and interacting with these cyber-worlds and experiences. Hopefully, they are, in a few or many ways, complementary to people's natures and to nature itself, the Source. For those which do not, can be - as we have seen... a problem.

So not only this. We are now nearing completion of a world; an experience, which – at its most successful – aims to provide some sanctuary and appreciation for this old, fundamental world.

Fountellion Island. 

There are extensive elements we are working on, which - some days - we feel we may never complete…or else may only be fully completed within updates applied later - with enough users active within the live service plan…

These include: 

- Artificial Life: a delicate balance of organisms within the island fabric will change over time in accordance with evolution-related settings. Much of the plant life will also grow and change uniquely. 

- Player powers: Transformation. Many species may be ‘inhabited’ for periods of time, including the larger animals such as birds, cats and wolves. These unique perspectives will influence greatly the player’s perspective of ‘life’ through how these animals see and survive the world.

 - Focus mode: a unique interface-based skill of avatar control that involves floating, leaping and eventual flight within the game in accordance with energy levels and brainwave ‘thought’ harnessing. 

- Collaboration and communication: these will also be powers related to spoken word between other players which again, will impact the survival chances of the player and appreciate the learning of words as occurred vitally in our species evolution. This may result in the formation of strong player friendships.

- Scale: as part of the transformation powers, a player will need to grow or shrink into effectively a new perspective of his environment. Scaling the island fabric from the POV of a high-flying bird down to a miniature jungle as seen through a cat is still proving… challenging…

- Insights/virtual visions: these must be uncovered or achieved by the player, relating to an original, mystical/spiritual human-related ‘quest’ or theme that exists within the symbols of the island. 

- Responsive environment: the island is alive and the player is intimately connected to it from the first moment a player is ‘born’ into the game world.

.

Since we first began implementing variables our own appreciation of the interrelationship of life and death has changed immensely - as much as we hope it will the testers. 

I hope we will complete them and apply these elements effectively. But I cannot see how the game will fail to attract the required level of interest.

And I hope you, too, shall find yourself in Fountellion one day…

For it is here that we wish to truly demonstrate the extent of our interface, by applying it, tethering it, to a fitting tribute to - a reflection of - the mystical power of the Source itself...

I do not know yet know the full effects; of even our own rapidly emerging technology. I worry that the interface is too powerful and that it makes the Spiral worlds too potent in turn. If it be anything it will be this that will lead people to subvert our intentions, to create shadows that keep people away from the truer sun.

And this is why my hopes lie mostly now in Fountellion. That by revealing the wonders of our real world, we will never forget our closeness to it, our connection, our belonging to it and the vanity of all else...

So I say this unto the world and to those players already attuned to the many worlds growing in The Spiral:

Stand by...

..

.

A unique game experience imagined by Benjamin Fielding (Fc) and John Leaven (Fc)

‘The walkthrough: this was where we realised our actual vision from the dream - and also the ghosts of so many dying dreams .’
- John Leaven

‘So... what follows here is a personal account of the game ‘Fountellion’: a first, sample walkthrough YOU must also complete - by reading. For this may be the only way you can ‘understand’ the game, before - or even after - it launches….You see, here it exists in its nascent form; caught between an idea and a (virtual) reality… and predestined to adapt and to grow….

For it, also, is our ‘Game-story’, and, if be any good at least, may prove sufficient to stand as your story too...and a guide…..So, player….write your story….play the island….’ [see Overall Content Value]

- Ben Fielding

Content / Reward Value:

The following will be your reward for completed reading of all stages:

Deeper awareness of the Source / higher XP / skill points
- nature, evolution, connection, harmony
- an awareness of the original vision of Fountellion
- a move to natural progression 

Overall Content Reward Value:
You may gain personal experience and skills, transferable to the Source.
Scientific or worldly insight. 

Belonging.
Possible spiritual guidance.

System Set-up:
VR 'Spiral Interface' linked to brainwave node amplification (other compatible devices for access also available).
Haptic features and further sensory including lung movement receptivity connections​.
Load game fabric and stabilise interface…..

It’s ‘possible’ to say that the game features six general stages or ‘progressions’ which are marked by discovery of the ‘insights’. For the purpose of the walkthrough these are followed in succession, but it would be possible to attain them in any order, besides the last. Read the fragment to complete.

Questions. How much shall I be changed? Before I am changed?
(whispered from the corn upon waking)

.

SPAWN LOCATION : Estuary, description: on a high hillside next to a coastal estuary. Middle of a ripening field of corn. 

You appear like a ghost in a field, gradually fading in. ‘Waking up in the world’. You are lying in a ripening field of golden barley or corn and the detail everywhere is astonishing. You spend many moments looking at grass stems, insects, your hands entering the softness of the soil and feeling the feedback. You roll over and stare at blue sky, a lone cloud drifting across. There is wind here. Then you stand up. It’s beautiful. You’re in the middle of a field; on a sloping hillside. The wind is soft from a very rich, blue sea-line and, far below, sea water is shining into a wide estuary where the tide is out. 

ATTIRE: randomly-generated old world/fantasy RPG attire according to sex and experience. New players wear rough shirt, boots, cloak etc. Later on: various leather enhancements for protection and stamina.

You feel only like walking and exploring this world for what it is, and yet you remind yourself that this is game-scape, and that control over it will be vital for survival; that you must learn its power and control.

You can see waves and the breeze from these moving everything around you and all you can do is look around, gazing at the sun upon the detailed imagery; the brilliance of it. It is very real, and yet more so, somehow. It’s hyer-real. The farmed fields and pine trees are perfectly simulated, obeying the extensive laws of a unique fabric filled with growing, interacting variables. You might guess that this area had been modelled on the West Country, England.

Arriving into this scene you are drawn just to gaze at the corn and pass a hand through it, seeing the individual grains. It feels almost possible to inhale the freshness of the air. The field is sloping on a hill, so looking down again at the water you can see the tiny waves ushering the sea into the estuary, and sand from beaches that line and welcome the sea into the land. 

You may not see any other players in the landscape yet, but a voice comes to you:

‘Speak the word ‘Greenwise’ and the Guardian will appear’

You speak this summons word but see only the shimmering hillside and those on the other side of the estuary. You continue looking about, expectantly. In the next moments however you hear a rustling; someone approaching through the corn. He has appeared in the one location your avatar is not facing, so that when you turn around indeed, an elderly looking man is fading into view like a ghost. He is in a worn, brown cloak carrying a thick, wooden staff, appearing from the corn, the stems parting around him as he walks towards you. He is Greenwise, the Estuary Guardian. He has sandy-coloured hair and beard greying around the edges but the face is warm and kind, and mildly amused. 

He is a character with mystery. He is part NPC/AI ‘world assistant’ and part inhabited avatar (times unknown). He is known to be modelled partly on the real-life game project leader, professor Ben Fielding, who in the beginning was played by him. Some people say he still enjoys playing the role. In this sense he is an avatar ‘ghost’. But nowadays it is believed to be often the Gatekeeper. 

“Welcome seeker...to Fountellion…the island...the green garden… as it exists today.” 

He shakes your hand firmly on haptic feedback…

“Greetings player…” (his greeting in all future meetings)

READ THIS BONUS PIECE FOR 'BACKGROUND' POINTS:

The medium of books: they remain a way to pass down thoughts, perspectives, religion, hopes, dreams, wisdom of a society... 

What are some of the difference between old books and the new, interactive ones, where both remain still potent mediums for words?

'Slow time books' : These take many forms and involved the use of rich language for indulgence, escape, promotion of certain important values, empathy, entertainment, characters, inspiration, humour, satire, expressive power and reference: eg. dickens, shakespeare, bronte

'New time books' : These have been affected by the advent of constant, changing information and online experience and ideas. The still offer escapist involvement but also a fabric of high relevance relating to nature, learning, change, growth, environment, balance, harmony, green, progression, completion, survival...

Right now we are in this new time so suddenly I care only for ideas…

Some of my colleagues and I have these ideas, and we have a game map, but now they must be visualised in a full walkthrough….

And after this text-based journey, is completed, how many of the ideas will survive beyond the game? Broken up into their fragments.

But for me I'm running out of time, you see...
The future is catching up with this present of ours...like Darwin must have felt when he knew of Wallace’s ideas. So we must publish… We must share what has been inside us. It's all we can do.

I do not have time to flesh them out with story and characters... Other players will come. Your own in-game video captures, stories and experiences....Perhaps this is the next stage for books; they can become creative fabrics, if relevant enough. 

So this walkthrough is to provide just some idea of an ‘ultimate game’...a fabric…a creative platform more in tandem with the Source….

Speaking of which... I must get back into my source game now for my own nature seeks a closer proximity to it….

So I will present to you in this way ‘the first progression'; our Progression Points...In designer Gamespeak...
And in the hope that games or the new tech will save us.

Note: Dear player - YOU may write a similar walkthrough of your own experience of the Fountellion game fabric based on its advanced recording/capture features. Such accounts - blogs, vlogs, avalogs etc - should have the possibility to aid the user to realise and reflect on their experience, their journey, their findings and to share with others their unique experiences...

...for new source-celebrating songs to be sung... 

...

..

.

You may now enter your own comments here:
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Thoughts about the game so far...

@spiraltimes @spiralnews : #Fountellion : new #VR #Spiral gameworld now in development reported to be an ‘ultimate game’. A green game deeply-rooted to nature / ‘the source’... disruptive? What do YOU want from it? Let us know…

TRANSCRIBED from In-World CAPTURES

‘Ok, my fellow gamers. So, I decided, I’ll begin with the doorway. Yes, I’ve got a special key. Found it well buried on a Revel-planet, of all places. And so now I’m all spiralled-up again and jacked in, and I’m stood outside ‘The’ front door to: Fountellion. Yes, after all the time waiting. OMG. And I’m ready to do this thing properly. The door itself is pretty cool. The design I mean. It draws you in. It could almost be for New Sherwood...a tree-house door, like. Only it’s covered. Covered. In leaves and foliage and stuff. Around it there are mysterious carvings, also embedded in a sort of rock or stone. You have to clear off the vines to see them. They’re kind of spooky, but enticing, you know? I keep pinching myself I’m finally going to see what all the hype is about. Or non-hype; all the secrets that have emerged with the alleged integrity...of this whole, long-awaited project - this vision - of Ben Fielding - and John Leaven. Anyway...after enough time… scrabbling? scrambling about... I find some kind of hole and I manage to get the big iron key in the lock. It turns really - unexpectedly - easily, like...click!… that’s it, i’m in... Green light glows about the door and I give it a great push. 

I feel really adventurous, you know? Like... a pioneer, maybe…Only you guys are coming with..so... I’ll try and do a good job. Hey, you can count on me ok?

There have been other Early Releasers, - beta players - I realise this. You go see their reports if you like. It’s no matter. I’ve deliberately avoided theirs for now. And I know you guys are going to be standing here too, yourselves, sometime real soon. And you’ll have a different time. You’ll do things your way. But as ever this is my time. This is my experience. I’ve earned it! Hey, I’m worth it! But... I’m so glad to have you aboard. Although - I’ve switched off all comments for this session. This is just too big. I’m sure I could use some advice down the line. 

Isn’t this how we all play our games right? Partly by ourselves, and partly with others? It’s all about the quality of the moment; it depends on the situation. That’s life, eh?

Right….anyway, come on everybody… let’s open this chestnut...come along with me…let’s go….Johnny boy [Leaven], Benji-man [Fielding]… your game better be good dudes!!

Hey, I’m loving this door already! And the sound effects are excellent. The key scrapes against the battered lock and is swallowed by old wood. Hinges whine and I’m pushing and the whole door creaks and then...I’m falling….fading…

Damn, I hope I don’t break my trainer [Spiral VR homekit]....’

‘They say people will play any game if it be well made enough...lush graphics, fluid interface and quick, empowering options for mastery over the game. A spaceship that consumes constant resources in a space sim may be challenging - but it isn’t fun. It holds no promise for experimentation. No… any ultimate game must be fun - a smooth feeling - exhilarating even - of freedom and control. Then...a bit of a challenge, obtaining resources for upgrades..moving through towards a summit...then: insight, learning..revelation….Will you revisit that game? For more surprises, empowerments….more exciting narrative….more creativity - customisations and capture moments….to show and share with others….discovery...direct relevance….for making one’s own adventures….

In the future I foresee an ‘ultimate game’ that is a powerful reflection of - and a thrilling one - of being a part of the world… change, cycle, adaptation… It will have potent symbols and powers. It will prove a valuable experience for people… as it shows them an experience of life….. ‘

• from ‘Early Designs’ by John Leaven

‘I remember my awakening to Fountellion.. The first moments...they stay with you….Then the rest… so many more moments… I remember feeling… worried... for my real life, and that felt strange. But in this case… I need not have worried. I’ve been able to take so much...outside….I now see and experience real nature much more closely. I understand it. These ‘games’... they shape us and they shape our minds.’

• from Fountellion Game Mage: Reflections by Peter Carvey

You've taken down the black shot of expresso from the machine, hooked up your interface and are staring into the dark void; the vacant, separated field of view. 

I'm running out of time. This game better be good. 

You squeeze the controller and wait for a rich world to render, a world about which you have heard the people talking... 

'Let them talk,' you whisper to yourself, fully resolved. 'Today is the day I'm gonna find out... everything... for myself...'

[unused promotion concept]

‘Many of us are… recovering… from ourselves…

We spend the lifetime that is our youth exposed to and searching through all kinds of signals and mediums of reception. All kinds of worlds. Thrills and spills, reflections and magnifications… and mostly I think we find ourselves back in the arms of nature. Back in the arms of Fountellion…

What else can I relate to you that will tempt you away from these words and into this world? It is no paradise. It is a game, just like the Source world is one big, gripping game. But it was also meant to be a refuge from it. A place to see again…

Let me not keep you. I have nothing else to add. It is not such a world for written words anymore. Old books try, but I would not begin to describe the Source. You have known the Source. And so now you must visit its sister. It is not mine in that I did not create it; a team of my fellow homo sapiens have created it. But in that sense it is my world. Just as much as it is yours. You must find it. You must play it. It will enrich you, because it is very much not, just as much as it is, - of this world…

Oh, and before you go. Yes, I have completed it. As if that matters to it. And what comes next? Well… it is connected to the Source, so it is always changing. But the worlds are merging… The super and the source shall merge together and mankind will move seamlessly between them. But like all things we must... In the end, we must let go…’

‘There are many stories that people like to tell. There are many stories that people like to hear… In most cases, they are about us, ourselves, our dreams, our human problems and conflicts.
In that way of course they are interesting… And they must begin and end...

But... this is a story 'of nature' , and it is from outside ourselves...And from where, all of our little stories may seem vain, when we look - so directly - at what life is really all about...

Welcome to the story - too - of Fountellion…’

• from VRMMO Guide 

The First Full PROGRESSION (RED) will be ready later this summer 2017+…