Note: No AI was used for the concept or writing in part 1 or 2, below.

GAME SESSION DATA + EXTRA INFO:

-STATS and PROGRESSION SCORES:
Dan Harvester [Pioneer]

-AWARDS
-BONUS PAGE: Preface to Original Gamebook
-NEXT PROGRESSIONS: What to Expect… [spoiler!]

FURTHER GAMEPLAY DETAILS / WORLD INFO:

THE ISLAND
GEOGRAPHICAL / ECOLOGY MODEL / VIRTUAL ECOSYSTEM
OVERALL SCORES
SERVER FUNCTION
ENERGY, POWER, INJURY, DEATH, BANISHMENT

• BONUS CONTENT

GAME DESIGN + DEVELOPMENT NOTES / BACKGROUND

-INITIALISING… Progression Red
-“A Game-World of Pure Nature”
-PROGRESSION RED: Acclimatisation (PvE)
-'FABRICS’
-A Virtual Living World + Game
-WORDS of CONTEXT
-INTERWOVEN
-Some WHISPERS in the Corn

REACTIONS:
MEDIA / FEEDBACK / ARCHIVED:

-A ‘World of Nature’ or ‘NEWorld’ REVIEW
-STAND BY...
-SOCIAL MEDIA : @FOUNTELLION #whispers
-[Extract - Pre-Open Beta]
The NEW SPIRAL World - ‘FOUNTELLION’ -
Everything We Know So Far…
-Promo: (More) CHARACTERS YOU MAY MEET
-A Fight in the Green Fields of Fountellion?
-V-SOWN / ULTIMATE GAMES / N.E.WORLDS
-INTEGRAL (NATTER-CAST)
-AVALOG @CYBER-EMPORIUM
-HINT: Names !
-PLAYER FINDS ‘SECRET’ AREA IN ‘FOUNTELLION’ -  A Game of Wonder and… Fulfillment?
-‘I am... a STOKERMAN….’
-Just Another Day as... A VILLAGE CAT
-Promo: Trailer
-PRESENTING: ‘FOUNTELLION’
-TRAILER REACTION: ‘The Nature of the Game Fountellion’

ARCHIVE: Declassified:

-SUPER-LOG 8b: The Real Nature of the Game - or How to Get Better at ‘All This’

-SUPER-LOG 8b: continued...
My Half-drowned Friend and the Vision of a Knife, Burning

-ARCHIVE: FURTHER TERMINOLOGY

-ARCHIVE: MAP by Dan Harvester (Pioneer)

-ARCHIVE: Poem: ‘Relinquish’

• ‘SOURCE’ INFORMATION

-AUTHOR NOTE

-COPYRIGHT

-Cover Art + Concepts

EMAIL: 

Congratulations! On being the first Early Access ‘Player’ to Progress and unlock an Insight…

You are now: a Pioneer and Keeper of Fountellion Insight. Keep it well!

Let us know any feedback or reviews so we can continue to enhance the fabric for possible planned future updates as the game enters Open Beta...

Reminder: if you’ve noticed any bugs or glitches during your gameplay experience in your previous [2] sessions, please contact DD support and let us know. 

STATS POSITION:

SKILLS ACQUIRED:

Focus: Super-Jumping (Level 1/5) and Transformation (Level 2/5)

COMBINATIONS: 

Hunter Mode with Increased Hearing
Super Pounce-Jump

CREATURE MASTERY: 

Damselfly - basic
Butterfly - basic
Red Squirrel - basic
Bald Eagle - basic

TRANSFORMATIONS / LIVES: 0 

FABRIC AWARENESS (Greenwise Tuition): Level 1 attained

ENERGY MANAGEMENT: 80 (Acclimatisation Level: beginner)

VISIONS: 1

INSIGHTS: 1

COMMUNICATION SCORE: 60

COOPERATION: 30

COMMUNITY SKILLS: Fishing level 1 

CHARACTERS ENCOUNTERED:
Greenwise, Casper Gunn, Stokermen

FRIENDSHIPS AGREED: 1

GREENWISE SUMMONED: 1 time (+10 attunement)

NATURE SCORE: 

includes: Energy Management etc, Insight – ‘Connection’ + Fabric Awareness = 320

HUMAN SCORE: 

Includes: Communication etc., Visions, Insight – ‘Connection’ + NATURE Score = 920

BONUS: 

Gamebook Pages Acquired and Read: Preface to Original Gamebook

Transformation Lives Remaining Bonus: 0

Secret Areas discovered: 0

TOTAL FOUNTELLION XP = 1240 (Nature + Human etc.)
TOTAL PROGRESSION SCORE = 15

OTHER:

Avalog RECORDER: YES (capture release: LOCKED)

SESSIONS PLAYED: 2 (Fountellion Days = 2)

GAME ‘FULFILLMENT’ (Beta): 

This is a score calculated from stats combining Creature Mastery, Communication, Cooperation, Friendships attained, Insights and Community Skills acquired. 

It should present an idea of a player’s involvement with the experience of Fountellion beyond its shores.  

OPTIONS: 

Re-play your Game Captures in Capture Editor
Watch video footage of gameplay in Video Editor

PIONEER AWARD: Progression One and the First Insight

GREEN TORCH TROPHIES: ‘Leading Light’

GREENWISE STUDENT AWARD: Worthy

PAGE OF THE HANDWRITTEN LOST / HIDDEN “GAMEBOOK OF FOUNTELLION” by Prof. Benjamin FIelding

[These ‘pages’ appeared in their original green handwriting on scrolls which dissolved after five minutes of reading and were invisible to any game captures. Page 1 is transcribed below for the first time.]

[This page is found by players with assured levels of branch-jumping and transformation speed within the higher reaches of a Great Cedar Tree. It is found blowing loose at the top, and players acquire it following the execution of sufficient actions that meet certain criteria. These criteria together imply that a certain assurance or attunement with the game fabric on both a mental and physical level has been attained.]

What might be the next best thing after accessing an enthralling new world, or an enhanced dimension, and experiencing it; playing it...?

Perhaps it is finding the book – within it – about how it was created... how it was conceived… and how the game-world itself will end...

Well… this is the book in which I write this, beneath my hands, in real ink about our thriving island. I blow the dust off it from time to time, which comes through the open door of an old barn that at one time produced many fine bottles of wine. Quite a strong wind is blowing in from across the fields and it rattles the runners of the heavy doors.

Everything that the Spiral and Fountellion came to be began with this book...

I gaze at the hopes and dreams, frozen in the ink of my former, inspired self… and match them up to the reality that surrounds me: the ‘success’ and influence – and the blame – that many may place upon me…

It is not yet shared, this book. It is still a personal vision... private… individual… unknown…

And I will not share it. Not entirely. Not until some future time… Maybe never… It is, after all, now only really a dry, opened seed in the wind…

But... also… it is only by reading parts of this book that good folk; they may judge the problem we faced and confronted. 

I do hope we may be judged better. Not that this matters to nature, or the future shape and life of Fountellion.

So... I will hide some pages; bury them in the game – for the greater players – and maybe these will add – something – more... for those who will be involved in shaping and caring for its future form… even you…

And there is one section… one page… written so long ago, which I have told few people about… and even now I must re-read and reflect upon it – decide whether it will be included with those I will scatter into the winds of this other friend, our Green Garden… 

The following is included for Pioneers only, to help them discover the most out of the game-world, at this early stage in the ‘life’ of Fountellion, by providing suggestions as to possible quest-paths. 

THE PROGRESSIONS…

(in any order)

• RED: Greenwise and The Nature of the Game (PvE)

• ORANGE: Stokermen and The Flicker-folk

• YELLOW: Wanderers in a World of Energy

• GREEN: The Fountain and The Balance

• TURQUOISE: Embertime Village and The Monastery

• BLUE: The Forge and The Spire

• PURPLE: Bleakmuse and The Reach

Note: there may be multiple progressions in each area adding up to 1 insight (7 Insights overall to be ‘found’ or gleaned).

SESSION DATA: Completion, Readership Awards, Mages and Beyond….

GENERAL NOTES ON PROGRESSIONS

• Players increase any related powers and skills.

• They may gain further teaching and advice from Greenwise the Guardian.

• They may learn about, and assist, the natives of the island and their settlement.

• They may increase their Nature or Human scores.

• It may be easier to find/reach the Insights.

Please refer to the Fountellion Gitbook website (an online, community-ready site where game design details and development notes are now subject to change and updates).

The persistent instance of Fountellion can contain:

• Other Players – large quantity of players either as Players or Stokers.

• NPC (Non-Player Characters/AI): Greenwise, Bleakmuse, Villagers etc.

• Ghosts – players to be respawned.

• Artificial Life – nature, evolving as part of a chain of life.

• Nature and fabric – procedural generation tied to ‘natural selection’ variables.

• Emergent gameplay (interacting variables producing unpredictable behavior and game events).

• QUESTS of nature (result in scores for survival, adaption points, Insights).

• QUESTS of the human (result in Progressions and finding of Insights).

The ‘Fabric’ island nature is modeled on islands with a northern Taiga ecosystem in balance. See examples of Boreal biome, specifically Sakhalin Island (Russia).

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiga

- MAMMALS: eg. rodents, rabbits, wildcat, wolverine...

- BIRDS: eg. rooks, owl, eagle...

- INSECTS: eg. mosquitos, dragonflies/damselflies, butterflies, grasshoppers...

- TREES:
(south): broadleaved + coniferous
(north): coniferous

- TERRAIN:

Boggy wetlands, grassy areas, coniferous forests, mountainous northerly area.

NATURE score: to prove adaptability, energy and power control, insight, creature knowledge and fabric awareness (tuition from Greenwise).

HUMAN score: to prove level of communication, community skills, cooperation/collaboration, game events/insight/progressions plus Nature Score (fabric awareness).

Players require the first to attain the second.

XP = Experience Points / Fountellion Attunement

PROGRESSION SCORE: Percentage score towards ‘Ultimate Progression’

Absent players cannot affect the persistent Fabric. Imprisoned players can only play as Stokermen hunting players. 

Note: The underlying fabric of Fountellion is the central player, the persistent, evolving world. ‘Players’ - their avatars - are fed into its environment when ‘present’ and are ultimately used for its continuance.

Fabric updates / events: These may affect the instance of the world at any time. Some are triggered by what a player ‘unlocks’...

[Note: the following is ‘origin’ concept only, please see updating Gitbook or to contribute ideas.]

Energy is vital and depletes gradually throughout the day, but is easier to restore than Power.

Low energy impedes avatar movement and prevents use of Power. 

Any injury or being ‘kicked off’ creatures will deplete. 

Restoration sources include: sleep, food, water or special areas such as the barley cornfield.

Power is vital for use of Powers. 

It is linked to Energy and depletes in a similar way but is slower to affect except for actual power use: eg. it requires approx. 10% Energy to perform any focussed Power. 

Restoration sources include: insights, visions, food and water (a little) and sleep (a little).

Injury is to deplete in energy until death or a wound is healed. Location of injury may impede movement.

An injury is passed to any animal if there is enough energy to transform into one, but impedes to a similar degree. 

PvP: You can be chased by other players, but their energy will deplete. No player can harm another player in Fountellion as any strike would alert the Guardian AI, who would banish the offending player. Players can ‘kick off’ other players when transformed as creatures, if their creature wins against them or is higher up the food chain. A player’s Cooperation Score will be taken into account where there is conflict and ‘griefing’. Eg. if it is negative then that player is already flagged as dangerous.

Banishment: The Stokermen may carry a player off to the tower (unless a player can wrestle free and fall to the ground and escape). The Guardian may also kick a player across the island to the tower. Avatars will reside in the spire until a player unlocks the Final Insight and the players are released and the game continues. It will be marked on that player’s profile that they were banished and how: Stoker / Griefing. Griefing can damage reputations outside of the game. But players can restore this in the game in a new game instance, when they are released from the tower by death and can re-spawn. 

All players and characters in Fountellion will see a formerly banished character ‘marked’ by a green, glowing band around the arm. But this band fades the longer a player strives once more for the Insights. Helping the Flicker-folk of the Village achieves this the quickest. 

If no player finds the final insight and all players are taken by Stokermen, then all players are killed – thrown from the tower – and the game continues...

Death is to enter Spectator or Spirit mode, becoming a ‘spirit of the island’. You may float across the island, watching other players and game events as you wait for respawn. This sensation is strange as your control is limited as avatar movement is variable, like being part of the wind itself. You may encounter and communicate with other ‘spirits’ about the previous session. During this time you have one chance to help another player either by whisper or other means. This will depend on how much XP you had acquired in the game before death. Finally you enter the spirit of nature and you will be blown like a leaf about the island until settling somewhere and fading into darkness. 

Respawn: You respawn near the coast anywhere on the island, with low energy. This will be in a new instance of the game. You retain insights but must re-learn the powers, which gain strength again through practice. This makes many more vulnerable again in the game. NPC characters will not remember you, besides the Guardian. Former companions will be lost. Users will have to gain new ones as it will be a different island ‘instance’. However, there is the option to play with old companions in special, restricted sessions. 

If a player of game ‘event’ affects the fabric of Fountellion in any way, then this will affect any or all future instances of the island. 

[NOTE: Game details and Fabric core updates are(s also subject to votes and updates initiated by the decentralised Fountellion Keeper Community.]

‘Natural selection cannot foresee the future, and merely accumulates variants that are favourable under prevailing conditions. Increased complexity may often provide better functioning, as in the case of eyes, and will then be selected for. If the function is no longer relevant to fitness, it is not surprising that the structure concerned will degenerate.’
- From Evolution, by Brian and Deborah Charlesworth

So… I’ve done what I can to include as much relevant ‘initial’ text as possible on our dream and subsequent ‘reality’ that now lives and breathes through the minds of many. My old friend and colleague Ben Fielding – wherever he may be these days – writes better than I do perhaps, in discussing and reflecting upon it all. There are always things missing, including – for now – a lot of Ben’s original ‘gamebook’ (written in the Source, and that goes even further back). We used to refer to those ink-soaked pages a good deal while we were still testing the Neuroceans interface, and writing the first ‘walkthroughs’ for, as was hoped, a better system. But, because I know him and how rarely he overlooks things, I’d say it must be his wish that it stays hidden. 

Things evolve. Sometimes very slowly. Fountellion, of course, is always changing. But I hope that the following compilation manages to ‘capture’ truly not only something of that original dream, but also its positive affect or legacy that perhaps can only be glimpsed by completion of all the sections and selected extracts.

I feel that it’s helped me. I’m glad of the process, and the reading of the experiences of users who clearly got so much excitement and ‘insight’ out of playing or ‘living through’ their sessions within it. Our early testers, of whom Dan Harvester was just one, ‘found’ the game just as we could have hoped, and who today proves a worthy Mage and even, from time to time, Guardian, appearing in the game.  

But also I hope these texts can pay some tribute to those who were lost in the course of our ambition – to save so much, and to ‘progress’ onwards again... Perhaps, even, to where we are today, still in the ‘Time of the Spiral’... still dreaming but maybe with eyes open wider and... greener… more connected... and less… restless and... lost...

• John Leaven (FC)
  (Former Lead ‘Fountellion’ Co-Designer and Web Salvager)

Prof. Ben Fielding Development Journal
Entry 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; to be near to; to ride on, feel a mastery of; to understand, and, of course, to plunder – ideally – for our survival, in harmony with it.

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 just a few or in many ways, complementary to people's natures and to nature itself; the Source. Meanwhile, those which are not, can be – as we have seen – a problem.

And 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 once updates are applied later on – with enough users on board and 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. The plant life will also grow and change uniquely. Species can change and adapt.

- Player powers: Transformation. The major power allows for most species to 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. An awareness of predator-prey relationships will be needed to ‘play’ for masterful periods as these creatures.

 - 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.

- 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 and its flow of energy.

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 our hardy testers. Meanwhile, the observation of emergent behavior and changes in the fabric is a continual process.

I hope we will complete this in order for these elements to interact within a fully stable ecological balance that may operate independent of any human intervention or adjustment. However,  as with any ‘living’ chaotic system there may always be unforeseen adaptations or behaviours. Environmental and seasonal cycles are a key factor in affecting the changes and growth. However, these are such wild, groundbreaking features I cannot see how the game can fail to attract the required level of interest so that we can continue working to adjust them while players experience the more human aspects of the game.

And so 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, and reflection of, the mystical power of the Source itself.

I do not 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...

‘In which the player, in simple terms, encounters a new world, acclimatises to the game fabric, the interface, the sensation of movement and a new dimension of reality.’

They will encounter ‘Greenwise’, the guardian and guide to the island world.
They will learn about its nature: its powers, creatures, the hidden quest-path.
They will master basic movement, jumping and descent.

They may encounter the Stokermen for the first time.
They may follow the river and enter the forest of the High Trees.

They may climb a Great Cedar to reach ‘new heights’ and ‘old depths’..

They may find the first Insight, and see beyond their own nature...

This is just one possible experience, as Progressions may be encountered in any order across multiple regions.

Prof. Ben Fielding Development Journal
Entry 402: FOUNTELLION in THE SPIRAL: The Walkthroughs

The medium of books: they remain a way to pass down thoughts, perspectives, religion, hopes, dreams; the 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 assumed many forms and involved) the use of richer language for indulgence, escape; the promotion of certain ‘relevant’ values; empathy; liberty; entertainment, characters, inspiration, humour, satire, expressive power and reference: eg. Dickens, Shakespeare, Bronte...

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

Right now we are in this new time so suddenly I care only for ideas. Culture is always struggling to keep up with science.

Leaven 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.

For me, I'm running out of time, you see. The future is catching up with this present of ours, just as 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. And we must promote it.

I do not have time to empower them with story and characters. Such players will appear in the future, with their unique, in-game captures and streams, live feeds or freshly edited stories and experiences. Perhaps this is the next era for books or writings; they can become creative ‘fabrics’, if relevant enough. To be built upon, using all the new technologies. As ever, there will be great losses in the march of progress.

So... these walkthroughs are to provide just some idea of an ‘ultimate game’: a creative platform more in tandem with the Source.

Speaking of which, I’m beginning to feel the desire, more and more now, to get back to my Source game, for my own nature seeks a closer proximity to it. This Spiral – the whole vision, you might say – has taken a certain toll...

But yes, we will be laying down – in a similar way as that outlined – the initial fabric, via ‘Progressions', and Progression Stats, through designer Gamespeak and example Walkthroughs; in this ‘new time’... And, with the hope that the gaming medium and its new tech will interpret us, realise us; save us; in the most accurate way, and in the most potent and restorative ways, possible. 

Prof. Ben Fielding Development Journal
Entry 410: FOUNTELLION in THE SPIRAL: ARTIFICIAL LIFE within a NEWorld (Naturally-Evolving World)

‘At first, (and since then) we focused - obsessively - on the flora and fauna, and the model which we would use to simulate their inter-relationships. The objective, ultimately, was the stabilization, simply at first, of a model for a balanced ecosystem which simulates a real-world northerly biome. We wanted to make it as real as possible, so we had to implement artificial life algorithms from ‘synthetic silviculture’.

Many types of adapted virtual organisms will be born into a framework mathematically, evolve, reproduce and pass on their code to future generations. Or they will die out. The level of genetic mutation closely matches Source (IRL) time, rendering Fountellion not only a persistent world, but a persistently evolving fabric. It’s just like the Game of Being [earlier natural-spiritual game] only far more detailed. And it is almost overwhelmingly complex. There are continual adjustments going on even as players are present in the open beta of the world. However, we’re getting closer to taking our hands off the wheel, completely. We know it will happen, and may mark something of a sad farewell to the early version of the fabric, the beta stage, as it passes into the hands of its players.

Then there is the plant life, which we had to develop with soil type. Players can grow their own secret gardens on the island, and go there just to enjoy a simulation of real gardening.

Fountellion is simply the sort of vision we had to go ‘full-on’ with, over a sustained period of time, for it to work. To really capture ‘freedom’ with survival, in a ‘natural’ world. They were not even called ‘NEWorlds’ yet (Naturally-Evolving Worlds), but we had a potential metaverse in mind for the future.

The island is the big thing, the big boss; the character. And yet there is also another, the human ‘boss’ within us all, if you will… And only by playing the game will people really arrive at understanding something about both natures.

The time spent on the Fabric was the experimental project with huge long-term interest and potential and something we only imagined to be technologically possible thanks to other, smaller simulations. Putting them altogether — integrating them with a game engine — on such a scale was a risk, but one we would pull off, one way or another, with intensive testing, and actual modification and development of the game engine itself.

It’s now become a scientific endeavor, plus a game, for many people. And this was always the intention.

And it won’t end there for ‘green garden’ games. We still have so many plans for updates to come, for a green metaverse, not just ‘breeding’ unique A-Life but introducing increased amounts of life. There is a slight risk in that such introductions could affect the overall balance but we have limits imposed in the settings in case something gets too successful in the chain. 

As for ourselves, we are a collaborative, co-operative species. There is a place for us in Fountellion too, within some limits which do not exist in reality.

But I will say this. The greatest experience and elation a player may feel, in Fountellion, besides escaping attacks from the Stokermen, will come from forming friendships with other players and by working and belonging in the native tribe. This can be done by overcoming challenges centred on survival and cooperation, and simple ‘work’. The nature of such work is something many in the modern world have lost touch with. It's quite physical in VR as it is in reality. It makes up some of the many ‘games within the game’ — or mini-games — that will aid the progress of the player. 

Older players may not be so interested in the main path of the game, and may wander off into the forests. They may find themselves intrigued back into progression. Either way, they will need to keep their wits about them, if they are to find a place and belong in Fountellion also.

It may be ‘just’ a simulation, but it can be an all-consuming one. And like the Taiga itself, it’s certainly not kind, even with the extra powers at player’s disposal.’

So in this future we have built around us the habits of our kind as ever were changed radically by the things we had invented. Science. Technology. Our meaning now lay more in games and virtual experiences. Our minds and souls – lost to them... 

But it took some people to see this happening, and to work towards a solution. I think I can count myself among them. We gave our time, energy and hope for a harmonious culture of men and women acutely aware of themselves and their place in the universe. A game to be more than a game. It would be one, important, changing realm towards global unification.

Maybe we just kept looking around us at the preoccupations and delusions around us – in our fellow men – and kept asking one simple question over and over : 

‘How can it not know what it is?’

I think it’s a line from some old linear film, itself taken from an earlier book about robots replacing humans, and humans not knowing the difference…. It was, for sometime, posted on the wall in one of our development studios.

But one I especially like these days goes: ‘Human meaning is defined by human effort.’ Another quote, from another old, green and wise book. To me it says: we must find pleasure again in forms of harmonious, worthwhile contact with the Source; with our work, with balance… and simpler things….

• From Early Designs by Zack Collins, a leading Dev. Division Developer

Somehow… we managed it. We were able to interweave a human quest; a human story and combine it with a natural one; a natural testbed or crucible of sorts – for Artificial Life. 

As it continues to update and to evolve around the Spiral so do we continue to learn more about how evolution can produce minor changes that spread so quickly. Yes, there were a million things we just couldn't simulate; things that only nature can produce. But that was where the human elements – like the Stokermen – came to the rescue. They fulfil a function in the fabric. Just as we as a species do in some ways, in reality, only without equal, where we have co-operated so... utterly. But still, at the most basic level, we spread seeds around like many mammals. We are Nature’s movers and shakers. 

So we had to interweave them successfully, because every human experience seems to need a quest; an objective. In the case of Fountellion, the main quest is to learn about the world, about an idea concerning our own nature; to build up an awareness of the forces at work within us all. The interconnections. This was so it could be something deeply relevant for players to carry over, back into their lives – as if just being close to such ‘super-nature’, wasn’t enough. Has it not already been enough; since the beginning?

At so many stages we wondered how it was going to be possible… Don’t get me started on the weather patterns. And many times we had to tinker; tweak variables, change things, introduce new species into the chain, intervene in the numbers being produced. But it... somehow... stays together… It [the fabric] managed to keep its balance somehow by its very imbalance… its environmental pressures upon its lifeforms. Like anything growing and unique it's really quite mystical isn't it? [Laughs]. It’s grown now beyond all that… to become more than just a reflection. 

• Interview with Zack Collins, ‘Green Garden’ Development Division team

‘The key to the Magic lies in the secrets of the Green Garden…’

‘Agape... Is there a more excellent way? Seek…’

‘I must create this system or be enslaved by another man’s; or another bleak Lord...’

‘For now we see in a mirror, darkly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part, but then I shall know
Just as I also am known....’

‘You are a part of a great energy turning…seek the energy of others lightly...’

‘Tread softly…’

‘A man’s reach does exceed his grasp… and that’s what Fountellion’s for…’

‘Hold infinity in the palm of your hand… but keep back the lone and level sands…’

‘There are many stories that people like to tell. There are many stories that people like to hear… In most cases, they are self-obsessed, or species-obsessed. They are about us, ourselves, our dreams, our human problems and little conflicts.

In that way of course they are interesting… and they must begin, and end… But... they can be rather narrow, overall. A bit like kids books, even.

However... we have here an image, and a story, 'of nature', and it is from outside, or beyond ourselves. It comes in the form of a game – perhaps the most relevant form of art it would assume. And.. from where, all of our little stories may seem vain, when we look – so directly – at what life is really all about...

So… be welcome, friend, to the unique story – too – of Fountellion… You’re certainly a part of it… and… it’s a playable one, too...’

• from article in Brave New Scientist on VRMMO / METAVERSE development

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

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

You talk into the listening system 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 going out... in the garden… be born again…. And it will be the first day in the rest of my life...'

[unused viral promo concept]

From early anonymous contributions text / audio:

‘The interface is... bewitching. I feel extremely connected to the landscape not just by immersion but by breathing, hand movements and… thinking. It’s truly enthralling. Never before have I felt so embedded in a virtual landscape, and it also feels safe; carefully managed. The sense of possibility is huge and yet… can it ever be more perfectly applied than in this – utterly vibrant – setting?

I heard words in the corn whisper:  ‘Welcome player, into the Flux..’ …. ‘A man’s reach does exceed his grasp… and that’s what Fountellion’s for…’

We take a look and break down some of the hype stories surrounding the first full-scale, (secretive) attempt to simulate the natural world (and make it a game platform)…

From the official pre-release notes:

‘An island world; a sanctuary; the new Game of Being; a true revelatory experience of our place in nature…

We invite you to Fountellion, through the green gate which will soon be open, for all things to appear as they truly are… upon an island… of nature, change and inspiration. For this VRMMO super-world will depict nature so intricately it will be astonish and enthrall you. Plants, mammals, birds, insects — birth, evolution… and death… This is a simulation of Life based on a Taiga-like forest biome.

At its heart, there lies the Fountain, but there are seven, key, symbolic areas. They are the Estuary, the Fountain, the Abandoned Monastery, the Forest, the Village, the Forge and the Tower, or Spire. Within these regions lie hidden Insights ‘in green light’ that reveal secrets not only of the island but of nature and our place inside of it. They can only be experienced uniquely, activated by deed and by spoken word.

As a new traveler — a seeker — your quest is to unlock these Seven Insights, where knowledge of all six will unlock the final, the seventh, and break the grip of the Tower across the island. However, it is an emotional, instinctive world and the power of change and flight, the Focus, does not come easily. It is the core practice of the advanced interface, and those who use it expose themselves to the cursed Stokermen, who are the minions of something — or someone — dark, that works at the top of the Tower…

But there sleeps… hope. For down in the smoke and refuge of the Village the Flicker-folk have a saying: ‘For the Spire must fall in Fountellion..’.

What will you bring to this vast, open-world ‘game’, a lifetime in the making. And what will you take away? How much will you be changed, when you emerge into the sunlight blinking, after so many sessions ‘connected’?

This is a game where reality and fantasy meet in a tapestry of nature and the human; a true super-world to ignite a new revolution in virtual gaming and carve greater dimensions where everyone may live, or be born again…’

Sounds good?! But just what does this really mean? What can we expect by way of actual gameplay as the doorway finally opens to a staggered amount of users in a few weeks time?

Well, let’s break it down…

START HERE…

The island world of Fountellion is set to be as extensively made as any of the top Spiral Game-worlds have been, only better. It’s reported to make a more fluid and intoxicating use of the Spiral interface than we’ve yet seen. It is based on aspects of the Neuroceans title, ‘the Game of Being’, only far more elaborate in terms of game experience. But what of the ‘game’ itself?

‘Enter into Nature’

So it’s open-world stuff; a free-roaming, experiential adventure-survival game, inspired by nature. However, in this game a player has powers that are more magical and enhanced than outside here, in our humble Source reality.

Game ‘pioneers’ — the few key-finders and invitees — are already inside and roaming the Closed Beta, but so far they have remained very quiet and secretive. No avalogs are yet cleared for public view onto the V-web, but expect this to change soon, creating some overnight ‘Beta Heroes’. In the meantime, as we hardened gamers stand on the cusp of new revelations and experiences in this long-awaited, secretive ‘game-changer’, we have gathered up a few rare seeds that seem to have fallen onto the pathways — so many of which are now leading into the ‘Green Garden’ project (its development title)…

• INTERFACE = intense.

Rumours are that the Division have really ‘opened’ the specs on the Spiral Interface. So… be prepared. If there is any core item our review team will focus on — it will be this. But as yet, we can’t get any more details beyond the gesture-led EEG and breathing combinations. If it is to be something special, then we feel it needs to be more intuitive than ever. ‘Attunement’ here we come..

.

• LANDSCAPE and NATURE = awesome.

Fully interactive, free-roaming, super-detailed, world persistence for each island ‘instance’ generated. The key word here is Taiga. Look this up and we’re talking northerly boreal forest survival. It will also give you lists of inter-dependent wildlife and habitats that should involve any or all of the following: coniferous trees, shrubs, moss, bogs, lakes, mountains…

.

• ARTIFICIAL LIFE = tons :)!

If Division rumours are confirmed this could be mind-blowing. An ecosystem is living and breathing around you, which means we’ll see a lot of serious emergent behavior in a fully inter-connected, evolving food chain. From insects, birds, rodents, rabbits, deer to… wildcats and wolves! How will these interact with players and affect gameplay? Good question. Will it be typical hunting and resource-gathering gameplay? Yes… and more… since you’ll be able to ‘ride’ and make use of most creatures, but that’s all the details we have. Players will surely need to learn their place, however, and we reckon this probably means seeking shelter and earning your keep with the local inhabitants.

.

• QUESTS = survival-based, but also spiritual or pantheistic(?).

We’ve put two and two together. This is a nature-inspired game. So expect the simple — or complex — task of survival to be at its core. We can see suggestions of a more human-orientated quest, but no details have emerged beyond the presence of a form of spiritual wisdom gleaned via seven ‘insights’ into the natural world. The ‘Game of Being’ returns?

.

• GAMEPLAY MODES and POWERS = interface.

It’s expected that these will be ‘intimately and ultimately’ linked with the interface to create an optimal experience of a game designed to be ‘experiential’. Hmm, sounds like life! Ever wondered what it’s like to be the size of a grasshopper, within the jungle of grass towering over you? Ever wondered what it’s like to turn into a wildcat, and survive for weeks roaming as one? Or what about a bird, or many such animals caught within the ‘balance’ and struggle of the island life.

.

• A.I. / PvP / PvE / MMO = yes !

What will be the available game modes — optional or inherent? Well, we can reveal a few things here via an unofficial DD source. They’ve said that there’ll be a mix of NPC and other players, allowing — technically — for both PvE and PvP situations. But how will the latter benefit progression? Not a lot. Or… as much as a brawl in a bar benefits anyone trying to win friends. It might help clear the air. Or not. This is a survival or PvE game primarily, but we reckon that cooperation will be essential, especially in the Village area. We’ve been able to create a list that could be a great head start… Share wisely!

Read next about the Characters You May Meet (a Pioneer’s Guide).....

@spiraltimes

Casper Gunn

Few know the name attached to an early tester and researcher of the fabric (and Early Access player), he is said still to free-roam the island and is a figure who may know the most about gameplay, even more than is programmed into Greenwise. His contributions to development would have been significant, requiring close contact with the A-life coders and designers. He maintained to possess no knowledge of the ‘completed’ game however, and claimed not to be concerned about being ‘left in the dark’ or to have anything but amicable relations with the Division, stating that ‘mystery’ was always integral to his own particular project involvement and experience.

His statue has only recently been observed alongside fellow Fountellion Mages illuminated around the fountain, contributing to rumours he is no longer present on the island, in the First Era.

[With thanks to pioneer and rising ‘Beta Hero’ star Dan Harvester…]

I’ve seen a lot of things… I’ve seen a player fighting the world. Or trying to fight it; pitching everything against it – on a whim? Perhaps. Just testing themselves, against a system. Who hasn’t? In the early days? But it’s a risky move. And one which resulted with this player being kicked out – forcefully – from Fountellion. 

This one time I was ‘walking’ back along the coast, south of the island, just enjoying the moment; the flux of everything; not using any powers. I was headed for the whispering corn; to listen there to see if it had anything more to say to me. Anything ancient or helpful to bring back to the Monastery; for my resumed search towards the next insight. But I saw something glint, further up above the long grass moving across the entire hillside. It had been a green glint I was sure, the sparkly green fire of powers being used within the game.  It’s funny how out of place our powers – or magic I suppose – seems in Fountellion. It’s just as if you were suddenly to witness two figures duelling with magic in a field, in the Source, on a sunny day beside an estuary of water glistening in from the sea. You’d think: Why? What can you be fighting about? There is already magic here, all around. And you’re missing it. Anyway, this is what I saw. Green light glinting from above, and the heads of two avatar figures facing one another, moving in gestures of casting and of focus. 

It was, I suppose, the first time I’d seen any direct PvP – or PvE fighting – in Fountellion, of all spaces. Was it an agent of chaos – The Falling? – perhaps challenging anything or anyone for the sake of a quick challenge, in some lazy mood or deviance from the main quest; the hardship of holding fast to its true path; the finding of the Insights... But I’ll never know their reasons. There may not be any, beyond the simple wish to see a good thing harmed; damaged; breached. A cruelty that in the quick moment seems cruel perhaps but... is more to do with a need to control; be in control; to dominate. To not be helpless, within the laws of this land.

I quickly crouched down so as not to be seen. I would need something, small as a bird, to change into. I clasped my hands together and performed the necessary, speedy gesture, interlocking my fingers and then flipping them over, turning them upwards, parting in the air. At the same time I muttered the latin keyword for the creature in mind. 

If you have not yet learnt to change in the game, then this will all become second nature to you. I immediately shrunk inwards until I’d assumed the form of a very useful bird nearby; a robin red-breast. My marks lowered, especially Power.  But there was enough to fling myself at the air towards the activity above the brow of the hill, darting swiftly and landing on a pine tree branch, where I could look down and survey the scene. With quick shifts in vision I picked up movement and the two figures, currently still waist-high in the tall grass. I determined that one of them was, in fact, the Guardian, Greenwise, (and was not surprised, as this was his home region). He was engaged in combat defence against another player, dressed all in black. They both wore cloaks, so it was brown against black.

“Stop any more attacks, I’m warning you, for the last time.” Something like this. It was the only exchange I heard. “You can still... get out of this...”

The battle didn’t last long. I only have some brief, resonant images in my mind. And they are enough really, to indicate, to my bird vision, just how long and brutal the duel might have been going on for. Brutal, yes. But maybe not very long.  

The Guardian avatar’s hair – was unkempt, and his brown cloak too, ragged and torn. Any significant energy use in the game triggers such visual effects on a player’s appearance. The black-cloaked figure also looked tired – and desperate – and had leapt in the air by way of the ‘focus mode’; a great leap. Then he had transformed into a large, ragged rook or crow that swiftly started to descend again towards the brown-cloaked avatar, who braced itself. Sparks of green fire accompanied this rapid transformation – from the burning of power; the cause of the glinting I had seen. But Greenwise raised his wooden staff at the last moment and struck down the dangerous bird with a shout so that it reeled backwards. It was sent rolling to the ground where it changed back swiftly into a human figure again – from further energy loss – and became just this crumpled heap of a man still moving; threatening to rise again.

To keep him from doing so, the Guardian now knocked him off balance, just by striking his wood staff into the earth. It seemed also to have the effect of preventing the black figure from moving. This power, as far as I have seen, no one else possesses over another in the game. But it seemed to have had a draining effect on Greenwise, who, with one hand clasping the staff, now raised his other outstretched hand into the air, clenched into a fist. 

“I am sorry for this!” His voice was harsh and quite fearsome. “But it is you who have forced my hand… and forced me to declare that you are now... banished!”

He raised his staff quickly, with one hand, turning it at the same time and bringing his other hand onto it too, empowering the gesture. Now... the beaten, ragged, black-cloaked figure flew steadily upwards into the air and was pushed out above the trees and away into the distance, struggling slightly whilst driven by a powerful rush of air – the very rare wind of banishment. It was quite a distance, because my bird-eyes can see well over the land – but soon I lost him as he disappeared from all eyes.

Quite a shocking end really, especially amid the quiet and glory of this windy, sunnier region of the island. 

The Guardian stared after the figure for a bit, before entering a kind of ‘meditation mode’ that must have served to renew his attire – and his power. I could see him relax his grip on his trusty staff. Only then did he look up at me, detecting me somehow, still perched up in the tree. I was about to descend and transform but his Great Horned Owl swooped down before me; from a branch higher up that I hadn’t seen. Briefly I saw him raise a hand in greeting, with a quick smile before his cloak flung open wide and he transformed himself, ‘onto’ the owl, and flew off, northwards. Summoned perhaps by a player, or bound for his nearby home in the cornfield. 

I have since tried to talk with him about it, but he says only that he cannot speak of it; that I ‘should stay mindful of my own game’. But he admitted there had been a battle and that ‘yes, of course, there are always those who go against the grain. Friends who betray you for present concerns; or greater impulses. I wasn’t able to save that one. And now he’s a Stokerman. But, as with any, he may come back and heed the grain – more wisely – one day.’

Maybe the player had not progressed enough. It might have been a tester, testing the security of the fabric; the power of the Guardian. Or just messing around, griefing, restless for a challenge – as if any more were needed when one is out roaming alone.

But so it is that Fountellion is not a game for children. The fabric provides enough sights through the eyes of its energy-crazed, territorial creatures to remind any player. And this just includes the Stokers. If the rogue player had waited around I’d like to have seen him against them. But even now he could be playing as one, making both Greenwise and my own task harder.

Life and death in the Spiral – especially Fountellion – is a serious business. There are implications. If you are blocked then you lose your progression; you may lose your friends. There are implications for one’s integrity both inside and outside the super-scape, with a marked profile. You may return with a new account and form a new guise but you can be remembered by the Guardian and by certain characters. Or you will wear the Green Band. It will be very slightly harder until you prove to the game that you are serious about progressing. And – as the entire game is about progression, about evolving to a level of power and fulfilment the game wishes to honour you with – it is not easy to go against this ‘grain’. 

Having said this, players always have another chance to return to Fountellion. And they will get as far as they can if they are willing, and they will do everything to hold on to their power. To dwell in their environment. To help their village or their clans. To continue their search...

I have known many players return to the path again, and the help they have given me has gone towards their journey... 

You must play by the rules, before you can bend them. 

Although at first, it is no easy thing to submit, I would never pick a fight with the Guardian; with the fabric. It is more than a simple game. It’s a reflection. You don’t need to remember this. It will remind you. It demonstrates it as you play. You ‘devolve’ if you do not test yourself enough. Your character is always stretching, and if you keep ‘camping’ for too long – beyond the Village at least – then eventually the Stokermen could claim you for the tower. For being too unready; too vulnerable.  

And you know... I think of those two figures of the fields often, creatively fighting, and I think sometimes it might even have been someone seeking the tower; giving up; choosing to lose; choosing banishment – ultimately – in the game. 

Well, I choose life. I choose nature. As the corn whispered to me later, when I reached it. 

Stay the course Dan. Do not slide. Or you’ll be taken. Your avatar will be trapped in the tower.  You’ll never find more things than are dreamt of… beyond what can be seen so many fathoms to the Fountellion seas...

And those words are too intriguing for me not to follow. 

For it’s a sight that lingers long in my mind; witnessing my harmless old Guardian forced to fight for our world. His humble attire and calm appearance seemed kind of unsuited to the quick defensive movement he was forced to assume. A fight against chaos, against those unwilling to submit or hear his voice or that of the fabric – and who must learn lessons… But he did his job well.

He remains one of the most elusive and intriguing characters in the game-world. For no one really knows if he is NPC or an actual player, or what is more likely: both. How much does he really know about the game? Is Fielding dead and does Greenwise represent the final traces of his living character? Or is he more than the ghost of just one guy? You’ve got to wonder who he really is, even though it matters not at all. Some things – some forces – are not set to change.

V-SOWN  = ‘Virtual Super Online World of Nature’
Naturally-Evolving World

‘They say people will play any game if it be well made enough: stunning graphics, fluid interface and slick, empowering options for mastery over a world. However if, for example, a spaceship consumes constant resources in a space simulator then this can be too challenging – and not much fun to play, after a time. It presents a barrier to the promise of exploration; experimentation.

No… any ‘ultimate game’ must be fun – that smooth, immersive feeling – exhilarating – of freedom and control. Then… a bit of a challenge, obtaining resources for upgrades… moving through towards a summit… then: great insight, learning… revelation…. And will you go back to that game? For more surprises, empowerments; more exciting narrative; more creativity – customisations, modifications and capture moments – to show and to share with others? It’s about making discoveries, within a fabric, that bear some kind of direct relevance to the formulation of a player’s own adventures and story…. 

Much like our real lives, where, in similar ways, we make our own story; we find ourselves...’

• From interview with Ben Fielding: ‘Immerverse’ Magazine

@spiraltimes : #GreenGarden #Fountellion
More and more people LOCKED OUT of The Spiral and finding themselves in Fountellion instead!… read more HERE…

Following on from the final release of ‘Fountellion’, the major new Spiral V-SOWN [Virtual Super Online World of Nature] from the Development Division itself, we have some breaking news. It now seems people are being ‘shut out’ of The Spiral – along with nearly all of its well-kept, super-worlds and experiences.

Is this ‘for real’? Has the Spiral gone down? Is it suffering from an actual cyber-attack (the Falling – again?) or is it just server instability due to new player overload. Or... is it deliberate? These are the questions everyone is asking across VSM and the V-web, so here we explore some possible answers... 

Firstly, what have the Development Division – owners, curators and designers of The Spiral fabric and Fountellion – had to say so far?

John Leaven (Co-Founder and a Lead Designer) and Zack Collins (Lead Developer) had only this to say, as their boss ‘Professor Ben’ Fielding is still ‘off-grid’, and rarely talks to media anyway. 

“We are working hard to identify the issue and to fix it. Not all access is down, there is still one way to access The Spiral – from within Fountellion itself – due to its integral relationship. Therefore, at this time, we can only state that playing Fountellion is the only way – and the key – to ‘re-finding’ the Spiral again… while we work to identify the cause and provide further updates. At this stage, it’s still unclear whether the problem has come from within our company or from an external source. We hope users will continue to experience our new project Fountellion in the interim…”

In other words, if we want to get back to the portal and into any other Spiral-supported world, then we’re just going to have to ‘play the new game’… and find our way back…

This will only add fuel to the criticism of the Spiral as an ‘umbrella’ or portal system, despite its huge success, coming at a time when Fountellion (or titled The Green Garden in beta development) was meant to carve a clean slate and ‘push the envelope’ for the next Virtual era. 

Our personal opinion here at Spiral Times, is that it’s a move by the D.D. to usher people into Fountellion, while using the system issue as a cover. Just as Leaven and co. mentioned, it somehow forms an integral part of The Spiral… Besides, it wouldn’t exactly prove too damaging to the D.D. to impose such a limitation on Spiral access, at least for awhile.

Whatever the case (and potential future law cases will be), most users are not as frustrated as might have been expected, with so many already hailing Fountellion as an exhilarating success. Quite simply, people are happy to be lost in there – for now… Reports are suggesting that it might just be pulling off the whole ‘envelope-pushing thing’, although no-one has yet ‘completed’ it, if that applies; it’s an open-world experience with the focus on that word.

And meanwhile, now that restrictions on avalog recordings and sharing have been lifted, it’s proving hugely entertaining just to listen/watch/experience other people’s fresh captures and recorded streams of survival on the island of Fountellion (especially that of Dan Harvester’s Super-world entries). For one thing, it’s such a dense, yet open, world that every new player has a very unique experience. Some attune well at first and then ‘devolve’ later, some get lost quickly and then pick up their gameplay in the forest and a few even get banished after deciding to launch a desperate battle against the guardian of the game-scape itself. There are also many amusing ‘fails’ of players falling and crashing in their initial attempts at ‘super-jumping’. 

But right now, it’s the captures created by the Key-Finders and Early Access Beta players, which are the most valued. These were the first savvy folk – and ‘the invited’ – Early Access testers, who were effectively given a head-start over everybody else by Professor Fielding. Gamers such as Daniel Harvester, 37 years old from Plymouth, (uk) ran a little-known gaming channel before uncovering a hidden location for one of the access keys. His channel now has over a billion hits and he’s a star. He’s also the only one to make it past Progression Five, and seems to have ‘re-discovered’ a way back to The Spiral again. He comments that it took him “some time to reach, even by collaborating with early players.” 

He claims he has no idea about the lock-out, because he was so involved in playing Fountellion, and has also been quite changed by it all.  “It might do people a lot of good. In fact, I hope so… as much as it has, so far, for me.”

What do the other Early Access / Beta Testers have to say? Spiral users are looking to them for explanations or ‘a way back’ into full access, but none of them have put forward any prior knowledge or reason for the lock-out (which includes access to Super-News, the Know-Zones... among hundreds of others). Just how will people cope – without their feed-spaces?

Well, this situation may even unite hardcore gamers with ordinary users whilst playing – and co-operating – in Fountellion, especially the many who ‘crave’ daily Spiral Tower access via a heavy addiction to life in the Virtual.

How will they fare in this new ‘nature-world’, since they’ve effectively now been given little choice other than to ‘change their games’? We’ll just have to stay tuned, and watch this (super-)space… [see below for our latest live capture feed.]

[Following the SPIRAL lock-out and full release of Fountellion:]

I’ve given my avatar/PIP this entry as a reply to people enquiring about [the Lockout] and access to my in-game experiences:

Firstly, I don’t know why we were the first…’invited’ into the ‘secret’ Spiral world. I’ve replayed my meeting with Professor Fielding many times in my mind. I think he just wanted to ensure it was appreciated by a bunch of us who would take it seriously. 

I think, also, he figured we could maybe use a break, and because we had struggled for so long with our passion for games, we might work well together, as a team, in the later stages of the game (which is where I still reside.)

And I’m sure he needed players he could count on too I guess; dedicated people who understood about the potential of games and would create decent ‘First Look’ feedback and reports. 

I’ve done what I could. I see Dan Harvester frequently in-world. We are doing what we can to get back to the Tower. 

No, we never knew anything about the Lock-out before it happened, but I have my own opinion. 

It belongs to the very nature of Fountellion and what lies beyond Progression Five… and I think getting people to make this – journey – was a brilliant move to usher people inside; to stop and look within and around again…

People who would otherwise never have ‘seen’ what they needed to see… beyond the Forest…. and even the Great Tree….

• Rick Cooper - Fountellion Pioneer Level and owner of ‘The Cyborium: Game Experiences’

Hey there folks, just BTW... allow me tell you all about a little trick I learned for those who become Mages. Yes that's right – I’m now a Mage!! So be careful how you treat my hugely seductive friend, Fountellion! Yes, that inspiring island teeming with life, energy and persistent change, the Flux. Where a little respect for one’s surroundings and some enlightened, harmonious cooperation is endemic to the shared nature of the game. Where players live beneath the shadows of their own natures, the Stokermen, and are consequently less... wayward, or: more focused.

Anyway, it's not so much a trick as a new Power: 

Turn on: Names

That's right. Pointing at an animal, bird or insect within a certain visual proximity for more than three seconds will bring up it's unique species name in Latin. The letters appear artfully and then dissipate into the surroundings. It's almost just as beautiful watching the letters as it is the subject. 

However, this won't work for normal users. 

As we all know, in Fountellion, knowing the names of things is vital in the summoning of some powers. You can – literally – hold a power over something if you have learnt its name. 

And it's another reason that I keep recognising insects just when I'm out in the Source, walking through the nearby city gardens. 

But there are a lot I've never seen before and may never, and these must be unique to the Fabric, where every Mage is allocated a species to monitor.

@NotesfromSuperWorlds

Reposted @spiralwritings

‘NOW PART OF THE TRIBE’ - FOUNTELLION PLAYER AND ‘EMBERTIMER’

I’ve formed close bonds and ties not only with other players but with the A.I. NPC that ‘live’ in the game. The village is almost like a second home to me. Some of them have unique – and funny – character settings. 

They are primarily gardeners and hunter-gatherers. There is no mass harvesting of the land. There is only the magic of new findings that are discovered and brought back to show and to share with others. 

Their need to live in harmony with the resources that keep them alive is deeply ingrained, so any player would be wise to grasp this. They welcome players but especially for their knowledge of where animals have been sighted, or their nature and quantity – and usefulness. The villagers have no ‘weapons’. They are simply ‘hunting tools’. There may be ‘emergent’ village brawls but I’ve only seen one incidence of ‘griefing’ so far and that player was swiftly ‘contained’ by Greenwise. They calmed down however, and were not banished.

There is nothing with which to repel the attacks from the Stokermen. Fire can distract them or delay them but they can not be harmed. No known material can withstand their lances. But they seek only players not villagers so it’s possible to hide amongst them – if they care enough for you. Therefore, it can be a very safe place and perfect for learning skills to take out beyond the village, and for continuing the search for insights. At the same time a Stokerman’s lance can prize apart the safest-seeming hiding place, and will sweep aside any villager in the way, and thus they perform their job well – forcing us back out into the island, back into the wild... 

…where they would steal our dreams and powers away to their far tower…

If they are not avoided. And, happily, just getting lost in the beautiful representation of nature is so easy. Not only is it ‘alive’; ever-changing and detailed, but it is indeed a garden in which to apply village skills and ‘experience’ most of its inhabitants, influencing subtle changes in the fabric, like casting tiny stones that cause ripples. This is the true art of transformation. And ultimately, it is the player who is transformed, not he or she who transforms...

Walking one day near the estuary, the land of Greenwise and the beginning of all things, we encountered a small lake that glistened in the dawn. From focussing well and super-jumping perfectly across it in a special leap sequence I then saw a vision of a knife glinting with sunlight. I cannot describe it without spoiling it. But it made me think not only of my game-quest but of another personal quest… that if ever these shores are spoiled by players or griefers then that is a day when I shall leave Fountellion, if I am not taken first, or find the sixth insight. 

But for now, I continue to play and to learn under the virtual light of this new, man-made world; a higher dimension, even. To adapt and to evolve there. Seek balance. Like the day I became a member of the village tribe and I felt such a deep and unexpected… fulfillment. Something to take away, beyond the shores. 

Yes… together with other players I have learned much and the interface has brought to our senses bright super-memories to grow old with indeed. We have helped each other find the first and second insights. It is an ultimate game, you will see… And my hope is that my children will also see why it is important, as a game, and not be lost to it, or drowned by it...

• Reposted from Redz Gaming Channel ‘Green Garden Game’ thread: comment posting 24398 by Caitlin Latheturner

@spiraltimes

It seems more and more players are lining up to enter through the creaky doorway into the new Spiral game-world ‘Fountellion’.  Well, within its enveloping ivy, there are already those who have ‘failed’ – if that term can be applied.

Here’s an entry from (an anonymous) gamer we’ve been in touch with via their blog, and have been allowed to re-post here:

‘My role is simple: to hunt players on the island. It’s my only objective; to feed the growth of the Spire, which gets higher the more players we can snatch up and bring back.

It’s like being in continuous Hunter Mode, and where the flying and maneuvering – although haphazard is – pretty addictive, as though gravity is very light; so we have to push ourselves off in desired directions. My favourite part is launching out into the air from the spire. We’re like boatmen of the sky, but must seem pretty scary… and wretched...

It’s awakened some very instinctive emotions of hunting and... stabbing.

My first ‘steal’ was a guy I pinned to the ground next to a great tree. He’d been a lynx for awhile but had become more and more visible. It was… intense. He’d just been playing the hero, trying to save another player or something as he wore the Green Band. Ha! But then I get him! Although he didn’t struggle on my lance much, which was boring. 

His avatar has refused so far to come out hunting. Ok, he may have been one of us before… but... I reckon he still craves gameplay as much as me. I can see it. He’ll break before too long. Join the ole gang again.

I remind myself that I’m an essential part of the game, for without us, players would not be impelled to improve their gameplay, or to progress. They might drown instead in the feel of the fabric, to the mastery of creatures, to exploration, the sheer needs of survival and the family-style bonds with the natives. 

How I miss all that... But for now I get to haunt the island, and round up the campers, griefers, would-be heros… the losers. I get to witness the more selfish players prevail and the stupid ones die. It will make for some highly viewed captures, believe me.   

It’s quite a feeling when I catch a player. It’s better than catching fish anyway, because these new fish increase our powers, and they join the team.

What’s in it for me, you might be wondering? Well, I’m banished from playing. Locked out of the game. 

The only way I can get the game to re-set is if I and my comrades can steal all remaining players on the island. It’s not spectating, and it passes the time.

Without my skills with a stoker it would render the insights… obsolete. But they should not be obsolete. We have always sought answers; we have always sought to learn our place within a fabric such as this, or to remind ourselves. It may be easier than we imagine. 

Once we’ve got everybody, then we can be free… and return to our own quests. I know we will be marked with the Green Band, but I’m quite glad to experience both sides of the game. When I’m free again I will keep playing until I find the final insight and have completed a good game, and am redeemed...

At least he tells us we’ll be freed, when we have attained ‘the utmost power’. We have a ‘big boss’, you’ll be interested to know. Or he’s more like, a voice outside our door. It’s quite… motivational… or, enough to cause shivers down your spine. You’d have to meet him yourself to understand. Maybe you will. He calls himself ‘the Bleak Lord Muse’. It’s easier to call him Bleakmuse. Or ‘ole Bleaky’.

He reminds us that not only must we build the Spire but that our power is linked to the Fire, beneath the mountains. Only with more ‘steals’ will it burn brighter... But with still only a few to our credit the fire remains diminished and we stay... old. It is harder to fly. 

Bleaky only enters the room (where we or  avatars are ‘held’) to explain our ‘situation’ to new captives. He spoke longer than usual with our new arrival. And he left... angry… which was interesting but we’ve no idea why. I’ve not seen it before. I must say, I’m glad these A.I. or NPC characters are fastened to the games where they dwell, for if ever any of them escaped into the Source… I fear for our society!

In the meantime, players in Fountellion: fear me. For I am a Stokerman. And on the island I’ll be waiting… and searching... for you. You can run, that’s all – because you can’t hide for long, no matter what form you assume.’

I lived with a cat in the Source, where I owned an apartment and spent hours watching him. Occasionally I wondered what it would be like to be him, watching me... 

But I’ll never look at him the same way after my hours in Fountellion. My perspective is… changed. Because I feel I have been a cat, for hours. On the island.

My energy level ruled my movements and priorities, as I’ve stalked and played with mice and birds, jumped onto precarious outcroppings and heard the environment around me like nothing before. In fact, listening was a major power for surviving – for lasting as long as I did – in the long grass. I struggled to master a big mission in the life of a cat – that of territory – and in the process I reckon I’ve come close to total mastery of this creature as a whole. Also, they can evade Stokermen for some of the longest periods.

It’s still an animal of choice, right up there next to the eagle, squirrel and Odonata. And there’s almost nothing like running with the wolves. But they’re all unique, with their own potential for garnering much fun and some superior, resonant super-memories.

Cats are not like wolves, which have evolved a more direct co-operation, and gave us dogs we could work with, going way back. Domestic cats have survived by being cute, tolerant and playful, and for their power for killing rodents and other pests on farms more recently. We created them, and have influenced their wilder ways.

Fortunately, away from the village, there are loads of mice or small animals in the fabric for a cat to find enough energy, although squirrels are a huge challenge! Returning to the village is certainly a relief, where it’s relatively easy to ‘seduce’ a villager.  However, within its confines there are very different challenges to face, from stalking around the pathways and sneaking inside homes, surviving fights, to escaping dogs and winning the best territories. I’ve managed to garner one extra life from winning – or just escaping – a few scrapes here.

I might soon give the Lynx a go, because transferring what I’ve learnt from living ‘in the skin’ of its domestic relative will be a huge boost.

I’m trying to ‘focus’ on mastering a creature for differences in size and for each habitat on the island. And I think that tactic has worked well escaping Stokermen, despite the hours it took, sunk into gameplay. But I’ve seen other players focus only on one, versatile animal, and with their skill they’re formidable allies. I owe some of them a life... 

[Experience ‘Dan the Cat’s Pioneering Avalog Adventures’ – on this channel!]

Shown for the Full Game Release at Games Expos worldwide...

[Cutscene. Fade-in... Music: In Dreams by Ben Howard. Spidery guitar music.]

[Camera moves forwards... towards a darkened doorway, a Spiral Tower doorway. The door is solid wood and iron, but is now nearly all covered in a mass of vines that have emerged from gaps in the worn stone around it.] 

A cloaked figure in dusty leather boots can now be seen walking towards it. 

He carries a satchel, a wooden staff engraved finely with swirling motifs and a lantern tied to the end of it that glows with a low green, burning, magical light. He lowers his hood and reveals light-coloured hair, although it’s difficult to determine colour in the green.

The cloaked figure now unties the lantern and hangs it up outside, onto some hook that’s hidden in the foliage. The light illuminates the eyes of the animals carved in stone that decorate the door frame. It makes the eyes of a bird – a great Horned Owl – seem alive for a moment.

He uses the lantern glow to pull some of the vines and leaves away from the frame, making it less dense, before taking a worn, rusted old key from his satchel. He holds it in his hand for a moment, and we can see it has a figure of eight with a small forking rune in the centre. He blows on it, and the small rune fills with a green energy. He puts it into an area of foliage. His hand disappears within and there is a pause. The figure’s eyes are concentrating, until he turns it firmly with a strong, satisfying click...

Green light emanates from within and spills outwards. He places his other hand out, spreading his fingers to push on the door. Old hinges creak. There is more light. He squints his eyes, - which now also have this green living glow inside them... and he enters, pausing to scrape the key out of the lock and put it in his bag again. The door closes behind him and there is darkness. 

Huge applause from the gaming audience...

[Music changes: Green Garden by Laura Mvula]

The tone now is all colour, motion and wonder as we now see a series of snapshots from the game-world, some of which are of gameplay:

• A grasshopper’s eyes. Blinks. [close-up]  

• It jumps onto another stem with the camera pulling up to reveal a billowing field of golden barley; an impression of the living, artificial life that is present in the game.

• Virtual sunshine passes across it and a wide estuary beyond where the sea is rolling into a wide, empty beach. The weather changes and we see shadows of clouds passing, rain showers... all speeded up into a clear night with a bright moon.

• We see shots of Boreal forest-like scenery, coastal pine trees swaying.

• Then… we see a cloaked player, his hand passing through the detailed corn, each stem moving distinctly. He is standing in the cornfield, his cloak catching the wind.

[Player voice: ‘Am I really... here..?’]

• Next, a cloaked player is bending his knees, arms outstretched.  He then launches upwards, jumping high into the sky.

• The camera watches from below, where a butterfly lifts into view, dancing and flying upwards...

• The camera goes inside the butterfly and we see the view bouncing, before it glides down to land on the side of a tree trunk...

• We see more life growing, rushes swaying, birds feeding on insects, and a river shining and jumping with fish, running deeper into a forest...

[Rough voice: ‘You’ve always been here... only now you’ll be able to see more clearly where you have been... all this time…']

• Then a hooded figure, head lowered, inspects a damselfly. The figure moves one hand and we can see that the insect is broken, one wing is loose. He opens his hand and it falls to a ground that’s covered in needles and pine cones. 

[Everything fades to black as it falls... Music changes: Black Flies by Ben Howard]

• Clouds are now beginning to form across a muddy field. These are different to normal clouds in that they’re rounder, slightly more unreal...

• The camera moves through trees as the sky continues to darken due to these clouds...

• A wolf howls… [song breaks on the lyrics: ’so here we are…’]

[Then, glimpses of more serious, exciting gameplay build…]

• A dark figure appears, his black cloak torn and ragged, as he drifts in the air, pushing himself higher into sky using a long needle-like tool both for moving and stoking up some great, absent bonfire.

• Black birds (rooks) take off from a high tree and disperse.

• A player running through a forest jumps, and then we see a red squirrel running up a tree, its black eyes shining...

• The view changes to inside the squirrel and we see the tree trunk under its claws…

• It jumps... just as the end of the torn figure’s stoking lance strikes deep into tree bark, sending shreds of wood and bark bursting outwards, falling…

• Camera zooms in on ants falling off the bark and then…

[Player voice again: “I was... scared…”]

• Player lying in the cornfield again, having fallen somehow, staring at a broken grasshopper he has crushed...

[Everything now fades to black, with just a voice talking. It’s a mature, male voice, old, rough and worn with wisdom and time…]

[Rough voice: “Fear not that fear inside you… for that is like anger, and both are a part of... Change…”]

[Final scene. Music changes again. It’s magical again. In Dreams guitar again...]

Green inky scripture appears, forming out of green dust onto a scroll of parchment that is unrolling…

Find… The new, game-changing survival super-world within the Spiral Tower...

Find... Fountellion… 

For it is said that those who do… will find themselves…

The scroll wraps up tight as it dissolves in more green dust, which sparkles and burns like the sparks from some fantastic green fire. 

‘How much shall you be changed, before you are changed?’

Use Spiral Voice Access Phrase:
‘How much shall I be changed, before I am changed?’

Featured on Game Labs Super-Channel:

‘Today the FULL trailer for a new immersive movie came out across the Gridscape and.. wow… It looks amazing…!

I don’t watch many movies anymore. I hardly get time, as most of it I spend on gaming; immersed on the island. Or in The Spiral. It’s one or the other these days isn’t, eh?

But I still love watching trailers. They include most of the movie anyway and I can get a good sense of what’s in store… and what I’m gonna take away from it. And in many cases I just feel: Been there, done that, got that… you know?!

But of course I’m just gonna have to see this one, as it’s a movie about that ‘game’ I play… and it’s just called ‘The Nature of the Game Fountellion’.

So… yeah, it contains many of the elements that dominate my life at this time. It’s about me, I guess… and about many of you guys who love games too, and who ‘know’ me in the Village and in the Source… and who faithfully tune in to my logs.

At the very least, I hope it’ll prove to be something worthwhile or inspiring… something that celebrates our game; leads others into its changing, knotted fabric.

Even if written really well then I just know it could be about so much more...

But it looks set to be about the story of our ‘Green Garden’: its creation… its influence…

Anyway, strap in and here we go guys… Let’s take a look…’

Based on the visionary super-game of nature ‘Fountellion’...

[Scene: Dimly-lit cafe or diner. A boy + girl, dressed normally are talking…]

Boy: “There seem to be more and more of these Dis places…”

[We see clip of two pale, scruffy regulars looking over, sunken eyes. They turn back to their drinks.]

Girl: “Yeah... I guess they’ve seen… too much… but.. (looking at boy)....what did you see…?”

[Fade out. Music starts…’In Dreams’ spidery music by Ben Howard.]

[Cuts to elderly man… he’s putting some old map away into a box, closing it firmly. One of his hands shakes slightly. But he pulls open two heavy, wooden barn doors... They open onto an amazing property with fields, well-maintained garden. He takes his glasses off and squints towards the setting sun. A breeze blows across this rustic scene...

Just then a train passes… it’s high-tech and fast and we see it headed for a mega-city that had previously not been quite in the frame…]

[Close-up of his eyes again. Expression of concern.]

[Cut back to cafe:
Boy is raising his coffee cup to his mouth. He takes a sip. He closes his eyes…}

[Music starts: ‘Green Garden’ by Laura Mvula.]

[Next we see cutscenes. Fragments of the extraordinary world of Fountellion. Only it’s more overgrown; wilder...

Boy touches down after some kind of flight within a garden-scape similar to the elderly man’s place, only it’s vibrantly enhanced. Wild. Seeds likes magic fill the air. The boy gets up and looks around, fearfully. He’s out of breath. And dodges a dragonfly that swoops down, forcing him to duck.]

Boy: “Wonders… “ {His eyes open] “But... [brow furrows] ...it’s… changed...”

[He puts his cup down again as his hand is shaking a little.]

A different voice. A black female: “You might find it’s… wilder than before. More... overgrown. And… harder.”

ADVANCED TEXT (?): It was the Ultimate game..

Boy: “How come?”

[Scene: sitting at a crowded event following a virtual games competition.]

Firecube ‘Agent’ – Syla Rooker: “Well, it’s been abandoned, but left… persistent. So now... it’s evolved…”

ADVANCED TEXT: A Game… That Engrossed a World....

Boy: “I was given… this key…”

[Scene: A piece of ordinary, creased paper with a detailed drawing of a key on it. It has an eight and a fork rune in the middle. The boy scans it into an interesting machine.]

[Scene: He’s now holding it in his hand in the virtual. It looks worn and heavy and old. A garden key. The boy now wears a cloak and a satchel. So it has become a virtual key…]

Girl: “How did they find you?”

[Scene: A different game. Fighting an impressive dragon with other players. Boy wins, but also gets kicked over having saved a team-mate. He lands on the ground as the beast dies and applause starts. The players assemble before collecting their prize. He’s out of breath. But there’s someone watching in the arcade. Syla Rooker. In a black-clothed avatar. She steps forward and helps him up.]

Rooker: “High score?

Boy: “Not my best actually.”

Rooker: “We know. But we’ve got a new game for you..”

Boy: “New?”

Rooker: “Well.. it’s not new…. you’ve played it before…” 

“It’s the fabric.. it needs to be cured… of something… invasive…”

[Boy is accepting some award and crowds are cheering.]

Boy: “Ok, what’s invaded…”

Rooker: “Us.” [Boy watches cheering crowd which begins to slow…]

[Boy reaches to jack out and rip the interface away. The game dissolves. But it’s now the face of the Girl gamer.]

Girl [taking off an advanced Spiral interface as boy sits in background]: “I see what you mean... (out of breath)... It’s like it’s stuck... in Hard Survival Mode.”

The girl’s voice: “The Spiral… it’s getting out of control… people are dying…”

[Scene: we see image of someone jumping off a building in slow motion.]

Boy: “I know… I’ve seen… things… myself…”

[Scene: a scene of hell inside Bedlam4]

[Scene: Firecube meeting of agents] “So… the time has come. Agreed?” 

Rooker: “Agreed.”

Boy: “Fountellion… They want me to complete it again.”

Girl: “Why?”

Boy: “I don’t know. To fix it or something. It has to be completed.”

Girl: “Who were they? These guys…”

Boy: “Firecube…”

Girl: “The Firecube? What the Fuck?”

Boy: “But… not just me… so...are you coming?”

[He puts something on the table. It’s a payment of some kind.]

Girl: “(Nods quickly; decisively)...Ok, I’m in.”

Music starts (darker): ‘Black Flies’ by Ben Howard

[Cutscenes: OF FALL-OUTS. ADDICTION TO OTHER SPIRAL WORLDS]

Girl: ”But there’s no time…

We’re losing people….”

[Scene: At Firecube Academy virtual HQ]

Rooker: “What’s this?”

Boy: “It’s a page. I’m collecting them in the game… but I don’t know what they mean…”

Rooker: “How many do you have? You know you need five, right?”

(Pause. Kid looks down).

Rooker: “You’ve got some already haven’t you?”

Boy: “Yeah… four…”

Rooker: “Then you can take them to Leaven.”

Boy: “Leaven the designer..? He’s still going? But no one knows where he is..

(there’s a beep sound on his personal device/watch).... That’s his address isn’t it?

Rooker: “Yep.”

[Scene: Two people are standing outside Leaven’s workshop. They’re surrounded by his wild garden in reality. One of the barn doors slide open]  

Boy: “John Leaven?”

Leaven: “I can’t take too much light. Hurts my eyes…

[Leaning on one of the doors] “So… they told you where I live? It must be… time…?”

[Boy holds up a logo with a Firecube.]

Leaven: “Should I be glad you’ve come. That’s the question…”

[Boy and Girl exchange a pressured look].

Girl: “Sir… people need your world again.”

Leaven: (Long pause as he reaches for map box). “Tell me about it, young lady. Trouble is… It needs… re-setting…”

[Scene: unfolding the map. They all gather round.]

Leaven: “So… you’ve been there?”

Boy: “Yep.” (Leaven then looks at girl).

Girl: “Yeah. It’s pretty… badass.” 

Leaven: “So it’s not all good? Hmmm…. But what is, really, eh? Ha!”

(Leaven turns towards them) And… What level? Are you mages?”

Boy: “Yes… Up to Progression Five.”

Leaven: (He nods and looks away. Pauses). “Ok… you’ve now got a chance…”

[Sitting in old farmhouse under a dim light…]

Leaven: “Actually… it’s his Source book… if you get the book, it will tell us how to stop the AI, restore the world… And... more…”

[Boy] “What do you mean…?”

[Leaven] “We’ll find out…”

[Scene of an in-game death. The girl runs out of energy and falls. She starts again. Washed up onto the shore, the sand catching bright sunshine.]

Leaven: [helping her to her feet] “If you die again… we lose more time….”

[Scene. Back in farmhouse or barn.]

Boy: “Ok, so, let me get this straight… First… we’ve got to play the game… find the pages… so we can find another book ...in the Source… So we can win the game… And fix it…”

Leaven: “I think he’s got it..”

Girl: “I can tell by his face he’s got it…”

Boy: “Fine… I’m just not sure I want it…”

Girl: “Of course you do…”

Boy: “Why…”

Girl: “Because everyone needs it… They’re counting on you…”

[Looking for the Fifth Insight. IMAGES OF ACTION. ANIMALS CHANGING.]

Girl: “What happened?”

Boy: “I got… beaten…. this time…”

Leaven: “You’re not thinking about the ecosystem…

...You can’t let a few ants get in the way.”

Boy: A few? (loudly): “It’s a bloody army!”

Leaven: “We’re gonna need more help…. we need the Guardian…”

Boy: “Where is he now?”

Leaven: “Where he’s always been… in the Village… He’s not allowed to influence gameplay. So he’s probably just..hiding...

But... I suggest you speak to Embertime….first...”

Girl: “Who?”

Leaven: “Not a person. NPC. He’s the village chief. He’s...very… chief-like...”

[Scene: we see a villager being thrown – tossed easily – out of the village.]

[Scene: they see a villager smoke a huge pipe and pass out.]

Girl: “So it’s a side quest. We have to find this herb and drug him.”

[Scene: Village chief is nearly passing out in a room thick with smoke.]

Boy: “So… we’re looking for Greenwise…”

Chief: “Sorry, you’ll just have to wait… for the next attack…”

Boy with Girl: (concerned look) “What attack?”

Chief: “Stokers… always attacking…” (slumps over onto the floor).

[Scenes of villagers running and scattering. Shouts of “Stoker attack!” Defences being made. Fires being lit.]

[Scene: Greenwise saving villagers from long lances. He helps save them from attack too.]

Guardian: “Don’t tell me you need more help…?”

Girl: “But you’re not supposed to be fighting...”

Guardian: “You don’t think the Professor would have locked me up without some new teeth, surely?”

[Scene: In village tavern. Wearing cloaks.]

Girl: “But… why was it locked by the… Professor?”

Guardian: “People weren't ready. They weren’t seeing…”

Boy with Girl: “Seeing what?”

Guardian: “The true nature of the game. They were getting lost before the last insight. So expect there to be.. .modifications.”

[Scene: The boy immersed. Seeing the last insight. A green eye opening and everything filling with sparkling green fire and light...]

Guardian: “And it’s the only way a player can defeat… Bleakmuse…”

Boy: “Is he the Boss here?”

Guardian: “He controls the Stokers. I guess he’s a big boss. But you might find he’s a little… more… than that…”

[Cutscenes: ACTION SCENES]

Boy: ”I’m trying…”

Girl: “We’ve got to get up there… into the Spire…”

[More scenes. Shout of “Override!”]

Boy: “You can’t keep all this… for yourself….”

Girl: “It’s… unravelling…”

[They grip hands…].

[Scene of mega-city in the distance again….]

[Leaven] “You know… it was our dream….to heal the world….

To lead players… back out… more… aware...

It can still be… that’s what we needed...a cure…

To save the world… from ourselves…”

[Scene. SLOW-MOTION ACTION IN THE GAME]

[Boy and girl change into wolves…]

[A dark figure appears in the game…]

Dark figure in black: “But you know...you could be….like me…”

[His arms begin to spread upwards…]

[Brief scene of everything breaking apart….]

[Fade to black.]

Boy: “Yeah but none of this is real…”

Leaven: “Of course it’s real…. for here you’ll see more clearly….the nature of what is real…”

Music starts: ‘Green Garden’ by Laura Mvula

[Camera ascends trunks of swaying trees and we see the island spread out...the view above the trees… A glittering fountain just above some tree-tops in the foreground. Mountains and a vague tower with a spire in the distance.]

[Fade to black (with tiny specks of burning green sparks summoning the letters…)]

[ADVANCED TEXT:]

“Find out the nature of a game...

You’re already playing…

Our lives … within... all life…”

[vines crawling up through the letters]

THE N A T U R E OF THE GAME

[brief image of old key and old door opening….] 

Unlocked soon…

‘Ahhhhhhh... woho!….. Hey folks... I – for one – just can’t wait. How about you? Let me know your comments! It looks like they’ve actually modelled some of the island scenes from the original game. Plus: they use the same tagline that was first used in the early game release trailers… I love that...

Ok well that just nails it for me… It seems to include some interesting background details that most of us are still completely in the dark about. It’s a must-see…

Stay tuned... for the full movie review… and new, fresh gameplay avalogs from the island…’

[RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME]

Well folks, this means what follows is reconstructed from my own – fairly good – super-memories, and channel notes. But it means that I possess minimal virtual proof that I ever ‘met’ the guy. [It is strange, when I read over these entries, how it has affected my view of Gunn – my appreciation and my understanding.] 

He begins. “I’ve been wondering… whether or not to pass you the torch… as it were.” Again, he casts his eyes about checking for things. I’m both wary and interested to learn what he knows. “So I need to talk to you – player to player – ok? We’re sort of... opposites, you know…” 

“Yeah?... In what way...?” 

As though not hearing me he continues, but much quieter; more to himself. Or to someone else. “So the game is finally opening up, eh!... guess it’s worth a try…” It’s like he’s a little lost in himself. But then he’s back again, facing me, “Do you have any visions, yet? I could... use one!”

“Visions?” I feel worried I must resemble a dealer of rare herbs or something. “Do you mean insights? No... I’ve just arrived.” I’m interested to know what he means though. I want to learn everything about this place right now.

“Ah… damn…” he replies, looking down, and thinking nervously to himself. Then he sort of... snaps out of it. Sighing, he says: “They’re not insights, but visions… are... helpful. Greenwise can’t show you them. You can only find them, or get them from others.” 

Suddenly the light, just starting to return to normal, turns darker again for a moment so he’s looking back out across the plain again. I find myself checking too. But it’s just ordinary clouds; their shadows passing over the wetland and its growing tufts of grass. All quiet. He looks at me again, but only when I ask him:

“How long have you been in? I thought I might be the first here.”

“You are. In this, the first instance. A true pioneer. And… I know that’s important to you. For your... shows and all... But it’s important for them too. They’re... counting on you. And to make sure I rescue you… prepare you... Not just from them…” He looks up into the trees a moment, then looks down. “But from you.” 

“Oh... yeah?” I was so sure it was just me doing that. “Who’s counting on me?” I’m struggling to keep up with the guy already and may have to leave soon. Back off, slowly... Make my own way, thanks.

“The founders. The ones who’ve asked me to help you... progress... to the last. They’ll be helping me too… giving me another chance to carry the torch, some other way. I’m a little… tired, you see… this band, for one thing… is heavy…” 

It’s true, the arm-band fastened to his arm, despite glowing with some kind of dull magic looks… chunky; like it would hinder gameplay. Restrict movement.

“How did you get it? What is it?” 

“It’s a marker. So everyone... sees. It used to glow brighter than this but I’ve been… behaving better since.”

I’m vaguely alarmed by this, but I do feel sorry for the guy as he seems sort of... haunted. And he saved my game just now, so I owe him; I should hear him out, I guess.

“What am I supposed to see?” I ask.

“That I tried to go it alone… to play purely for the power and glory ‘n all. Then, I didn't really come here to play anymore. I think I was already too changed. So they’ve had me testing – pushing – things in here, for a long time. I’m still needed. But it’s a lot to keep track of and I… do… get... lost... at times, you could say. In the nature; the variables… the diversity.”

He looks down just for a second, then back up again and his eyes seem to light up, although here in the super that’s got more to do with facial muscles. “Come check this out.” He beckons me to move closer. “Right now I’m keeping a close eye on... him... since his introduction…” He opens one hand and there’s a small, blue, iridescent insect; unmistakable; and perfectly reproduced… a dragonfly. It seems so perfect in the orangey gloom. “It’s the winged life, eh?” he says, but in a more distant voice this time. “In the palm of your hand.” 

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I declare. He talks strangely, that is for sure. Lost in his own words, if that’s what they are.

“This one’s a goner, but his species is... fitting in well now.” He opens his hand and the fragile-looking, motionless body slides onto the ground. “It was not actually a dragonfly. But a damselfly. A Taiga Bluet.” He brushes his hands as if they’d be dirty or something. (He has been here awhile!) “When the time comes, test-fly one. Upriver.“

Suddenly the light dawns. “You’re giving me a hint, right?”

“You’ll need it...” he replies quickly, meeting my eyes. “Other players will come, and they may have the luxury of... time... but for you, the… scoop… on all this matters. It’s a break. And that kind of edge might be enough to make it all the way, as long as you can hate them Stokers enough...” He winks one eye and it reminds me of Greenwise, just before he flew off. He seems to make some sense, but I’m not sure I like it. I want to find out more about him. 

“You must really know this game well?”

“Me…?” he sighs again. “I was very Early Access, but now… I’m nearly through with that. As it should be.” He doesn’t seem happy, or unhappy, about this. He seems… distracted. Now and again he’ll look back and stare at me directly, to punctuate some of the words he’s speaking with an intensity of gaze.

“As ever, players find what they need to find… here.” He gets to his feet now and places his hands inside his old cloak, torn in many places. As it parts I notice his shirt and trousers, though shabby too, were maybe quite fine, at one time. “It’s a quicker world here, outside of ourselves. That’s what I love. You can bind yourself to all that... or you can progress. And it’s not that I’m not curious to find the last Insight, but... it won’t really matter… not to me. My love of the island has been great. I’ve seen many things here… evolved with them… and mastered them. Marvels… wonders… My eyes are open. What do I need with an Insight, eh?”

But just then he shakes his head and goes quiet. Then he fixes his eyes on mine again. 

“Progression? That’s a game without limits. A game within any game. It makes you think you have to play along. Live it;  survive it – yes! But... ‘completion’? That’s a power game. It will lead you ultimately to the Stokers… and to their Lord...” 

I want to ask him about this ‘Lord’ but he carries on again. He seems conflicted somehow, but now his tone lightens. “So... I’ve given up... on that part of the game. But, I’m still here… to try and warn you of this. To seek balance. For... you are still at the start. And – together – we have a chance. I’m just a messenger, and these are needed for... all this... message. And that is what this is, as much as it is a refuge, an escape… and a way back… so guess what, Dan? We are the lights, leading the way…” He laughs softly, and then speaks quieter too, gritting his teeth. “For truly... it’s no easy game…”

I find it hard to say anything just then. I remember wishing for the recording so I wouldn’t have to recall so many of his words, as I struggle to now. Without the benefit of proper playback it’s possible the character I’m reproducing here is mirroring some of my own confusion. But we’ll have to soldier on…

“Well, can you tell me anything else then? How to get better?” I ask. “...At all this.” 

“Better? that’s an old line.“ Another laugh, and again I’m reminded of Greenwise. “I still think I need to explain more to you, Dan. You see, being ‘better’, is not the most important thing here. First, you only need... to accept my help.” 

I shrug. I’m feeling wary of spoilers (of my fun being spoiled), but then... I think of that dark experience out there in the mud, and then of the small flat that is my home, in the Source, with my real job that keeps me sane but also powerless. In the dark. While all around me here is light and life, simulated. And opportunity for change… 

“I reckon I’ll need the help now against… them.”

“Yes, at first,” he says then, leaning also against a tree. “The next thing is to start thinking differently. We’re all competing here, but we’re competing together. Everything counts. There is no winning or losing, not to the fabric, only progression – up here.” He taps his temple with a long finger. “Players will come seeking quick, painless paths – as I know you do – but only through balance and listening will you gain in power; for despite the competition, in both dimensions, cooperation – trust – are the strongest of powers. They enable adaptation. Other people, you see, buy you time. In both worlds…. How have we all evolved? Together.” He moves away from the tree again. 

“But this begins by accepting when you need to trust; need some help – where without it you’re weak, you’re stupid… and you’ll die. So that’s what I’m asking you to do... now… Trust me as far as you can, and accept a hand of friendship.”

He offers his hand out of his cloak with the words: “Friends-in-the-game?”

“Ok.. Sure...” I shake his hand and feel a firm grip on my glove, crossing unknown quantities of time and distance. “Friends-in-the-game.”

Having made my new ‘friend’, it comes with a certain wariness – about the secrecy; about joining up with anyone else. What’s with this guy? Maybe he’s just been playing too much, too long, and I don’t feel like getting tangled up in all of his… words. Nor do I want to get kicked out because of him. I’m just not on that level – I’ve got stuff to do… to practice and explore. 

“You know…” I say firmly, “I’ve played a few games in my time. I’m still not sure I need more help… now.“ I stop leaning on the tree and begin to think about making my excuses, but the guy replies calmly. 

“I’m not trying to hinder your desire to progress, I’m just trying to combine it with a need to listen… and not be lost – burned – like I was.” He lifts a cloaked arm and with his fingers tries to pull hard at the green band fastened around his other one, gleaming with its dull-green, magical light. It hardly moves. “You were asking me – before – what this is?” Its soft glow helps to make it look solid; unbreakable. He gives up, dropping his arm down again.

“Tell me…” I say, curious. 

“I have been a Stokerman. I was banished. And this is my mark, which has... faded since. The more I’ve progressed, the more I… work with others, the less it glows... and the less chance I have of being seen by them… again.” He sighs yet again. “For now... it sticks on my profile. But I hope to lose it finally… soon.” 

I didn’t see that coming. “What’s it like?”

“Worse than a game death. You’re separated from the game. From all this.” He speaks like he lives in here, as he glances up at the conifers, shedding their needles randomly; shimmering in a light breeze. He probably does live here; sharing a hut with Greenwise, and talking endlessly. “But it still depends on your… perspective. Some people want to drown. I once did. Now... I know they will take me... again – any day. A part of me still wants to stop them but I… understand my own role now. I see through it. Besides, like I said... I’m tired. So it’s time for me to leave. This virtual life. Get back to the party.” 

Right now, having just encountered such a fabric, and one still largely unknown to the world, I do wonder why. “But this place is... awesome. Isn’t this the party?” 

“Ha!” He looks down, amused. “It’s a great start… but.. no!.... Let me ask you something… What do you think they really meant when they said all this was designed to be an ultimate game?”

“Umm...” Flashbacks come to mind from some of the super-games I’ve played before, such as Revel, but I can only think of a few aspects, already most of them eclipsed by… all this. ”I guess: the feel of the interface… endless fun, excitement and wonder... a better reality to share and one that… empowers… its players…?”

He goes quiet again. “A good answer.” He looks away, and suddenly he frowns as if wrestling with something and I suspect him – still – of being one of those crazy characters they used to stick into early open-world games. “You may find some of these in Fountellion… but what if I was to tell you… it was to be more than this. Its real nature was to push players through… themselves… and to guide them into finding a way back out… enlightened. I know I’ve given much time and energy into building such a… journey. It’s been an escape for me. Maybe we got carried away.  I can’t be certain… yet. I can hardly see it – objectively – anymore. Like you. And you too can get caught up in it… But... the real party? It’s still outside, somewhere… and... up here!” He taps the side of his head again. “And that’s why we need you… To prove it, where we no longer can...”

I hardly understand his words. I’m still too into everything just then. I need to play more of it, first. Maybe he is one of those NPCs, and he’s just lying... to test me; or delay me. A rogue player or something. As if Greenwise isn’t shifty enough, I don’t want to end up like this guy. Maybe I should trust him (I sure could’ve used some comments from my viewers at this point). But I decide to run with it all for now: I don't want to lose out on anything:

“Like I said, I’ll do what I can… and, it’s like you said: we need this…”

He’s still looking at me, arms folded into his cloak, but he seems relieved. He nods as he holds my gaze a little longer. “Good. I’ve tried to pass on some awareness, that’s all for now. So you can lead the way… be the first to reach – to test – the whole game. And I’ve got a few tricks left too.”

Whatever was troubling him before seems to resurface, and remind him that time is brief, so he shifts and moves to one side now, pulling the black tatters of his cloak fast around his frail avatar. He runs a hand backwards through long, tangled hair. Then he turns back to me, serious again.

“Listen closely, Dan… I’ve seen fellow testers skewered by stokers as they’ve flown higher than the sun, because they thought they were safe once they were changed... I too have died many times. But you’ll get better. And your powers will get more tempting. You may become great at focussing and changing, but if you do so for too long then the Stokers can find you. They follow the green dust, you see. They will claim you because we players are... invasive in the system. And the more players they get… the more powerful they become. That’s why the game will get harder… and why we all need each other….” 

Something registers in the back of my mind as he finishes this. Greenwise didn’t tell me this... 

The guy tries to read my expression (not always easy in the virtual, and certainly not in the dusk, or near the end of my first day in Fountellion).

“I know what you’re thinking… Greenwise didn’t tell you? Well old Greeny can show you how to jump, and play the game, but not how to see past it… know what it is you’re playing? That’s true progression....” He goes to check the marshland again, then up at the trees, checking the gaps of sky. “I’ve kept you long enough. Beyond all I’ve said already, my advice is simple: Do not deviate too far from the quest, nor in finding the village. Avoid the Stokermen by transforming only for short periods in order to escape, or by other means, by the use of fire, and... watch for me!”

He stops then, and looks lost in some distance, beyond the world somewhere, and I think he must nearly be finished talking (thankfully). It’s been totally intriguing and I’ve tried to remember it all, but I didn’t want to interrupt as I felt it was more like a process for his sake than mine. I’ve humoured him. 

Now, it’s like he returns to look around at the forest, and at the world, for the last time. “There’s a great story you know, here… I’ve been honoured to test it. When the time comes, it will be no loss when I leave. I think it will evolve and shine on now. Life is… energy. It helps itself to live, in the living or even the dying… and where so many of us are lost already...” He probes the ground with one boot, maybe turning over the dead damselfy. “And where we all serve it in the end…”

He digs a hand into his dusty old satchel bag I now see he carries beneath his cloak. “Let me give you... this…”

He stretches one arm out and, turning his thin hand over, opens it to reveal a small, wood-carved, worn-looking symbol of a dagger. No, it’s more like a knife – for hunting – only it could never be used. It’s too small. I reckon it’s some kind of key to one of these vision things, so I take it and have a closer look. The carving also details some kind of flames wrapped around the blade, and it comes with a leather necklace.

As I hold it I hear a whisper. It’s an instruction for how to open, or activate it.

I can’t fully tell you about the ‘experience within an experience’ that follows... It involves a brightly shining knife rising up out of boggy ground. It’s hard to do it justice unless I could re-play it, and they’re locked up ‘in-game’. But I’m reminded of the stuff of legend, of King Arthur or something, with swords and cups and things. And I do now appreciate the potential of these empowering, inspirational ‘visions’. They’re sort of like cut-scenes. Or like mini-movie trailers underpinning a huge relevance in a story I’m actually a part of, playing out... It was like a motivational dream – with music – that still feels mystical and inspirational upon waking. 

[Spoiler!] At the end the knife rose up out of the bog and caught fire, shooting off into the sky like a firework to be lost, somewhere, on the island. It was a spectacular sight, and it does make me want to go looking for it. 

Closing my eyes for three seconds and holding the carving tightly was the ‘trigger’ for the vision, and, when it ends I get politely pulled back and down into my avatar automatically. I relax my grip on the carving which then brings back my POV onto the world. The scruffy figure is still nearby, watching the open space beyond our more sheltered one. 

“Ok… yeah I got it!...wow.” I utter, a bit weakly afterwards. “What does it mean?”

For a brief moment he appears as though he’s still locked in some kind of trance himself and I’m starting to question whether he’s inhabited when suddenly... he smiles widely. 

“Good, eh?... You can share such visions here, if you choose to… And that was one of them! They restore power and pass a little energy between players. You may think of it, in times of need. I did… once. It’s a symbol that can serve you well: keep sharp, but beware the heat of its grip. Don’t get burned… or drown... either by your own quest… or in the world itself…”

I check the back of my right hand and see my blue power fork glowing full – replenished – in the darkening ambience of the forest. I wonder how much I’ve taken out of his power level. 

ENERGY = 10%
POWER = 100%

“I’m honored. Thanks again,” is all I can muster, feeling like some knight from times of old, who just made a strong ally. But watching the other player’s disheveled appearance I wonder if I’m ever going to ‘jump’ by him again. “I guess I should continue then. Go looking for it.”

He nods. “And I guess you can fire up those captures of yours again now.” As he starts to make a motion to be on his way, something occurs to me. 

“Do you have a name here?” 

“Names? Hmm, hardly relevant... in the village mainly. They know me there as... Gunn. But you’ll see me around. If nothing else I might remain... as a ghost... spectating. For now, just follow the river into the forest. Progression be thine, player. Fare well!” He flashes his wide smile again suddenly. 

That easy smile I remember well, like the virtual light opening across that muddy plain but it died just as quickly. Shadows returned, pulling everything down to seriousness again, and intense eyes staring into – and through – my virtual presence. 

The figure of Gunn now moves its hands in some swift pattern, performing some power like it was second nature and then… disappearing. This guy was good. Certainly, Mage level, I’m thinking, seeing the green dust scatter in its captivating, drifting spread. Virtual magic. But what strange words. Not what I’d expected. To meet someone so old in some ways, with everything so new. 

I was able to hear movement in a nearby bush, and then soft feet speeding off quickly into the dark cluster of tree-trunks; the feet of… a dog, or something like that.

But I’m now only thinking one thing, however. It’s been a long day. My senses feel… drained, even though my hand runes, and my buzzing mind, say otherwise.

GAINED ITEM: 

Leather necklace with Burning Knife carving. (Vision +1)

VISION OF THE KNIFE, BURNING

The following occurs if a fellow player chooses to give you this (positive) vision, or if it is unlocked at the hidden lake along the Estuary:

As the player holds the necklace in their hand they will begin to hear a repeated whisper on how to trigger the vision…

‘Hold fast to me firmly and close your eyes for three seconds to behold or cease what I would show to you…’ 

Holding tightly the carved symbol and closing both eyes for more than 3 seconds will trigger the vision (where repeating this action will interrupt it). 

Everything goes dark. Fountellion is gone for the duration of the vision.

And from above you see the dimly-lit scene of muddy marshland, the wind moving grass, as you hang suspended above it. The POV is similar to that of a gliding bird, and you’re looking down, about half the height of the nearby forest trees and drifting out, slowly into the field. It’s an out-of-avatar experience which is a little alarming for your senses and a touch of vertigo may be experienced. 

Mysterious – and poignant – music begins. From within the mud a knife rises, eerily, and your vision brings only this into focus, providing some ballast. 

You may wonder if this scene is unfolding at this location in Fountellion in real-time. Also, Is this how a buzzard or eagle might be viewing it? All the grass or vegetation falls flat around the knife as though affected by it or to make way for its appearance and power. It is not clasped by anyone but just rises as a spiral-shaped fire begins to form from the earth and make its way up onto the blade. There is no mud on the blade now, just a great burning, shining sun reflecting off it, so it glints perfectly. It is beautiful to behold. A striking symbol, you notice its light reflected off the water in a river nearby. (The river leading into the forest?) 

Next, the fire catches the blade and flames appear, enveloping and spiralling up onto and around the handle. It looks like it would burn the hand of any now who tried to touch it, alluring and magical though it now seems. Suddenly it stops rising and shoots or rockets upwards, burning through the gloom of the scene and the vision like a firework (as the background music escalates). The knife is now lost beyond, somewhere in the depths of the forest. 

At the same time the player’s POV starts to descend... as the scene now changes to wherever the vision was triggered and the player’s avatar body is located. The POV merges back into your avatar and the vision fades out. 

Beholders are left inspired and motivated to continue their quest path in the possibility the mysterious burning knife is a clue guiding them towards their next insight.

Note: Sharing visions – for the energy they provide – is a sign of trust between players. It is wise not to betray such trust for the sake of a vision. For, although there may be some competition between players in the game, they will learn the value of cooperation over time.

Fountellion
Later also known as the Flux. A positive web-world and mystical Virtual Island of nature, imagination and science. It emerged sometime after the much less advanced Game of Being in which players, or seekers, were invited to live through a variety of scenarios in the search for hidden Insights. Early publicity stated that in this advanced web-world ‘is hidden the mystery of our connection to nature, the death of specific religion and the revelation of Evolution, Function and Diversity.’ It was also marketed to the gaming culture as ‘an open-world, VRMMO survival adventure game’.

Fountellion in many ways is still almost a legend for it lies hidden within the heart of The Spiral and where access has occasionally been bestowed or withdrawn to select players, especially in its early testing stages. It is said to be an island, partly due to the alleged involvement of Prof. Ben Fielding, a survivor of the infamous ‘Neurocean Line’ incident on the ‘Boston Island’ test-sim. (See also Spiral). The early, limited access was also to promote the creation of key protectors or ‘mages’ of Fountellion.

The island was heavily influenced by The Game of Being, an early powerful, influential, total-immersion, Open-World Virtual-Reality ‘game’ that was always accessible and semi-confluent with Reality (ie: some areas exist in the Real World). Initially, The Game of Being was intended to be an educational tool for new, interface-driven features of virtual immersion itself, but – unexpectedly – the project would form this new vision for understanding the Natural World and demonstrating our connection with Nature. 

As the sheer detail of advanced interfaces grew, which included changing landscape and growing plants and vegetation, and the ability to ‘focus’, developers decided to create an Island, featuring certain areas that players could stumble across. This became a now-famous ‘sandbox’-style game environment. The island was named ‘Fountellion’ in the original gamebook and walkthrough concepts (by Professor Benjamin Fielding) and was based on a book of fantasy fiction called ‘In Fountellion’. Both the fiction and the Gamebook still provide a vital insight (and are potential keys) in relation to the original vision and its ultimate significance or story, with the latter still believed to be in Fielding’s possession. Like never before The Spiral Interface illuminated the manipulation of the environment and a deep connection with it. The full potential of this interface is said to be at its most effective only in Fountellion and in the hands of advanced users.

Controversy – and mystery – surrounds the precise relationship of Fountellion to The Spiral Tower. Shortly after the long-awaited opening of the doorway into Fountellion, a ‘lock-out’ occurred whereby the Spiral Tower was completely inaccessible, save by entry from within Fountellion. Later, keys or access onto the Island were limited again by its creator, who wanted a new appreciation – and protection – of its Insights, one of which was, possibly, to see the Tower fall into a new vision of Fountellion and The Spiral Tower itself. Further controversy surrounds allegations that this version of the tower falling would see all connections to the Tower severed, the so-called ‘unravelling’ of The Spiral’s worlds which began to cast a shadow of instability within and outside the Division. Such a hidden code would – potentially – change, filter or undo many of such worlds attached to it. Much hearsay still persists across the online communities. 

Corruption: This is held to be the strongest motivation for the ‘unravelling’ mystery as mentioned above, and the alleged attempts by the founders to limit or alter their creations and the connections between their creations. As fast and widespread experience of Fountellion grew, some institutions and employers even – secretly – required citizens to have attained a number of its insights. The game also uses DNA data and personality profiling to help a person ‘discover’ themselves and their potential. It also contains extensive Know-Zone connection for skills and training. A powerful body called the DD, Development Division, now continually refines or upgrades it. Despite attempting to teach wisdom and understanding via the Lore, the world has remained open to corruption and competition, as Game Clans and Game Mages (often Developers) have started to misuse it to attain power and influence within Source society.

Insights
These Six revelations, hidden on the Virtual Island of Fountellion, give the player unique understandings of Nature. They are rewards for completing stages of ‘nature experience’ and give to the player new, relevant powers including enhanced ‘Focus’, which is a form of flying unique to the interface in which Fountellion is accessed. So influential in uniting people and producing an awareness in people of their connection to Nature, that it was fully backed by educational institutions and governments. It has been said to be a large contributor to the global move by mankind towards a technological and mental harmony with nature, above any direct political motions. 

Scattered in different areas of the island world, the Insights – ultimately – become closely linked with The Spiral Tower, and the Dreamspire of Lord Bleakmuse, a symbolic figure in the game.

Although the Insights are known and completed daily by new travelers or seekers to the island, their design – specifically for ‘gamers’ using the Spiral Interface – leaves their effects best experienced in-world. Their form of ‘revelatory experience’ has been described as powerful to the mind and senses. Access has been limited to the final Insight as yet for little-known reasons but is somehow related to the full significance of ‘Fountellion in The Spiral’, and its ultimate completion.

Mages
A term for players who have considerable, recorded experience of worlds in The Spiral, and have proved willing and able to prove their power. They are considered wise and responsible for guiding other players and promoting the message of the Insights: positive, natural elements allegedly only found in Fountellion.

Later it became a term for players who have experienced all six of the Insights in Fountellion, the successor to the Game of Being. The intended result of this experience was to provide an in-depth awareness of the natural world, in accordance with the latest science and the importance of this knowledge. It is also known to provide revelations about mind and body, DNA and the chaotic, fractal nature of the universe. Many high-ranking citizens in positions of power and influence have discovered the Insights. It also says something about their determination due to the highly distracting nature of Fountellion, with its incredible beauty, detail and ‘focus’ which is a form of flying. Mages may have risen from any spectrum of Guild, but will have proved themselves of great mental connection to the Spiral and formed strong collaborative relationships with other players. The intended purpose of a wise Mage was that they take their wisdom back into the world but there have also been known to be greedy or corrupt Mages, perhaps due to deeper problems that their experiences on Fountellion were unable to cure.

Spiral (The)
‘The Spiral’ is a growing web of advanced Virtual Web-Worlds designed for the use of the advanced Spiral Interface. They happen to be connected to the Spiral Tower, or the Dreamspire with its multiple rooms with doors to worlds that are connected to it. They form the various needs of society: science, gaming, visualization, desire etc. The tower grows higher the more worlds are connected to it. 

A way out of the Tower is believed to lead to the mystical nature-realm of Fountellion, an island of Nature and Revelation. Many visitors also, believing they have accessed worlds in the tower, have said to arrive in Fountellion by some kind of chance or selection code, prompting an instant urge to explore it.

Spiral Interface
A special variety of Virtual Reality Interface that emerged from the infamous early worlds and testing sims that were ‘The Neuroceans’. Like never before, it provided a deep, signature connection to virtual environments by utilizing brain-waves and various physical aspects such as breathing. A special term ‘slow-surfacing’ was used to describe returning to normal reality. Once widespread health concerns had been addressed, including new overlay systems and acclimatizing features in-built, it was officially re-launched to coincide with The Spiral. This concept aimed to link – online – any worthy Virtual Experience or Game-world that utilized the interface’s potential and had passed full-testing and screening procedures. The immersive potential allowed for such deep involvement with the Virtual that many of these experiences were entertainment ‘escapist’ creations, although many educational and scientific ones emerged too. Ironically, this also included a nature-illuminating island world of Fountellion, which aimed to remind all visitors of a deep relationship and connection to nature, the ‘Source-world’.

The Game is playing
it controls me - i am now the game
move me, mould me
out across the plains
this day, today, what will it have us do?
to get through it
be more fully known
beyond the burning - up in the old wild stars
of our secret hearts.

those scars - they burn
was that you?
it was... until i could relinquish
and be done with it all
become
unknown, you know, completely
completed
lost in those stars i dreamed i'd own
beyond the high spire.

stop The Game, this train
let's go there - where? back home.
zone out
watch ourselves from afar
you know, those stars...
laugh - can we? Together.
when we laughed - how I loved you.

Life; it need never now, be hard
and it was never
but it will never
stop burning...

(sleep, that tired tide of nothingness, break over me...
far away - from struggle and race,
from where we hardly were...
were we? really? - no...)
i was. i did. was done... who won?

well... those new trees are growing
knowing
they grew through me
at least
the burning, burned me.
letting me at least,
at the last
laugh a little… or for a while…

(casper gunn: lines from the spire)

This is a project of speculative VR science-fiction / semi-LitRPG or Game Literature (GameLit) with concepts for a VR game design and metaverse within (2017).

Since then, extra writings and revisions to this document or its individual entries may be found online or as (origin) collectible NFT. 

‘Fountellion’ is now an open-source project meaning anyone may contribute to its ideas, stories etc. or even its virtual development under this banner. [2022]

Also see: The Spiral Times, a website for the project. Also, you can follow more writings via Medium and Gitbook.

‘Relinquish’ taken from ‘In Ash on the Sand: Last Burnt Poems’ collection.

Thanks also to Martina Stipan for a great piece(s) of artwork for the cover.

Good gaming and Progression! 

Ade m-c

France 2017

DEDICATION

for Corinne, for all the love and support.
And for Lucas and Lydia – and the Source players of the future…

Published by Ade’s Press:

© Ade M. Campbell 2017

Note: ‘Fountellion’ label is now open-source / public domain project including NFTs 2022+

Terms and Conditions:

The purchaser of this book is subject to the condition that he/she shall in no way resell it, nor any part of it, nor make copies of it to distribute freely.

All Persons Fictitious Disclaimer:

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental.

Acknowledgements to 1982 film ‘Blade Runner’ for certain quotations.

End of line.

Search the Gitbook, Fountellion sites, Pinterest and NFT markets for more.