I had been thinking about this and in respose to one of the recent posts as well. I would love to see people draw out some examples of both simple and complicated matrix runs they have used and will use in their games.
I have been struggling a bit with it lately as it is a system of double abstractions: The abstractness of the matrix imbedded in the abstractness of a narrative system.
The Matrix stuff can be very abstract. Try to think of it like a physical place. I mean, that’s the whole point of all this jacking in, direct-to-neuron VR stuff, right? (And also corporate profits.)
So I haven’t done anything too complicated in the Matrix, as I see it. But I think this is my best and most complicated effort, from a Legwork phase investigation. A physical laboratory (and its matrix presence) was attacked and hacked, and the PCs were brought in to find out who did it. The lab matrix frontage looked like some generic HVAC unit in a virtual apartment building, which of course was there to give a visual indication of an apartment building (which of course was a front, as this is a black site laboratory in meatspace). The decker logged into the lab and was confronted with a long low room. One wall is dominated by security camera feeds on screens (a system to manipulate). The wall opposite is filled with filing cabinets for laboratory documents (so the decker can go here and search for paydata, or download it all and do so later).
The entrance is behind the decker, and before, at the end of this long room, is a flickering laser gate, which leads down to root access. There’s a panel on that wall where someone could try to Login to the root area, or compromise security to turn off the lasers and waltz into the root node area, or the hacker could’ve just tried to shoot his avatar through it, Acting Under Fire to avoid setting off an alarm.
The decker rolled a fail on Console Cowboy, so I decided that tipped off the person who had hacked in before. That guy, Crash, dropped in a few minutes later, looking like an angry hobo with a shotgun. Promptly chased the PC decker around, until said PC decker got into root, got hold on root, locked Crash out of root and turned on the ICE to go after Crash.
To me, this is the best way to handle Matrix stuff. Just think of a cramped, terrible office space, when dealing with corporate types, and throw in laser shark moats or other ridiculous things that bored programmers with little direct oversight would throw in (giant murderous sloths, cthonic monstrocities, hot anime dudes with laser nipples). Non-corporate sites are going to be elaborate and atmospheric, but it’s the same idea. Ask the player leading questions about what the place looks like, try to run with that.
Nigel Clarke(right?) made some server diagrams and posted them here. They’re probably a long way back by now, but it makes me wonder if there’s a better way of hosting that sort of thing for east later reference. Perhaps on RPG Geek?
I’ve copied this link to my Mission Files file to give some specific examples there.
Yes Hamish I did. I’ll post them again as they are still sitting in my G Drive at
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwzePBsqT0NFdE50ZFZHOE1sVW8?usp=sharing
Google docs are actually great for me, as I have a folder archive of them, but I had missed that link in the history. Thank you for keeping a record of it.
Nigel, those are outstanding! Thanks!
.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s Breach mode has helped me visualize netruns. Reskin some of the layouts and enemies and bing!