Sunday 26 October 2014

Hello? I can't hear you!


So, two pieces of good news. Firstly, Technobabylon is now playable from start to finish, complete with endings and everything. It's got dialogue all the way through, and should be comprehensible! Now I just have to debug the lot of it to make sure it's stable.

Second thing, which is probably bigger, is that we've started on the voices. Courtesy of Dave Gilbert (Wadjet Eye) and Shelly Shenoy, recording for the game's speech has begun in New York, in a proper recording booth and everything!



 Blimey, it's starting to feel like a real game, now!

Oh, and congratulations to the folks behind Automaticity, who have now signed on with Wadjet Eye as well!

Monday 6 October 2014

CHISHIKI NEWS: 11/07/2087 - "Grey Goo" incident injures 4




11 - July - 2087

CEL firefighters have this afternoon been called to the Hartgill preparatory school, where the out-of-control growth of a wetware culture has resulted in what is euphemistically termed 'grey goo'. Principal Andrew Mtembe has issued a statement on behalf of the school expressing relief that CEL has been able to control the outbreak before more damage could be done, and reiterated their policy against bringing wetware into the school.

'Wetware', so called due to its gelatinous appearance, is the genericised term for a number of nanomechanical products derived from organic structures. Safeguards are in place in commercial wetware to ensure that replication of the material can only occur within secure factory conditions. Hobbyist gengineers have on many occasions taken it as a challenge to 'breach' new wetware products, and reactivate the material's ability to create

more of itself. Such uncontrolled growth becomes dangerous when wetware no longer responds to chemical signals to cease its reproduction. It is believed that tampering with a recreational product was the catalyst for today's incident.

While the school has been closed for repairs and decontamination, CEL has reported that four students have received only minor injuries, and are being treated for burns and contamination. City coordinator AI Central has stated that the mass has been deactivated, and poses no further threat to lives or property within Newton.

Friday 3 October 2014

Techno-Babble

At the moment, we're in the process of auditioning voice actors for Technobabylon. Because of the way I write, I use lots of complicated/foreign/made-up words, and have to provide a guide to the meaning, use and pronunciation of them. Perhaps you'd like a look at a few? Don't worry, there shouldn't be much in the way of spoilers...



Automeal

An automated food-dispensing/producing machine. People don't do a great deal of their own cooking in the future.


Case Specialist

CEL likes to use euphemisms to describe the roles of its staff. A case specialist refers to those we might call “detectives” at the moment, whose expertise in a particular area makes them more likely to be assigned to a given case.
e.g. “We need to get a case specialist on this, someone with a background in wetware.”


CEL – Centralized Emergency Logistics
[“Cell”, like the organic structure]

Umbrella agency handling the city's emergency responses, civil order and law enforcement. Coordinated by the city's overseer AI, Central. A combination of police, fire, rescue and counter-terrorism, though it does its best to keep its operations invisible.
e.g. “My name's Dr Regis, I'm a CEL agent.”


Central

AI controller for the city. Though it doesn't set policy, it executes that laid down by the governing committee in the most optimally efficient way possible. Appears to have a limited personality, but there's more going on upstairs than most people realise.




Gas Chromatograph

A chemical sensor used to break down and determine the contents of a substance or surface.


Gengineer, Gengineering
[Jen-jineer, gene-gineer]

Portmanteau of “genetics” and “engineering”, referring to the specialist practice of modification of organisms' DNA to produce desired results that may not have otherwise occurred naturally, such as the addition of firefly proteins to grass to create glow-in-the-dark lawns.
e.g. “I'm a qualified gengineer, but my speciality is insects.”


Governor

Implanted into the brain and limbic systems of paroled criminals, produces reaction of violent sickness and immobility when thoughts stray too close towards violence or deceit. Kind of a technological “Clockwork Orange” effect.


Han, Greater Han Republic

Ethno-Fascist nation within the territory of the former People's Republic of China


Jahiliyyah
[Ja-hill-ee-yah]

An underground media/techno-anarchist group, akin to Anonymous or Wikileaks. Name is an Arabic word meaning “ignorance”, both as irony and counterpoint to the dominant media corporation's name of “knowledge”. Also serves as religious metaphor in Islam.
e.g. “The chairman was trying to hush it up, but Jahiliyyah leaked the film on the net.”


Latha
[Laath-ah, Laat-hah, or like “Arthur” with an L]

Sri Lankan/Indian forename, main character of game.


Meatspace

Derogatory and insulting term used to refer to the real world outside of the Trance.


MMI

Mind-machine interface, any system used to directly interface the human brain with external computer systems.


Quantum, Quanta

Currency used by non-aligned cities and nations based on the value of energy. Singular Quantum, plural Quanta. A single unit is worth about $0.20 in modern terms.
e.g. “This project has cost us a hundred and fifty million Quanta!”


Sconto

The city's social assistance program for those unable to support themselves. An umbrella term for social services, unemployment allowance, housing support, etc. Can also be used to describe those who benefit from it. Comes from Portugese root (desconto).
e.g. “This neighbourhood is getting worse, gangs of sconto kids hanging around on the corner.”


S.E.L.E.C.T.

Specialist Emergency Law Enforcement Crisis Team – armed CEL officers, akin to SWAT. Also like SWAT, people use “team” redundantly after the end.
e.g. “The robbers are so dangerous, we've had to call in a SELECT team.”





Synthetic, Synth

Androids using electromechanical insides and an organic façade on the outside.
e.g. “I lost my job to a sythetic.”


Thrall

Derogatory and insulting term used to refer to those perceived to be addicted to, or spend too much time in the Trance.
e.g. “He's always got his head buried in the net. He's such a thrall!”


Trance

A kind of cyberspace. Virtual representation of the internet taking place within the connected minds of those taking part in it.











Wetware

Squishy, jelly-like mass of nanomachines held together in a gooey substance. One of the underlying technologies of Technobabylon, used for organic computing, medicine and construction.
e.g. “I'm using my wetware to interface with a terminal.”




Wired

The description of one who has been equipped with the techno-organic systems necessary to interface with computers using their own brain. Not literally metal wiring, more like an extremely fine mesh of wetware acting like a second set of neurones within the brain.

e.g. “I can't use this machine, I'm not wired.”