Deciding against the transformation abilities, you go for a head-on attack strategy. The Attack ability, of course - you guess your companion doesn't automatically attack opponents? That sounds annoying, but you kind of get it. Flare, because it's not only an AoE blast, but also the only direct attack option you have. And Swap for the strategic options (and because teleportation is awesome and you're just
dying to know how that's going to work in an ARG game).
And of course you go for the Matrix-y leather. Wizards and dragons are cool, of course, but what
really caught your eye in the ads were all the futuristic science-fantasy parts.
Satisfied with your choices, you tap at the floating Create button. The interface dissolves into violet sparkles.
"Welcome to Chromata."
The almost melodic voice startles you until you remember that you are, in fact, wearing an earpiece with a speaker.
"You are currently in what is called a Safe Zone. No enemies can enter a Safe Zone or attack through the boundary of a Safe Zone. Each character has their own Safe Zone. Since you have just completed character creation, the game has created one at your current location. You may reset your Safe Zone to another location later if necessary.
"Safe Zones are also the only locations where you can log in or out of the game. If you disconnect outside of a Safe Zone, the game will treat your character as logged-in until you reconnect and log out correctly.
"Chromata is an open-world game, with creatures of all strengths and sizes roaming in all areas. This is why the Relative Level System is in place. Creatures which are more than ten levels lower than you will flee on sight, and creatures which are more than ten levels higher than you will ignore you - as long as you don't attack them."
A violet-hued HUD shimmers into view, showing what looks like a couple of status indicators and a skill bar with your Abilities. Unlike the character creation screen, this interface stays in the same place in your field of vision instead of in space - which you'd expect from a HUD.
The empty vertical bar along the side glows brighter for a moment.
"This is your experience bar, indicating your progress towards the next level. You will notice later that the quantity of experience required to level is the same for each level. This is because experience gain is based on level difference. The amount of experience a level three character gains for defeating a level nine creature is identical to the experience a level thirty character gains from defeating a level thirty-six creature."
The large violet circle at the bottom of it glows brighter for a moment, this time.
"This is your Energy Pool. It represents the amount of Violet Energy you have available. Damage from attacks will deplete your Energy. If your Energy Pool reaches zero, your status is set to Defeated. You will experience a permanent defeat penalty and your game interface will locked while you are Defeated. Retreating to a Safe Zone will automatically remove the Defeated status, and your Energy Pool refills over time while you are within a Safe Zone."
This time, when the voice pauses, the icons representing your Abilities glow, along with the five dots lined up under them.
"The Abilities you chose each cost one Ability Point to activate. As a level one Spiritualist, you have a maximum pool of five Ability Points. You will regain one Ability Point every fifteen minutes, except for when you have the Defeated status."
The smaller circle below your Energy Pool glows for a moment.
"As a Spiritualist, you have a Companion. Your Companion has its own Energy Pool, abilities and stats, depending on its type, but it will always be the same Color as you. Summoning or desummoning your Companion is a free ability, and your Companion's Energy Pool will refill when it is desummoned. Your Companion regains Ability Points at the same rate as yourself.
"As a Violet Spiritualist, your starting Companion is a Sprite. You can view your Companion's status and abilities by selecting its Energy Pool indicator, below yours. Touching the indicator again while selected will summon or desummon your Companion. You can purchase additional Companions or improve your existing Companion later on."
The HUD disappears in sparkles.
"The MRD interface can be toggled on or off by tapping your MRD. You may view your current inventory and access game shops with the Chromata Mobile App. The game currency is Chroma Coins. As a new player, you have received twenty Chroma Coins. Active players receive a weekly allowance every Saturday based on their level. Enemy creatures will drop items when defeated, which can be used or sold to the shops for Chroma Coins.
"Once again, welcome to Chromata. Enjoy the game."
You wait a moment longer just to make sure it's actually done, then tap your MRD. The HUD comes back up into view, and you select your companion's EP circle to see what it's got.
Unnamed Violet Sprite
EP: 10
AP: 3
Shine (Ability) - A Violet light beam strikes your opponent. PWR: 3
Mirage (Ability) - Create an AoE environmental illusion to confuse your opponent.
Mirage, huh? You're not sure which parts are from your Color and which are from your Class, but illusion and transformation seem like the start of a pattern…
Now that you know that "your own Violet energy" basically means sacrificing health for damage, Flare seems a lot riskier than you were expecting. Still, a five meter area of effect attack is nothing to sneeze at, especially if you wind up in a mob.
Annabelle Marie Jones
Location: Your Safe Zone, in your apartment
Class: Violet Spiritualist
Level: 1
EP: 10
AP: 5
Attack (Ability) - Command your companion to attack your target.
Flare (Ability) - Use your companion as a focus point to create an AoE blast of your own Violet energy. EP: 3 Range: 5m
Swap (Ability) - Change places with your companion.
Chroma Coins: 20
Inventory: Empty
Well! You're in the game. What do you want to do first?
[] Head out to the nearest park to look for other players.
[] Wander around your neighborhood looking for something to fight.
[] Write-in
And what will you want to name your companion?
[] [Sprite] Write-in
