ReBoot

Yo. Proffessor WhizzyWig here. I've answered more fan questions as asked here and on various external threads. Please send more! Also, I'm posting some more material later today, so come back and check it out.

Quoted from bray
Alright I have a general question something that should have seemed obvious before but being a lover of ReBoot guess I was blind. SO the winning pitch is going to be the ReBoot comics what exactly is the supposed movie trilogy going to be?

The winning pitch gets to make a comic book. I'm afraid I know nothing beyond that. We're hoping that we'll be involved in the future of ReBoot if we win this thing.

Quoted from Starbat
Okay, am I missing something? I'm seeing an obvious rewrite in the 'idea' section for Arrival, but the script appears unchanged and it doesn't look like any other pitches were updated. Are we still waiting for a total new version or is this it?

Some things have been updated - others haven't. You can tell what items are V2 by looking in the top left. There's some version numbers there. If you only see a 1, we didn't make any updates for that section. If there's a 2, make sure you click it: that's the new stuff.

For now, there is no new script. Mid-next week, I think.

Quoted from Guardian
I hope the seeming disappearance of the Users is mostly left to mystery as the current explanation is a bit shaky. For one, even if you are playing an online game, it is still actually played on the computer, it just connects to a server. If you mean website based casual games (like Flash games, etc.) then that makes more sense, but that game is still hosted on a server (another system on the net).

First of all, the shakiness you are experiencing is a direct result of the 150 word limit they're imposing on us for the synopsis. Let me explain:

The Web Game IS still functioning from the systems - it's just loaded into theWeb. Power to run the game still originates from the systems, it's just that the Game Cube (or whatever it will be) is placed in the Web where other Users can join. It wouldn't make sense to have a multi-user game hosted on a specific system. Users meet online and play there. It's not so much about where the game originates from but where the game is actually played. Perhaps a matter of opinion, but no so far from reality, no?

Quoted from Guardian
Gnosis being made up of people that the Codemasters have killed doesn't really make sense to me, and it sounds like a non-important detail which needlessly complicates things. I say, no detailed explanation like that - it's just a program they made.

Well, it's tied into the fact that Bob discovers that each Avatar contain the code of "people" deleted by the Codemasters. We built this in to give another awesome twist. What will Bob do when he learns the enemy storm troopers are people too, just brainwashed?

Quoted from Guardian
Phong and Megabyte joining with Gnosis just doesn't work. First, how would this even happen? Second, how would they be able to "join" in the first place without making up some contrived explanation? Finally, why would this joining be the catalyst which drives Gnosis "crazy"? Why can't Gnosis just run out of control with power and begin consuming systems?

The joining is intended to happen by accident. Obviously, they'd never do it on purpose.

Also, we wanted Gnosis to be more complex than just a standard villain. The idea is that Gnosis is just an unintelligent upgrade (that also happens to be part of a secret Codemaster plan) that goes buggy when it absorbs MB and Phong. Since MB is stronger than Phong, he informs Gnosis's behaviour more than Phong.

Quoted from Guardian
The current explanation for the costume upgrade is basically "OH BTW, Gnosis upgraded us kthx."

What we're going for now is that the visual upgrade happens "out of the plot," meaning that we're going to continue the story pretending that the characters have always looked like this. This is different from the V1 version, which I expect you might have read thinking it was new. It's a little hard to determine what's V1 and V2 right now.

Quoted from Guardian
Oh and in the Character Desciption of Enzo, you called him Dot's "PDA." I'd just lose that reference entirely because the term PDA has already been used with Dot's mini-computer (her actual PDA).

Oh. Good call. Done.

Quoted from Mercury
But Gnosis being a creation of the Codemasters!? Absolutely not. Codemasters enslaving the entire Net? Using the supercomputer? So... they're just viruses on sterioids?

Hmm, no... that's not quite where I'm going. The Codemasters in this story are not intentionally trying to screw anyone over. They come in with a plan that will help everyone, but they are also using it to advance their agenda (researching the codex). I really need to post some notebook comments on the Z2H blog. Maybe after I finish up here. That 150 word limit is really screwing us.

Quoted from Mercury
I don't know if it was intentional (User, I hope not...) but your plot now has a significant resemblance to ReBoot 2.0. An common viral threat being wiped out by something that's ostensibly supposed to help but acutally makes things worse. And frankly, 2.0 executes it better.

Gnosis isn't a virus. He's essentially a buggy upgrade. Serenity (2.0's thing) is a whole new OS that everyone thinks will be a good thing but is actually a very bad thing. Gnosis is a good thing that gets screwed over by sheer bad luck (and the involvement of a virus, but that wasn't intentional on the part of Megabyte OR Gnosis). I'm not down with viruses as major enemies for the moment. It's been done too recently.

Quoted from Mercury
The sheer power of Gnosis, being even greater than supervirus Deamon, demands a "supernatural" origin; it needs to be something that no known entity in the Net can create. An alien force is fine, (why did people hate it so much, anyway?) but if people really don't like it, make it a pure User creation. Go for a SkyNet feel.

Hmm, I'm not too sure everyone will like that idea. :)

Quoted from digitaljustice2K4
As for what's happening with Enzo: I think having him train to be Dot's assistant (and eventual replacement when he's old enough?) is a good idea, especially to contrast him with Matrix. Renegade or not, Matrix is still the Guardian in the family! When I read that he's going to become an Avatar, I wondered if it'll end up as a reversal of how Enzo saved Matrix at the end of Daemon Rising: maybe Matrix will have to talk Enzo back to the good side like Enzo did for him. (Then again, we're talking about Matrix here: his method of persuasion will probably be more action than talk!)

Glad you like it. But Enzo isn't permanently going bad. Of course, they'll figure out a way to bring him back without killing him. His code gets altered - it can be altered back.

Quoted from Jester
Questions: did the codemasters just come in with gnosis and use it to take control, or did they first pretend to use it to help against the hunt? how did enzo change? how did it come about that gnosis merges with megs and phong, and would that make gnosis 2 parts evil and 1 part good?

You've got it perfectly. Here's the answers:

The Codemasters came in with Gnosis because they wanted to "steal" the supercomputer and use its incredible powers to research The Codex. They had to figure out a reason for the Guardians to allow this, so they gave it anti-virus capabilities.

Enzo changes when Gnosis tries to recode the little sprite. Something goes wrong (some of you have picked up on what) and becomes a crazy, bloodthirsty Avatar.

Quoted from Leiko
The Bob we know and love would never delete his friends. Hell, he won't even delete his enemies.

Well, of course he wouldn't. He'll figure out a way around it. But he'll be faced with making that decision, and maybe it'll be a hard one.

REPEAT: Bob will realize that deleting his friends would be an easy way to defeat/get to Gnosis and save the day, so how will he get around that problem? That will be resolved in the story which, of course, I can't answer right now: I haven't written it yet. But doesn't it sound interesting enough to wait and find out?

Quoted from Starbat
Then there's the mention of guardian and viral populations being decimated. Okay, guardians are one thing, but I'd have to say that decimating viral populations is a GOOD thing! It not like viruses are an organized society that would try to save themselves as a race though cooperation.Any one virus probably wouldn't give a damn how many other viruses are out there, as long as he/she is doing alright and is able to carry out his/her function to corrupt and conquer.

Something that was missing in the synopsis is WHY the Guardians and Viruses would join up. Would have to be a good reason, no? Here it is: Megabyte has been deleting left, right, and centre - viruses AND guardians. The CMs (codemasters) show up and offer a solution, but they need a lot of Guardian and Virus code to activate Gnosis. The Guardians agree immediately, but the viruses need more convincing (more on that later). Anyway, we've seen viruses collaborate in the past. Now, when they're entire race is threatened, why would it be so unusual for them to make a brief alliance to save their skin?

Quoted from GuardianEnzo
I keep trying to warm to this idea about Avatar Enzo, but the more I try the more I dislike it. ... If anything, this role would make a lot more sense for Matrix.

I object - using Matrix for this role would be extremely un-dynamic. Matrix and Bob have already fought, so why would that be exciting? Also, remember that Enzo hasn't "decided" to become evil; he's had his personality altered by Gnosis. Enzo's character is NOT changing - he's just under a spell, so to speak.

Quoted from GuardianEnzo
I don't think it works that way. If Enzo is to be saved, well - not to go all metaphysical on you, but how the dell could the kid live with the guilt of having deleted innocent sprites? I know the universe isn't a fair and just place, but moral justice does have a certain place in the heart - what has Enzo done to deserve that fate? It brings to mind the Kohaku character, if anyone has seen/read Inuyasha - which I think is a pretty realistic portrayal under his circumstances. He's tortured by guilt over what he's done - so much so that his only real desire is to die and do some good in the process. If you bring Enzo back and everything is well and good, I think that pretty much sums him up as a total airhead. Not to mention how the whole possession scenario plays into the "weak little Enzo" stereotype anyway - too weak to fight being controlled, needs to be rescued yet again.

Fair enough, but who said he actually manages to delete anyone? Gnosis sends him to kill Bob specifically. Obviously, that isn't going to happen. I have some other ideas in mind regarding where this "takes" Enzo, and I never really considered the emo-Enzo you mention. Maybe he heads off into real hero territory? Maybe he becomes more like Turbo than Bob? I definitely do not want him to be more like Matrix. That's been done. In terms of the weak little enzo thing you mention, I actually believe that Enzo will be the one to save the day here. He has direct access to Gnosis.

Wow. You got all the way through. Now go read my next post. It should clear a lot of things up. New script next week, as well. -PWW