Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Subrostrum



The Subrostrum, a tiny playground as vast as the universe, where the Sages rewrite the rules.
-- Ring Runner: Derelict Dreams


That may sound pretty, but what the heck does it mean? And, more importantly, what's it got to do with the game?

Sages are very much like future wizards, armed with technology advanced enough to seem like magic -- at least to us. But to them, rearranging atoms on a whim is quite ordinary.
Anyone can be a Sage; all it takes is a Corona and decades of discipline.

If they can resist the urge to swallow one, any toddler can play with marbles or stack some blocks. It takes all of a Sage's training and technology to reduce the act of willing atoms in and out of existence into something of a child's game. To accomplish this, they submerge themselves into the space between atoms, where the energies and laws that govern their particles are made plain: The Subrostrum.
Players must seek out the guidance of the Sages scattered about the universe, if they wish to learn the ways of The Subrostrum. The impossible act of liberating an atom from the effects of gravity becomes a simple matter, if you tread on the fabric from which it springs.
Logically, a single molecule being freed from gravity's grasp is not going to have a profound effect on the universe at large. That is why the Corona contains a powerful quantum computer, capable of macroing the action over a large mass, turning planets into marbles and stars into sparks in the eyes of a Sage.

And what powers all of this? The Thread. A subject for future discussion.

Translated into terms of game play, The Subrostrum is a collection of interesting mini-games, which grant players new Sage abilities upon completion. Though these Sage abilities are earned in The Subrostrum, they are used in macrospace, a place that you and I might commonly refer to as "reality."