v.0 - Bootup
The very idea was, undeniably, juvenile. It was also irresistibly compelling. Ever since the first generation of virtual entertainment, then called by the more prosaic term 'video games', there had been various kinds of code-hacking -and a definite fascination with T&A. From Lara Croft 'nude codes' to naked skins for The Sims, there were people who enjoyed the idea of stripping these computer generated images bare and watching them do naughty things with each other. I can only assume that the seeds of this desire reside from natural voyeurism, mixed with the feeling of control, and the fact that the imagination doesn't discriminate between the real and the fictional.
Naturally, when one is on the cusp of puberty, these video-game femmes can often seem more accessible than real life girls. As the industry grew and came to encompass older demographics, the level of titillation increased, becoming more self aware and sophisticated (this point can be debated, assuming how aware one is of names from the past like 'Tecmo' and 'Rockstar Games')
Sex sells; this has always been true, but actual pornography is pretty rare in the realm of V.E. There have been attempts, but most of these fringe products tend to be more laughable than effective. Just as filmed pornography cannot compare to the smooth polish of a Hollywood epic, these X-rated games didn't have the benefit of expert programmers such as those at Capcom, Konami or Sega.
But, while crafting an entire game from scratch is a blinding technical challenge, hacking an already existing one is comparatively easy. Still not a job for amateurs, since any virtual reality program is a sublimely complex entity. It follows then that the average kid player wouldn't be able to rip open their favorite game and, for instance, give themselves unlimited gun ammunition -or take off the clothes from those female ninjas. Any adults with that kind of expertise would never admit to spending their free time with that kind of hacking. Somewhere in the middle of these extremes lies the enterprising young college student.
This prologue hopefully explains how such an enclave like The Code Monkeys came to be. I had been aware of them for some time, and was sometimes consulted. A loose knit group of some dozen students, these maverick programmers had specialized in breaking privacy protections and copywrite protocols, in addition to hacking and 'playing around'.
The 'Genie', named after the very first video game cracking device, came as a black, lozenge shaped module designed to fit into a V.E. systems RAM port. The software it contained allowed the user to explore the parameters of a V.E. game from within while actually playing. The popular term for this was 'going off-road'. The Genie gave the player absolute freedom of movement within the game. It could also, with some custom code, grant wishes.
I was one of the first to test this device. I was an unabashed games player, and had progressed from college into a basic coding job for a local accounting firm. In the face of those stale numbers day to day, the appeal of gaming was probably at least as strong as it had been before. I also hadn't lost touch with what was going on on-campus either. I was also painfully single, as you may have already guessed. It wasn't any kind of secret, and I suspect may have been part of the reason the Code Monkeys had given me this particular Genie to try out.
In many ways it was very basic, I was told, and wouldn't, at this stage, allow for the hacking of A.I. or game mechanics. But it did allow the user complete freedom of movement, and the ability to manipulate the environment, especially character models.
I was informed, in no ambiguous terms, 'you can do anything you like to them -and I do mean anything', with the hint of a few surprises that I would have to discover for myself.
* * *
Arriving home in the early evening, I put aside my briefcase and removed the newly acquired Genie from my jacket pocket. The matt-black surface of the eraser-sized module was unmarked, giving no obvious hint of what the ROM chip within contained. Like any memory stick or accessory, it was designed to simply plug into the V.E.'s console RAM port. It should go without saying that I already had an extensive library of games at my disposal. So, the question now was, which should I try out first? I'd been assured it would work with virtually any and all software. Or, I could do the prudent thing and make myself a much needed dinner first, then...
Nah, I was far too excited and interested to put this off. I opened up the cabinet to my home entertainment center and deftly plugged the Genie into the open slot of my Sony V.E. console. I then lay down on my rather expensive recliner chair -you need a really comfortable seat when spending a lot of time in-game, or else you come out with a lot of aches and stiffness.
I should perhaps explain for those not au-fait with the current technology. When the Virtual Space Interface first emerged from research on aiding the handicapped, it was adopted very quickly. The groundwork had been laid already through fiction and conceptual design in the previous century. But, big V.R. helmets and DataGloves were never going to be mainstream. It also wasn't a popular idea to accept surgical neural implants either, though a lot of pioneering work did emerge from that field. In the end, the leap came with the advent of ANVR. Refined to a headphone-like controller, it worked much like the previous neural interfaces, but without the necessary surgery. Nothing had to be plugged in, either into the machine or yourself. At the most basic level, one can operate a computer hands-free; this pretty much put an end to inelegant Voice Recognition systems that tried to do the same thing. At the most invasive level, the ANVR can circumvent the user's own senses and plunge him or her into the computer's own generated reality. Gaming would never be the same, though the actual games one ended up playing on these new machines were very familiar. It can't be a mistake that the biggest selling ANVR compatible game to date is The Legend Of Zelda.
I quickly entered the Main Menu environment, visually scanning the library of games I had access to. No one actually 'owned' games anymore, but rather payed for 'keys' that let own download whatever title one wanted to play. But, old habits die hard, and the Main Menu was modeled after a bookshelf, with the individual games laid out like novles one could pick up and read. I thought about taking on Zelda, but knew that was already pretty free in terms of player movement to begin with, and might not be the best choice to test the Genie on (my opinion on this would change once I'd given the Genie a spin, as you'll soon understand). I skipped past a few RPGs (too involved) and fighting games (though I felt I was getting warmer there). Then my eyes alighted on 'Beach Spikers'; the V.E. version of Sega's ongoing series of beach volleyball games. Here, I thought, would be a cool place to start.
v.1 - Beach Spikers
I was greeted with the usual title screen, which I quickly pushed past, clicking through the initial menus to get to the game. I had chosen a straightforward VS match between Australia and Germany in the L.A. stadium. I switched off the background music, but left everything else alone before finally entering the game environment itself.
The effects of the Genie were immediately apparent from the fact I could dissociate myself from my designated game character. With a single step, I was able to remove my 'self', now standing as an invisible entity beside the young woman who was to be my in-game avatar (for those wondering, it isn't unusual at all to play games as the opposite sex, though you can make up your own minds just how salacious that prospect is). She stood, one foot firmly before the other, spinning the blue-white volleyball restlessly between her fingers in a perpetual ready state. She was essentially brainless and without volition now that I was gone. The other computer controlled characters waited anxiously for the service shot that would never come.