Phantasmagoria
The Game To Be Played

Inever wanted to do it, but the government said that I would bepromised a better life.

Betterlife, yeah right.

Inthis world? I don’t think so. Having a ''better life'' now is apipe dream. It's impossible to even think about getting a goodlife today. So they give me this proposition; complete this virtualreality game and you, your wife and son will have a ''better life''.

Butthis isn't just your run-of-the-mill virtual reality game. Becauseany one who has played the game hasn't survived till the end. Whatmakes them think I can do it? The fact that I was a soldier inAfghanistan? That was a different field. That was real. Peoplegetting shot, people dying in front of me, that was real.

Realenough to me when I saw my best friend get blown up by a bomb.

Realenough to me when I saw my most of my pals suffer defeat at the handsof rebels.

AndTHAT was definitely not a game to be played.

I hadalready experienced one nightmare; why would I want to experienceanother?

Am Idesperate for a ''better life'', one where I can play the dotinghusband to my wife and loving father to myson?

Or amI doing it for me, because some part of me is curious; curious toexplore what the game is like, curious to see what I would be doing,curious to see if I can reach the end. I want to know if I will get asilent thrill from this virtual battlefield as I did from the realbattlefield. And that's why I replace myself at the Game Emporium,staring at the newest virtual game on the market that is asmind-boggling as the Matrix.

Phantasmagoria– hailed as a revolutionary virtual reality game that utilises ahighly creative person’s imagination. It imposes that person’simagination within in a controlled area, which are set in levelswithin the game. Different countries sponsored their most highlycreative minds and created a multi-platform game that had the endprize of gaining unlimited intellectuality, said to be possessedwithin the mind of a dying woman. Her name is Diana, and she is foundin the highest echelon of the game. It is said she is the one whocreated the game in the first place, as her imagination is a'plenitude of unparalleled pandemonium', according to one scientist.With the help of other bright minded individuals, which I believe areall girls, the game has levels made specific to each imaginativestage created by the girls. Multinational corporations all want toget their hands on Diana, as well as governments around the world,since whoever possesses the mind of the world’s most highlycreative person holds the key to possibly solving the world’sproblems.

Ifonly.

Therule of the game is simple: survive to the end to receive the prize.Of course, you need to survive the obstacles that befall you at eachlevel that you get to. But since it is no ordinary game (it isabsolutely in the hands of the ‘free minds’ – what we call thegirls who control the game’s layout), each level is so abstract andunconventional, you have to be- no, you NEED to be unpredictable. Ican’t stress to you enough how many times people have gone into thegame thinking they can complete it with in a set amount of time, orwith their own method of a game plan. Unfortunately, each level istimed, so if you do not make it out within the allotted time you failand you are out of the game. Each level has a 20 minute countdown tolet the participant know how much time they have to complete it. Ifyou die within the game, don’t worry, you don’t die outside ofit; however, you are locked out of it and you have to forfeit. Youcan't re-enter the game at all after you die, so I guess it is prettymuch game over.

Iheard that one of the girls is called the Timekeeper, so she is theone who sets the time for each level. Each level also has a guide sothat you don’t get lost when you have completed each task in thelevel you are in, and then they help you to replace the means of travelthat will help you get to the next level. I believe the level keepersare the architects of the levels, so the girls that the participantsmeet on each of them are the 'builders'. The level keepers are notallowed to kill the participants directly. If that happens, theparameters of the level keeper's imagination will be revoked and theywill have to ‘resurrect’ the person and will be forced to givethem a free pass to the next level.

Eachlevel keeper is not allowed to create a level from a memory of aplace, because it shows that the level keeper has an emotionalattachment to that place. That questions the credibility of the levelkeeper and is a sign that that individual’s creativity is too low.However, the level keeper is allowed to use objects from memory thatwill serve as props for obstacles such as rocks or buildings. As Isaid earlier, level keepers aren’t allowed to physically ordirectly attack and kill the participants of the game, but if theparticipants come to be gravely injured or die due to their ownmistake, they are out of the game.

Thereare around five levels to the game, or six if you count the highestlevel, the 'Diana Echelon'. The participant of the game can use theirown imagination to thinks of ways to get through an obstacle in eachlevel. There can be up to 10 participants per level in the game, andwhoever comes up with the most creative way to overcome a challengewill be awarded the most points. Your points will be carried over tothe next level each time you pass. The participants with the leastamount of points will have to restart the level. The most points thatcan be awarded at one time are 1000 points; the least amount that canbe awarded is 100. If more than one participant gains the leastamount, all of those participants who got the low points will have torestart the level. If a participant has to restart, the level keeperof that level has the chance to change anything in that level, exceptfor the layout, so the participant has to come up with a new way toovercome a new challenge. The level keepers themselves can alsobecome the obstacle if they choose to, meaning that they can scupperthe efforts of the participants of their level.

Howthe obstacle of each level is made is absolutely up to the discretionof each level keeper. Sometimes it's a physical obstacle, sometimesit can be a riddle, or a puzzle. It can be anything, so you reallyhave to be open-minded about what could happen in the game. Aparticipant would do his best to be in the level keeper's goodbooks, and looking at how all of them are pubescent young girls, Ithink it would be best to just talk about old episodes of the PowerPuff Girls.

Beforethe game can be entered, each participant must go to the GameEmporium so that they can go through simulation training. Thesimulation training prepares each participant for the experience ofvirtual reality and what life is like inside the game. There aren'tany levels to the simulation game, but there are small challenges andobstacles that you have to undertake to get a taste of what you canexpect to be tested on in the game. Of course it is no where near thelevel that the participant will experience in the real game, but theycan get the gist of what to expect when it comes to the challenges.The simulation contains controlled versions of the imaginationobstacles, so you can anticipate better what happens in each level. Ialready went through 16 phases of simulations; before you can enterPhantasmagoria you're expected to go through at least 8 phases, butthe government wants me to be doubly prepared. I'm practically aveteran of the outside andtheinside battlefield.

''Can'twait to try it out, huh?'' a nerdy-looking guy with glasses and a badcase of acne says to me as I am still looking at a model of the seatand device that houses the game. This guy seriously asked me that? Ican't wait to get out of it.

''Yeah,I think it's gonna be a blast,'' I reply with a fake smile. It'sgoing to be a blast indeed.

Youcan say that again.