Fandom GTX: Gnu Forks - A Glitch Techs RP (Lore Thread)

[Gadg8eer]

Okay, so... Compared to my other RP, this one is a pretty simple fandom RP in a similar setting to the actual show, so everything that occurs should attempt to be "original flavor" but in a different locale (a map will be provided to the players on request). Thanks to Hinobi's "new" plixel-based Xtended Reality "Avatar" technology, your OCs can be anything that you could imagine a video game character or metaverse avatar being, but in the otherwise-unchanged regular physical world.

Other than... and if some of the things hinted at, maybe even including... that, everything is as it was in the show, so this topic will instead be for other lore such as minor things that weren't in the show, but get added to the RP, either at player suggestion because they sound cool, or because Technology Marches On.

Quick tip, if you can figure out a way to get the name to roll off the tongue, adding "Hinobi" or just "Nobi" to an electronic product's name as a pun is preferrable. Such as "Nobi's Skylines" instead of Cities Skylines, "Nobify" instead of Spotify, and "HT-DOS" (Hinobi Technologies Disk Operating System) instead of MS-DOS.

Also, here's a Spotify playlist!​

 

[Gadg8eer]

Quill Computers​

Who?
The equivalent of Apple, Inc. which was of course formerly known as "Apple Computers".

What?
They've made the following products...

iqTop

iqTop 64 (iMac G4)
The iqTop line are Quill's series of All-In-One Desktop computers, including the iqTop 63 (1998-2003), iqTop 64 (2002-2004), and iqTop 65 (2004-2006, the last iqTop made by Quill before Hinobi bought them out in 2006).

iqCall (iPhone)

iqCall
Pronounced "Eye-call", the iqCall was introduced in 1997 and looks similar to the iqTop 63. It was discontinued in 1998. Successors include the iqCall 36 (1998-2000), iqCall 365 (1999-2000), iqCall 4 (2000-2003), and iqCall 5 (2001-2006).

iqTunes
Not nearly as succesful as iTunes because MusicNobi is the "open source" equivalent - of the actually open-source MusicBee - in this expanded Glitch Techs universe.​

 

[Gadg8eer]

The Mark Sidney Company​

Who?
The in-universe counterpart of Disney. The one company big enough that Hinobi hasn't been able to curb-stomp them into submission... yet.

Sidney's Virtual Storyland Kingdom
Equivalent of Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, a game that was shut down IRL back in 2008. Supposedly it was "just a promotion", but the rumor is that VMK was closed because Flash was being discontinued or the company that made the game was no longer willing to maintain it for Disney.

In-universe, Sidney's VSK is still running! ...or, rather, is the counterpart of IRL Blizzard-Activision's World of Warcraft; it's had sequels-slash-expansions. These were...

Virtual Storyland Kingdom
The Original. Only ordinary human characters - who looked vaguely teenaged to minimize issues for adult players and allow younger players "to feel a few years older" (read: to play at all because the Hinobi Online Privacy Protection Act - HOPPA - banned child avatars in online games for several years) were in at this point, as the game - which utilized a retrofuturistic monorail train and an old steam train to separate several areas, similar to Banjo-Kazooie, and allowed "player apartments" that resembled a VR version of Habbo Hotel more than a proper MMO game - was specifically aimed at children as much as someone's inner child.

Once upon a time, a long time ago...

VSK: The Villain Crusade
Gave the option to make your character look evil, and also added a Karma meter ala IRL Fallout. Featured the first two open worlds in the game, "Mark Sidney World Park" and "Sidneyland Californian Odyssey". The former was a family-friendly world, laid out like a theme park, that was PG or E10+ (Everyone 10+) similar to Disney Infinity. The latter was PG-13 or T for Teen and more like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in layout.

...in an expansion that didn't suck...

VSK: Wrath of the Witch Queen
Added an actual magic system that replaced the Sidney Badges from the first two games (which instead became tradeable and powerful magical artifacts), as well as a new open world location called Faerie and playable talking (but otherwise ordinary) animals. Similar to Red Dead Redemption or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

No, not that one.

VSK: Katt-astrophe

...yeah, that one.

This was the one that made Toons a playable race and allowed "Everland Flight" everywhere for the first time. Sidney's two biggest stars, Baby Bunnis and Helix the Kopy Katt, are central NPCs, and hundreds of others from across the GTX universe's shows-within-the-RP are also present in various NPC roles; many of which were converted into avatars that could be brought into Hinobi's early metaverse grid "Dream Life" (and more recently, the wider metaverse) that could be purchased with a special currency earned by subscribing for 2 months (or more, with the amount gained increasing exponentially every 6 consecutive months) in a row.

Since Flight was basically OP-broken everywhere except Faerie, the Sidney World Hotel was replaced by a much bigger version and merged into "Mark Sidney World Park" which became "Mark Sidney World Resort" and had its' map replaced by a virtual eastern Orlando, while "Sidneyland Californian Odyssey" was replaced with an equally-large section of Los Angeles (including Anaheim) and a smaller area covering much of San Francisco (which would later be expanded but originally required players to board a plane, bus or monorail to get between the three parks).

With the maps large enough to require fast forms of personal travel like flight, the new fourth open world of Everland was introduced, along with the ability to fly using magic or artifacts like broomsticks, propeller beanies, or jetpacks.

VSK: Myths of Shibuya
This was the one that introduced Oriental-themed areas and made Anime and Manga-style characters options for playable Toons. Also included underwater cities and better liquid simulation.

Warlocks of Dreamore
Added Dreamore, a tiny settlement in Slumberland; similar to Minecraft in nature, this expansion allowed players to modify and build everything by claiming land for themselves (with a limit of one claim gained per monthly subscription). Also removed the species system entirely and replaced it with the ability to design your own character from scratch. The closest comparison to Warlocks of Dreamore character creation in IRL is Spore.

Regions
Expanded upon every existing park, from Los Angeles/Orlando/San Francisco turning into full maps of California and Florida, to Slumberland getting tons of upgrades like a crafting system.

Battle for Azathot
Introduced the Underwhere, a realm of caves stretching deep beneath Slumberland with a 12 year old's sense of humor. Also resulted in separate NSFW pirate versions of VSK only accessible to people who have provided proof of legal age, with any content which would be illegal in the US would be grounds for a permanent ban, however, that's just background info. By the RP's beginning Sidney has successfully shuttered the alternative servers.

Decentralands
Introduced "Astralgates", huge stargate-like portals meant to allow travel out of and to the wider Hiverse.

Defconflight
The most recent announcement says that this huge update, with features ranging from online conventions to a fully-populated map of Earth, has been delayed due to the "cow.vid" exploit used on the metaverse to steal cryptocurrencies like Beecoin. Since the economy was supposed to swap over to Beecoin from ordinary money, this is a worrying development for both Sidney's MMO and the wider Glitch Techs Xpanded Universe...

Plixar​

In-universe equivalent of Pixar. Relative to Hinobi itself, Plixar started out as a game studio which published through the Mark Sidney Company for the AughtOS used by Quill Computers, much like how Steve Jobs had a hand in Pixar IRL.

Plixar was snatched up by Hinobi during Plixar's mid-00s attempt to go solo from the Sidney Conglomerate, as Hinobi wanted control of the patents and technology that Plixar had created... the in-universe "plixels" that are what all of the high-tech secret Glitch Tech equipment is made of. Currently a subsidiary of Hinobi, they are best remembered for their groundbreaking CGI TV Show from the 1990s ReSet (later rebranded as BeeBoot when Hinobi bought them out).

 

[Gadg8eer]

/b/chan
A 4chan satire, /b/chan is the most wretched hive on the whole internet.

The GTX Agency
Based on stereotypical internet New Weird creepypastas like "the Backrooms", "Five Nights at Freddy's", or "the Slenderman Mythos", but mostly the in-universe joke equivalent of the SCP Foundation which exists because people aren't stupid but they are paranoid, and the Glitch Techs themselves really are secretly more than they seem and using memory wipes but aren't nearly as scary as the GTX Agency wiki makes them out to be.

 

[Gadg8eer]

AskHelpy
Equivalent of AskJeeves; same role as Google Search, that f-ing paperclip from Microsoft Office, and modern Bing AI. Maintained by Hinobi, obviously, but considered open source as it is based on code that has been forked into more trustworthy search assistants many times.

BeeTube
YouTube, but owned by Hinobi.

Ready Player Bee
Ever wished you looked different? Well, the Hiverse can make you look like that. Hence why ZoeIRL wants to be hooked up to a VR Rig full-time.

How about being that in the real world, though? Well, the "Plixelf" program has been piloted by Hinobi employees and is now available to the public, but it's not going to come cheap! Current preorder pricing quotes for the "typical male fantasy" (10' tall, muscular and sexually irresistable to women) put a full "body upgrade" into a Plixelf by Hinobi's Ready Player Bee boutique stores at around $13 million.

That said, there's always local gaming competitions, where such high priced goods and services are often prizes for incredible feats of gameplay...