I've come up with an idea for something. I've got conceptual stuff, character templates and all, but I'm not really sure what to do with them; there's potential for a lot of stories, I think, but I've not come up with anything solid enough for my liking yet. I figured I'd post the idea here to see what you thought of it. I'm not worried about trying to eke a story out of it right now because one will probably turn up naturally after a while (though if you've got a suggestion, feel free). I've got a feeling it's been done before, though I don't know where. The idea is this: the ultimate evolution of film is the 'experience,' a sequence of sensory input that can be played back via a direct neural interface. Today we have sight and sound data presented to us in a movie theatre; tomorrow, both sight and sound, as well as smell, taste, and touch, can be fed directly into the brain, bypassing the sense organs. So, companies exist to create these input sequences, like movie companies create sight/sound sequences. One such company is Fantasy Incorporated. It sends agents out around the world to 'experience' things; to climb a mountain, to find a pretty girl in a club and screw her in a dark corner, to dive over Niagra Falls. These agents wear devices that record all their sensory input; the result is sent back to the company, which can then sell them to clients. Computer techniques are also employed to edit and tweak the recordings; some experiences are impossible to capture with an agent and so have to be almost entirely computer generated, though the results are not as good as an 'authentic' experience. The company will also deal with people for one-off recordings - to experience being a specific celebrity, for example, or to experience starring in a movie; or the things that agents should not be committed to, like experiencing death. These instances are not preferred, though; an agent is trained to record as immersive an experience as possible, and being referred to by name (for example) can break that immersion for people. Referring to the recording equipment, or to the status of the person as an employee of the company, reminds people that it's only an 'experience' and not the real thing. The real high rollers have the money to buy experiences that the majority of agents would not be prepared to collect. A special group of agents exist to capture high-risk experiences, such as rape or murder. Naturally, the company denies their existence. Everyone else experiences the more socially acceptable things, either in the comfort of their own home using personal playback equipment, or in 'sense houses,' the equivalent of the movie theatre.

I think you will particularly enjoy a movie called Strange Days. I cannot recommend it enough, especially since it's exactly what you are describing. One of my favourite cyberpunk movies of all time (there aren't that many anyway [wink])

There is also a roleplaying game, Transhuman Space, that has such technology in its setting. It's called slinking (although I forget what the s is a contraction of...)
Just as you described, every sense is catered for since the movie is a recording of a person's experience. Just like the movie industry there are varied branches and genres. From documentaries and news reports "as if you were there", to snuff movies (and when you take into account the technology of the setting, the possibilities are quite frightening).
There are movie style slinks, where the upslinker (the person recording the slinkie) is following a given scenario, experiencing a given script.
The contents, especially the feelings experienced by the actor, can be edited, of course. Say if you were "filming" a horror slinkie, it would be hard to experience true horror, so the editor would take such a sample from a real experience and use it to give more realism to the experience.
There is one case in one of the books where they describe slinkie sweat shop where "actors" experience specifics feelings that will then be used in other slinkies (with the anecdote that a now famous pop star used to work in such a shop. A bit like Mariah Carey having done porn movies in the past, if you will).

Needless to say, experiences that are hard to get, or expensive to shoot, are the most sought after. Things like walking on the surface of Venus (since no humans can actually do it, and even cybershells need to be engineered for the purpose), or unofficial slinkies involving a famous person; xoxing (uploading then duplicating the personality of) a famous actor so that you can use his virtual double to then create snuff movies is a particularly juicy market, although completely illegal.

ps: As usual, please don't take my comments as me trying to shoot you down. Just pointing out some sources you might find interesting since I think they are quite appropriate [grin]

the pen and paper rpg shadowrun has this idea and they call it sim chips, if I remember correctly. But I think you are forgetting the importance of celebrities. They would be major players in this field like any other enterment industry. Celebrities would be major selling points, why bother about some anonimous agent felt about free falling 2000 feet, when you can see, feel, and experince it like superpig did!!

mmmh, mostly because it might destroy the image of a superstar, the glamorous aspects we associate them with.
Think of it as watching the Osbournes: the show works because we kinda expect them to be dysfunctional and human, etc. But now imagine if we were following, say, Britney Spears when she was still putting forward her image of a virginal teen... I don't think she wouls have wanted people to know her real life.

Essentially, if a super star relies on the attention of papparazzi to promote her carreer, then you could bet she'd be a superstar of slinkies "Exclusive footage! Jordan goes shopping for bras! Be there and feel them for yourselves!"
Whether the slinkies would be edited for a more "authentic feel" is a matter of how much a star "cooperates" with the paparazzi (like stars "getting caught off guard" nowadays, when really they are enjoying the exposure it provides them)

On the other hand if the person is fighting hard to protect her personal life, or maintaining a certain image to the public, you can bet slinkies of that person could be worth a little fortune... "before she was famous, she was a porn star! I know, I was there! And now you can see it like I did!"

Lotsa potential there, eh? [grin]

Interesting idea - it often crops up in sci-fi as an aside without any thought as to how much of a change such technology would bring.

I think, just as musicians are famous for their songs and actors for their films, agents would become famous for their experiences. That wouldn't be a problem for agents who, say, record skydives and daredevil stunts, but agents who work in human experiences would have a short shelf life: essentially if you're good enough to make a name for yourself, you are incapable of recording something due to the recognition.

I quite like the idea of "cover versions" of classic experiences. Some early experience becomes a classic and every auteur makes their own homage to it, a bit like every songwriter who plays guitar will succumb to the urge to play "Hallelujah" in a bar somewhere (I can't think of a film equivalent).

That could make an interesting story if the experience is a rape or murder. The "classic" murder may be faked, but not every copycat may realise that distinction. Cast from an outsider's point of view, this gives initially unconnected killings eventually linked by some factor - similar location, weapon etc. A serial killer will be presumed, perhaps the original director will be blamed, or Fantasy Incorporated. I think there's legs to that.

I think its a great idea, reminiscent of Total Recall and The Game (Micheal Douglas I think?). Like previously stated, I think theres a lot of room to go with this.. I have an abundance of suggestions, but I'll keep them to myself for now and offer them up if I can expand at a later time..

Thanks, all...

Quote: Original post by ahw
I think you will particularly enjoy a movie called Strange Days. I cannot recommend it enough, especially since it's exactly what you are describing. One of my favourite cyberpunk movies of all time (there aren't that many anyway )

Cool. I'll keep an eye out for it next time I'm down at Blockbuster...

Quote:
There is also a roleplaying game, Transhuman Space, that has such technology in its setting. It's called slinking (although I forget what the s is a contraction of...)

Ah, it looks like Transhuman Space has a number of ideas worth exploring [smile]

Quote: Say if you were "filming" a horror slinkie, it would be hard to experience true horror, so the editor would take such a sample from a real experience and use it to give more realism to the experience.

That's true, and points to an idea I hadn't considered - people who are wearing the equipment and recording but do not know that they are. Kinda like The Truman Show applied to this. You can't release those experience to the general public because there's a risk the person would find out, but because they're 'authentic' you can charge a high price for them, keeping them behind closed doors.

Quote: Needless to say, experiences that are hard to get, or expensive to shoot, are the most sought after. Things like walking on the surface of Venus (since no humans can actually do it, and even cybershells need to be engineered for the purpose), or unofficial slinkies involving a famous person; xoxing (uploading then duplicating the personality of) a famous actor so that you can use his virtual double to then create snuff movies is a particularly juicy market, although completely illegal.

Hmm, I guess the personality duplication thing is an aspect of Transhuman Space? I don't think it carries over to this unaided, as I don't think these captured experiences would carry personality. Or maybe they would? I guess one's personality might be reflected in the way one moves and the actions one takes... the difference between focusing on the guy talking to you, the cute chick over the road, or the clock that is ever ticking above.

(I need to go and catch a bus, will continue writing this post when I get home [smile])

I think that the experience stream, is quite an apt idea to put into a video game, since so many are about characters experiencing fictional realities.

You could even flip between playing as / experiencing several characters Pulp Fiction / Forbidden Siren style.

1. You could play as different characters.
2. You could jack-in live to experience channels.
3. You could do the reverse, maybe and have a Being John Malkovitch type thing where you can take over other character's minds for a few minutes. Psionic power (solve puzzles by getting them to do things for you).
4. Fragments of memory, you could pick up clues from partially corrupted data streams.

5. What are the religious aspects?
6. Industrial sabotage.

Original post by superpig
Ah, it looks like Transhuman Space has a number of ideas worth exploring [smile]

Oh yes, a large number... I have yet to figure out a way that I could put my players in it, though. But even without playing it, it's a fabulous read, if you are into hard-science / near future sort of things.

Quote: That's true, and points to an idea I hadn't considered - people who are wearing the equipment and recording but do not know that they are. Kinda like The Truman Show applied to this.

Ooh, I like that. Didn't think of it, but there is potential for some good idea there.

Quote: Hmm, I guess the personality duplication thing is an aspect of Transhuman Space? I don't think it carries over to this unaided, as I don't think these captured experiences would carry personality. Or maybe they would?

Yeah sorry, I was trying to explain something in only a few words to avoid being my usual lengthy self, but I guess I can't [grin]
Basically, in 2100, you can upload people's personality. A shadow is a copy of your personality that is only as good as the time and money and equipment you have, whereas a ghost is a "destructive" upload, where your brain is basically peeled layer by layer and uploaded, giving a near perfect digital duplicate of your personality. Once you are digital, there is nothing that prevents you from inhabiting a bioshell (a living body, but with a plug in for an AI controlled brain) or a cybershell, or just living as an informorph on the Web...
xoxing is the act of duplicating a shadow or ghost and is not generally a legal thing (well, let's say it's as controversial as human cloning nowadays).

Like I said, an ambitious criminal organisation could very well kidnap a celebrity to make a shadow of their personality, then use that shadow to do all sort of things...
there are tons of cool ideas about how such technologies could be used in weird ways in the books. One is for instance, a cult that implants a shadow of the cult leader in each cultists' brain as an adviser/keeper, and let the shadow take control of the cultists through a "puppet implant" when the guru decides the worshipper isn't acting properly.

yeah, too many good ideas to count, let me tell you.

It sounds a lot like the movie Brainstorm to me. You might benefit from renting it to give you further ideas.