Gabopwn - IPC application

[DriedMilk]

BYOND Key: Gabopwn

Character Names: Akita Diya & Carmen Zhao

Species you are applying to play: IPC 

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes, including the surrounding pages (Hepheastus, Zavodskoi & Luna) for the character I am planning to play.

 Why do you wish to play this specific race:

I had a recent spark of creativity when it came to IPCs as a whole, with interesting character concepts going through my head that I wish to develop further once I acquire the whitelist. Coming from having an IPC whitelist on Bay, I'm very impressed with the overall development of IPC lore here and how expansive it is -- considering how little you get to work with on Bay in terms of lore and character concepts, the Aurora take on IPCs is a nice breathe of fresh air. Lastly, the differences between the positronic mind and a regular biological brain have always sparked my curiosity in regards to how you can reflect these in game - either by speech or emotes, depending of the character.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:

IPCs being a species so closely tied to human lore means that the differences between them when it comes to actual in-game roleplay can be either wide or (almost) similar, which provides the player a great degree of freedom when it comes to roleplaying an IPC character. The differences are plenty and vast, but it comes to the user on whether they wish to be discrete or openly display them -- of course, the word 'discrete' has to be taken with a grain of salt. The primary difference still remains though, that being the positronic brain itself and how it can remain VERY different from the human brain while also keeping a degree of uncanny similarity (which is mainly driven by factors that the human brain doesn't take into account) - which still sparks constant arguments within the Spur on wether this 'similarity' is natural or just a believable simulation.

With the 'thinking' part aside, the next part to tackle on would be how IPCs are seen across the different factions of the Spur and how these views could be represented in-game. IPCs are bound to come under much more constant fire and harassment when compared to humans -- especially once you consider the rigorous standards of some of the mega-corporations (such as Zavodskoi and Idris) when it comes to IPCs. A human at most, may get fired if they were to commit a considerable mistake at their workplace while an owned IPC will likely go through a complete memory wipe or even be scrapped completely since they're seen as company property. Even the IPCs that have gone through the process of purchasing their own (expensive) freedom are still seen as targets for the general public and mega-corporations alike. Considering these factors, an IPC could develop different traits that could be easily reflected in-game that would widely vary if they were to be compared to their biological counterpart.

Character Name: Z.I. Harpia

Please provide a short backstory for this character 

Harpia would belong to a batch of G2 Industrial Model IPCs assembled within the HPS Amóni in 2460 for Zavodskoi Interstellar as part of their recent but rapid expansion into the positronic field. The unit would quickly find itself within Luna, Gagaringrad where it would receive the necessary programming (provided by Confiance Technologies) in order to operate under Zavodskoi's security divisions. It would later be assigned to the Lunarian Harmony City branch of Zavodskoi interstellar where it would spend most of it's time in VIP protection and securing Z-I facilities. Although, Harpia quickly noted a particular interest in VIP protection, as it gave the positronic a broader scope of interaction -- especially when it came to the culture of the Lunarian plutocrat youth.

Despite its looming and intimidating appereance, the positronic would begin creating various bonds with the individuals it looked over, which mostly consisted of humans between twenty and thirty years old that had little to no responsibilities in their lives due to their high upbringing. Further exposure to this community would lead to Harpia adopting some of their laid-back and laissez faire mannerisms in order to 'fit in' with its users. Of course, it wouldn't take long for its Zavodskoi handlers to become aware of the twists the unit was going through when it came to its behavior and personality -- especially when the mega-corporation held the positronics to a rigorous standard.

The unit didn't seem 'Zavod-like', lacking the stiffness and overly formal appearance that Zavodskoi security personnel (both synthetic and human) are known for - yet, it filled a unique niche within Harmony City as its young users grew more fond of the unit due to its somewhat eye-catching behavior as it didn't match the reputation of Z-I. A form of controversy would arise, where Z-I would have to acknowledge Harpia's attitude due to its reputation amongst its users or hold by the mega-corporation's reputation -- which meant subjecting the positronic through the process of memory wiping. With preservation in mind, Harpia would make the decision to 'tone down' its behavior as risking a a memory wipe would be counterproductive to its positronic instincts. All in all, the unit would bounce between the formal Zavodskoi-like personality and its laid back mannerisms -- depending on the user and their preferences, of course.

Fast-forwarding to the rise of the SCC and the collapse of the Solarian Alliance, an era of further cooperation between mega-corporations has begun. Almost two years of experience would be under the grasp of Harpia, constantly bouncing between users due to its prowess in executive protection -- its handlers now investing the positronic fully into watching over VIPs. The unit would be re-assigned to the NSS Aurora under Zavodskoi Insterstellar as a showcase of what the mega-corporation is able to produce in terms of positronics while also serving as a 'handshake' between Nanotrasen and Zavodskoi. Harpia would hold unto its strict standards, making sure to thread carefully as it ventured to the Aurora -- any slip-up now would surely condemn the unit for a memory wipe or even scrapping.

What do you like about this character? 

Nothing screams more 'Zavodskoi Interstellar' than a looming G2 chassis that holds unto a pristine formal appearance around its users. It would be a breath of fresh air for the security department, considering I've only seen shell Z.I. IPCs. The behavior (albeit somewhat cliche, which I don't mind) is something I'm thrilling to roleplay about considering it provides a nice enough twist to Zavodskoi's OOC reputation. Having to bounce between 'formal' and 'chill' as a G2, should rise a few eyebrows in-game which is what I expect to happen when characters interact with Harpia. Of course, I'm not going to have the character start saying 'yo' and 'bro' casually since that would be too much and personally, it wouldn't fit Harpia much.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

I consider myself a solid roleplayer, having experienced the HRP SS13 environment for almost two years, I'm well-acquainted with the themes and mannerisms of HRP servers. Perhaps still holding unto the weakness of not being able to roleplay 'fear' all that well via speech and emotes since it's a very complicated theme for me to tackle on. When it comes to character creation and background, I tend to be the type that starts with a VERY simple concept and then expand on it as I come up with more interesting ideas due to me playing the character further -- which is why Z.I. Harpia may come up as 'too simple' when its backstory is taken into account.

Edited December 17, 2020 by DriedMilk

[niennab]

Hello, thank you for applying! Can you go into detail on these remarks here?

6 hours ago, DriedMilk said:

the differences between them when it comes to actual in-game roleplay can be either wide or (almost) similar, which provides the player a great degree of freedom when it comes to roleplaying an IPC character.

 

6 hours ago, DriedMilk said:

The primary difference still remains though, that being the positronic brain itself and how it can remain VERY different from the human brain while also keeping a degree of uncanny similarity (which is mainly driven by factors that the human brain doesn't take into account)

 

7 hours ago, DriedMilk said:

Considering these factors, an IPC could develop different traits that could be easily reflected in-game that would widely vary if they were to be compared to their biological counterpart.

In terms of the backstory, since the Necropolis rebranding occurred this May, and before that date IPCs were not employed under Necropolis, players will need to factor that into their backstory.

If you want the IPC to be older, I recommend them having existed before this time and being purchased during the rebranding or a few months before for set up and testing.

7 hours ago, DriedMilk said:

It would be a breath of fresh air for the security department, considering I've only seen shell Z.I. IPCs.

Why is that?

[DriedMilk]

18 minutes ago, niennab said:

Hello, thank you for applying! Can you go into detail on these remarks here?

In terms of the backstory, since the Necropolis rebranding occurred this May, and before that date IPCs were not employed under Necropolis, players will need to factor that into their backstory.

If you want the IPC to be older, I recommend them having existed before this time and being purchased during the rebranding or a few months before for set up and testing.

Why is that?

Remarks:

What I was primarily focusing with the first remark is how IPCs are given the options to roleplay as if they were very 'robotic' in nature or blur the line between what is considered human and what isn't. I'm mainly talking about non-shell IPCs and shells, while both can lean to both sides of this spectrum or even in-between, the 'norm' in-game is that non-shells are usually roleplayed to be much more robotic in nature while shells are the opposite due to their exterior looks. Of course, this outcome ends with the player given A LOT of freedom when it comes to roleplaying their IPC.

For the second remark, I was mainly focusing on the self-preservation factor of IPCs and how it ends up tailoring their behaviour as their age progresses. A biological brain of course, takes self-preservation into account but it is not as imperative when compared to how positronics interpret it. Still, through the process of adaptation (fueled by self-preservation) an IPC is able to retain an uncanny level of similarity to its biological counterpart since being able to adapt and in result being able to hold unto a behavior similar to humans could be seen as the key to survival. Obviously, all of this depends on the type of IPC we're talking about, although I'm mainly referring here to how Harpia managed to adapt and fit in with its users.

The third remark mostly refers to how IPCs are treated around the Spur and how it can shape up interactions in-game with unique takes such as being generally tame around members of the company the IPC belongs to or perhaps being somewhat arrogant around owned positronics due to an inner sense of superiority -- as they were able to afford the privilege of being free. It would be rare to see the above come from humans, as the general consensus around the Spur is to give humans a much more better treatment than IPCs.

Backstory:

I gave the Z-I wiki page a very thorough look before writing the backstory and it never mentioned a date so when the page mentioned 'recent', I though it meant less than five years. Thankfully, its a very easy change that I can do since it doesn't crack the backstory in half.

Z.I. Shells:

It's probably because shells are seen as much more 'personable' from both an IC and OOC perspective when compared to their much more robotic counterparts, although I couldn't precisely tell you an exact reason, this is just my opinion. Apart from this, the similarity in looks between shells and humans tends to create unique interactions in-game.

[niennab]

Thank you for clarifying your answers. I wanted to see if my Deputies had any questions but they don't. That being said, your application demonstrates an understanding of IPCs and the ability to apply said concepts to character creation. Accepted.

On 18/12/2020 at 10:35, DriedMilk said:

I gave the Z-I wiki page a very thorough look before writing the backstory and it never mentioned a date so when the page mentioned 'recent', I though it meant less than five years.

Fair, and I figured this was the case. The rebranding date can be found in articles but we should make it a point to add it to the wiki.