In the near future, massive-multiplayer games are more popular than ever. And no game is more cutting edge than Japan's own VITAL HEARTS, with its rich fantasy world, complex meta, and wonderful PvP and PvE balancing. As the company plans to launch servers in other markets, strange rumors begin to pop up on social media. Weird science, conspiracy, and even murder, all somehow linked to the game. Is this all just rumors, or does this game have some strange power over our world?
Using our flagship Cardinal game system, each player takes on two roles: both as a person living in the real world, and as their avatar in a computer MMO. Players will have to both level their avatars up on complex fetch-quests and dungeon-crawls, as well as investigate the mysteries of the real world. But dying in an MMO is just a time-out... it's the real world where you risk permanent death. Can you solve the mystery of VITAL HEARTS before it's too late?
Inspired by .hack, Accel World, Log Horizon, Overworld, Ready Player One, Tower of Druaga, Serial Experiments Lain, Twin Peaks, Dream Park, Futureworld, and other stories where a recreational fantasy becomes a nightmarish reality, VITAL HEARTS will both be a challenging fantasy-game inspired by computer RPGs and a compelling mystery where the stakes are all too real.
The final game may differ from this beta testing. To stay up-to-date on Vital Hearts and other games, check out our website at www.SanguineGames.com
Vital Hearts is a tabletop game where you have not one but two characters: your personal user in a modern-day Japan... and an avatar in the next generation in multiplayer gaming. It's fun at first, as you balance your work-a-day life with your hack-and-slash gaming. And sure, you might dismiss those fake screenshots and Internet hoaxes at first... but there's definitely something mixed up around here.
A Tale of Mixed Realities...
You'll be playing not one, but two characters: your persona in Real Life, who has to go to work, to school, and to do other chores... with your avatar in Virtual Reality, who uses fantastic techs of sword and spell to defeat monsters and win the day. For the game of Vital Hearts, you must strike a balance between RL and VR. If your character spends too much time in the game, they'll fall behind on their daily life. But if you can't keep up the pace in the game, you may miss out on great rewards.
As you make your own stories, the line between the two gets thinner. Logic, math, and academic skills will help you solve puzzles in the game. Reflexes, wits, and bravery earned in the game can give you new confidence to deal with the ordinary. Whatever path you choose, let your past glories build your future success... because you'll need to be ready for what's to come.
... But It's Only a Game, Isn't it?
The Internet is full of viral hoaxes. And all kinds of people play these games, so it's not that weird when one or two make the news. And you just want to play games, not get caught up in politics of anti-gaming organizations, patent disputes, and other things. But the longer you play the Vital Hearts game, the more things happen that are just ... odd. Are you and your friends the targets of identity thieves trying to hack your accounts? What kind of publicity stunt goes so badly that the police get involved? Did those accounts go dark because those people just quit... or because of something else? Just what is going on?
You'll have to work together with your friends, using both your VR champion and your RL self, if you don't want to be just another victim. And it might not just be you and your friends who are in danger. WIth Vital Hearts getting ready to launch in all regions, the fate of the entire world could be at stake!
