Westworld

Nia

Is anyone else watching Westworld? I'm seriously obsessed with this series, and it keeps getting better and better every episode. The last one, #4, is my favourite by far.

It's set around an immersive, virtual-reality MMORPG some time in the distant future. Imagine if they made a show about your experience as a player/God of Aetolia? Yeah, it's like that. The character archetypes consist of "PCs" (Guests), "NPCs" (Hosts) and the staff/programmers who run the game externally. The players play an exorbitant fee to enter the game, where they have absolute power and can do whatever the fuck they want to/with the hosts for ultimate fantasy-fulfilment. Some of them choose to pursue the quests/storylines, others just have lots of sex with the NPCs in the brothel, and others get their kicks out of going on mindless rampages to shoot everything in sight. So basically, just like any MU*, the game is full of bad roleplayers and immersion-breaking PK-whores, as well as people who take the game way too seriously and really want to delve into the story. However, the NPCs start to become self-aware, which is the main drive of the overarching plot of the show.

The game-world is set in a Western, hence the name of the show. But since the world isn't real, and the "Western" characters are actually NPCs, the show's genre is science-fiction (particularly centred around AI) in equal measure.

I LOVE IT. And I feel like other MU*ers and RPers really ought to be fan-freaking with me!

No spoilers in this thread, but I'd love to hear thoughts about it from other people in this community.

Here are a couple of trailers:

Irruel

I'll check it out.
I, quite by accident as it is too easy to buy ebooks on a whim during the daily/monthly sale thingies when there $1, read a book in this genre. It was surprisingly good, but when I tried other books in the genre they were really, really awful. Like they were written by 13 year old Achaeans.

But still, I like AI sci-fi and it's always funny seeing the MMO stereotypes, plus westerns, hello! I haven't watched one since Deadwood.

Kelliara

I can't like, agree and click insightful on @Nia's post.

But I CAN tell you Westworld is a pretty awesome piece of television, no matter which way you carve it, and anyone not already checking it out totally should.

I'm ending my comment here so I don't gush about how much I love the show.

(p.s. it's a looooot.)

Aishia

I'm gunna wait until the whole first season is out and check it out.

Xanchol

I'm trying to watch it with the SO, but that's proven difficult due to our scheduling. I've got the first 2 episodes in, and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the implications it makes about the human psyche vs. AI, and what humans of all walks of life are willing to do when they feel their actions have no 'real' consequences.

Its an amazing show. I was wary of it, when all I saw was the trailers months and months ago, but I definitely agree with @NIa. It's worth watching, and I plan on catching up this week!

Valingar

We get together with some buds at my brother's house to watch this and a few other series now and then. Normally not a fan of westerns at all, but this doesn't really even count as one in my mind. It's def an entertaining show that I'd recommend. As a bunch of online RPG gamers, some of the things happening in this show are guaranteed to strike some familiar chords.

Xenia

Is this the series that has Michael Crichton's involvement in some way (I can't recall if it's based off a book or if he took to writing films)?

Aishia

I think I remember reading something a long time ago about how they tried to get this going with like Schwartzenenen back in the 80s or 90s or something but it fell thru.

Nia

Xenia said:

Is this the series that has Michael Crichton's involvement in some way (I can't recall if it's based off a book or if he took to writing films)?

Yeah, it's based on some films which are based on some books. Normally I'd consider it a sin to watch something based on a book I haven't read, and hold off to do so, but I'm making an exception for Westworld. The films look kind of kitschy to my taste, and the main appeal for me with the show is that it's relevant to current trends (MU* RPGing, namely). I don't know how good the books/films could be in comparison, without the experience of modern gaming to comment on. I also feel like some aspects of the show (i.e., it being very very adult) seem to specifically work well because it's on HBO.

Though if someone has read/seen the source material and can recommend it against my reservations, I might change my mind!

Silena

It's an interesting show. My only complaint is that I have to pay too much attention to it to catch what's going on. I don't want to have think this much about TV shows, dang it.

Xenia

After watching the show I started contemplating my own take on how I related to the concept of the show. I came to the conclusion that I dwell somewhere between playing Xenia like she is an NPC and then diving headfirst into the mechanics and living as a 'god' within the land - endless bashing, grinding for experience and gold, becoming fixated over PK and nitpicking at my offense. For a while I was swinging more towards the latter but now find myself turning back towards the former.

I wonder how others would categorize themselves. Discuss!

Nia

Xenia said:

I wonder how others would categorize themselves. Discuss!

I'm 100% William, always have been, probably always will be. Right down to that shocking(?) reveal.

Basically, I'm in it for the story, the mystery, the exploration. I enjoy playing the game as if I am a God without actually being a God.

While I've been playing Aetolia as a non-combatant and with a fairly light-hearted character, I also tend on other games to have more of an appreciation for hard-mode, consequential play-styles.

I've staffed games before, and when I do, I tend to design them more with people like William in mind than anything else. So I guess in that respect, I'm more of a Ford than an Arnold/Theresa/Catherine/Elsie (and whatever that guy with the really punchable face was called. I forget his name).

Haven

Story all day.