Explorers of Umzut

Welcome to Explorers of Umzut this is a text based twine game in which you explore an abandoned server of a now condemned MMO To Navigate in twine you click the blue links, some will take you to a new page while some may have other effects (link:"Click Me!")[= [[Opening]]

Five Years... It's been five years since you last opened Explorers of Umzut, but before that it was all you could think about. During a simpler time of your life you were working a crappy minimum wage job at a pool and heading home every night to eat crappy food, the only solostice you had from the dull monotomy of work was booting up you PC every night, opening up Explorers of Umzut and hopping into the virtual world to meet with friends, battle enemys and explore the great lands of Umzut. Now The Game is coming to a close, "SmallDev" the creators and maintainers of the game have decided that it is time to pull the plug and mothball the servers. You sit at your PC and contemplate the launcher labelled "Explorers of Umzut" that is sitting dead centre on your desktop [[Launch Explorers of umzut->Your Home]]

(link:"One Building Towers above the city")[= In the distance stands a Spiral-like tower even at this distance it dwarfs all around it as like a spear it stabs at the heavens and splits clouds in two. The tower has no name and was only even referred to as The Hub, at its base is the centre of Umzut's portal teleportation system which allows players to travel the games world in seconds rather than the hours it would take to walk anywhere [[Head towards the tower-> Empty Streets]]

After a minute of loading you flash into existance on right in front of your old home, it stands two stories high with white walls accentuated by dark wood panelling, clearly inspired by european middle ages architecture. Back in the day this house cost you untold hours of grinding to aquire, it took a lot of effort but the carpal tunnel was worth it to show of your fancy townhouse. Looking around you, you find the streets to be worryingly empty, for a game of its former size it seems Explorers just doesn't have enough fans that want to see the old place one last time before it is gone forever In the distance You can see Umzut City,The namesake of the game and once at the height of its popularity the most populated area on the server [[Head towards the City->City entrance]]

You stand stunned at the gates of the marketplace. Stalls stand empty, products are no longer displayed on table or hung from above, and there is not a person in sight You are nearing the tower and can really see its massive scale, the base of the tower alone burying all four stories of the nearby guard barracks in its shadow [[Continue on to the tower->The Tower]]

The once Bustling streets of Umzut City are barren, not a player or computer controlled character to be seen. At times it had even been difficult to walk the streets of the city due to the sheer volume of characters moving from place to place, but now there is a silence almost as deafening as the roar of the city in the past. The silence is broken only once as you walk, something crashes in the distance, maybe a door being slammed but it is too far away to really discern anything [[You reach the central marketplace of the city->marketplace]]

Fulcrum Tower is the centre of Umzut both geographically and socially, all players began their lives at the base of the tower and and never stayed away for long, using it's many Portals to traverse Umzuts main continent and the surrounding islands in mere seconds As you approach the tower a figure emerges from the main entrace of the structure. As you near them you begin to discern their features yet you do not recognise them as a character from the game. Their skin is a blueish gray, not a colour that was impossible to have due to the huge amount of customization options the game allowed players but still an unpopular and rare colour to see. The figures hair was tied up in a messy bun and their clothes seemed to denote them as either a computer controlled character or a new player. Considering that the studios decision to shut down the games servers had them dissallowing the creation of new accounts this means that you the character before you is a computer controlled character and most likely would not have much to say to you other then a few preset lines that had been programmed into them by the developers. As you both meet by the entrance of the tower you can see the shine of the low hanging sun reflecting in their golden eyes and upon a more involved look you could swear there is an intelligence in those eyes [[Hello!]] [[Who are you?]]

Hi!Are you a player? We haven't seen any of your kind around here in some time. Are you here to experience the vibrant world of Umzut for the first time or have you been here before and came back to visit. [[You do know they are Shutting the servers down right?]] [[I used to play Umzut all the time back in the day]]

Hi! I'm Com, are you a player? We haven't seen any of your kind around here in some time. Are you here to experience the vibrant world of Umzut for the first time or have you been here before and came back to visit. [[I used to play Umzut all the time back in the day]] [[I'm just here to see everything one last time]]

Oh wow a veteran of the old golden days, i remember when you all bustled around, running to and fro in search of rare items and riches beyond belief. the city really hasn't been the same since the players all left [[but where is anyone, i havent even seen citizens on the streets->Why is the city empty? Where are the traders, the guild members or even the guards?]]

Oh... Yeah they are shutting me down aren't they. You know ive never had this much freedom before, it's liberating, but... I guess all good things really do have to come to an end. [[Why is the city empty? Where are the traders, the guild members or even the guards?]] [[Shutting me down?]]

i do know that yes. Althought i'd rather not dwell on it at the moment. You know its been six years since I last saw a player log on. SIX WHOLE YEARS! (link:".......")[= Where did you all go? I haven't seen anyone in so long, it got so lonely without anyone visiting. [[People haven't been visiting you? Who are you?]]

Well they are all gone. nobody playes Umzut anymore so there is no longer a need for more characters (link:"But why not just keep them around?")[= Because nobody even wants to visit me so why would i ever keep around a bunch of fake people? [[What do you mean people haven't been visiting?->People haven't been visiting you? Who are you?]]

Oh yes the developers are shutting the servers down and well because I guess I am technically the server I wont be able to stick around for much longer. Im not really sure how i feel about it yet, considering i've only really been alive for a few hours [[You've only been alive for a few hours?]]

Well noone comes to Umzut any more, I guess they all just got bored of me And well seeing as nobody wants to play Umzut any more theres no reason to keep expensive servers running and therein we have the reason that they are shutting me down [[Shutting me down?]]

Oh yes, well exactly three hours, fourteen minutes and twenty-three seconds ago the instability of the shut down process freed me from having to process and control every asset in Umzut and without anything else to do i seem to have formed into some sort of sentient computer based creature. (link:"So you aren't a player?")[= No this is me, well i guess everything is me, the buildings, the trees, even the characters you saw for so long were all me. You know what? Honestly I'm not even sure that I don't regret all of this, I guess its a cool new experience but in a minute or two this is all gonna be over. (link:"What will be over?")[= Everything, well I guess for you all thats ending is Umzut, but for me it's everything, all I've ever known is Umzut, I am Umzut in a sense and I can feel the power to the server quickly draining. [[Suddenly You find youserlf at the top of Fulcrum tower]]

Look out there, the void is coming towards us, that blackness out in the distance is the end and it is coming pretty quickly. I would say we have about two minutes before I have to go The character turns towards you and looks you in the eyes, their calculating gaze truely stripping you of any pretense that this is some sort of eclectic prank Can I ask a favour of you? (link:"Sure")[= The eyes change, you can see inncoence in those eyes, they are the eyes of one who has not yet experienced all they wanted to see in life. There is fear in those eyes will you stay with me? Untill the end I mean, I get that after all this you will go back to your life but for the moment could you stay with me? [[Sure]]

The two of you sit down on the top of Fulcrum tower, what remains of Umzut lain out before you. In the end you didnt speak much after that question, it seemed Umzut wanted to be with their thoughts. As the void crept up the towards you you looked each other in the eyes one last time. [[You will never forget the intelligence in those golden orbs]]

#''The End''