TINY CAT PEOPLE: THE MAZE TRIALS

[victorianflorist]

That's really sweet of you, I'd love to. Let me leave you with some chocolate in return though, please.

[King-Clod]

Could we... could we play a nice chill game? Just. A game where everyone is friends and is safe. I think that'd be nice.

[Wilds]

ask if apologising directly to Samson would help, or if it would make things worse ):

you are just a little chocolate. you would love to play a game for a little while.

[Guest]

Let’s see what games they got.

[skinstealer]

 
You make a noise akin to sniffling and nod.

SEE: That’s…really sweet of you. Yeah.
SEE: Could we play like…a nice chill game?
SEE: Something where everybody’s chill…
SEE: And friends….
SEE: And safe…
CAYDEN: Yeah sure, totally! Uhhh
CAYDEN: Okay, so best bet for that is probablyyyy
CAYDEN: This little like, farming/town building game I like called Fields of Red Grass
CAYDEN: You help grow food and materials to rebuild a town after a disaster
CAYDEN: But for a lot of people the real draw is the NPCs
CAYDEN: They’ll move into the town as you play, and who you get is random, and they all have their own different personalities 
CAYDEN: I think the game really does a good job of capturing the whole ‘community’ type feeling 
SEE: That sounds great...really great....
CAYDEN: Alright, cool!
 

Cayden stands up and heads over to one of the desks, picking up a somewhat thick plastic box, something you can only assume is the handheld they were talking about.

CAYDEN: Do you want a copy of the instruction manual too?
SEE: Oh, yeah- I'm really good at those. 
SEE: Set up my laptop and everything!
CAYDEN: I don’t know if being good at manuals is like
CAYDEN: A thing.
CAYDEN: But yeah, I think you’ll like it, game manuals have like, a lotta fun little illustrations and stuff.
SEE: No, no, I think I'm good at them. Seriously.
SEE: I've got manual reading down.
CAYDEN: …Alright bud, knock yourself out I guess.

   


Cayden comes back and hands you the console, with the game already inside, along with the manual.

You take the manual out, ready to start being the best at this.

 
 

 

FIELDS OF RED GRASS

Let your new life bloom!

There’s a table of contents inside.


-Getting Started
-The Story So Far
-Getting to Know Your Neighbors
-Farming, Fishing, and More!
-Home Sweet Home
-Playing with Friends

[King-Clod]

Oh playing with friends? Could we play this together?

[knux400]

What's the story so far? It might be good to have some context before we jump right in.

[Lilium Mortem]

don't forget to read the entire thing, you are the best at manuals after all. can't lose that reputation.

[skinstealer]

You may as well read all of it, flipping the page to the first section.
  

GETTING STARTED
 
Welcome to Fields of Red Grass- your new, portable home away from home. In this game you take on the role of a newcomer to a ramshackle town in the Fields of Red Grass, having signed up to be a new caretaker of an abandoned farm. Not many people remain in the town after a horrible disaster struck three years ago…but with your help, it’s time to rebuild!

Easy enough. 

 

CONTROLS

To start, you check out the control page- Cayden has to help clarify which buttons are which, but you think you get the gist. You really like pressing the squishy trigger buttons and kneading them around- they work just like your laptop’s doughboard!
 

 

The next page has some more starting info.

Before you arrive at your new home, you’ll have to create your farmer! Select a head, ears, body features, and a starting outfit- and colors to match.

Cool! You have no idea what a farmer is!

Always remember to save your game before quitting by pressing the START button! Otherwise, there could be consequences! 

…consequences?

Time changes along with the real world in this game! Before starting, you’ll be asked whether the time on your game system is correct. Don’t change the time to cheat, or you’ll be punished!

…uh.

CAYDEN: Don’t do it. Seriously. You don’t wanna meet… them.
 

You are too spooked and stoned to question him, just nodding vigorously.

  

 

THE STORY SO FAR

    In a town ravaged by war…
Three years ago, war raged through the valley, taking the lives and livelihoods of many. Now those who are left, those who were not strong enough to be called to battle, but cunning enough to survive and stubborn enough not to leave it all behind are trying their best to put their town back together. You’ve felt the calling to help rebuild, and been given one of the few farms still standing. Make yourself at home, and help your neighbors bring the village back to life!

SEE: …what’s war?
CAYDEN: It’s like, a lot of people fighting. Don’t worry about it though, that’s just the backstory, the game itself is pretty chill.
SEE: So…nobody dies? Or gets hurt?
CAYDEN: …Probably not?
 

That’s just going to have to be good enough.

 

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS

You open up the Neighbors section- oh! These are cool! They look kind of like TCPs, but different- your mind tells you that some of them have “mouths”. 

As anyone knows, good neighbors are what makes a good community. The neighbors of your town are a friendly bunch, all ready to work together with one another to make things happen! 

You may find that your neighbors will bring you gifts, or offer to help with your work, especially as you become better friends with them (or perhaps, more????)

SEE: So…what is a neighbor?
CAYDEN: Like… in the game? Or in a general sense?
SEE: General sense, I guess? I’ve never heard the word.
CAYDEN: It’s people who like, live near each other.
SEE: So are we neighbors?
CAYDEN: Yeah probably? I’ll be honest I don’t know how big this place is or how close our rooms are at any given time.
 

Neighbors…you like the feel of it.

 

 

Here’s some friendly Neighbors!

NAME: Cinema
PRONOUNS: He/Him
FAVORITE JOB: Tailor
FAVORITE HOBBY: Toy Collecting
  

This one has a fun look! Your mind tells you that his mouth is “smiling”, and for some reason, it makes you feel happy and at ease.

 

 
NAME: Kalisha
PRONOUNS: She/Her
FAVORITE JOB: Fishing
FAVORITE HOBBY: Flower Picking
 

Kalisha kind of reminds you of Suzanne…you shake off the thought before it ruins your mood.

There are many more to meet on your own!

SEE: So, if I play the game, I get different ones than you?
SEE: You said they’re random.
CAYDEN: Yep! Well, probably. We might get a couple of the same ones, but in general we’ll have mostly different people.
CAYDEN: Oh also, they’re not all random. There’s a couple you’ll get from doing specific special stuff.
CAYDEN: But that kind of stuff is more fun to find on your own sooooo…
SEE: Gotcha…
 

FARMING, FISHING AND MORE!
 

This next section really throws you for a loop. There’s…a lot of terms you don’t know.

SEE: …might need help with this one.
CAYDEN: Which part?
SEE: I don’t recognize like, half of these terms.
SEE: What’s farming?
SEE: I know a fish, but what does that have to do with fishing??
CAYDEN: A lot of this you’ll get as you play, but basically you need to gather resources and put them to use to help rebuild the town.
CAYDEN: Food, lumber, stone, stuff like that.
 

You nod, as if anything but the word “food” registered to you.

At the very least, the pictures look cool.
  

 

HOME SWEET HOME

Throughout your time in the village, you will always have access to the farmstead you named your home. Several features will be unlocked as you progress, such as the ability to change your outfit, or the ability to mail other players you have connected to online. (See playing with friends p. 43) Who knows, maybe your neighbors will even give you something to improve the decor, once you’ve earned their respect.

SEE: Oh! So this is like my room here?
SEE: Do I get to decorate it?
CAYDEN: Yeah, a bit, though not as much as some of the later titles in the series. Mostly you can just pick the color of stuff already in there.
SEE: Wish I could do that here…
  

  

PLAYING WITH FRIENDS
 

This section also goes over your head, as much as you want to absorb every bit of info about playing the game with somebody else- it’s just so much technical info.

SEE: So…if I go to the uh, portal? At the edge of town-
 

You realize you don’t know what a town is either, but you’ve come too far to admit that now.

SEE: -I can meet up with you? How’s that work?
CAYDEN: WiFi.
SEE: Oh! I know wifi!
SEE: I set that up! A whole router!
SEE: I was able to get online with it, and look around the internet a bit.
CAYDEN: Right yeah, I think you mentioned that. We should exchange Messiroom handles so we can message each other.
SEE: Okay! Yeah!
SEE: It’s [SEA_AND_SKY].
SEE: …kind of a sappy name but I like it…
CAYDEN: Alright, cool, I’ll shoot you a message later with all of ours.
CAYDEN: Some of them
He glances at Todd
CAYDEN: Would be hard to remember.
SEE: Fuck yeah!
SEE: Does that mean we’ll be able to talk even when we’re not in a trial together?
CAYDEN: Yep, anytime we’re both in our rooms!
 

You’re comforted by the thought of having some company in your own room…

SEE: Should I ask people I meet whether they have these?
CAYDEN: I mean, sure, if you want!
 

Sounds like a new mission- get all of your friends’ handles!

…well, what…three? Friends you have aside from the gamers.

More to come, hopefully!

CAYDEN: So, any questions? Or would you like to boot up the game now?

[King-Clod]

oh we have plenty more questions but I really just wanna get into it. don't want to bore them asking what a town is and everything. we can just learn as we go!

[Lilium Mortem]

Play the game, rock back and forth on the floor while it loads.

[skinstealer]

You have a ton of questions still, but…you can learn as you go.

SEE: I just really wanna get into it.
CAYDEN: Alright, just press that power button on the side, I already loaded the cartridge for you.
You press the button, and the screen lights right up, giving you the tiniest thrill.
 

FIELDS OF RED GRASS
Press start to play!

SEE: So...I just press the start button? 
CAYDEN: Yep!
 

You go ahead and hit it- this thing's a bit big thanks to it coming in gamer-size, but you're making it work.



The screen that pops up is super colorful, with a little person on the screen.

SEE: Oh! Oh shit, is this where I make my farmer?
CAYDEN: Yep, and be sure you're happy with how they look, because you can't change it later.
CAYDEN: Well, except the clothes.
 

...this is gonna be tricky.

[Time for character creation! Post a screencap of your farmer design from here to suggest!] 

[Lilium Mortem]

https://imgur.com/a/m9eZu0b
I tried to make See... it didn't go great.

[King-Clod]

here we go! ears like Monroe's, outfit colors like Sky's, and a tail like our laptop! All things it likes!
Or...is it supposed to be making it's farmer look like it? oh gosh, maybe it did this wrong...

[victorianflorist]

[sarcovyn]

[Guest]

Oh wow, a picrew

[skinstealer]

You carefully try out your options…big ears definitely appeal to you- they remind you of Monty! A red outfit also seems like a good idea, because it’s just like Sky. And…hm….oh, here’s a tail that looks like your laptop cable!

SEE: How’s this?
CAYDEN: Yeah, looks great!
CAYDEN: Obviously you’ll need to get through the tutorial and stuff before we can play together, but don’t rush. People who rush through the tutorial will have a tougher time learning the game.
 

You feel like Cayden was looking in Roxas’ direction when he said that, but you’re not sure.

You nod, pressing the correct button to proceed.



The game opens on a peaceful scene- your mind filling in the gaps as you stare in wonder.

There is a field of dirt and grass, trash scattered around- you wonder if you'd need a trash bag like the gamers have to clean it up. There's also a cabin, though it looks...really beat up.

There's also a character on screen, black and red and horse-like.

A dialogue box pops up, and your gaming skill says that it's probably the horse talking.

KADE: Okay, so...this is your new place.
KADE: ...I'll be honest, it sucks.
KADE: You're going to have to do a lot to clean up around here.
KADE: ...but someone's gotta do it.
KADE: Do you need my help to get started?
 

You hit >Yes.

KADE: [SIGH] Okay.
KADE: First off, you have to pay attention to the time...
 

You get completely absorbed in the tutorial- you're surprised at how much Kade feels like a real, actual person.

SEE: Are all games like this?
SEE: Like...he feels real.
CAYDEN: Some games feel realer than others. It depends on how much work and care developers put into it.
CAYDEN: You tend to find more ‘real’ games among indies, in my experience.
CAYDEN: Budget and graphics can’t imitate heart and soul.
SEE: Indies...noted.
 

You keep playing through, and all of a sudden, the game lets you loose. You're out of the tutorial!

 

But before you can really get into it-

INTERCOM: See, you have made an impression.
INTERCOM: You may redeem it in your own room.
 

Samson lets out a cough over at the desk that she’s been watching you and Cayden from.

SAMSON: Oh how nice, you made an impression. 
SAMSON: With that and the special overseer present from the challenge room, you should probably be heading back soon.
 

You get the feeling that this is less of a suggestion than it sounds.

[MarxzVulpez]

Going back and getting some rest sounds like a pretty good plan yeah. Thanks a bunch y'all

[King-Clod]

oh gosh yeah we can go, but uh
could we wait until the weed wears off? I don't want to go out there like this...alone....