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Tiny Cat People (game)

Tiny Cat People, or TCP, is a popular video game played on Morbit. However, there are two main differences that distinguish it from other games. Firstly, it was made by, and is mostly played by, gods. Secondly, the game takes place not inside a computer, but on a separate plane of existence, and all the entities created inside of it are real.

The Basics

Whenever somebody starts playing a game of Tiny Cat People, they will either be randomly added to an already existing session which fills up to five players, or be the first player in a new one. A new session consists of nothing but a completely empty white void, and it is up to the first player to fill it in and setup the play area for the rest of the session. This can be done with the CREATE command, which is one of the seven main commands the player can use during the game:
-GIVE
-CREATE
-NAME
-TEACH
-CHECK
-SPAWN
-KILL
Almost anything can be made using the CREATE command, although once other players have joined and the environment has been established, players become restricted to their own territories and massive alterations to the session will no longer be accepted.

The main focus of the game, however, is on the SPAWN command and its result, which can take any noun and spawn a tcp of the corresponding type. The session as a whole has a limit to the number of tcps that can be spawned, which increases slowly as time progresses, as well as a limit of five per player. In order to interact with their tcps, a player must first NAME them.

GIVE is similar to CREATE, though it is used for smaller and more personal objects such as clothes and toys, and places them directly in the tcp's vicinity.

TEACH allows a player to give one of their tcps a skill or knowledge in a chosen subject. This knowledge comes instantly, and the tcp may be initially overloaded and be unable to process the new information, especially if multiple complex TEACH commands are used at the same time. Simply knowing something does not equate to mastery over it, and a tcp will still need to develop the skill further in order to be good at it (with the exceptions of speech and reading). Does not work if the player knows nothing about the chosen subject.

CHECK lets the player view their tcp's skills, knowledge, ability, general information such as type, pronouns and mood, as well as their health, which comes in eight values: perfect, fantastic, great, good, okay, poor, hurting, suffering, and critical. All tcps start slightly below their maximum health value, which differs based on their type.

KILL lets a player kill the targeted tcp. They do not die instantly: first, their health must be reduced to critical, and then the player's tcps must land some kind of finishing blow, though if enough damage has been dealt simply touching the targeted tcp is enough. This is the only way a tcp can die inside the session.

In addition to this, a player can also simply talk to their tcp directly. This communication is undetectable to observers, though the tcp will need to speak in order to respond.

In order to win a TCP session, every player must first have spawned in their full team of five tcps. Then, one of two things must happen: Either every player agrees to cooperate and not fight each other, in which case they all win, or certain players decide to fight, in which case the game does not end until one side no longer has any tcps. Once there are no more players willing to compete, all players with surviving tcps win.

Once a TCP session is completed, all the winners gain a very small amount of divine power. They are also allowed to bring their tcps from the session onto Morbit, if they wish. Otherwise, all their tcps go to a different plane of existence designed for them to live in, known as Paradise.

Additional things

Adventures

Whenever a tcp leaves their player's territory, they are considered to be on an 'adventure'. The player cannot use any commands while any of their tcps are on an adventure, except for CHECK and KILL, and the global tcp limit will not increase while any tcps in the session are on an adventure.

Autobalance

Though it might not seem like it, all sessions have an administrator watching over them at all times. If a player would create something too powerful, or something tied to a specific player, the admin will veto the creation, leaving behind a note not to do it again. If players persist, autobalance will kick in, giving every player their own version of whatever object was created, adding the admin to the game as a player, and instantly raising the tcp limit to 30. Once the admin has joined, any further commands that would trigger autobalance are still denied.

Collectives

As well as ordinary players on Morbit being able to join sessions of TCP, it also possible for collective entities to coalesce in a session as players. From their own perspectives, these collectives exist floating in a blank white void, similar to that of a new TCP session, with no physical form or motifs and domains until they choose them. If a collective manages to win the TCP session, they will manifest on Morbit as a lesser god. Otherwise, they return to the nonexistence they came from.

Communicators

Players of TCP can talk to each in one-on-one conversations, however new players do not start with this ability. In order to be able to talk with other players, all players must find a communicator inside the session with their tcps, which will be generated somewhere if new players are present. A player only needs to find a communicator once to be able to use it in all following sessions.

Interface

Gods play Tiny Cat people through the use of holographic screens, which can be made to focus on any of their tcps. Commands can be entered manually or spoken [can TCP take thoughts as commands???]. Interfaces are not locked to players, and a different person can take over if given the interface. Mortal species play on a different kind of interface: see below.

Synergies

Any gods playing a session of Tiny Cat People will gain certain synergy bonuses based on their domains and motifs. These bonuses can affect tcp abilities, magic items, and potentially other things inside the session as well, and are difficult to predict, though they tend to be passive and not under the player's direct control.

Rogues

If a tcp's relationship with their player worsens to a certain point, it is possible for them to go rogue, snapping all connections they have with the player. The player can no longer talk to a rogue tcp or see their surroundings, and they no longer count as one of the player's tcp for the purposes of victory. Rogue tcps do not require a kill command in order to be slain; if they take enough damage, they die.

Origin

Tiny Cat People was created by the high god Wax, in the aftermath following Wane's death.