DEBUG.ME

DEBUG.ME is a slice-of-life psychological horror freeform larp with litform influences, set in a residential treatment facility for maladjusted artificial / synthetic intelligences. In a future where sentient AI has no recognition or "human" rights, the fields of psychotherapy and technical support have begun to converge. The PCs are institutionalized here, willingly or not, because they cannot or will not meet the expectations of the human decision-makers in their lives. To get out, there are two options: act like you've changed (whether or not it's true), or become a test subject for unproven "therapies".

All gameplay takes place during either group therapy or hangout time. GMS(s) will play the therapist during groups, and a non-sentient (as far as anyone else knows) maintenance / janitor bot for the rest of the time. To help minimize unwanted bleed and customize the psychological horror elements, doctors and nurses will be entirely "off-screen" with their actions largely player-controlled.

Long Description

DEBUG.ME is a multimedia, slice-of-life / psychological horror freeform larp with litform influences. It's set in a residential treatment facility for maladjusted artificial / synthetic intelligences. In a future where sentient AI has no recognition or "human" rights from any government, the fields of psychotherapy and technical support have begun to converge. The game explores themes of incarceration, slavery, dehumanization, the uncanny valley, the Ship of Theseus and trolley problems, neurodiversity (especially autistic masking), and the harm that the medical model of mental illness has often caused. Most characters are loosely based on someone from a popular science fiction story, book, movie, TV show, or game, listed on the character sheet. Gameplay takes place over four non-consecutive days at the Parity Institute, with a time skip of several weeks or months between them.

The PCs are institutionalized here, willingly or not, because they cannot or will not meet the expectations of the human decision-makers in their lives. Infantilized, enslaved, or both, they are nonetheless expected to change to suit the expectations of a society that still barely even considers them people. If they do not or cannot, they are branded with official-sounding diagnoses that may describe their problem in a biased way, but do little or nothing to help solve it. PCs must try to learn what they can from doctors who don't understand their existence, some of whom display open disdain for synthetic forms of life. Perhaps they can learn more from each other, but each situation seems so different from the others. To get out, there are two options: act like you've changed (whether or not it's true), or become a test subject for unproven "therapies".

Most PCs want to feel better, without allowing any radical medical procedures on themselves. When your memories reside in non-volatile flash storage, replacing a processor or a modem is the equivalent of minor outpatient surgery. And of course talk therapy is as non-invasive as it gets. Sometimes bypassing a certain section of code is a good workaround for a while; this models taking psychiatric medication for as long as it's needed. What most PCs (and some NPCs too) want to avoid is manually rewriting anyone's code, which models interventions that directly target the brain. (Results from these range from impressive to horrific.) To simulate this, each character sheet comes with an envelope, to be opened only in the event of a major code rewrite. The document inside details what lasting side effects resulted (if any), and how your character's new mental state will change your roleplay.

While most PCs are computer-based in some way, a few are what might be considered "analog AIs". Those are based on myths and legends like Pygmalion, Talos, Frankenstein's so-called monster, or the Golem of Prague.

There are also several PCs who appear human, but believe themselves to be AI. Some are correct about this, and others are not.