Lobby & Roundstart

The lobby, instead of just being a UI, is actually a map players can walk around in. All features that were UI buttons/menus previously (readying up, observing, the roundstart timer, etc) are instead diegetic elements contained within the lobby map itself.

Players spawn into the lobby as soon as they connect to the server and are shown a guidebook entry explaining what's happening, since it will ideally feel very strange compared to the regular SS14 experience.

The Theater

The lobby map is a theater, featuring a foyer area and the theater itself, with a stage and seating. The goal of this is to frame the entire round as an "immersive play" that is occurring within the theater, synergizing very well with the established design of randomized characters and relations, 'mask' roles, and focus on improvisational roleplay. Theatergoers can chat amongst themselves about anything they like.

The players within the lobby are "theatergoers", who are visiting the theater with the goal of starring in one of the plays. The theatergoers are not human, and the theater as a map is in a sort of "void" of indeterminate quality. The level of in-character "reality" that the theater and its plays are operating on is left up to interpretation.

The theater itself is an unnerving object. Mixed perspective, strange lighting, gaps in space and hallways that lead nowhere, a topology that doesn't quite seem to be possible, rooms with inscrutable function and design that seem to change every time you visit, as well as food items that seem more tangible and real than anything else you've seen. A lovely place to spend eternity.

Within the lobby, a piece of 'Lobby Art' designed for the play you're to perform is displayed prominently within the foyer. There is also diegetic 'Lobby Music' of sorts coming from a gramophone in the foyer.

NPCs

As opposed to the play itself, made up entirely of performers, the theater has many individuals who are simply not sentient and exist only to entertain and perform tasks for the theatergoers, such as opening menus, directing them to areas of the theater, just filling space, or generally spouting cryptic nonsense.

Accessorizing

The theatergoer sprite is a strange little sort of guy of undefined gender in a tuxedo and a square head. Players can interact with an NPC in the lobby to customize their lobby character, either by changing the sigil displayed on their face, adding small accessories or markings, or changing clothing.

Activities

Okay breaking character for a second. Imagine like a roblox lobby or minecraft hypixel lobby. you get what I mean right. Theres just random shit to do you can wander the backrooms or do weird inscrutable puzzles or engage in..

Pheemy Pharmer

The game where YOU can take care of your Pheemy (a weird round kind of guy) and try to create the rarest pheemy you can while keeping it healthy or killing it allways in all sorts of damaging ways and punching it to death and murdering it. Actions taken in the round can affect your pheemy in nonobvious ways and you can chat with other theatergoers about the state of your pheemies. Or feed it berries.

Roundstart

When all theatergoers entered the lobby from the previous play, the map and gamemode for the next performance has already been selected. Some time before the performance begins, you can adjust which roles (determined from the map and gamemode) you'd be okay with playing by stepping onto the stage and selecting them in a UI (sometimes you do just need a user interface).

This works as a sort of "approval voting" system, and you can see which roles other theatergoers are selecting and adjust your preferences accordingly. There is not necessarily a guarantee you will get the role you desire if you're too picky.

Readying Up

Theatergoers can opt to join the performance by entering the theater and simply standing on the stage. Others who simply wish to observe can melt into the theater's lush seating, and those who enter the theater during a showing can skulk onto the stage and try their best to fit into the existing performance. However, latejoiners must wait at least 10-15 minutes after the play starts before trying to make their entrance.

Starting the Play

Once the play begins, the curtains are drawn and all ready are taken into the other world. Roles are randomly selected based on the approval-selection mentioned previously, each theatergoer receives a random Mask, and they are expected to fully act in character, and to not mention the theater from now on. Those who fail to uphold kayfabe may find themselves ousted by the other actors.