openacres | Frequently Asked Questions

Information & Questions

[ Premise and Content ]

sweetacres is an intense psychological horror game with heavy science fiction elements. Characters are put into a televised simulation known as Sweet Acres. Sweet Acres is an educational program cast throughout an unknown dimension to help students study concepts around psychology, science, medicine, sociology, and more. Unfortunately, your characters aren't the students: they are the test subjects and their lives in Sweet Acres are about to be exploited by an unknown and unseen audience.

🌼 There are mysteries to be discovered in Sweet Acres such as what the deal with Daisy is and why Haywood Ranch serves as the glitchiest part of the game. This game is technically story-driven, but the information will be delivered slowly.

🌼 The game is ideally intended to last multiple years with no end date in mind.

🌼 Characters will quite literally feel as though they have clipped from their canon or CRAU worlds. They will awaken in a pasture with a two-headed calf before being pulled through a glowing gold box. They will then be given Daisy's Welcoming Message and introduced to the setting. Some characters may forget this and instead remember Test Drive Meme sequences upon arrival.

🌼 Every month on the 5th there will be a Daisy-driven network post to inspire network mingling for new characters to adjust to the setting.

🌼 Official game events, otherwise known as experiments, will occur on the 10th. These experiments can dramatically change the setting temporarily and may alter the psychological state of characters. Character homes will usually be untouched, but they may be more inaccessible during extreme events. We will always let players know ahead of time when to expect brief rehoming events.

🌼 This is a mature game with dark, intense themes. There will be constant themes of extreme psychological horror and torment as well as insensitive treatment of psychology and general mental health.

Other themes may include but are not limited to body horror, gore, violence, mental manipulation and coercion, natural disasters, torture, drugs, alcohol, sex, trauma, amnesia, feelings of being stalked or watched, and conversations around the treatment of test subjects both human and animal.

🌼 Emotional gaslighting is practically the entire basis for this game. Characters are regularly told that their memories are unreliable. While some characters may be able to resist that, others will not. There are common themes of confusion and amnesia due to Daisy's manipulation. However, we must emphasize that this is not a memloss game. Amnesia is merely an option players can use to explore their character's difficulty with the setting.

🌼 Daisy tells characters that their lives were created for them, but we the players know that this is a lie. Characters can suspect it is a lie, but technically, there is currently no in-game confirmation of this being true. This is strictly OOC information for players to play with. Information will eventually be released to help characters confirm their own opinions on whether this situation is real or not.

🌼 We would genuinely not recommend this game to anyone who has had negative or traumatic experiences with psychiatric care. The entire premise of this game relies on a sadistic entity that seeks to abuse test subjects in the name of education. Daisy is not ethical nor does she care to be. This game is intended as an intense psychological horror for a reason and some events may be incredibly difficult.

Of course, we believe our players to know what they are capable of handling in a fictitious setting, so if you think you can handle the themes, then we are eager to see your application!

We just want to give a proper warning that mental health will be handled poorly in this setting by the NPC. We do believe characters will come to show one another great mental health support. Ironically, characters may seek deeper and more accurate explanations about mental health at the Twilight Academy.

[ Game Mechanics ]

🌼 There will be one mod-run event each month. These events are ICly known as "experiments" and they are created and run by Daisy.

🌼 There will be one open Test Drive Meme each month open to players and non-players alike. All TDMs will be considered game canon though new players have the option to disregard their TDM threads.

🌼 The pacing will be medium to fast pacing. We will make sure to give calmer events and months between the more extreme ones.

🌼 We currently do not allow player plots but will allow them soon.

🌼 The game operates on a 1:1 day ratio.

🌼 You can submit your activity requirements at any point during the month they are due. All AC will be checked on the 1-5th of the following month.

🌼 Activity Check requirement will be at least ten comments from your character per month. You can use TDMs, logs, networks, or inbox posts. Only half of your proof can be from an inbox. You can use multiple threads but there must be at least three comments from your character per proof.

🌼 All questions for mods should be answered within a week. If you are waiting for a response beyond a week, please reach out to us. We will do our best to keep up to date on all questions.

[ Player Mechanics ]

🌼 Players must be 18+ to join.

🌼 This is a public game. You do not need an invite to join.

🌼 You are required to respect everyone's boundaries regarding content warnings.

🌼 Everyone is required to have their boundaries clearly outlined in a permission page attached to their character's account.

🌼 We require using content warnings for violence, sex, drugs, or alcohol use in any open posts for our Network, Log, or TDM communities.

🌼 We have no plans to create a game Discord server. We recommend following our game's Plurk account

sweetacres for news and updates. Any major game updates will be posted to our OOC community

openacres.

[ Application and Update Mechanics ]

🌼 Applications open on the 1st of each month at 12:00 AM EST and close on the 5th at 11:59 PM EST.

🌼 There are no player, cast, or game cap.

🌼 We accept original characters, canon, and CRAU.

🌼 You can play characters from the same canon as long as they do not interact heavily in the canon.

🌼 Respond to the taken page by the 20th of your acceptance cycle. If you fail to do so, we will assume you rescind your application and you will have to reapply the following month.

🌼 You can play up to four characters at a time. You can apply all four in the same cycle or alternating cycles.

🌼 You can update your character at any time. We only ask that your update point be at least 30 days old. Characters can be updated to a new canon point or an old canon point or to a different CRAU status.

🌼 To update your character, you do not require permission. Characters can either return abruptly to the Haywood Ranch or Garland Labs with their updated memories.

[ Character Mechanics ]

🌼 Any age or species is allowed as long as your character is cognitively capable of communicating with others and can have a proper character arc in the game.

🌼 Characters will age as they would in their canon. Immortal characters are allowed as is.

🌼 Dead or fatally injured characters will be healed upon arrival. Scarring is optional.

🌼 Fatally ill characters can be cured upon their arrival so that they will not die in the setting. Alternatively, they can suffer symptoms but not have a worsening condition. This can be done through the Dreamsnake Clinic.

🌼 Unique diets will have to be sought after in the world through the Dreamsnake Clinic or the help of others. This applies to medication, special or normal, as well.

🌼 Macrosized characters will be sized appropriately to the setting. Microsized characters can remain the same size as in canon.

🌼 Characters cannot get pregnant. Characters pregnant from their canon point will no longer be pregnant upon arrival.

🌼 Regular sickness, such as colds, exists in this game and will need to be cured through usual means or a visit to the Dreamsnake Clinic.

🌼 Language barriers do not exist in Sweet Acres. The Daze translates all languages. However, if characters consciously think about speaking a different language, they will be able to do so. Languages include our own spoken languages such as French or Vietnamese, dead languages such as Latin, various forms of sign language, or otherworldly languages such as Dothraki or Elvish.

[ Glitches and Character Powers ]

🌼 Sweet Acres is a simulation which means glitches are to be expected! Glitches look like one might expect them to: clipping graphics, color changes, glitching in and out of existence. Just about any error you have seen in a video game, you might run the risk of seeing in Sweet Acres.

🌼 Biological features seem to glitch more often than anything else. It is common to see plant life glitching in and out of different species, vanishing entirely, changing color, releasing the wrong smell, etc.

🌼 These glitches can extend to characters as well. There is a running theory that the confusion and occasional amnesia characters experience are signs of glitching.

🌼 Haywood Ranch has the most glitches regularly. It does make one wonder...Is someone causing these glitches from the outside? Do they mean something? What is causing the glitches? Hmmm! Might be something worth pondering over.

🌼 Characters are allowed to come in with their full power sets...With some unspoken caveats. No one in this setting will truly be in control of their actual powers nor will anyone come anywhere close to touching the power that Daisy holds.

🌼 If overpowered characters attempt to cause widespread damage to the setting or escape, Daisy will merely appear in front of them, wagging her finger at them. "No, no, no!" And with a blink, your characters will grow incredibly weak and exhausted in a micro second. It will take weeks for them to regain their usual sense of power.

🌼 Even regular powers may be impacted by the setting. All powers are subject to "glitching" which is mostly uncontrollable. At any moment, your character's reliable powers could just blow up in their faces.

🌼 Glitches are incredibly varied. Maybe your fire-wielding character accidentally wields electricity. Maybe your character that can fly suddenly glitches out of the sky and winds up stuck halfway inside of someone's freezer.

🌼 It is suggested that the more people use their abilities, the higher the chance for a glitch to occur.

🌼 But it is also suggested that some characters may be able to master glitches and use them to their advantage. There may be exact patterns to how a character's abilities glitch and hey, if gamers can use glitches as a cheat code, why can't your character?

🌼 Learning to use glitches to someone's advantage should require extensive training and consideration. That is not something any character should just be able to learn overnight or in a month.

🌼 Have fun with the glitches and do remember: nothing can break this setting the way Daisy can. If your character tries to use glitches to their advantage to try and break anything in the setting, Daisy is still going to appear to essentially punish them and zap them of their abilities.

[ Character Death, Drops and Hiatus ]

🌼 Characters can die in game. Upon death, they will be "brought back" at the Garland Labs with fatal wounds healed.

🌼 Characters who die may experience extreme fatigue, confusion, disorientation, physical weakness, power weakness, and potential amnesia. Characters will start to feel better after a few days to weeks depending on the violence of their death. Trips to the Dreamsnake Clinic at this time will help these symptoms but at a slower rate.

🌼 Characters can die multiple times, but each time they come back from death will be increasingly difficult. If a player wishes, it could even result in permanent loss of powers, memories, etc.

🌼 Characters brought back from the dead may have skin discoloration where their fatal injury was, scarring, amputation, or other such physical signs of their injuries and death.

🌼 A character's corpse will eventually "glitch" or clip out of existence after an hour or more of being dead.

🌼 Dropped characters will abruptly glitch out of existence.

🌼 You have two options for hiatus: characters can be put into a safe, comatose state at the Garland Labs or they can go about their usual day-to-day life.

🌼 For dropped, hiatused, or temporarily dead characters: their names will remain in the Daze's network for a few days in a heavily distorted state. If you try to message them at this time you will get this reply: Test subject cannot be detected at this time

[ Character Items and Companions ]

🌼 Animal companions are not allowed upon entrance to the game. However, they may be obtained later on during certain events.

🌼 Inapplicable animal companions are any animals that can communicate with others and who can have their own developmental arc.

Meowth would not be applicable since he has his own personality, and background story, and can develop relationships with others. Hedwig would be applicable since she is just an owl and cannot forge deeper relationships.

🌼 Characters will be granted three item slots upon entrance. This will not include the outfit they arrive in. If your character has a small travel vessel such as a car, they will be allowed to bring this in with them as an item slot.

🌼 Characters will have the chance to gain more canon items from home through certain events or Participation Points.

🌼 Powerful weapons that contain magic or other abilities will be limited similarly to characters in the setting. They can also be boosted similarly through Participation Points.

🌼 Every character will enter the game with a unique item slot known as their Grounding Item. This item can be from their canon or it can be completely invented for the game. A Grounding Item should be small enough that it could be theoretically hidden in a purse or a pocket.

🌼 Grounding Items will be an important way for characters to help regulate their sense of reality while in Sweet Acres. Grounding Items can at times help characters avoid worse events or alleviate symptoms or get them out of an event entirely if it becomes too much.

Of course, characters might not always think to use their Grounding Items, but this is essentially your "Get Out of Jail Free" card for the setting.

🌼 Grounding Items on their own outside of events can provide characters with relaxation and soothing qualities. It can even help to alleviate feelings of confusion or memory loss.

🌼 Everyone has only one Grounding Item. The Grounding Item can be lost but it will eventually reappear on your character a few days later.

🌼 It is not advised to touch other people's Grounding Items as they might possibly tamper with it and make it unfamiliar to your touch. It is seen as an enormous gesture of trust to allow someone else to touch your Grounding Item.

🌼 Most of the time, however, allowing just any other casual person or associate to touch your item may result in a worsening psychological state for the owner of the Grounding Item.

🌼 Grounding Items can change through spending Participation Points. We recommend choosing Grounding Items carefully. Characters cannot make new Grounding Items on their own. They are a unique part of the game that has been customized by Unknown Sources.

[ Technology and Network ]

🌼 Most of Sweet Acres runs on extremely advanced alien technology. This technology has no explanation anywhere and even the most intelligent tech geniuses will find themselves stumped over how any of it works.

🌼 The Daze is the most important tech in the entire setting. The Daze is allegedly an "implant" within the character's brain and nervous system. There is no implant scar nor is there any way to "remove" the Daze.

🌼 The Daze is responsible for keeping exact records of a character's vitals, brainwaves, thoughts, memories, and experiences. After all, everything is being recorded and broadcast, and accessed by students in this world!

🌼 The Daze can and will be used regularly to heavily influence characters to participate in experiments. It can dramatically increase impulsive behavior and a willingness to involve one's self.

🌼 While we understand that some people may want to exclude themselves from certain events, the game is largely reliant on the overwhelming majority of characters feeling "forced" to participate even when they don't want to. Of course, there will also be events where characters may simply get involved by their own free will.

🌼 Sometimes, the Daze will simply make characters feel pliant and compelled to do things they normally wouldn't. Other times, the Daze may hack into a character's nervous system and cause them intense physical pain as a way to force them to interact with something.

🌼 Grounding Items were invented as a way for players to opt out of certain events they are not interested in. We do not recommend doing this too often as it would defeat the purpose of the game.

🌼 Characters can use the Daze to customize their surroundings in minor, aesthetic ways. In a way, this is a new ability for many characters and essentially functions similarly to "warping reality" such as changing the color of their walls.

🌼 The most common use for the Daze is its function as a mass connection between characters. It operates on a network known as

acrenet where characters can transmit videos, text, audio, and pictures.

🌼 The setting will make characters inherently understand how to use the Daze in the network setting. Filming one's self merely involves "imagining" you are being watched by another and transmitting that information through the network. The Daze will take care of the gritty details!

🌼 Characters will also be able to save extensive records of their experiences. They will be able to access all the records the Daze has compiled on them including their own memories. They can even "take pictures" of said memories to create save files.

🌼 These records can unfortunately experience glitches and be lost permanently. This seems to happen the more a character dies or the more trauma they experience.

🌼 Characters can "hack" into other people's Dazes. There is a variety of ways to do this whether through the use of mental abilities, skills similar to computer hacking, or through actual mental manipulation of characters. Characters may even accidentally hack a character's Daze.

🌼 Always ask permission before hacking a character's Daze. While this can happen accidentally, you should never assume it is okay for a character to crack into your character's Daze.

🌼 The more mentally unguarded a character is, the more vulnerable they may be to hacking. Characters with strong mental will or mental abilities will be difficult to hack.

🌼 Characters can create "protection" for those without these skills. They can create a "firewall" in someone's Daze to help deter hackers.

🌼 The Daze is meant to operate in a fairly loose science fiction sort of way, so please don't think too hard about the details and just have fun with it! We encourage players to explore the different ways the Daze may manifest in their characters or how characters learn to work with it or suffer from it.

🌼 Characters can access any media from whatever worlds characters come from including music, tv shows, and movies. Ebooks and audiobooks will be accessible. Instead of there being traditional search engines like Google or YouTube, characters will either have to be introduced to things or think to search for them.

🌼 Any media that contains characters in our game will be glitched from people's memories to avoid fourth walling. Characters may remember vague plot points or ideas, but they won't be able to remember the actual canon.

🌼 The Daze can be used as a GPS to help find one's way around town or to track someone down via their location. The latter should always be done with player permission.

[ Non-Playable Characters and Player Roles ]

🌼 The main antagonist of the entire game is the Project Manager otherwise known as Daisy. Daisy is an unsettling entity that looks like a humanoid woman in clown makeup. This character was heavily inspired by BeeVeeKee's clown persona.

Daisy created Sweet Acres and runs every experiment. She often speaks directly to characters through the Daze as well as addresses the Audience. She is of unknown origin and is extremely powerful and intelligent.

She seems to lack any basic compassion or empathy and is perpetually studying and observing characters, though it is obvious she can't watch everyone at the same time.

There are many mysteries surrounding Daisy such as who or what she is and if she serves a greater purpose. After all, there will be times when even Daisy seems uncomfortable or as if she too is being watched.

The only thing Daisy isn't in control of is the glitches in Sweet Acre. She is a good programmer, but she isn't perfect.

🌼 The Audience is what the Sweet Acres project is being broadcast to. While Sweet Acres is considered an "educational program" there are parts of it that are for pure entertainment for the Audience's sake.

There is no information about the Audience, but occasionally they can be heard through the Daze in laugh tracks, gasps of surprise, or screams in various events. The Audience may even send characters special items from time to time, like sponsors in The Hunger Games.

🌼 There are very few permanent NPCs within the setting. These are nondescript service workers who have no dialogue options or personality. Anyone could easily make out that these are mere programs in the simulation to provide a service.

🌼 Characters are referred to as Sweet Subjects formally in the setting.

[ Life and Culture ]

🌼 The world is called Sweet Acres.

🌼 Sweet Acres is made to look like an idyllic small town in midwest America with flatlands and suburban housing. An invisible dome surrounds the town that characters cannot break through.

🌼 The only proper education system is Twilight Academy. There is no library in Sweet Acres or any access to deeper information about the setting...for now.

🌼 There is no currency in Sweet Acres. This is considered one of the perks for Sweet Subjects.

🌼 The Daze records every thought and interaction your character experiences. These experiences are transmitted into what is known as Participation Points that characters can track and spend to get unique items. Check out our Participation Points Page for more information. This is our game's reward system for active players.

🌼 Medical care can be achieved through the Dreamsnake Clinic.

🌼 This world has the same months and year cycles as we do.

🌼 The stars in the sky constantly change and there seem to be far more in the sky than in our own.

🌼 Most people travel around town on foot, bike, or by car. The town is relatively small and can be traveled fully in under six hours.

🌼 There are no laws in Sweet Acres. You can quite literally get away with murder. But that doesn't mean the characters won't exact punishment or that karma won't follow your character.

🌼 There is no religion in Sweet Acres.

🌼 There are no animals in this world except for the meat you can buy in stores or restaurants. Plants exist, but they seem to glitch somewhat regularly. Animals can only be introduced to the setting through events or Participation Points.

🌼 Daisy seems to loathe animals. Any animals that appear tend to offer help to Sweet Subjects.

🌼 The weather is incredibly stable in Sweet Acres. It feels perfect all of the time; never too hot and never too cold. The only extreme weather will occur during experiments.

🌼 Daisy and the Audience seem to have no real moral compass. Nothing seems off-limits in terms of the type of experiments they run.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Heya, I have a question regarding character deaths. In The Walking Dead, every character has something inside them (virus, gene, it's never really explained in canon what exactly does it) that when they die, they reanimate into a Walker/zombie, with the exception of if their brains were destroyed. If Ben dies, would he just skip the reanimation and revive like anyone else would? Or if he does die with his brain intact and reanimates, would he basically need to double 'die' again as a human first then a walker? Thanks for your answer in advance!

Hello!

Yes, he could just skip the reanimation and revive like everyone else would! It could be assumed that upon his arrival to the game, the virus within him is either cured or, at the very least, nullified while in the setting.

Of course, you can always go with the latter to explore a more traumatic way for him to experience death in the game setting- so really, either or would be appropriate!

Frequently Asked Questions

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