The Gaian Olympics:The first real bit of NPC action we got was soon after the introduction of the then newest town, Durem. Gambino stepped up to the stage, and promised us the Gaian Olympics, with two contestants from each town, a lap race from Isle De Gambino all the way to Durem and back again. Ian and Leon represented Barton Town, Sasha and Gino, Isle De Gambino and Edmund and Moira, Durem. The race was tight, and Gambino gave a rousing commentary (which could once be found here - this seems to have been removed since then) a certain chick interfered, distracting the fastest man of the race, Edmund, from his pole position, leading Moira to a Durem victory nonetheless. There was also a forum established for the race, in which Black and White Olympic shirts were given out.
G-CORP:After the release of the official Guilds system, Gambino established a Guild named G-CORP. Shortly before Hallowe'en, the storyline began, as we were allowed to read the diaries of the employees of G-CORP in their Secret Underground Test Facility. At that time, they still looked human. Their journals are still available for reading in the Guild. Journal entries were presented in post format, so when you read them, you should start at the bottom, and read upwards, rather than vice versa.
Hallowe'en 2k4:Just before Hallowe'en, we were suprised to discover that the Marketplace was home to a mysterious LabTechX, selling Vials of Mysterious Liquid for 100g apiece. Nothing more of this was heard for a few days though, leaving Users in suspense and not sure whether this was a limited offer. And so, on the night of Hallowe'en, Gambino invited us to his mansion once again, for the Hallowe'en Do, and Gino's Birthday Bash (strange, since Gino's birthday is apparently nowhere near October sweatdrop ).
We partied there for a while, in the same spirit as Hallowe'ens of before, until suddenly, a crisis occured, during which G-CORP Employees streamed into the Mansion to celebrate the retirement of one of their fellows, and were instead turned into zombies by an infected "deceased" comrade who apparently knew "too much." They broke free of their confines, and began to infect the Gaian populace, whom Gambino issued shotguns to defend themselves from the undead threat. Eventually, however, the thread became uncontainable, and Gambino's head of security, someone named Bucho (read more of Gambino's journal for more Hallowe'en information) set off the "Silent Flash" protocol which involved a missile destroying the Mansion and the threatening Super-Zombies (the ex-members of G-CORP) contained within. At this point, Gino was lost, and we were introduced to Cindy Donovinh, who reports for GAIA 9 Action News - this seems to have been removed since then. Also surviving was LabTech 123, who was seemingly so dullwitted that he stumbled through the chaos without infection (his journal entries in G-CORP were also messy and late).
We were granted the Human and Zombie G-CORP Labcoats and T-Shirts for killing a certain number of either side in a fun mini-game, and at the same time, Jack returned for the second Hallowe'en. Again, the NPCs dressed up in costume, and we received Candy from them. Trick or Treating only occured at night and dusk/dawn hours, so we couldn't find the hidden Jack during the day for the purposes of collecting the entire Hallowe'en 2k4 set. The event ended a day after the destruction of Gambino's Mansion. This was probably the first major storyline event.
Christmas 2k4:Christmas had a storyline and a game event, much like Hallowe'en, although nowhere as complex - we suspect there would have been much cardiac arrest among the staff had they had to go through the experience of getting Hallowe'en to work again. Instead, they gave us the story of Gambino's search for his lost son Gino, which can be found in his journal (read from the bottom up). During this time, Gambino appeared on the maps, and you could click on him and wish him well on his journey, for which he would thank you. Meanwhile, we sang Carols to the NPCs in their stores, who happily gave us presents in return, which contained the Spirit Set. Ultimately, after the complete inability to find Gino, Gambino resorts to possible suicide at Durem Reclamation Facility. In the nick of time, Gino arrives and the two are reunited, only for us to discover that Gino has gotten amnesia from the destruction of the Mansion. The plot thicker, we were left hanging as we rolled into 2005.
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