Thread:Per Ankh/@comment-24588058-20190409131827/@comment-24588058-20190410193732

I recall your hesitation from the Stargate artifact. I think where these might differ from others I've proposed is a basis in reality (the effects are basic enough that they can apply to most games, not just the example I provided): For the first effect (which, I'll give, is a bit weaker in it's basis), the origin is the wishing of a heavy gamer for a more realistic fighting game (probably originated from Call of Duty or some similar game; perhaps the artifact dates from early gaming history), which is what causes the effects. The object is likely a console of some sort, which would limit the games it can play to whatever the console is capable of (for example, the Wii is backwards compatible with the GameCube, the early PS3's are backwards compatible with PS1 and PS2 games, etc.). And the downside is more that the game's characters become self-aware in this case. Whether they can ACTUALLY break out of the game is something that could be debated; I picture it as ending up affecting the games played in the console already (I'm basing that a little off of the Comic Rack, where they had neutralizer bags for all of the comics on the rack), and they can't actually break out. Some of the game characters from the collected games might have been driven to insanity, basically making the games unplayable. Others I imagine end up taking a more "Deadpool" approach (breaking the 4th Wall, basically) to their new reality. But obviously that only applies to the games collected with said console, and the effects can only work on games that the console can play.

In the case of the second one, the "Fantasy" element isn't actually coming to life, or at least not in the way that is specific to any one thing. I don't know the object we could use (maybe a VR Headset? That might work.), but the way I'm thinking of the effects working is more akin to a cross between Star Trek's Holodeck (it can set up pretty much anything and allow you to move through the world you choose) and the effects Fargo produced from Beatrix Potter's Tea Set (which, as you may recall, allowed the gang to enter Fargo's video game as fantasy characters). The realism is temporary, drawing from whatever inspiration the user uses (depending on the object, there may or may not be limitations on the type of fantasy in play; whether it can read any object, or if it can only read books, games, or television-based fantasies), and after the user finishes their fight, the artifact deactivates, removing the fantasy (in a way, treating it more as a physical illusion - I don't know if I'm using the right terminology there - as opposed to bringing anything permanently to life).

These explanations may not really make too big a difference to you (and of course, if they're not improved/explained enough for your liking, I won't make them (though I hope they're acceptable)), but I figured I'd explain it further anyway, just so the concept is clearer than my initial explanation.