OOC: this scene shows how failing to question a detail with the GME may lead to potential loop holes. Not a biggy, but just something to take note of in future.

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Scene 4: Escape
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With the guards below none the wiser, Alka scurries back up the vent shaft until she comes to the entrance in the elevator lobby. There the lights are all back on, and the place is milling with patrolling guards, all of whom are nervous and antsy about the events of the night. Alka waits till all but one have left, then, lifting the cover (OOC: which she'd found on the floor and replaced before climbing into the vent; I omitted this detail in the GME) from its place, scampers out and knocks that one guard unconscious. The doors to the exhibition hall are closed, but Alka knows there is much activity going on on the other side.

Alka pulls open a fraction of one door and peers out into the exhibition hall. All the guests have been evacuated, and the place is now crawling with security forces.

The exhibition hall is a massive cylinder, with a round stage right in its centre, so that visitors can walk in a roundabout fashion and end up where they started. It is a long way to the main door, and already Alka can spot two guards on the second floor. There are many display stands, providing an advantage for Alka, who determines it's best to sneak from stand to stand until she reaches the exit.

Like a ghost, she darts from the first to the next, and then again. On the following one, however, she slips up, as one of the stands isn't really sturdy, and as Alka brushes past it, the stand tips slightly over, making a slight jiggling noise. This catches the attention of a nearby guard, who turns, frowns, and walks towards it. As best as she can, Alka presses herself close to the stand, hoping the guard will not turn to see her. He doesn't, and instead walks past the stand, to peer around a pillar. Alka takes the opportunity to sneak past this guard, and dashes to the next stand.

Alka now takes her time to study the remaining patrols and sentries. Noting that the rest of the guards are simultaneously turning towards another direction, Alka decides to take the chance, and sprints quickly towards the front door. Unfortunately, and very unexpectedly, the front door just then bursts open, and Alka is unable to stop in time, as several armed policemen stand in her way to freedom, yelling for her to freeze.

Alka instead turns and runs for the nearest staircase, dodging a careless and unintended gunshot from one of the police officers. A security officer on the second storey spots her and yells, but is too far away to catch her. Ignoring him, Alka continues with unrelenting footsteps on to the 3rd storey, and then the rooftop, before shutting and locking the door. The door is made of steel, has a solid enough latch, and looks like it can withstand a battering ram.

She's safe, for now, but then she hears a distant beat, the sound of giant metal blades thumping in a still, nightly air.

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Scene 5: Rooftops
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Trapped on the roof with guards on the other side of the door, trying to break it down, Alka looks around for a way out. There is the faint throbbing of a helicopter somewhere in the distance, and Alka glances that way; fortunately the metal machine is facing the wrong way.

Turning her attention back to a possible way out, Alka notes that the neighbouring buildings in close proximity, about 5m-6m apart from the one she's on.

No problem, she's been through worse before.

She steps back, readies herself, then dashes forward, leaping, to the first, then charging again. As a cat bounds from rooftop to rooftop, so does Alka, from one building to the next in smooth, rapid succession.

At the fourth rooftop, Alka stops. The sounds of chaos and alarm are distant now, but Alka knows she's not out of trouble yet. She peers over the parapet, and into a dark alley below; a hand grabs a nearby pipe and Alka shimmies down into the alley. It will do for a concealed escape.

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Scene 6: Alleyways
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Landing nimbly, Alka studies her surroundings. The alley she's in begins from the main road, where pass the occasional flash of red and blue accompanied by the familiar droning, and ends in a solid wall, a seeming dead end that is high enough to prevent an easy climb over, but sufficiently low for the skilled.

As she considers her options, a nearby siren approaches, then stays; in but a few seconds, the wailing dies. Car doors open and slam shut, and tall shadows begin to cross the opening of the alleyway.

The way out is obvious to Alka.

She turns to the dead end, and with a leap and bound too quick for the inattentive, she scrambles up the wall and over on to the other side. She continues onwards until the path forks out three ways. All but the way ahead are dark and unlit; that one has light spilling into it from around the corner. Can the latter be a possible way out, or will it take her into a trap?

It's a risk, but Alka takes it, eventually coming into an opening to the main road. A checkpoint isn't set up there, but there is a police car, and about it are three officers. Alka checks her GPS. Past this road and into the alley further up ahead will take her closer to home. Yet, the road is quite brightly lit, and it will be a very difficult task indeed to pass the officers unnoticed.

She waits. As luck would have it, a senior officer approaches the three junior ones, and they begin conversing, looking away in another direction. Alka peeks out from the shadows - the area is clear but for these four. It should be a simple enough task now. Quietly, Alka slips past the busy officers, at first slowly, then gradually increasing in speed, until at last she darts into the next alleyway and continues on her way.

As police have yet to increase the security perimeter, Alka remains undisturbed for the remainder of the journey, and she eventually gets home to safety.

So the adventure ends here. It's short but I had a lot of fun with it, and it may sound unusual to anyone not used to gaming this way, but it works. I was constantly surprised by the little details, and the story's progression never felt jarring. In particular, the GM Emulator was able to throw curve balls that made me rethink my choices, but still kept to the realm of believability.

Playing solitaire is very different from playing with a group - not better or worse, just different. Just yesterday I ran a game of Outlive Outdead (indie zombie game, which has really cool rules for PvP) for some buddies, so the memory's still fresh for comparison purposes: group gaming has the social aspect, which everyone had fun with (e.g. trying to prevent one guy who's climbing through the window from freaking out), but there were still moments where the pacing would slow down (no downtime though); gaming solo, it was just one PC against the scenario, but I was able to build up imagery of scenes very quickly, and it was fun overcoming the various challenges and obstacles created by the GME. So, yeah, I don't know how it would play GM-less but with more than one player, or one player but with multiple PCs, but GM-less with only one PC was really something else.

Play RPG by yourself:
http://www.projectaon.org/staff/david/

Thanks for bringing up Seventh Sense and reminding me about it. I downloaded it and FLApp a while ago but hadn't tried them out before my hard drive crashed, and then I completely forgot about them. I just downloaded both on to my laptop so I can try them out during break time. Thanks again!