>>16684643the premise is virtually the exact same to tadc but my piece takes a very different approach with handling it. you can think of it as being neo-noir. i dont know too much pop culture themeology so id direct you to some of the plotpoints from the Saw franchise. it's kind of like that.
<instead of dropping into the "digital circus" immediately we follow the protagonist, who actually worked at the irl corp responsible for its creation. tl;dr his coworker proverbially backstabs him and puts him in there. mechanics of entering and leaving the circus are much the same (vr headset).
<the circus itself would look vaguely similar but would be marketdly more faithful to the 90s "retro" digital circus look that tadc takes from but doesnt really commit to.
<the character lineup is strictly humanoid. no anthro ribbon niggas w/ masks or bunny rabbits. inside the circus, the crew has simple, impressionistic costumes and roles they're attributed to. (e.g. clown, mime, jester, etc). that's where a lot of the character work happens (i.e. identity crises).
<i think that's where it differs from tadc. hope that all made sense. i wouldnt elaborate much further than that as im not that confident as a writer as it stands