Kyle + Rosemary

Created by Jun Falkenstein

Kyle + Rosemary
by Jun Falkenstein

For 14-year-olds
Kyle and Rosemary,
the only adventure more
challenging, miraculous, and
terrifying than the one they
undertake in the online game
“QuestWorld” is the
coming-of-age journey they live
in real life.

Frederator Studios 2009

 Overview
Through their adventures in the online role-playing game “QuestWorld”, Kyle,
Rosemary, and their geeky and gothy misfit friends discover ways to deal with their real-
world challenges, bringing them closer to becoming in reality the self-confident heroes
they play online.

Let’s face it: the life of a high school freshman can be a genuine challenge. Trying to
figure out who you are and who you’re supposed to be. Dealing with relationships that
are messy and complicated. Peer pressure. And the new world of dating. What teenager
doesn’t feel like an outcast? Who among them wouldn’t welcome the opportunity to re-
invent themselves, even if just for a few hours on a school night? Transport into a world
where destiny is defined as the slaying of a monster or the retrieval of a magic weapon?
Compared to reality, it’s a far more appealing world to contend with.

Thus, as often as they can get away with, Kyle and Rosemary lose themselves in a
fantastic virtual reality, where they can become knights and wizards, have great
adventures and do great deeds. In QuestWorld, they can achieve the sense of
accomplishment, empowerment, and respect they feel they don’t have in real life.

Frederator Studios 2009

Kyle
Kyle is a sharp but self-conscious fourteen-year-old who is trying to adjust to this world
of high school he’s been thrust into. Like for most teens, life in the real world is one big
social nightmare riddled with anxiety: bullies, tests, gym-class (and gym-class showers!),
and the never-ending rigors of just trying to fit in. Talking to girls? Speaking in public?
Dressing up? Dancing? All terrible hurdles. A thoughtful kid, Kyle blushes a little too
easily, has a tendency to over-analyze, and wants badly to conform (but in a non-
conformist kind of way). There’s not much relief at home either; Kyle’s parents,
successful, loud, and social, have no idea how to connect with their awkward son. But
Kyle makes up for his lack of social skills by having a vivid imagination. He’s a great
writer – there’s a future novelist bubbling under the surface. Gaming provides him an
escape – the confident, courageous Kyle comes screaming to the forefront when he enters
QuestWorld. It’s in the game where Kyle sheds his adolescent skin and becomes a knight
in shining armor.

Kyle’s QuestWorld alter-ego is an ambitious human paladin named SIR HORACE

HITSALOT.

Frederator Studios 2009

Harold
The gangly, sarcastic, outspoken Harold is always cracking dry, cutting jokes. He’s the
one most responsible for inflicting peer pressure, often mocking the goth kids (and his
own friends) to hide his own insecurities (and to feed his ego). He’s a bit of a complainer,
and always tries to find the easy way out of a situation. Despite all his issues, Harold is a
loyal and generous friend. Always plugged into his mp3 player, he’s very interested in
music, and often tries to get the geeks to start a band.

Harold’s QuestWorld alter-ego is an elven ranger named ARROW.

Martin
Martin is laid back and cool-headed with a devil-may-care attitude. It takes a lot to faze
him. Though a ‘slow talker’, he hides a massive I.Q., making him the most intelligent of
the geeks (straight A’s are his forte). A math and science whiz, this junior day-trader is
skeptical and logical, sometimes to a fault. To those who don’t know him well, Martin
can come off aloof and detached. His tragically un-hip wardrobe is almost a style unto
itself.

Martin’s QuestWorld alter-ego is a dwarf warrior named GORAK.

Willy
Willy is short, bubbly, and endlessly optimistic. Wide-eyed and ever-grinning, he’s the
sort of geek who’s oblivious to how geeky he really is. He wears his emotions on his
sleeve and isn’t good at hiding anything – he’ll often blurt out the things on his mind,
even if they’re not socially acceptable. It’s tough keeping Willy’s attention, and he
doesn’t always think things through. Willy is talented with electronics and can take apart
and put together computers with ease.

Willy’s QuestWorld alter-ego is a gnome wizard named FIZZLE.

Frederator Studios 2009

Rosemary
Rosemary wishes she were mysterious and romantic, but usually winds up
feeling ordinary. She has a group of friends, but still feels alone and
misunderstood a lot of the time. She dresses in the dark oeuvre of a
goth teen, yet despite her attraction to the goth culture Rosemary has a
surprisingly playful sense of humor, and is quick to see the funny side
of most situations. She is a talented artist, often posting her artwork
on a blog she maintains, and is always working on some fun artistic
project, whether it’s a sculpture made of chewing gum or a mural on the
wall of her bedroom. Rosemary is determined to find her footing in the
new world of high school. Her conservative parents are baffled by her
‘radical’ goth behavior and ‘eccentric’ artistic tendencies, while her
obnoxious little brother will do anything to get on her nerves.

Rosemary’s QuestWorld alter-ego is a dark elf sorceress named LUNARELLA.

Frederator Studios 2009

Crimson
The caustic, bossy opinion-maker of the goth kids, Crimson claims to be the authority on
all that is goth – fashion, attitude, and whom to look down upon. Crimson masks her
insecurity with a self-righteous attitude and the withering demeanor of a prima donna.
She has a wall around her emotions and rarely lets her guard down – but when she does,
she is capable of great kindness. Crimson enjoys and excels at history and historical
research.

Crimson’s QuestWorld alter-ego is an ogre barbarianess named STOMPIA.

Edwin
The witty one of the goth group, Edwin has natural charm and charisma. It would be easy
to picture him as a host or ringmaster, but he doesn’t need to be in the spotlight, usually
deferring to Crimson. Sometimes his mouth will get him in trouble. A dapper dresser, he’s
careful about how he looks, and often tries (and fails) to charm the ladies.

Edwin’s QuestWorld alter-ego is a rat rogue named POET.

Jasper
Tall, skinny, silent, and strange, Jasper rarely lets anyone know what’s going on in his
head. Jasper’s usually content to go along with the flow, but once in a while he will do
something touching or surprising, albeit in a quirky manner.

Jasper’s QuestWorld alter-ego is a lizard cleric named IAGO.

Frederator Studios 2009

Verona / QuestWorld
Kyle + Rosemary takes place in both the flesh and blood town of Verona and the virtual
environment called ‘QuestWorld’, a fantasy novel come to life (a la Tolkien, Dungeons
and Dragons, etc.).

Our characters live in middle-class American suburbia, where life is just a little too safe
and organized, and the most exciting place to go to is the mall. But this is also a modern
suburbia, where parents have Hybrid cars and flat-screen TVs, and kids have mp3 players
and video cell phones.

Where Kyle and Rosemary would really like to live is in ‘QuestWorld’, an online multi-
player fantasy game. In this world, magic is reality and players are rewarded for brave
quests. The woods, rivers, and mountains teem with enchanted creatures, both helpful and
harmful.

QuestWorld is made up of the continents of Faredor, where the Geeks live, and
Darkenoth, where the Goths live. In these lands, good and evil are only broad strokes –
each place has its own dark and light elements, and often the lines become blurred, such
as when players from both lands are given quests for the same goals, and must work
together – or perish.

Between Faredor and Darkenoth lies The Forgotten Lands. There is no doubt about it, this
continent is pure rottenness. The Forgotten Lands is a place that the Geeks and Goths are
both reluctant to venture into, due to its high level of difficulty. Of course, there are times
where a quest leads them there, and the two groups must band together to battle the
truly evil creatures that lurk in QuestWorld.

The Geeks play characters from Faredor, and the Goths play characters from Darkenoth.

Frederator Studios 2009

Sample Episodes
‘The Bully’ – A new kid enrolls in Verona High, and from the beginning starts picking on
the weaker Goths and Geeks. Frustrated, Kyle and Rosemary head into QuestWorld to
escape, only to find a powerful player has started picking fights with weaker players in
the game, too. The Goths and the Geeks join forces to defeat the powerful player in-
game, and discover that it’s the same new kid from school. Now respectful of their
gaming abilities, the bully starts becoming friendly toward them and is a bully no more.

‘Stealing’ – Kyle’s friends convince him to download music and movies illegally off the
internet. Meanwhile, in the game, Kyle and his friends team up with a ‘ninja looter’ – a
player who scoops up all the treasure after a long, difficult quest, and runs off without
sharing. Realizing how it feels to be denied rewards that you worked so hard for, Kyle
erases the stolen media and vows not to download illegally again.

‘The Charmer’ – Kyle become jealous when a more romantic player than he starts to
court Rosemary’s Lunarella in the game. Kyle tries to learn more about being a charmer,
in order to compete for Rosemary’s attentions. He has Sir Horace work overtime on the
romance, neglecting his adventuring duties to the point where his friends abandon him in
game – and of course, Rosemary is creeped out by his over-the-top amorousness.
Honesty wins out in the end, as Kyle admits he’s not acting like himself, and this finally
puts him back in favor with Rosemary.

‘Teamwork’ – Kyle asks Rosemary to team up with him and the geeks for a science fair
project, as they could use her artistic skills, but she turns them down when her goth
friends disapprove. In QuestWorld, Lunarella has an assignment to destroy a powerful
monster, which she attempts but fails to defeat alone. When she asks Horace and the
geeks for help with the monster, they turn her down. She realizes they were giving her a
taste of her own medicine, and agrees to help them with their science project. United
once more, the geeks and Lunarella take down the monster.

‘Too Much’ – There’s a big tournament in QuestWorld, so Kyle and Rosemary decide
they will marathon – play all weekend, despite a test they should be studying for and
keep putting off. At first they do well in the tournament, but then they start to lose more
and more competitions, due to their lack of energy and the fact that they’ve stayed up all
night long for two nights...they finally fall asleep at their computers, and fail the test the
next day. Realizing that playing so much didn’t get them ahead either in the game nor at
school, they vow a little more moderation.

‘The Noob’ – Kyle and the geeks are picked on at school, and, feeling helpless, start
picking on ‘noob’ (new and weak) players in the game to vent their own frustration,
especially a little guy named Wobble. After a week’s parental ban from the game, the
geeks return to find Wobble now far more powerful than they. The geeks are ashamed at
their prior behavior, and, after a little retaliation from Wobble, apologize to him, realizing
that they themselves will not be powerless forever either.

Frederator Studios 2009