Spoiler :

Hi there! So, I had an idea for a game while writing this chapter, and since I'll work on that game from now on, won't have time to write on this story anymore! Bye!

...

Nah. Warning, the following is a long text about my ideas concerning that game, just because I felt like writing it. Well, skip the following if you don't feel like reading about the game idea. I just wrote it down to have it somewhere.

The base idea was to make a game were players can both explore (challenge) dungeons, or build their own dungeons as dungeon masters. Every player can have a few accounts, and one dungeon and one character for each account.

There would be a single universal resource for upgrading the dungeon or character, which I'll call exp because I'm too lazy to come up with my own name. Challengers gain it by clearing dungeons, dungeon masters gain it by having stuff die in/ give up on their dungeons.

Furthermore, there would be some kind of overworld in which one can have the character move from place to place, fighting monsters for a bit of extra exp. This would also be the place where the characters can look for NPC vendors selling skills and equipment for the exp they earned, or find other players to trade with them and/or party up with them.

Since the exp invested in a character/dungeon reflects how strong/difficult that character/dungeon should be, the level of a character will be automatically generated based on that value.

Exp can be used to buy skills and gear for your character, and traps, monster(spawners), walls, mechanisms, additional floors, larger floors, etc... for your dungeon.

Whenever one uses exp to buy something permanent for the character/ dungeon, a percentage of that exp will be put into some sort of "storage" instead. When a challenger dies, some exp from that storage will go to the dungeon master. And if a challenger clears a dungeon, some of the exp stored in the dungeon will go to him.

If that happens, the character/ dungeon will end up with less stored exp than the max stored exp it should have, let's say, my character died a few times and is at:

1000 exp invested; 40/100 exp stored.

In that case, before spending 60 exp to fill the storage, I won't be able to invest into the character again.

If a character/ dungeon ends up with 0 stored exp, that character/ dungeon cannot be used anymore (until the stored exp is filled back up). Also, the one who got it to 0 will gain bonus exp since there is a chance that the dungeon was at 1/1000 stored exp when the challenger cleared it, and the challenger should have gotten 100 exp... but now only gets one (because there's only 1 left). The bonus should more than make up for it (let's say the bonus in this case is 200). However, that bonus will be applied as a penalty to the one who got to 0 stored exp, putting him at, if the bonus was 200, -200/1000 stored exp.

To encourage exploring, the penalty for dying in a dungeon is lower than the penalty for having one's dungeon cleared. Also, since characters can and should be specialized in their abilities, if they encounter a dungeon they happen to be well equipped for (a dungeon relying on poison damage traps VS a character that has poison resistance), they will most likely easily clear the dungeon. If they don't, there should still be a chance for them to clear the dungeon, which will be lower the less of their skills happen to be useful in the dungeon. This gamble combined with the fact that it should feel like they are risking less should keep challengers entering dungeons.

Also, there will be NPC created explorers and dungeons, which should increase the total exp available to players as long as they aren't too bad to beat NPC created stuff. (In that case, quit playing the game pls).

To ensure that dungeon masters don't have to watch as a level 1000000 character just walks through their level 1 dungeon, dungeon masters can put a level limit on their dungeons. To ensure that level 1 characters don't accidentally enter a level 100000 dungeon, the level of a dungeon is displayed.

To reward people who face challenges (and punish those that don't do their job well), the amount of exp earned (and thus stolen) for clearing a dungeon/ having a character die in your dungeon is higher the higher the level of the dungeon/ character is in comparison to yours.

So if you feel like it, try facing that level 10 dungeon as a level 4 character, or put the level limit for your level 7 dungeon to 12 as a dungeon master... (or even higher differences?).

Also, to ensure that people have a chance to know just what they are facing, the amount of people who gave up on/ challenged/ cleared a dungeon can be seen by potential new challengers. If too many gave up on it, maybe that potential challenger won't even try. So try to make your dungeon as attractive as possible while still making profit as a dungeon master! As a dungeon master you can also have that display reset in regular intervals, and whenever your dungeon levels up.

Early in the game, most of the exp will be earned when facing NPC created content. Later on, since NPC dungeons will have a level limit just like other dungeons, and there will rarely be high level NPC dungeons, you will have to challenge player created dungeons as a character. And NPC explorers will avoid high level dungeons by default, so you will have to rely on player characters as a source of exp as a high level dungeon master. A small difference in the levels at which that happens will allow a small stream of NPC generated exp to flow into the low high levels, but from then on it's players vs players only.

To enable more customizing, everything that can be bought has a fixed prize generated by the system, which is also the prize at which it can be sold back. If someone sells something they invested in, that amount will be subtracted from their invested exp, and thus potentially reduced their level. One can buy for exp in unlimited amounts (as long as one still has exp).

And also, one can trade (for a small fee of a few exp depending on the value of the traded items,) just as many times (if there is a difference between the value of the traded items, the one trading the "bad" item for the "good" item will have to give the difference of their values in exp in addition to the item, and both players will automatically invest/univinvest based on that amount, so all trades will always be equal exchanges).

However, while one can trade with players an unlimited amount of times, one can only sell for exp at NPC vendors a few times in a given time interval. (To force trading, and thus interaction between players, and paying the fee which thus will remove exp from the stream of the economy, as NPC vendors only buy/ sell for exp.)

Certain things will be "consumables", which can be bought for exp without adding to the invested exp. One can only have so many consumables at a time to prevent building the entire character/ dungeon around them, and while they will usually be strong/ useful and don't increase your level while still increasing your strength, they are one time use only. Most consumables will have a weaker "recharges over time" variant that can be bought to permanently gain the consumables benefits, but those will add to the invested exp, stored exp, and level, and also be a bit weaker.

The entire game will be free to play without pay to win at all, where real life money can only be spend for looking better, emotes, and other stuff like that. The ingame currency cannot be purchased for real life money using ingame features. (Preventing stuf like selling exp using certain methods like farming exp and then dying a lot in the dungeon that you were paid 20$ on that online website for dying until you lost 2000 exp to it is something that will be hard to prevent if it should ever be made to happen, but I'll try to make that as non-profitable as possible to prevent it.)

Lastly, dungeon masters can create special items which will absorb some of the exp that they would gain from their dungeon to become stronger. The more challengers die and the more exp is absorbed, the stronger the item will get. Such items must be bound to a chance to drop under certain circumstances, for example beating the bossmonster in the dungeon. Since those items will be much stronger than normal items if they are given enough time to grow, and also, since the one who finds them does not "invest" in them and thus can use their strength without that strength increasing his level, this should make people want to explore dungeons more.

To prevent people from finding out too much about dungeons, the position of dungeons it the overworld is randomized at regular intervals.

So, a RPG dungeon crawler + a sandbox dungeon creator + a "normal" RPG (to get used to clearing dungeons, or to actually try to play through the game's story). A game all about customizing. Balancing this will be a nightmare... but I can take care of that once I'm done with school.

Most likely will end up as something 16 bit-like due to everything else being pure madness for a single person to manage. Perhaps I'll manage to make it browser based? That is if I make it at all.

You may notice that the spacing is a bit wider than usually. That is because this is what happens when copying from drive, for some reason. First I searched for every single double spacing and removed one line, but now I felt like seeing what it would be like to only remove the really empty spaces and leave the rest as is. Just a little test, tell me what you prefer.

Also, no one told me about what they think about the way I now structure dialogue so... I'll just do whatever I feel like, hoping it's good.

It was a wide, open room, yet except for one place within that room, one would feel oppressed by how small, unimportant the room made you feel. Especially when faced with whoever was in that spot. And that spot was taken.

Balthazar never asked to be the one to talk to the boss. He doesn’t want to talk to the boss. As long as you just do what you are asked, don’t screw up, and especially don’t talk back, everything is alright… unless the one in charge happens to be in a bad mood. Then someone will get picked to talk to the boss.

“Boss, about that new guy…”

“Leave him be. The contest will show him just how powerless he is, he will beg to join us… I hope you were able to create mechanisms that will make him do so, or else…”

As always, there seemed to be some kind of dominating aura around the boss. But he knew that if he let himself be influenced by it, things would only become worse for him. Even if only on the outside, he had to be positive.

“There is no way for anyone to match us! The old layout has been greatly improved, the intruders will not stand a chance, no matter who we get assigned!”

“I did not ask you to build a better dungeon. I want a dungeon that makes EVERYONE else realize that they are NOTHING compared to us. That MADHOUSE has gotten SECOND place last time, and they are not even ORGANIZED!”

He chose the wrong words. The anger should not be directed towards him, yet Balthazar was terrorized. The boss had gotten angry, and he was in the very same room as the boss…

“Calm down, redhead. I’ve got everything planned out. We will get some medium ranks as challengers, they’ll make it through the first few levels in an epic fight, and then, when everyone is hyped up, they’ll get crushed.”

Roy? The right hand of the boss was helping him? Could he be trying to shift the boss’ anger towards him? He himself was but one of the lowest ranked, how did he deserve this grace?

“... you may be the only one allowed to call me that, but even so, you shouldn’t push your luck, especially not in front of others… you like gears, and you should know, no matter how important that one piece is for the machinery… it can always be replaced.”

Roy was risking his position for his sake? He had heard about Roy’s personality from others, but those stories were actually true?

Roy: “Right, that nuisance is still here… is there still something you must say?”

Roy was still looking friendly… but his words! Or was this an attempt to get him out of the room? It had to be!

“Ehm… I was just told to ask the boss what we should do about that new guy…”

“And he gave you an answer, didn’t he? So what are you still doing here? You have work to do!”

Hurriedly, but trying to look as respectful and humble and hardworking as possible, Balthazar left the room. And with him, the dominating aura around the “boss” vanished. As did Roy’s previously friendly look.

Roy: “Ts, the gears should know their place…”

“Don’t try to change the topic! You KNOW you’re not supposed to act like this in front of others!”

There was no anger in the boss’ voice, rather, he seemed to be worried.

“What, calling you a redhead? But you are a redhead. You may the the fuel, but I’m still the one responsible for using you to get the machinery to work. Don’t get ahead of yourself! Anyone from that madhouse, as you like to call them, could replace you. But me? You’ve said it yourself. That madhouse is lacking in order. It’s the only reason they didn’t surpass us long ago! I’m the only reason they didn’t surpass us long ago!”

“You… seem to worry about something. Else you wouldn’t dare to potentially damage the image you build up over the past years. Don’t tell me it’s that new guy?”

…

“You know that I hate it when you act like you understand me? … the information about his achievements… first I didn’t believe it but... I just got hold of a few samples of his productions. And I must say that that person… is a genius. Impressing him with our performance will be difficult.”

“Eh? You, the one that managed to build up Blaze, are calling someone a genius? It can’t be that bad, right?”

“When I met you, I thought you had talent. The talent I needed. But whoever… or whatever created these things… has taken what I thought to be good and threw it in a dumpster. Those goods are mass produced. And every single one is identical to the other. Identical in being flawless.”

“YOU are calling something flawless? You’re kidding… right?”

“Just look!”

…

“You’re kidding, right?”

(Ah, the goods have finally arrived. Help, your turn.)

Help: What happened to attempting to master your abilities yourself?

(You can do it better anyways. No point in trying to beat a supercomputer at executing a defined task.)

Help: Seems like you finally understand what I’m here for.

(This really is like playing a game… just enter the commands, and the computer will take care of the rest. But this does feel like I’m cheating… well, who cares. Got a clue as to how we could get out of here already?)

Help: Yes. As each teleport most likely consumes energy, I assume overloading the responsible structure might yield some sort of result. But as the consequences of doing so are unknown and might bring us into a dangerous situation, I recommend to wait until further information is available.

(Well… Quintus is slashing and shooting around, Carmela seems to be able to read the books just fine… and you are busy too. God am I bored. Help, Skyrim please. And don’t make all those changes to the mechanics, it makes playing impossible. The first few mods were alright, but none of those improved AI shenanigans.)

Help: Requesting permission to overwrite initial inputs

(Granted.)

The room disappeared from Mana’s view, not only that, the way Mana had perceived the world this entire time changed back to a “normal” vision. And the new world Mana saw and felt…

(Now… this is what I call truly immersive gameplay.)

Many tried to talk to them during the following weeks, but they were greeted by a locked door and a sign:

-I’m currently busy with a somewhat dangerous experiment. You open this door and disturb me, and you might just die due to the consequences. If you came here to talk to me about joining your group, see ya during the contest-

The frequent sounds of explosions kept most people from even daring to knock.

A month had passed since the “first day of trial”, as the people of Aspertia called the day their village suddenly became an underground settlement. And during that time…

Randal: “In my position as the lord of Aspertia, I hereby open the second great assembly. Now that we have completed the necessary official procedures, let’s not beat around the bush. Keith, what is the status of the current research?”

Randal, Keith, and various other figures had assembled within the large decorated meeting room of what had been the lords residence.

Keith: “The former guilds have been organized to focus on one of the aspects of knowledge each. It will take time for the system to be fully operational, but we have already completed all of the essential procedures, the rest is only a matter of time. Of course, we will aim to complete everything in the shortest time possible. The villagers are proud to follow the teachings of Deus on their path towards perfection.”

Randal: “Good. Now, concerning the special hunt and defend organized warfare agency, or SHADOW agency… first, what led to this name?”

Guard captain: “Sir, we read that the so called acronyms are a necessity for any serious organization. After being unable to agree to a simple name with the adventurers guild, it was decided that we should let ourselves inspire by this concept to create a name we could all agree with. I must admit that, most likely due to our inexperience concerning this matter, we were unable to find a better one.”

Randal: “Well, let’s leave this matter as is for now, but we should try to come up with a better name after taking care of more pressing matters. So, concerning your shadow agency, how is training progressing?”

Adventurer guild leader: “Those blockheads are doing a pretty good job at teaching second class techniques to the villagers. I’ve got to admit, I wouldn’t be able to teach people with no talent whatsoever how to use those weapons. Even if the training isn’t going to turn them into hunters, at least they’ll be able to defend themselves in case of an emergency.”

Guard captain: “Sir, there were some… difficulties, but we have managed to turn most of the techniques discovered by the hunters into something that can be taught to others. Some techniques however will require specialization and should thus not be put into a general training program.”

Randal: “Good. As with education, let us split the techniques into foundation and extension. Every villager will be subjected to physical training, just as every villager will have to learn the basics of science. Arrange it so that the basics can be taught to someone before he reaches adulthood. This will be the best for the future of our village.”

Randal was convinced that this “trial” was one that would go on for a long time. Else, how could it possibly be great and difficult enough to prove that they were worthy? There was no way to avoid the future, thus one had to prepare for it. Those who did not… would be crushed.

Randal: “So, concerning that very future, what progress did... the bakers guild make?”

Asking this question was necessary, and as a noble, he had to be a smooth talker, but even so, he was unable to completely hide his hesitation when addressing... that person.

“Well, we’ve discovered that it’s possible to grow grain down here. At least the light from the torchlights seems to be enough for plants to grow. A few people will have to keep powering them, but that’s not a real problem. As soon as we have enough space for the fields, we should not have to rely on monster meat for our food supply anymore. We’ve got water and the soil is good, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Muscular, tall, Maul Torjen almost matched Keith’s stature. His appearance was that of someone who spend his days doing hard manual labor. He was a serious person, respected by many... but that didn't help much. It only prevented those exposed to his voice, which matched his appearance as much as a sheep resembled a dragon, from bursting into laughter right away.

Keith: “This... means means the soil is rich in minerals. Just read about it today.”

Suppressing the urge to laugh, in an attempt to quickly change the topic, Keith said the first thing that went trough his mind, but ended up creating an opportunity for Maul to reply to the topic! However, Randal managed to react before that could happen.

Randal: “Now, as much as we rely on it, let’s keep that kind of information outside of this conversation. Since we will be able to grow grain once the area has been secured, the shadow agency is thus tasked with doing so. Furthermore, Keith, I trust you are developing tools to shape the underground and its tunnels into more sophisticated structures.”

Keith: “The blacksmith guild is making good progress on studying materials on that matter. Basic tools can already be provided, but it will take time to create the more advanced ones.”

Adventurer guild leader: “Hey, concerning more advanced technology, I hope ya’ll get us some better gear soon. We can’t fight stuff like those scorpions with our current equipment, distract them and make a run for it is the only option we have at the moment.”

Keith: “We are working on that, but there is only so much we can do at a time. We still have to build some of the facilities necessary to produce better weaponry, and teach more people how to make use of them, no matter how motivated we are, this takes some time.”

Randal: “So, for now, we should prioritize giving ourselves the means to fully secure the area around the village. Then make use of those means to do so, and make use of the gained land for farming and new facilities. I think with this everything concerning that matter has been organized?”

“In that case, with this of our protocol… Keith, you were monitoring the development of the first facility that is to produce and make use of this… electricity. If you could inform everyone about the implications of this new technology…”

He had faced countless enemies and dangers. Passed trials numbering just as many. He had been victorious every time. But even so, there was no way for him to win THIS fight. He was but a man, and facing him was a beast the size of a mountain, it’s brute strength, wits and abilities all beyond conception. A single breath could unleash a power which one wouldn’t survive long enough to be terrorized by its strength, a single step erase his existence from this planet. And this beast… was paralyzed by fear, dread, no, the dread of understanding just what it feared.

It went on for days. But it couldn’t be called a battle of legends. It was a simple massacre.

- You’ve reached level 999. Please select a perk to invest points into -

(Did it~ well, I guess that’s the cap. Help, honestly, you should know that this is far from being difficult enough for me.)

Help: Well, I wasn’t allowed to make them as smart as me, obviously they wouldn’t be much of a challenge for you. I can only make the game this difficult without making it unbeatable. Also, it’s about time you end that gaming session of yours, the contest will begin in four days, and there are a few things we should sort out.

(Okay.)

Help: Cancelling Input overwrite. Welcome back. Please have a look at this…

The room was still as empty as ever, but there were some major changes to the simulated space. Or rather… to the people within the simulated space.

Mana: “Wow, you’ve gotten much better in those few months.”

Hearing Mana’s voice for the first time since three months, Quintus interrupted his training.

Quintus: “Just what did you do during this entire time? You only silently assembled this… thing over there. If not for that, I would have thought you disappeared.”

“Ah, that…”

Help: What was I supposed to do? Interrupt your gaming session? That’s something you wouldn’t have wanted me to do, so it goes against my directive. Act in your stead? Can’t have that either, since you didn’t give me the permission to impersonate you. Tell them about me and explain everything? Would cause too many problems for the current situation.

“... I was doing the same thing as you guys, training. Somehow ended up forgetting my surroundings over that.”

Quintus: “So it was like this, I understand. Anyways, just what is this thing?”

Mana: “Well, this is-”

“Heeeelooo! I’m your host, Jim, and the fellow over here is-”

“Joe! The two of us are going to accompany you through this year's Dungeon contest! So, most of you should know the way this game works, but for those who spend the last centuries training under a rock, here’s the gist of it!”

Jim: “It’s prisoners VERSUS prisoners! But instead of letting them beat each other to death, the smart ones have been tasked with creating the most atrocious dungeons they could come up with!”

Joe: “And our death row inmates are going to try to clear them! Their motivation?”

Jim: “We’ll they’ve been promised freedom if they can do it! And to raise the stakes even higher, if a dungeon ends up too simple, well…”

Joe: “Those responsible for creating that nonsense will lose their position as creators and instead be put on the list of challengers for the next year! So both sides are giving their best! Especially since the team behind the best dungeon will get a reward!”

Jim: “Those to judge their performance are going to be you! So if you think one of those dungeons was, like, REALLY boring, don’t hesitate to give it 0 points. 20 points for the best one! You can only give each rating once, so choose wisely! Also, if your opinion matches that of our jury-”

Joe: “You’ll be part of a lottery for a REALLLY special reward! No matter who you are, you should know about the guys in our jury, so don’t question their decisions! This entire thing will go on for quite some time, but you can rate and leave whenever you feel like! But we recommend to not judge too quickly, those dungeons can be quite surprising!”

Jim: “And it’s about time for this year's contest to begin! We’ve got access to the blueprints, so let’s see what our two favourites have come up with, and if there were any interesting developments from the other groups!”

Joe: “ Well, let’s take a look at Blaze! They’ve been known for thought out designs and devilish traps! Once you get into their creation, you’ll be acting just the way those guys planned before you know it, and then you’ll be done for! Watching those challengers move like puppets believing to have their own will sure is fun!”

Jim: “But then there’s the Den! Those guys are so random! Last time the entire dungeon suddenly filled with green smoke for no reason! But it sure confused the people inside, and they actually fell for… a normal pithole trap because of it! And then the hole suddenly filled with… water! Normal water! Except for the one guy that was too heavy, they just swam up and got back out! And then, surprise, their clothes froze rock solid! Some managed to break free, but they had to go through the remaining dungeon nude and freezing!”

Joe: “And green! As a commentator I shouldn’t be partial but in my opinion they deserved first place! Well, it’s you guys who decide in the end! Now, time to assign the challengers to their dungeons!”

Jim: “Well, what do I see here? We’ve got some really strong guys out there! My my, I wonder if they will even care about the weaker traps!”

Joe: “They’ve got four months, looks like that much time won’t be needed! But let’s not judge too quickly, since all teams have developed new mechanisms of which even I don’t know how they’ll work! The Den takes first place on that matter!”

Jim: “But sometimes it’s how those things interact with each other that truly matters! Once the game begins, you’ll get too look at all the action live! Of course, while they know they are being watched, they don’t know from where, and obviously the people out there don’t know they’re being watched by US!”

Joe: “Actually, they don’t even know it’s a game! They’ve got the determination you can only have if you believe all of this is serious!”

Jim: “Which, at least for them, it is! Now, this game where your wits and strength are weighted against your life-”

Jim& Joe: “Let this year's dungeon contest begin!”