Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/12896895. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: F/M Fandom: Original_Work, Vidya_Gaems_-_Fandom Relationship: Marunda/Sashiba_|_Hawk, Past_Marunda/Unnamed_Ex-Boyfriend Character: Sashiba_|_Hawk, Caduceus_-_Character, Calico_-_Character, Unnamed_Ex- Boyfriend, Other(s), Marunda Additional Tags: Video_&_Computer_Games, Video_Game_Mechanics, Alternate_Universe_-_Video Game_World, Alternate_Reality, Blatant_SAO_Ripoff_screw_you_reki_kawahara I_do_what_I_want, .hack_did_it_first, Ooh_shots_fired, Nanubi's_first heterosexual_couple_in_a_long, long_time, But_it's_interracial, so there's_that, speaking_of, Interracial_Relationship, Thieves_Guild, Crimes_&_Criminals, Organized_Crime, Slave_Trade, Bounty_Hunters, Illegal Activities, Grinding, Like_the_Korean_MMO_kind, You_sick_bastards, Quests, Swordfighting, Like_really_relly_BIG_swordfighting, I_love_you Kentaro_Miura, Literally_took_Guts_and_made_him_an_RPer_in_an_MMO, screw you, fight_me, Or_not, We_could, Like, hug_it_out, Author_Is_Sleep Deprived, The_Author_Regrets_Everything, Past_Rape/Non-con, Should_probs mention_that, Non-Sexual_Slavery, Non-Sexual_Submission, Prison_Cities, Pirates, Kraterocracy, Kleptocracy, Political_Alliances, Politics Series: Part 1 of The_Game Stats: Published: 2017-12-03 Chapters: 1/? Words: 2560 ****** The Game - Red Paid in Silver ****** by Nanubi Summary The Game; Mankind's most impressive technological achievement. Magick to who we were, science fiction to who we are, and cultural phenomenon to who we will be. There are over a billion players of The Game, in places both known and unknown. On the Earth Server, a new player is made. Myrynda gets into trouble immediately due to her first random spawn, but is saved by an enigmatic man in armor black as the night sky, wielding a Zweihander larger than her body and a tongue sharper than her own starter dagger. Is this falling into the wrong crowd, or making the best of her situation? Either way, there's silver to be made. [List of inspirations for the actual game of The Game in Chapter 1, which will probably be continuously added to until the end of f###ing time. Also uncensored language within the actual work.] [Don't muck up the search page! There's virgin eyes looking there! - Tainted_By_Seven, surprisingly] Howdy. It's Nanubi, back at it again with something that may turn out super dumb but may also turn out super great! But first, a list of things that have inspired The Game. I have been building The Game as a...game...since I was, like, 13, so enjoy this super bullshit list of ideas I stole existing game mechanics I've definitely stolen acclimated for my own use! Note; things in parentheses are the systems in the game I took inspiration from, not the systems implemented in The Game. Head to The Game: A New Player Guide [OH!_PICK_ME_SENPAI~] to learn about The Game's systems more in depth than this story will tell! Note 2; if the work of fiction has anything in parentheses after it, then that work comes in multiple forms and the form in parentheses is either what I read/ played/watched or the specific form I got inspiration from due to differences. Note 3; this is more or less copy/pasted into here from my own document, so there may be some ungrammatical shit and specific notes for me that will still most likely make sense.   Black_Desert_Online -No XP gained from questing, only by killing mobs and crafting -Crafting professions outside the usual norm (sailing, processing, etc.) -Trade empire bullshit (land ownership, workers, etc.) -Various PvP ideas (Guild vs Guild wars for ownership of land and towns, siege weapons and animals/traps, etc.) -Character levels outside the norm (Breath levels from running, Health levels from eating food, etc.) -Karma system (gain karma by killing monsters (i.e. helping people), lose karma for attacking players/player mounts without need or stealing (i.e. breaking laws), negative karma causes guards to become hostile (note; official player bounty system, or unofficial "i'll gift you pearls" system?) -The Game's main currency (Silver coins, or simply silver, often amassed by players in the hundreds of thousands in the beginning and the billions by those who have min/maxed their empires) -Achievement ideas (the much lusted after and even more reviled "10,000 hours played," which gives some very, VERY nice rewards that a player can literally just spend 20 bucks to get like 3 of if they really wanted to, etc.) -Literally my entire Profession leveling system (Tiers and sub-tiers of levels, from beginner 1-10, to apprentice 1-10, professional 1-10, artisan 1-10, master 1-10, and finally guru 1-25. Seeing a character with master anything, let alone guru, shows that they are truly a master (or guru wow funny ha) at their craft. each sub tier gained increases the amount of XP needed, and each new tier makes another jump in needed XP occur. Good system, me'sa steals it) -Literally my entire boss system, plus some extras by me (bosses spawn daily/ weekly, and require large amounts of players to kill for great rewards. Players can also summon weaker versions of these bosses with summoning scrolls for much smaller groups and lower chances at the same great rewards. These scrolls can be done 1 at a time, or 100 at a time.)   Mabinogi -Player freedom ideas (music writing/playing gives XP, class-less system of mixing "talents," etc.) -Literally my entire dungeon system (randomized levels, gaining access by sacrificing an item, statues as spawn points, boss rooms, treasure rooms, etc.) -Lack of a level cap or even a soft cap ("Rebirth" System) -Focus on existing mythologies for story and lore (Irish/Scottish/Gaelic/ whatever The Morrigan belongs to) -Gear Proficiency/Upgrade system (using gear adds proficiency, which can be used up along with currency to add upgrades)   Overlord_(Light_Novel) -Monster drops being items used in customization ("Data Crystals") -Literally my entire Guild System, with some tweaks (Guilds can purchase dungeons and remodel them as Guild Halls, placing of defenses in said halls, creation of NPC guards, etc.) -More on player freedom (Mixing different classes to create a build, able to play as an enemy monster race to give both large bonuses and large demerits to stats/abilities/strengths/weaknesses, etc.) -Magic tiers (1-10) -Several monster ideas (Dracoliches being immune to spells lower than tier 8, lizardmen with defined culture and tribes/taboos/beliefs, etc.)   Warframe -Drop location ideas (specific materials drop from very specific areas, each area has a set amount of materials, all areas have the same number of materials, etc.) -Map creation (Map broken up into "Planets," further broken up into "missions") -Character Customization (dye sets, cosmetic armor pieces, syandanas, etc.) -Weapon stance idea (Stances in Warframe change animations and combos, as well as add more points for modifications to the weapon) -Aura idea (Auras are basically stances, but for the character instead of the weapon and active for all party members, stackable if more than one party member has the same aura, etc.) -Riven-like system (very rare, often powerful, and randomized modifications that require a challenging task to "unlock" and gain the use of)   Champions_Online -Achievement ideas (ridiculous things like "take 10,000,000 fire damage" and "kill 10,000 [insert enemy here])   Neverwinter -Artifact weapons and equipment idea (end-game, super powerful gear that is further upgraded through a Refinement system)   Berserk_(Manga) -Sashiba's character design and name (Main character wears black armor, has huge sword, is a member of the Band of the Hawk) -Sashiba's RP backstory for his character (born from a corpse, raised by cruel mercenary, fled due to sexual abuse, fought for a living because it was all he was [really really REALLY] good at)   Sword_Art_Online_(Anime) -First Boss idea (large enemy with weapon change mechanic, spawns many weak mobs in the beginning, highly mobile after weapon change)   The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim -Magic school idea (Destruction, Restoration, Alteration, etc, all do different things, spells in same school have a similar purpose/theme, etc.) -Player Race ideas (Lizard- and cat-people that remain non-fanservice-ey [not nekos or scaly-types])   The_Elder_Scrolls_IV:_Oblivion -Guild ideas (fighters', thieves', mage's, and assassin-type guilds)   Rift:_Planes_of_Telara -Enemy invasion ideas (portals open in the sky, elemental enemies drop down, enemies can kill NPCs and capture towns, enemies can create "footholds" that will continue spawning more enemies until destroyed, each "rift" ends with a boss, etc.)   Archeage -Crime Faction (players can become Pirates after doing enough crime, technically a third faction from what players can join at start, island home city, made up of races from both factions, etc.) -Ocean Content (players can build boats, fight sea monster and pirate-themed world bosses, players can build submarines, sunken ships/treasure, boat races with prizes, underwater farming, etc.) -Quest system ideas (can "overachieve" a quest, getting more rewards for work done past the quest details [killing 8 enemies instead of 5, etc.], can "underachieve" a quest, getting less rewards by finishing a quest early [killing 3 enemies instead of 5, etc.], etc.)   Bloodborne -Blood Moon idea (as the night of the hunt goes on, enemies become more powerful/gain new attacks, enemies transform into more and more horrendous beasts, content is opened/closed depending on state of the moon, etc.) -Sashiba's character design somewhat (imposing figure in black, large weapon, almost supernaturally skilled in battle, etc.) -Healing item drop locations and mechanics (primarily farmed from enemies, only one healing item available so it's easier/more efficient to farm weak enemies even later in the game for them) -Player Resource mechanics (relatively small health/stamina bar, points in stats give minuscule boosts, etc.) -Boss design for several bosses (a mix of hulking beasts with loud screams and sweeping, violent attacks and human sized enemies with access to everything the player has and an [honestly] bullshit level of speed and endurance) -Story ideas (the night of the hunt, where men who hunt beasts become them due to the actions of a church)   Dungeons_and_Dragons_(4th_Edition) -Several player races (Shardmind being made of living crystal, tieflings being mostly humans who's ancestors made deals/boinked uglies with devils, etc.) -Several "talent" ideas (warlocks gaining their magic from a pact with a higher being, rangers having an enemy they are especially good at killing, etc.)   Pathfinder_(tabletop) -Several "talent" ideas (witches able to use their hair to grab things/attack, summoners having a personalized "eidolon," different psionic classes able to make weapons or armor with the power of their minds, etc.)   Rifts_(tabletop) -Story ideas (portals open up, releasing magic into the world and allowing beings from countless dimensions to enter our reality, different parts of the world being affected differently, etc.)   Log_Horizon_(Anime) -The Games visuals and themes (our world, just different, players being dicks despite the actual pain it's causing other players, etc.) -Land ownership ideas (whoever owns the building/area has complete control over who is allowed in or out, if players can even use abilities inside, etc.) -Worldbuilding ideas (food tastes terrible unless specifically prepared by a chef in the same way you would in the real world [without menus], players can craft things unavailable through menus and in-game lore/physics if they knew/ know how to in the real world [steam engines, trains, etc.], etc.)   The_Witcher_(first_game) -Bounty system (gain quest to hunt and kill specific monster, prepare consumables and weapons, seek monster once applicable [night, day, specific location/event, etc.], etc.) -Enemy resistances (some enemies are particularly weak to the iron or silver sword but very rarely both, others can only be damaged a certain way, etc.)   Rick_Riordan's_Percy_Jackson_and_the_Olympians (BOOKS,_goddammit) -Enemy resistances (Some materials can only harm monsters and simply pass through mortals, some materials can only harm mortals and leave monsters completely unaffected) -"Trophy" system (Monsters turn to dust after death, but sometimes leave behind a "trophy" like a minotaur's horn or medusa's head with petrifying gaze still working)   Dark_Souls_(1,_2,_and_3,_excluding_Demon's_Souls_and_Bloodborne) -Gear Upgrade system (specific materials made of "titanite," a metal, able to upgrade gear to a specific grade before a bigger piece is necessary, drops from very specific monsters at a 100% chance that rarely spawn, gained rarely from normal enemies, only so many pieces of the highest tier upgrade items available in a given game, etc.)   Guild_Wars_2 -Server versus Server PvP (WvW, or World vs World, where servers battle each other for server-wide buffs and a seperate type of progression by moving to an alternate map and gaining control of different locations) -Talent ideas (Mesmer, a psionic type class with a focus on creating illusory clones of themselves)   Planetside_2 -Server versus Server ideas (continent-sized map, constant 1v1v1 war between 3 factions to control "zones," resource management and teamwork, summonable vehicles (note: siege weapons?) available, etc.)   Slime_Rancher -Animal taming/raising rewards (specific animals [e.g. slimes in this case] give very specific versions of the same resource, can mix different animals by feeding one resource to another type, that hybrid will then produce both resources, favorite food gives double resources, etc.)   Riders_of_Icarus -Mount System (basically every [mount sized] animal in the world is tamable as a mount, all mounts can also act as combat pets if desired or turned into summonable buffs, specific number of stable slots limits amount of mounts, each mount gives different bonuses, some recolors of mounts with very slight differences in buffs/abilities, etc.)   Terraria -Talent ideas (summoner type characters wield specific items that summon a specific allied minion, minion deals damage and cannot be harmed by enemies)   Sailbot_Studios'_Doorways_series_(Specifically_Mountains_of_Flesh) -Hellscape aesthetic ideas (fucked up skybox, grotesque enemies in inhuman shapes yet made of recognizably human parts with a focus on body horror [spiders made up of human arms and heads, glassy/blind eyes, mouths stuck open, changing of normal human anatomy such as a face with only a huge mouth, etc], empty recreations of familiar settings [note; "mirror" version of entire Game, or just certain instanced areas?], etc.)   Stranger_Things -Hellscape finalized idea ("upside down" being a bastardization of our own world including buildings, filled with horrifying [note: high level, "end- game"] monsters [note; focus on poison? body horror to a T? vomit/bile, acidic blood? Debuff ideas needed. Ask Tainted] and controlled by a mysterious eldritch being never shown in a clear way [note; lovecraftian horror or true demonic figure? demons as eldritch abominations or actual demons? demons in name only? Ask Tainted]   Destiny_(unfortunately) -Enemy ideas ("The Darkness," with a specific debuff given only by it, unknown in scope but known to be ridiculously powerful, a true threat [note; demons' debuff be specifically related to demon aesthetic, a la Darkness, such as? demons are all slimy corpse amalgams, maybe slime-related? roll with the demon idea, e.g. sin themed debuff? Harm karma, or too broken? something players will feel the need to cleanse/remove, can't be simple. Talk to Tainted], etc.)   Path_of_Exile -Talent system ideas (extensive [to a ridiculous degree] passive skill tree [note; passive trees for each talent, and thus smaller in scope but many trees? Enormous passive tree for all talents? which gives more customization options? Where would specific talents start on this tree? Redownload Eccel?])   Inevitably to be added to as I remember old/gain new inspirations for The Game's systems. I've been building this world since I was fucking 13, you think I remember every game, anime, show, book, and comic/manga/graphic novel I've consumed since then? It's been almost 10 fucking years, mate. New Player Guide and Bestiary to be created soon-ish. I'm planning on them being in their own series, since I'm OCD and it'll probably make more sense that way to readers. Also, hello readers! I'm Nanubi, or Nan if you prefer, and I write a lot of bullshit! Enjoy, maybe?   Bonus_Inspirations!     EA_Games_as_a_whole -What not to do with monetization -What not to do with any possible Game dev/PR character   Trion_Worlds_as_a_whole -What not to do with monetization -What not to do with game balance -What not to do with any possible Game dev/PR character   Neverwinter -What not to do with cash shop currencies able to be gained without IRL money -What not to do with class balance -What not to do with monetization   Black_Desert_Online -Creation of in-universe Game memes and community quirks (near-universal love of arguing over whether Traps R Gay or not [note; definitely not gay, and in fact God's true plan with the human race], jokes about Alienware's ability to let them play BDO at max settings, making fun of Roleplayers and calling all ERPers Otter fuckers [note; add joke race like BDO's otters? Maybe make goblins joke race? Or surprise people with unconventional goblins? Which is funnier? Broken english big nosed freaks, or eloquent scientifically minded individuals with a race wide savant-level knowledge of mathematics and economics? Think about this, address later], etc.)   Monster_Musume_(Anime_AND_Manga) -Sexy monster races [note: only some monsters naturally sexual. fanservice in nature, or roll with The Game is a real world theme? Characters engage in sexual activities, different people view sex differently, so monster girl/guy classes built specifically for (A)Professions? how far is too far? do i even know what too far means? Too much like ShadowPOP! ? Definitely need cute nerdy spider girl race. fuck no gender lock. Ask Tainted, visit r34 later for inspiration, maybe Deviantart]     Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!