So, I’ve been playing a lot of Final Fantasy 14 recently. It’s fantastic, and it’s made me think a lot about ludonarrative. For those wondering this is essentially the story the player makes as they make their way through a game. Their experiences as they interact with the game systems and NPCs/enemies. Final Fantasy 14 has an excellent narrative, but I’ve found my experience joining a Free Company with other players and going through difficult Trials and Raids with them far more engaging, personally.
I’ve also recently been watching anime like Log Horizon and the Rising of the Shield Hero, along with reading the first Sword Art: Online Progressive novel. (SAO is not good), and I’ve noticed one thing that tie these styles of stories together. Danmachi and Konosuba can count here too. The very best of them are character-focused action dramas. I love this, trust me, though it did make me wonder. Not many of them focus on the actual game systems they seem to be based on past the basic surface-level elements. And honestly, this is fair enough. A lot of these writers probably haven’t played MMOs to the level of someone like me, and that’s impressive considering how good of a grasp a lot of them have of MMO tropes and elements. (With the exception of Reki Kawahara, SAO is still not good).
So my thought was, am I the only one who would be interested in a story that focuses more on the characters forging a story of their own using the mechanics of the game and building their own chemistry as a team? I’m going to test out writing it anyway, I was just wondering what everyone else thought about this
First off: I don’t even know why I watched SAO, it was horrible. It’s JUST KIRITO’S HAREM but Asuna’s the Empress and everyone else is part of the harem.
Second of all: I say you should definitely go for it. I love game-based animes and mangas but I just haven’t been keeping up with any lately.
I always wanted to see the characters actually engage more with the game and I’d definitely read something like that. Isekai for the win! (if the character is transported into the game world – still sounds cool if they’re not)
Yeah, that was actually the thing I was gonna come up with. The stakes. I don’t think anything will top SAOs first episode in terms of stakes, I don’t want to outright copy the idea of being a trapped in a game with a single death meaning death in the real world because that is brilliant. (SAO is still not good).
I was thinking of maybe having it not mean death in the real world. Maybe having it be a permadeath setting where if you die in the game world, you’re kicked from the game and it blocks you from creating a new character. I would say I would just make an isekai, though I want it to very much be a game, I have other ideas for a fantasy isekai (more based on Familiar of Zero, one of my favourite anime of all time!). Does that sound alright? I may tweak it a little
And if you are interested, I’ll be posting any art or progress in the story I make on the Forums for sure, though it’ll be a secondary project to my main story of course. I am super passionate about it though!
The disappointing thing about SAO is that there was SO much potential, especially at the start and then it instantly flopped. The whole “you die here, you die for real” thing was so intense.
Hmm yeah, not copying it can be kind tough… I actually recall playing a game where if you died in hard mode your character and everything they own would be wiped! I think if it’s just a game then it’s kind of easier to manage because isekai’s are prone to plot holes ;-;
I REMEMBER THAT ANIME! It’s the one where Louise summons her familiar but it’s actually just a human boy and she’s nicknamed Zero or something? It’s been a long time.
Yeah I think making it just a game is better, seeing some actual gaming would be really cool. I’d be down for that!
I think I’ll definitely take the VR element, have something like SAO’s Nerve Gear. That level of immersion in a game needs to be developed further because there’s such an interesting level to in-game relationships using your idealised self. How about disabled characters being able to walk? Trans characters being able to move past their dysphoria due to literally being in the body they want?
These stories barely touch on these things, and it’s a huge disservice to the idea imo! So, the permadeath progress loss sounds good? Do you think it would be more interesting to be kicked from the game entirely, or still be able to make a new character afterwards? That would keep the playerbase alive realistically though I’m sure I’d need to make some allowances for the narrative to be tense and interesting
omg you like Familiar of Zero too! Yeah, if I ever get around to my Isekai story it’ll be more like that because that show is just such a joy to experience! I love it so much :3
I’ll be really disappointed if we don’t get the Nerve Gear during my lifetimes. It’s so innovative! I loved the tech they came up with in SAO and it is really inclusive. Like there was girl who terminally ill but they linked her consciousness to the game and it was like she was a part of it or something like that and I was like whoa!
Hmm, it depends. It could kind of make the stakes higher if you can’t re-enter the game. (And some people would of course, try to hack the system to do so). Although making a new character is really frustrating if you’ve gotten so far and it’s like “back to square one”. And the tutorials at the start of MMOs can take foreeeeever. It could serve as comedic effect if you’ve only just begun.
Kind of reminds me of how I was playing skyrim for the first time and I made it to the first or second town without being killed by the bears or wolves then I accidentally killed a chicken and was killed by the villagers. Or when I went through all that trouble to finish some quest, managed to not be robbed by some bandits or killed by creatures ONLY TO FALL OFF A CLIFF, dIE AND LOSE MY PROGRESS I-
Yeah I think if you want things to be tense then they should be kicked from the game. if you think that’s too much then maybe they are temporarily kicked, sort of like a ban. It can make things intense if they watch their competitor improve rapidly whilst they’re not able to play?
Yeah! It was one of the first animes I watched when I got into it! It was really good but I haven’t watched much Isekai lately I’d definitely love to read some though
Whoa, you’ve just given me such a good idea for the story of the main character. I love to start with my main character already at least semi-competent, and having it be their second or even third time through would be so cool
And have their rival/antagonist character be an old guild buddy that shot way ahead in terms of levels after their friend was killed in game. You’re the best
It would be even more intense in an MMO, since you can work for weeks or months for a few pieces of gear or to beat a specific raid tier. To have all that be lost would be unimaginably horrible, I bet. And it would take someone with a huge amount of willpower to continue raiding after that. Willpower is a real cool main character trait in my opinion!
I have such a good idea of this now, I can’t thank you enough
I would recommend Konosubarashii Sekai ni Syukufuku wo (Konosuba) and the Rising of the Shield Hero, if you’re thinking of watching more isekai :3
I say ‘I bet’ but I did actually recently lose the five years of grinding, gear farming and progress I’d made in an MMO recently. This’ll be quite cathartic for me I imagine >.<
Whoa dude, this already sounds so cool! I love seeing main characters grow and build their skill as opposed to being just unnecessarily overpowered (KIRITO FFS). OOOH AND THE RIVAL THING, this is already intense omd. And no worries I just threw around some words you actually put it together.
Holy crap that’s even better because there would be so much frUSTRATION.
I actually haven’t played Skyrim since I last died because I made so much progress, forgot to save theN I WENT BACK TO BEFORE I COMPLETED THE QUEST ETC. (I mean there was school too but COME ON). Another game I need to go back to…
The MC sound so cool already, if only I were constantly that motivated. Send me some willpower MC! U-U this sounds epic already and I don’t even know the details about the game.
INTENSE RIVARLY WITH A FORMER FRIEND ALWAYS CREATES THE BEST tension. Especially when there are flashbacks to the good times and then you find out how they became this way.
No need to thank me, you did all of the thinking and this was fun!
I’ll just add this to my watchlist. I’ve watched so much this holiday but I haven’t gone back to anime yet, thank youuu, I think I’ll start again soon
That is frustrating as heck! That almost happened to me when I forgot my username after not playing for so long and I think it happened with a different game as well ;–; it’s so disappointing
I’m gonna head to bed for now, but I’m gonna work on this idea more - and I’m honestly super excited to get started. The gameplay elements alone will be awesome to play with in regards to a VRMMO. It would need to be different to most MMOs obviously
See I like the idea of death in the game causing death in the real world. One of the many, many, many, many, many ways in which SAO failed, though, is that they made it seem like in order to have people living in the game, it needs to be endlessly complex with constant enemies and new quests to do. How interesting would it be to explore the idea of everyone who survives the first few months being ridiculously high level and over powered? They’d get bored because they’ve run out of quests to carry out and there would be a cap on how much they could progress until the next update. Exploring that boredom and the lengths people go to in order to alleviate it would be interesting as hell
Although if you want a stake, how about only so many people can be on the game at one time? If you die, you get put at the end of the queue and you have to wait for someone else to die in order to continue playing. You’d probably form friendships and want them back on the game so you’d end up killing other players or leading them to their deaths. You’d have people inventing viruses that work like an in-game epidemic in order to lower the time it takes to get them back on the game. It would create a really hostile environment. Not sure if it could work, but it would be really cool
But I feel like you’d also need a stake to stop people from abandoning ship and changing games. Or maybe a prize or something. And we’d have to think about the people. Like why aren’t they working? Is it that the game is their job? Is it like some weird YouTuber career but for MMOs?
I’d definitely love to read some though 
