AN: Hey there! Finally took the time to post a first "real" chapter. Nothing to get excited about, I'm just setting the basics. It may have errors or inconsistences, don't be afraid to point them out.
Disclamer: I do not own 'The Gamer' or any concepts designed by the author.
Notes:
Dialogues: "Get to work".
Narration: He starred at her, unmoving.
Thought processes: Is this guy for real?
[Gamer Notifications]
Chapter 2 – New Game
Coming to my senses, I felt incredibly uncomfortable. It mostly had to do with my current position: I was slumped on the ground like a doll that had its strings cut, my cheek and the wall were now as physically intimate as a newly married couple during honeymoon.
Metaphors aside, I groggily got to my feet and started heading out to my chair in order to replay the events that just transpired. I didn't even get to sit down before a tingling sensation washed over me once more. Time slowed down to a crawl as a result, all ambient noises vanished as my vision progressively took on a greyish tint.
[Tutorial Initialized]
[Let's review the basics of the Game]
On the top left of my visual field popped two thick parallel gauges, one red and one yellow.
[Those represent your current Health Points (HP) and Action Points (AP). They decrease when you take damage or use certain skills, they will usually recharge themselves over time or with the help of object and skills.]
A sort of minimap then showed up from nowhere in the bottom right of my vision. I could now see my actual position shaped as an arrow which indicated the direction that I was facing towards. The floors and elevators were all marked with small distinctive signs. From that information, I reckoned that every point of interest would be similarly spotted.
[This is your minimap, you can use it to retrieve information from your environment that is not in your direct field of view. Distance and number of markers will increase with your level of Wits.]
A gigantic window opened next, displaying what seemed like my essential information as a game character:
[Gamer: Dorian]
[Title: College Student]
[Level: 1 (0.00%)]
[Stats:
HP: 700 ((7*1)*100) – HP Regen: 5/Min (0,71%)
AP: 700 ((7*1)*100) – AP Regen: 5/Min (0,71%)
STR: 5 (+2) = 7
VIT: 5 (+2) (/1,3) = 5
DEX: 5
INT: 5 (+2) (+2) = 9
WIS: 5
CHA: 5 (+2) (-2) = 5
WITS: 5 (/1,3) = 4
LUCK: 5]
[Unused Points: 0]
[Skills: None]
[This here is your character menu. You can use it to follow your own progress during a solo campaign and assign attribute points after leveling up. Attributes can be influenced positively or negatively depending on traits, equipped title, passive skills and active effects (in that order). Using particular clothing or special abilities can also impact those values. Titles, traits and effects can be gained or lost depending on circumstances. All decimal values are all rounded down without exception.
HP is determined by your health multiplicator and VIT value, AP is determined by your special multiplicator and INT value (Base Attribute*Multiplicator*100). Base multiplicators' values are "1". Health/Special multiplicators may increase by exceeding thresholds of your attributes or by completing certain quests.
To give you an idea of where you stand compared to the other individuals of your specie, the average human possesses between 4 and 6 points in each attribute. Manually training skills and attributes can get a person stronger while keeping their level the same (training doesn't reward you EXP). It is highly advised for inexperienced players not to underestimate lower-leveled opponents during confrontations.]
I'm a quite the cautious type, so no worries here.
The list automatically scrolled down, as if acknowledging my answer:
[Titles:]
College Student (I) [Equipped]
- x1.5 in learning speed of all theorical skills.
- +2 INT while equipped.
- +30 default Attitude with the "College Students" faction.
- Unlocks "Studious" dialogue interactions.
Aspiring Psychologist (I)
- x1.5 in CHA when discussing with an NPC affected with mental illness' status.
- +2 CHA while equipped.
- Persuasion, Bartering and Manipulation level goes up by 5.
- Unlocks "Logical" dialogue interactions
[Traits:]
- Strong Build: +2 STR, +2 VIT
- Well mannered: +2 CHA (Unlocks "Polite" dialogue interactions)
- Cultivated: +2 INT
- Secret Introvert: -2 CHA (Unlocks "Socially Awkward" dialogue interactions)
- Airhead: -2 WITS
[Active Effects:]
- Hypertension: you are currently suffering from high-blood pressure because of your lack of exercise and bad style of life. VIT is reduced by 30%.
è Removing Condition: Reach a base 10 in Vitality to remove this status or cure it with a medical skill.
- Myopia: You have a bad eyesight. When not wearing adapted glasses, WITS is reduced by 60%.
è Removing Condition: ?
[World Renown: 0]
[World Infamy: 0]
[Money: 3€]
Just like for the [Skills] section, my Renown and Infamy levels were pretty low, it seemed logical since I was basically a nobody. Also, why do I only have 3 euros? Does it only count the money I have on my person?
[Yes and no, the currency you had in your pockets was automatically stocked in your Inventory until further action is taken. And to answer your unasked question: digital data without a physical support cannot be processed by the Inventory. As such, virtual currency is not accepted. Now, let's continue with the visit.]
Next thing I know, two side by side panels replaced the previous menu. The right panel was basically an Inventory grid while the left one was a two-dimensional representation of myself in a regular T pose. On my head, torso and each of my limbs were icons that represented my equipped gear: most were currently empty. They were options beneath it such as "Character Creation Menu" but they seemed to be unavailable for now. Also, it was worth noting that my character's background was a uniform grey: this made me think back about the KOTOR karmic system. I wondered if there were any similarities.
[As you guessed, this is your Inventory. You can stock up items here, as long as it is not currently alive or moving. The space available depends on the number of points you have allocated in your Strength stat. Those values are currently 1 STR = 5 boxes. Once inside, time becomes a non-factor, the item won't change of state from the moment you stored it in until you bring it out. Any energy sources will be kept at the same level of charge as before.]
[On the left is your Character menu. As the name suggests, it allows you to change your character appearance, race, class but also equip and unequip items directly on your body without the actual process of putting it on. It also displays body areas that currently suffer injuries or unusual conditions. The background color represents your moral alignment (Evil, Bad, Neutral, Good, Saint). You are currently "Neutral".]
Neutral? I was half-expecting it to be bad, what a pleasant surprise. The Game considered that the balance of good/bad actions from my part was equalized in intensity. A quick look informed me that the pajama I was wearing didn't give any bonus nor protection.
[Synthetic Pajama Top]
- Rank: Common
- Condition: 96%
- Defense: 0
- Special: None
So … no starting gear I guess (sigh)
[One last thing: do not forget to check out the [Options] menu in order to get the best gaming experience possible. Farewell, Gamer.]
"Yeah, you too", I answered mechanically. I was still a bit dazed by all of this. The reality of the situation had just barely started to fall in. I ultimately complied to the tutorial's demand and attempted to access the options. Mentally calling or visualizing the word did nothing in that regard, so I spoke it out aloud:
"Options?", I called hesitantly.
That's stupid.
-[-OPTIONS-]-
[Gameplay]
[Graphism]
[Audio]
[Savefiles]
[Quit]
"Just like a real game's", I surmised. Except that I couldn't save, which sucked. Also, no way to exit the game (not that I wanted to, in retrospective). Gameplay seemed too intimidating to start with (too many options), so I decided to play with the graphisms for a bit.
-[-Graphisms-]-
Models
Textures
Lightning
Shadows
Interface
Advanced
The first four ones only seemed to affect the quality of image I received from the Game's visual input. They were set to max by default, which was fine by me. Why would anyone want to purposely lower these settings? Unless there was lagging involved (could that even be possible). Maybe some old school nostalgia? I made a few small adjustments here and there to the interface, moving both my HP and AP bars to the middle bottom of my screen and checking the option to add numerical values to them. I also added 40% transparency to the minimap and put it on top instead of bottom. The more I could see, the better. I also changed the color to a nice dark grey and reduced its opacity, that way my perception would not be hindered when interacting with the Game while in real life time.
Advanced options were basically near inconsequential parameters like anti-aliasing, reflection, filters and other artistic choices.
Moving on, I went into the Audiosection. The system categorized every type of sounds from weather effects to dialogue with NPCs. Using my hand as a remote controller, I could both lower or heighten the volume of said effects. There was also the option to replay music and dialogues I had previously heard, that system scaled with my INT since it was dependent of my memory capacity/efficiency. I ultimately decided not to touch anything for the moment.
Last thing was called "BGM", which I knew meant "Background Music": It could play music from preprogrammed playlist, by genre, artists, …, directly in your brain. That was very useful for a music addict like me.
When I was done finally tweaking every single thing to my preference, I selected Gameplay in the previous menu. My mind boggled at the number of settings I could make changes to:
Language
Difficulty
Commands [Vocal, Touch, Mental]
Subtitles
Cinematics
Tutorial
Pop-ups
Gamer Mind
Bodily Functions
Language… french. Okay.
Difficulty was set to "normal". The more difficult the Game was, the more EXP I would get by defeating opponents and completing quests. I didn't touch it, it was the best balance between EXP gains and difficulty (I didn't want to get bored too much too soon).
Commands! Ah, better. Imagine if I had to speak aloud every time I wanted to interact with the interface, the madness!
Commands [Vocal, Touch, Mental]
Subtitles were off by default. Well, not anymore. Cinematics? As in David Cage's movies/games? Sorry but no. I only let the "TIP" option active for the Tutorial section, I would help me understand what I was facing on without being too intrusive. Pop-ups encompassed every info from damage dealt/received to successes/fails of Stats/Skills rolls.
That is gold. I will need it to elaborate complex strategies later on. So yes, yes please.
As pertained in the contract, the Gamer mind was currently unavailable. I wouldn't be touching that anytime soon.
The last one concerned how the game affected my body regarding the daily functioning of it. For example, did I feel the need to drink, eat, sleep, piss, have sex, ect. All primary needs. Pain tolerance, breathing system, body marking (as in scars, spots and other indelible markings) and facial expressions could also be tinkered with.
I was really scared about the potential consequences of changing such parameters.
I am a human.
With that out of the way, I tested up the Inventory for a bit. Simple physical contacts (however small they may be) were sufficient enough to transport objects into it. I wetted a tissue in the sink with warm water and put it inside. Just as the text explained, said object came out as soaked as before. I also discovered that liquids (and most certainly gases too) needed recipients in order to be counted as "items". At least, I could also now wish my clothes on by simply grabbing ahold of them for a split second.
No more hopping around while trying to put on my pants in the morning because I'm late, no sir!
Money and other valuables could also be securely stored but I still had to take my backpack, so people wouldn't get suspicious.
Time was flying by, and I remembered I had to prepare and go to class now.
Going to the bathroom, I turned open the shower tap and distanced myself from the pouring stream of cold water until I could feel hot steam tickling my skin.
A new Skill was created!
[Heat Resistance] – LVL 1 (0.16%)
The aptitude of your body to resist high temperatures. Passively grants 1% RES to heat-based damage, reduces chance of negative statuses due to it. Percentage of resistance goes up with skill level.
Wow, really? I mean, the skill itself I can understand. But getting it because of warm water seems kind of ridiculous…
Ah! That really hit the spot.
Feeling refreshed, I opened the shower curtains and exited the shower. Thus, I noticed a new notification:
[Heat Resistance] – LVL 4 (45.17%)
The aptitude of your body to resist high temperatures. Passively grants 4% RES to heat-based damage, reduces chance of negative statuses due to it. Percentage of resistance goes up with skill level.
I gaped.
"This is bullshit."
I put on a long-sleeved navy shirt today, it was quite comfy and nice to look at. I also chose a beige chino, and some non-descript sneakers, to keep it simple.
I took a moment to look in the mirror: was anything different? I thought not. But who knows what the Game could have done to me. I squinted my eyes and took a better look at myself:
You know, the first thing that people remarqued on the first time they saw me was my height, it stood for a reason since I was quite tall (about 1,92 meters tall). The second thing was my musculature, it stemmed from my mother's side of the family. All men were naturally burly, and I was no exception to the rule.
My hands reached out to cup my chin, I always thought my face was very bland in comparison to most people (although girls have been commenting that I was just short of being good-looking). No sharps features except a slightly angular jaw, an almost imperceptible crooked nose (due to having it broken when I was a kid) and intense brown eyes. I swept my light brown hair to the side which I kept short for convenience' sake.
Let's just go now.
Having finished "admiring" me in the glass, I grabbed my trenchcoat and my backpack (which contained my books, notes, pens and laptop) and exited the apartment. I took the elevator, descended to the ground floor, greeted the tired manager of this residence and finally made it outside.
I groaned when a gust of glacial wind met my face.
It's so cold outside. No, I forgot my gloves! Too late, I don't have the time nor the energy to go back up. Something hit my mind.
Wait, don't tell me…, I suspiciously looked around.
[Cold Resistance] – LVL 1 (0.13%)
The aptitude of your body to resist low temperatures, ignores part of cold-based damage. Passively grants 1% RES to cold based damage, reduces chance of negative statuses due to it. Percentage of resistance goes up with skill level.
I sniffed.
Fuck you Winter, just you wait til I'm level 100 in this skill, I challenged as I started walking in the direction of the nearest subway station.
Don't forget to review ;)