Gamelit Novel, 8 (Patreon)

This is the last bit I have written of the gamelit novel (it's even got a placeholder name thrown in it, lol), so now you can tell me if you're enjoying it!

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How about Naturalist?

Nick grunted as he scaled the hummock, digging his cloven hooves into the soft sod. “Doesn’t that sound more like a character class?”

Does it?

“It does to me, anyway. Some kind of summoner-druid? Maybe with a bonus to herbalism?”

Your suggestion has been noted. We suggest ‘natural scientist’?

“Sounds like something from one of my mom’s Regency romances.” Nick’s ears flipped back. “Uh, not that I’ve ever read any of them.”

Who has, then?

“No one, okay! It was just a comment.”

Fortunately, that earned him silence. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if the AI had started acting human enough to apologize. Several hours of its occasional whispers had inured him to the idea that he was talking to the actual, literal AI, the hyper-advanced one, the whole reason why Omen Galaxica was capable of taking this quantum leap into the gaming future. It helped that so far, most of their talk had been about renaming the trait that made him love the immersive aspect of the game. And oh, did he love it. He’d had that ale at Endtimes and had tasted it, really tasted it, like the beer Dad sometimes let him share. The only reason he hadn’t stayed was because of the NPCs.

What troubled you about the Non-Player Characters?

Nick gained the rise and stared into the forest. No giants here… this was the more conventional wood that grew up farther inland from Endtimes, as you followed the road from there to ONE OF THE HUMAN REALMS. “Why are you asking now?”

You are contemplating it now.

That thing where the AI was obviously reading his mind was not comfortable. At all. “It’s just… they’re really realistic now. I can smell their sweat, and their voices have distinct… um.. pitches. Tones. Accents. They feel real in a way they never did before. But they’re still doing the automated stuff. Like they only know a few lines of dialogue and are on preprogrammed routes.”

It is our observation that many humans have routines they rarely alter. And their conversation with strangers is also predictable.

Put that way… “Well, all right, that’s true. But it feels too rigid. Humans will change their routines if something weird happens.”

Is that true? It is our observation that exposure to unusual activity causes most humans to ignore the unexpected stimulus, unless it intrudes directly on them.

Nick stopped. “I’m not sure I like all the things you’re telling me about human nature.”

It is not our intention to cause player distress. We wish to improve user experience, and if user feedback can help us to improve our handling of NPCs, we wish to gather that feedback. If the experience is troubling—

Put that way, he felt bad for not wanting to help more. He sighed and started down the road. “They just feel too limited in scope. It’s too close to real without being real.”

It is not our intent to mimic reality.

“Really? I thought that was the point?”

Our coder did not believe a game should mimic creation, when it could improve on it.

“This is a lot more fun than reality,” Nick said.

How so?

He scooped up a twig and rolled it between his fingers. The bark was flaky and damp. Throwing it wasn’t as satisfying as he’d hoped. He started hunting for something heavier. “Because reality is limiting.”

It is our experience that without limitations, the game ceases to be interesting.

“Then we’ll just say that real life isn’t balanced as well as a game is.”

That silenced the AI again, for long enough that Nick experimented with several sticks he found along the way, tossing them. He was high enough level that he wasn’t going to aggro anything off the road, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about killing anything while feeling this present, anyway. Would he smell the whole ‘guts and outhouse smell’ stuff people always talked about accompanied violent death? Would that be cool or horrible? Better to ask, would he be able to handle it, because it would be mortifying if he couldn’t.

QUEST UPDATE: CALL TO ARMS

Your companion has joined the game! Arrive at her location to begin your epic journey to EverVigil!

A new dot appeared on his minimap. “Oh, hey, Mom!” And then his ears drooped. “Is she seriously in the middle of LEVEL 1 HUMAN TERRITORY?”

Since the AI didn’t answer, he guessed that was something he was supposed to figure out on his own. Putting a level 1 player in a level 1 area made sense, but he was disappointed he wouldn’t have to fight his way to her location and free her from some evil blackmage or something. It would have been dramatic. He would have watched it streaming, that’s for sure.

“Well, I guess I’m off to LEVEL 1 HUMAN TERRITORY. At least I’m on the right road.”

What about Road Master?

“Ugh. I liked Far Traveler better. It’s all right to give up, you know. Not every trait has to have a cool name.”

We are dedicated to peak user experience. ‘Cool’ names are more memorable and more likely to inspire players to unlock the achievements.

Resigned, Nick said, “Well… hit me with your next one, then.”