[In Game World you will appear as a killable NPC. This adds to the challenge of the game]
‘Is that the same for all competitors in this VidGame universe?’
[Correct.]
‘That’s going to make it a severe challenge to participate in this competition.’
[As you develop your class and gain levels your power will grow for each new setting.]
‘Finally, some good news. And how will I be able to gain experience points for improving my abilities?’
[Exp points are available in-game, completion of initial tutorial stages, and awarded for winning competition levels. Bonus missions are available in each game world but are hidden. Explore and find those hidden Easter Eggs!]
[New MMO Mistress>Starter Modifier Mistress
-Title: Starter Modifier Mistress
-Current Skills: Minor Power of Addition and Subtraction, Game gAM Breake-ERROR% (Unknown Skill)
-Level 0 will become level 1 at end of the tutorial stage
-Current Stats not available due to -ERROR%]
I sit down in utter white blankness and have a short think about what the system was showing my new character class as. I had changed from a new Mistress to a starter modifier, as for my current skills they looked, well, rubbish. Absolute piffle, what was I meant to do with mini-games?
The power of addiction? Yes, behold my absolute power of adding something to something else. Oh, there are two orcs? Or two candy bars? Let me add another one or three. Behold me remove a pair of shoes, wait, there is only now one whole shoe! The power of removing minor in-game items!
I also have the skill of Game Breake-ERROR! Yes, I have an actual error power. That made a lot of sense really, given my history with electronics. I had owned laptops, e-readers, computers, and phones and managed to damage them all by playing around with the functions or by being careless.
It was at this point that my headache began. I felt pain from behind my eyes like the worst migraine you have when you’ve been staring at a screen for a long time without a break. The utter blankness could have affected me more than I had originally thought, why couldn’t it have filled with something else instead?
‘What happens next then?’.
[Tutorial mode will be initiated shortly.]
‘You’re going to give me a quick run-down of how things work?’
[Direct Interaction involved in tutorial stage.]
‘I need to do things then. Clearly I have completely no idea of where I am, or what’s going on and you’re going to throw me into the deep end of the pool without checking my swimming ability. I’m going to drown aren’t I, having died once let me tell you that it wasn’t much fun at all.’
[Game World Chorus has been provided, this has directly inputted the rules, setting, and nature of the VidGame universe directly into your consciousness.]
‘That thing you mentioned. It didn’t take, can you try it again?’
[Tutorial mode will be initiated shortly. Please prepare for system engagement.]
Bio-Tech Outbreak Scenario Version 1.1
[Tutorial 1 Outline
You will take on a representative role within this scenario, you may not directly interfere with the players but can change the game to make the experience more immersive and of higher quality.
The difficulty of the game scales following the reward. As this is a tutorial scenario actual players will not be involved in this setting and the role will be filled by artificial agents who will act accordingly to the rules.
Try your best to make it exciting for the players!]
‘…I’m not a programmer, not a game developer. Seriously. I liked to play way too many video games when I was younger, and it harmed my life. What are you expecting from me?’
[To make a better-quality experience for players!]
‘…Do I get paid for this?’
[You get to enjoy the experience of participating in the VidGame Universe and the rewards that will follow the competition events!]
‘Right, so I’m getting something out of it then. The rewards had better be good then.’
[You have been assigned to tutorial mode. Please note that completion of scenario 1.1 is not fulfilled until it has met a matching standard.]
[Starter Tutorial Engaged: Bio-Tech Outbreak Scenario Version 1.1]
‘Wait, what? Where’s my weapon?’
[Prepare yourself Starter Modifier Mistress. PSIO is activating the first tutorial level.]
Buildings and structures shot up around me and spread throughout the white blankness. A dark sky with several white moons just flowed into the area above my head. Imagine someone had poured paint onto a large canvas and pictures appeared where the paint flowed along. That was freaking weird! I would very much like to get out of this place and back to my normal life.
The concrete paving and asphalt roads and street lighting appeared next, in between all the buildings and structures. No actual electronics, sewage systems, or anything else appeared. I guess that it was all a product of the system, like a town built out of blocks but just hyperrealistic.
‘Hey PSIO! What’s Bio-Tech Outbreak about?’
[A town that is reliant on a large medical corporation has suffered recent job losses due to the failure of economic demand for products. A scientist working on a secret experiment has been told that all his research projects will be seized and removed from the site. He then decides to release his chemicals into the water supply of the town and releases his biological test subjects out of the lab. A bio-outbreak begins occurring and local authorities do not possess the capabilities to withstand it.]
‘Wow, a scientist goes nuts and releases a deadly biological component into a residential area. Test subjects as well. I’m going to assume that the humans are turned into zombies, or they have a specific quest to escape. What role do the players take on in this game?’
[Players can choose a variety of different roles:
-Ordinary civilian survivors
-Local Law Enforcement Officers
-Mercenaries sent from a rival medical corporation
-Roaming Weapon Merchants]
‘Wait, they have a character who sells guns and ammunition? That’s so cool. I want to be involved in this game.
[Your involvement is necessary but not as a player. As a Game Modifier you will be able to make small in-game adjustments to particular aspects of the game.]
‘So, I have the power to add a few more bullets for a player for free? Or add a few more guns. That would make a big difference to player survival.’
[Your role is not to aid players but to make a better-quality experience. If the game becomes too easy the restart will automatically occur.]
‘…I’m not quite sure if I get your meaning yet. Can you make it clearer to me?’.
[The tutorial's purpose is to create challenging and enjoyable scenarios for the player base. This data will then be factored into the future creation of scenarios for players.]
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
‘These players…I understand that in the tutorial
[Bio-Tech Outbreak Scenario Version 1.1 currently loading 2%...5%...8%...
-Main Structures loading
-Laboratory
-Law Enforcement Equipment
-Player Bonus Material Loaded
-Streets, roads, and lighting loading]
‘Hey PSIO, I understand the rest of what you’re preparing but what is player bonus material meant to be?’
[Players can have access to secret weapons, medical supplies, survival kits, and limited-time superpowers.]
‘All to make the players enjoy their experience?’
[Correct. The content will vary from game to game.]
If this was going to be a zombie-style game, then it was going to be filled with monstrous creatures that would be chasing me and looking to eat out of hunger or the desire of boredom. Usually, this type of game had become so popular that it had created a sort of red sun that became a black hole on my planet.
The more a genre produced and gained money than everyone would jump on it to try and make more cash and a successful game being involved in throwing a lot of money at would be MMO game developers for that genre, it had made my financial manager Zator go crazy that money was being lost in that area.
Hey, you have a new idea for a game. Yeah, go and make it right now. We’ll fund your efforts in return for your contracted labour on our other projects. Sounds good?
Thankfully, Zator was able to sign fixed-term contracts with the game developers, so they were able to work on their dream project for an estimated return and we then used their labour for free on additional projects that provided us with more funds. I was more a fan of spending the money than working out ways to make more, not that it was wasted by any means.
The bio-horror market had become supersaturated and everyone began to lose interest. On a planet filled with video games that were one market that began to fail due to the sheer weight of numbers.
[Bio-Tech Outbreak Scenario Version 1.1 loading 12%...15%....18%
-Main structures completing
-Streets, roads, and lighting load.
-Removal of animal species
-Searching for new players.]
‘New players? Hey PSIO, am I not going to participate in this game?’
[Starter Modifier Mistress, please clarify your meaning. You are participating as a Mistress of Games or an MMO Mistress. If you prefer.]
‘I was told that you could explain specific questions. There was a whole list and everything.’
[Apologies. An error caused a system restart. Data has been corrupted.]
‘Did you lose the data that you agreed to send me back home, so I didn’t have to face this weird new universe?’
[Apologies again. An unknown error caused a system restart. Data has been corrupted.]
‘Hey PSIO, forget about it. Broken is broken. I’m participating in this zombie world as a competitor so I can be a zombie horde leader. I get to be in charge of hundreds of brain-dead minions and make them chase down the survivors who are trying to struggle to survive. That does sound fun. Would that make me a final boss as Mistress of the game?’.
[Starter Modifier Mistress is in charge of the progress and satisfaction of the game. This includes MMO and other styles of video games.]
‘Nah, I don’t like the idea of that. Why should I make the game flow smoothly for random players?’.
[Players will be classified as different types in-game. Limited intelligence agents are used for player actions during tutorial stages. The difficulty of players will depend on the stage.]
‘You mean they’re not sentient players who’ve been soul transferred as I have?’
[Tutorial Players are part of the system to offer further insight for New Mistress of Games. All of the relevant information should be transferred during the Chorus Process.]
‘Fine. Can you provide me with a reason for participating in this VidGame Universe version whatever? How about I just don’t join in the tutorial and watch.’
[If you choose not to participate immediate dispersion is applicable.]
‘That means that you’re trying to make me do something against my will through the threat of death. That is not a solution to all problems. What if I fail the tutorial or make too many errors during the process?’
[Basic level punishment is to retake the tutorial stage. Scenario Version 1.1 will become 1.2]
‘You mean that I need to retake the same level? That…sounds rather boring.’
[Punishment Level is an alternative.]
‘I’d be more than happy to retake a failed tutorial level sure. This sounds like a prison where I’m paying for my past sins.’
[Retaking level is a prerogative before passing the next tutorial stage.]
‘Fine. I’m going to take your challenge and take on this whole VidGame Universe. I’ll get to the point where I’m going to deal with all these worlds easily. Rather than video games, I’m going to %Error’.
[System Error…please wait. Correction necessary.]
‘Why did you just stop me speaking then? It felt like everything froze.’
[System Corrected. Progressing with tutorial instruction.]
[Bio-Outbreak Version 1.1 currently loading 56%...67%…
-Biological outbreak introduced to native populations
-Sourcing NPC characters for setting
-Players' character allocation sourced
-Establishing Survival Mechanical System
-Society Initial Breakdown Effect Introduced
-Survivor Crafting System Enabled]
‘Can’t I just skip this and get to the good stuff?’
[Scale of World requires development time from the system. This is an initial tutorial world, so the time needed is shorter.]
‘Is there anything I can do to facilitate the development to save some time? How about shortening the process?’
[Shortcuts lead to errors. Mistress of Games is meant to facilitate the process of creation to make it the best quality.]
‘…Please don’t say that crunch time is a thing here.’
[Unclear…processing…processing term…]
‘Please don’t say that I’ve broken you. So why can’t you take a shortcut exactly?’
[Processing…Crunch Time. Terminology Understood. Not a valid application of resources.]
‘I’m quite happy to hear that then.’
[Bio-Outbreak Version 1.1 currently loading 88%...92%...]
‘I’d like to pause the world development for a moment. Surely, as a new Modifier Mistress, I should have some form of input as this is a tutorial mode correct?’.
[New Mistress of Games can pause and inspect the pre-development process.]
‘Great! First, I want to pull up my character profile. At least give me an idea again of what powers I possess. Like, shooting fireballs from my fingertips.’
[Power set not presently available.]
‘Yeah, but it sounds cool to me. It would be even better if I could progress to shooting stars from my fingers. Then I would truly be a destroyer of worlds. I think I’m starting to get broken a little bit. Are you sure this isn’t some weird dream, and I can just wake up and go back to my life?’
[Do you want to pause and inspect the pre-development of Bio-Outbreak Version 1.1?]
‘I’m going to go with yes for that one. I feel the need to walk around and do something rather than keep talking with a disembodied voice that is remarkably like an artificial construct. Go ahead and pause development and let me inspect the setting. Just leave the zombies on hold for the moment.’
[Bio-Outbreak Version 1.1 is currently paused. Loading is no longer in production. Setting ready for pre-evaluation. Loaded at 96%.]
I then stood up from sitting down for so long and began to explore the bio-horror apocalypse. Or at least some video game world variant of it. Was I immune to all the attacks then, if I got bitten by an infected creature then…?
Walking around an abandoned city, well semi-abandoned if you counted all the creatures and survivors yet to be turned into undead biological death machines, was a refreshing experience.
It turned out that the whole tutorial stage that was blank white could be turned into other areas with relative ease. Made a big change from emptiness but once this whole first tutorial stage I’d go back to blank boredom.
Unless I found a way to start breaking things with the cracked lightning filling the sky. That had been an interesting experience, to say the least.
‘PSIO, you still there?’
[New Game Mistress, PSIO is currently pausing Bio-Out Break 1.1. This has resulted in far less spare energy capacity. Limited conversation available.]
‘I’m not a Mistress, get your facts straight. No way, you’re going to call me Mistress either. Call me Lottie or shut up and get out of my face. By the way, have we started yet? This is getting boring.’