NOVEL WEB 1.1: New Game!
When the Immersitech N-Vision Fully Immersive Gaming System was developed, it dramatically changed gaming forever. No longer would virtual reality feel like you were wearing a headset and using any sort of controllers. It felt like you were actually there in every aspect. The N-Vision used technology to simulate all five senses. It could even incept emotions into its user while playing the game. After quite a few mishaps from other companies using tech that interacted with our nervous system, with results not dissimilar to quite a few television shows or animes, N-Vision became the only gaming system on the market. While other gaming companies still opted to make tech that worked with the N-Vision, no longer did they compete to be the top system.
By far the most unique feature of the system was its ability to register users' synaptic pattern so that their system could only be accessed by them. While other users could use the same system, it required the original person registered to allow access. This type of pattern recognition was useful in many ways, it prevented theft, it prevented minors from accessing any content they weren’t allowed to, and it adapted its user interface to the person’s needs the more they played.
Because game companies didn't have to worry about tailoring to different consoles, they were able to focus on putting out the best content possible. Putting a spin on the classic Angels versus Demons, Holy Damnation was just one of the many amazing games to make its debut at the video game con in California. Its claim to fame that captivated gamers around the world was that it was the most customizable RPG ever created. Even though it was released by a company who was previously known for creating some truly awful games, the trailer and interactive demo that people were able to play at various shows made it quickly become the most anticipated game release ever. The demo showed off how players could fully customize their character’s class, skills, weapons, and pretty much everything you could think of. As long as you worked within the very liberal confines of the game mechanics, anything was possible. The world was supposedly endless, using an algorithm that generated more and more data that fully interacted with the players. Entire levels would spawn in response to a character making a discovery of a hidden tunnel. It used cutting edge AI technology that made the enemies and NPCs seem almost lifelike.. The sheer amount of content that was shown to the public through trailers and the demo would already amount to thousands of hours of gameplay, so if the world was truly endless, it would be something people could play for as long as they wanted and never run out of new content.
As soon as I played the demo I knew I had to have the game. I went to my game store that same day and put down the hefty $800 for the Complete Collector’s Edition. All I had to do was wait the entire 14 months until the game finally came out. I am not a patient person, and the closer it came to the release date, the more eager to play the game I became. Finally, the long awaited day arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that one perks of getting the Complete Collector’s Edition was that the game was hand delivered by the company’s custom vans that were decked out with images from the game. After carefully opening everything I finally pulled the small hard plastic case out of its wrapper and opened it up. The smell of processed plastic and silicone filled my nose and I felt goosebumps race up and down my skin from that “new game” scent. I raced across my house and pressed the side of my a6750’s (custom designed headset for the N-Vision), popped the game in, and eased myself onto my bed. I had to take several deep breaths to contain my excitement as I pressed a switch on the side of the headset and pulled it down over my eyes.
Blasts of light and swirls of color danced in front of my vision as scenes of a massive battle came into view. A huge grin spread across my face as I watched armored angels and demons clashing in a violent combat. Some rode atop enormous creatures I'd never seen before, while others hurled spells of fire, ice, and everything else into the fray. Massive arcane cannons exploded as they fired and I watched the projectiles violently leave devastating paths of destruction. Finally the camera zoomed in on what I assumed to be a general of the demon army. She sneered and pulled out a small flaming hand crossbow and fired a shot directly at me. The screen exploded around me and then faded to black.
Light and Darkness are two sides of the same coin. Neither can exist without the other, yet they are always competing for control.
In an effort to fill their dwindling ranks, angels and demons have bred with what remains of humanity to create half-breed offspring. These Angelspawn and Demonspawn may not have all of the inhuman capabilities of their parents, but they still have the potential to tip the balance of power for either side.
As one of these offspring, you will have the freedom to choose how you will proceed. Will you follow your parentage and bring glory to the forces of light or darkness? Or will you ignore your lineage and forge your own path? No matter your choice, just know that each and every decision will shape and define you both inside and out.
Despite having watched this scene multiple times while playing the demo, I was still giddy to see the epic intro again. A menu appeared, and I clicked on the ‘Begin’ button. During the demo we were only allowed to play a premade male or female Demonspawn character; so when the screen to choose sides appeared, I was ecstatic. When I chose Angelspawn, a small white orb appeared in front of me.
“Greetings AllieCat17, my name is Mercy. I’ll be your guide throughout your character creation process. Even if you already have a plan for exactly what you want your character to look like and be able to do, I will just make the process that much faster. Before we begin, do you have any questions for me?”
I thought for a moment and shook my head.
“Excellent! One last thing before we get started; Holy Damnation contains a vast amount of adult content, including but not limited to full nudity, simulated sexual intercourse with both in-game characters and other players, and the potential for extreme violence and gore. Playing with this content is entirely optional and choosing to not do so will not reduce or restrict gameplay in any way. In order to enable or disable all of the aforementioned content, I am required to have your verbal authorization to do so.”
While I personally wasn’t invested in partaking in any of the ‘simulated sexual intercourse’ I wasn’t opposed to enabling it just to have the ‘complete experience.’
“You can enable it all, Mercy.”
“Wonderful! With that settled, let’s get started!”
The screen changed and a blank outline of a character appeared behind Mercy.
“Let’s start with the basics; are you male, female, or non-binary?”
I was happy to see that the game had this level of inclusion to include non-binary genders. I knew the company had made a commitment to being fully accepting of any potential players, and it was good to see they had followed through with that promise.
Despite being a girl who stood 5'2, and weighed 110 pounds soaking wet; I tended to gravitate towards playing mountainous male characters. I considered it ironic to be the ‘reverse stereotype.’ Instead of a large middle-aged man playing a gorgeous petite female character, I was the opposite. Beyond that… most female characters tended to attract attention; and I considered myself a solo player.
But… something about this particular game called to me in a way that no other had to me before in a way I couldn't explain… so… before I even realized what I had said, the words had tumbled out of my mouth
“Female.”
The body behind her shifted to a more feminine form, standing a little taller than me with roughly the same body proportions.
“Do your primary sexual characteristics match your gender? In other words-”
“I know what that means, Mercy. And yes, they do.”
Again, I was pleased at the inclusion of trans people and the making that option available. It was one thing to say you were accepting and tolerant of everyone, but it really showed the dedication of the game designers to make the game as inclusive for everyone as possible.
My eyes widened as a fully formed pair of breasts and a vagina appeared on my character. I had enabled the adult content, but I hadn’t been totally prepared for it to be so… lifelike. I made note of the size of my character's breasts… and sighed… As hers were slightly bigger than mine in real life.
“Everything look OK so far?”
I nodded and Mercy changed the screen.
“Let’s go over body proportions. How tall are you? You have the option to be as short as 4’0 or as tall as 8’5.”
“Whoa, that’s a large margin… ummm…”
I thought for a moment and considered making my character the tallest height possible, but again, something made me unconsciously gravitate towards making a decision that I normally wouldn't have.
“Can you make her the same height as me?”
I know I'm short, but the idea of playing a tiny angel character and being able to take down enemies who were likely gonna be at least 3 times my height was amusing as hell. After watching my character shrink slightly in size to match my own height, I looked back at Mercy to continue.
“You have the option to alter your character’s physique; are you slim, athletic, or muscular. If those options are not detailed enough, I can give you more choices as well.”
“That won’t be necessary, Mercy. Let’s go with an athletic physique.”
Well-defined muscles rippled over my character, and she flexed one of her arms as if she was showing off for me. Her bicep bulged and I rolled my eyes at the display. She relaxed and Mercy continued. The screen zoomed in and focused on my character’s currently blank face.
“From here, you can pick and choose various parts of your face and alter each one as you see fit, or you can pick from several templates and alter from that point. Or you can list someone famous you’d like to look like, and adjust to your liking if you’d prefer to go that route.”
I thought for a moment and shrugged.
“Can you just make her look like me?”
My character immediately shifted and her face became an exact look-alike of my own. I tweaked a few things, but otherwise kept her pretty much the same. I kept my same complexion, but instead chose long blonde shoulder length hair instead of my normal dark brown. As I finished the character creation process, my screen shifted and instead of looking at my character, I was now looking through her eyes. Mercy appeared back in front of me and glowed brightly.
“I see from your gaming history that you played the demo and beat the boss at the end of it. Be sure to check your mailbox for a gift from the company once you start your adventure.”
In front of me three menus appeared.
Path of Might, Path of the Arcane, Path of Command.
“Let’s move on to your character class and skill selection.”
“Each of the different paths directly ties to specific classes. The Path of Might is Warriors, Rogues, Barbarians, and any other class that doesn’t use magic or command spells. The Path of Arcane is spellcasters, healers, enchanters, and any other class that doesn’t rely on physical prowess or command spells. The Path of Command is Summoners, Spirit Mages, and any class that relies on summoned beings to fight or group effects. There are several classes that combine the Paths as well. Paladins are a combination of Might and Arcane, focusing on strong defense skills and healing spells. Necromancers combine Command and Magic spells to summon undead creatures and cast a variety of curses. It is possible to use classes already made, or create one of your own. I can also suggest classes that fit specific things you’re looking for that other players have made.
“Choosing classes that use more than one Path will limit the skills you will be able to learn later, but open up a broader array of abilities for you to use.”
I had a general idea of what I wanted to play before I had started, but hearing all the options available left me with way more possibilities than I had anticipated.
Part of me wanted to be a warrior and just focus on my physical skills, but I really liked the idea of being a summoner. After seeing the videos of the impressive display of magic skills, I also really wanted to be able to do something like that; so I was at a bit of a loss.
“Mercy, is it possible to make a class that combines all the Paths?”
The white orb bounced up and down in front of me as Mercy laughed.
“Absolutely! If you can come up with a class that uses all the Paths, you can play it. Did you have an idea in mind?”
“I want to play a paladin type character who also uses summoning spells.”
“Did you have any idea what your class is going to be called?”
“Uhhhh Shit. Hmmm… well… let’s go simple. How about Paladin Commander?”
The orb laughed again cheerfully and bounced rapidly.
“Sounds perfect! If you’re satisfied with your choice we can move on to skill selection.”
I nodded and the menus zoomed in slightly. Paladin Commander appeared over the top of the three menus, and I smiled at making the right choice.
“You are allowed to choose five 1st tier skills that you will start with. Once you have finished selecting, be aware that all selections are final. Which Path would you like to start with?”
“Might”
The Might Path zoomed in and showed a list of several available skills. On the right-hand side were weapon proficiencies, on the left were various abilities, and the middle had a short list of armor proficiencies. I knew that I wanted to stick with my idea of a Paladin type character, so I quickly chose [Sword and Shield Proficiency] as my first skill. In order to strongly bolster my defenses, I chose [Heavy Armor Proficiency].
“Mercy, that’s all the skills I want to choose from the Might Path. Can we switch over to the Command Path next? We’ll do the Arcane last.”
She (I assume it was a she, it was hard to tell with a feminine sounding glowing ball of light) bobbed up and down and the screen shifted. I read over the skills and chose [Summon Angel Warriors] and [Command Mastery], which increased the number of creatures I was able to summon and made them stronger. Mercy switched over to the Arcane Path when I nodded at her, and I looked at what I had available for my last skill choice. None of the spells seemed like something that I absolutely needed to start out with… so I went back to the Might Path and chose [Enhanced Shield Defenses], which increased my blocking abilities and the defense of any shields I equipped. I double checked everything and nodded in satisfaction.
“The only thing we need now to complete your character creation is a name. I have multiple lists if you need suggestions, or you can create your own.”
I had used the same character name for all my male characters in the various games I had played, so I was at a bit of a loss since I hadn't planned on making a female character. I thought for a moment and played with a few variations of my real name Allison, and eventually decided on something that felt good enough.
“Mercy, I’d like to be called Allessa.”
I know it wasn't the most creative choice of names, but it was the best I could come up with on the spot, and it was unique enough to be a fitting name for my partially angelic form. I typed it into the box that popped up in front of me and Mercy blinked a few times in response.
“Allessa, am I saying that correctly?”
I nodded my head and Mercy hovered close to me, swaying slowly back and forth.
“Before you finalize everything do you have any questions?”
I shook my head and everything except the glowing orb disappeared.
“Then it’s time for your journey to begin. Welcome to the world of Holy Damnation, Allessa; and good luck.”
The screen was filled with a blinding white light and I had to close my eyes to avoid hurting them. When I opened them after a few seconds, I was standing in what looked like a church. There were stained glass windows high above my head, and various angelic statues.
“Another new recruit?”
I turned to the sound of the voice behind me and had to crane my neck upwards to look an enormous angel in the face. He was easily over 12 feet tall and wore a bored expression on his face.
“Forgive my lack of enthusiasm, recruit. We just lost another platoon of angels and somehow my superiors think sending me hordes of Angelspawn will make up for my losses.”
I wrinkled my brow at the obvious insult, and he took note and raised his hands slightly.
“Forgive me, I meant no offense... I don’t question your abilities, but Angelspawn are unpredictable at best. I have lost countless numbers of them to corruption or superior opponents. But enough of my rambling. Let’s get you some gear; I don’t think you want to fight demons in your undergarments.”
He let out a long sigh and spun on one heel. His white armor looked like it had taken quite a beating and was chipped in various places. He walked out of the church quickly and led the way over to a large blacksmith’s shop. He faced me and reached into a pouch on his belt. He withdrew a small piece of paper with a symbol of a sword and shield on it and rested his hand on his hip.
“Give ‘em that to get your first set of armor and your first weapons. It won’t be much, but it’ll get you through until you find something better. Any questions before I head back to the Sanctuary?”
I shook my head and he turned wordlessly and walked off. I stood in place for a moment, still slightly stunned at my first interaction with one of the non-player characters (NPCs). I took a moment to familiarize myself with everything on my heads-up display, making special note of a long meter labeled Corruption Meter at the bottom left. It was a gradient of a blue meter that faded to black the further left the line went. At the moment the meter was completely empty, and I had absolutely no idea what it was for, but I knew that at some point it would become relevant. Instead of taking time to delve deeper into it, I opted to give into my growing excitement and head over to the blacksmith so I could get to killin' stuff!
I walked into the blacksmith and was greeted by a stout human with a long red beard. His face was covered in soot, and he wore large heavy gloves. He set down a large pair of metal tongs he was holding and walked over to me. We chatted for a few moments, and I was glad that he was far friendlier than the NPC that first greeted me. He took the ticket from me and asked to see my character skill screen. I showed it to him, and he went into the back of his shop. When he returned, he had a large set of armor and a sword and shield in his arms. He went briefly over how to equip them, and I quickly did so. I looked in the mirror at myself and smiled. The armor was simple but would still provide adequate protection. I gave the sword a swing and moved my shield arm back and forth to get a feel for it. When I told the blacksmith that everything seemed to work well, he smiled at me and encouraged me to return when I needed more equipment or had things to sell.
I left the shop and checked my minimap of the town. I was about to head towards the exit when I remembered Mercy saying something about receiving a gift for playing the demo. I located the mailboxes and touched the screen on the closest one. I accepted all mail and opened the “package” in my inventory screen. The gift was enchantments for my weapons and armor that would take permanent effect once I activated them. Each enchantment would make each of my stats stronger, and I activated them and set out towards the exit.
Just before I stepped through the giant blue swirling portal, a screen popped up in front of me.
Thank you for playing Holy Damnation! We at Phantom Aria Games are excited you chose to adventure in our vast endless world. Thank you also for your contribution to making our demo the top played and most anticipated game of the year. We’re taking this moment to tell you about a major change from the demo version. Once you step through this portal you will encounter enemies that will attempt to injure and kill you if they are given the chance to do so. If your character dies, you will be revived at your designated Sanctuary at level 1 with only your class and race remaining the same. After 24 in-game hours your level will return to normal unless you die again, in which case the level drop will be permanent. We pride ourselves on delivering a challenging game experience that forces you to stay vigilant and protect your character’s life as if it were your own.
Now go kick some ass!