“So how do you propose overcoming those limitations?”
“By putting what I want to say into words first, and then allowing those words to bloom on the screen. The people who really want to succeed at this game, and who really want to learn what I’m trying to teach them will stop looking for ‘epic loots’ and particle effects for a few hours and really study what we are trying to accomplish here. When they do, they’ll discover a world so far beyond the average video game experience they will have literally entered another world. A world of their own making.”
“Are you saying there’s another game hidden inside Kings and Conquests?”
“I’m saying Kings and Conquests can be looked at from one of two standpoints. Either all you want to do is level up, or you want to approach the game with a sincere sense of wonder and discovery. In the former case, the game world is going to be a very unfriendly place. You may succeed after a fashion, but you’ll need every ounce of patience and dedication you can muster. On the other hand, if you are inclined to give the latter possibility a chance, you’ll find the game is more than just a series of boss fights. All you need to do is spend a little time thinking, a little time reading and a little time being patient, and you’ll find the game will reward you, just like real life.”
“Thanks for being our guest, Mr. Wyland.”
Jordan wasn’t watching when the interviewer signed off. He was eyeing the enormous book at the opposite end of his desk. Perhaps Wyland was right? Maybe he and the No-Name Guild were going about this all wrong?
Chapter Seventeen
A more defeated group of people Jordan Hall had rarely seen. Amy, Dave, Robb and Marc were gathered around the big empty table, but were all sitting in various forms of the same passive aggressive slumped position indicating they weren’t likely to listen to or believe anything said by anyone who wasn’t there to endorse their conclusions that the world was in fact an unfair place and any attempt to overcome that fact was pointless.
Jordan quietly set the huge leather-bound book on the table and took his seat.
“Robb was right.”
None of the others looked like they had heard Jordan’s statement. Finally Amy spoke up.
“About what?”
“We were missing something.” Jordan opened to a bookmarked page roughly halfway through the volume. “This book is called ‘The Conquests of the King.’ The first half is full of stat tables, pictures of weird creatures and all the epic items anyone could possibly want from ten games, much less one.”
“So what? Epic items don’t matter to someone who lives about six minutes before being horribly mangled,” Dave said.
“Well, we fell right in to the trap,” Jordan said. “We figured we had learned everything there was to know about this game after reading half the book, and we were wrong. We thought we were hot shit video game experts. We were wrong. There’s two halves to this book, and there’s the other half of the game. The reason we got our asses kicked is because we rushed in without stopping first to read the instructions.”
“Nobody reads the instructions,” Amy said in a tired voice.
“And that’s why everyone is still level one–” Jordan replied.
“Dude, are you going to start making sense at some point this morning?” Dave asked, annoyance creeping into his tone. “Because if not, I propose we adjourn to the donut shop so I can get some coffee!”
“–except me.”
“Except you, what?” Robb asked.
“I dinged level two this morning. It was about 4AM. World first.” Jordan said. That got a few reactions.
Marc sat up. “You survived that bloodbath in the starting area?”
“I didn’t go to the starting area. I found out we have a choice of starting areas. They are triggered by your character history. You know, that part we all left blank all day yesterday? The boring part that doesn’t help us get fat lootz by noon? The part that requires reading and patience and thinking? That part that nobody cares about because we gotta fill dem pockets with epix?”
The expression on Robb’s face made Jordan think he was about to make a rude gesture. Jordan took a deep breath.
“Your character history, as it happens, determines just about everything about where and how you start in the game. Oh, and about the starting area? Some guy got a historical achievement for the most spectacular death yesterday. Got run-through by three swords at once. Scored seven achievement points. His character name is memorialized in the magistrate’s office in Gilmor.”
“The whole game is a troll,” Marc muttered.
“So where did you start?” Amy asked.
“In the village, where there is no bloodbath because there are guards with swords and flails who will beat you into a mud puddle if you act up. When I really sat down and worked out a realistic history for my character, it unlocked a whole other layer of options, from skills, to instincts, to learned traits from other races. My ancestry took it a step further. It fleshed out my character stats, and gave me bonuses that could be triggered by different encounters in the game. My character can read three languages now. I have a path to alchemy and exotic cooking skills that other options I chose would have blocked before. I spent hours letting the game lead me down one path after another. Building this character and telling his story is the most fun I’ve had playing a video game in years. I almost forgot about the whole Safekeep quest. I can aspire to become a royal advisor at higher levels. If I play my character right, I will march on Safekeep with an army.”
The others looked stunned, but Jordan did notice their gazes were filled with a hunger for the experience he had just described. They wanted to see it all and experience it all. It was understandable. They had been hearing stories of what was in store in Fairly Unusual’s realm for a long time.
“So I propose we take Dave up on his proposal, and then slow the blank down for Day Two. Let’s all build some really good characters and see if we can get something out of this game instead of just more stuff.”
There was general nodding and agreement. The crew and host of No-Name Games headed for the donut shop with new-found enthusiasm for their quest. Maybe this time things would be different.
Chapter Eighteen
“You were delivered exactly what your contribution entitles you to. No more, no less.”
“Mr. Coogan, this game launch has been a shitshow from day one.”
“We didn’t write you a warranty against a shitshow, Mr. Yancy,” one of Coogan’s attorneys replied.
“I shelled out one hundred large for a Founder’s Account, and now I’m reading story after story about how your game is impossible to play! How the hell am I supposed to enjoy playing Kings and Conquests if I get clobbered every time I log on?”
To say the 19th floor of the Hamilton, Baker, Shoepfen and Katz building had a lot of glass in it would likely have elicited a few giggles from the administrative assistants in the firm’s main conference room. Every wall and door was inch-thick, transparent, spotless and soundproof.
Docket number 4D-70871 in and for the federal court for the Eastern District of New York was the subject of the day, and no fewer than sixteen attorneys, clients, transcriptionists and paralegals had gathered for a politely suggested pre-trial conference between a coalition of nine contributors to the Frosty Cat crowdfunding campaign and management representatives of Fairly Unusual Games.
“The game is designed to be a challenge, Mr. Yancy. If we make it too easy, players will complain there’s no contest,” Brace Coogan replied politely. After Wyland had passed away, Coogan was named acting Chief Executive by the Fairly Unusual Board of Directors. His first act was to, in the words of the law firm FUG had retained, “seek protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States code.” In other words, Fairly Unusual Games had followed one of the most mystical game launches in history with an immediate declaration of bankruptcy.
“Your reasonable answers would be much more credible if you weren’t
hiding behind twelve shell corporations, Mr. Coogan.”
“Your protestations about game features would be equally more credible if you weren’t simply shopping for a taller box to stand on while you bitch, Mr. Yancy.”
“I’m going to take this whole company down, Coogan. I’m going to own it all. Not a single word that came from your mouth during the run-up to this pile of excrement was true. Not a word.”
“All gamers do is bitch, Mr. Yancy. That is literally all you do. You bitch about price. You bitch about the graphics. You bitch about the features. You bitch about downloadable content. Free or paid, it doesn’t matter. You bitch and you bitch and you bitch and you seem to think that creates some level of obligation on our part,” Coogan replied, leaning forward to emphasize his next words.
“But here’s the problem. In a court of law, bitching isn’t compelling evidence. My attorneys will stand up in front of a jury and explain in excruciating detail how we delivered each and every last thing you were promised when you made your contribution. We didn’t promise you a rose garden. We didn’t promise you happiness, contentment, fame, fortune, mermaids, steak dinners or hot and cold running chicks. We delivered you a set of goods and services exactly matching what we promised the day you wrote the check. You don’t have a case.”
Yancy’s attorney fidgeted in her seat as her client leaned forward to lock gazes with Coogan.
“Fairly Unusual is bankrupt. Do you honestly think any jury on Earth is going to take the word of a man standing tall on the bridge of a sinking ship?”
“Yancy, I’m going to tell you a secret. Feel free to do with this information whatever you like. Kings and Conquests is about to reach the 96 hours live mark. Do you have any idea how much we’ve made over and above all revenue earned prior to two days ago? Do you want to know what our projections are for month one, or quarter one? We’re going to emerge from bankruptcy in about two weeks, not because we came up with some brilliant plan, but because we won’t owe anyone a dime. Fairly Unusual Games will be debt-free for the first time in eight years. And you know what else? I’m fully prepared to spend every cent of that cash hiring lawyers to drag your case out to the point where you won’t be able to stand it any more.” Coogan smiled and his face scrunched up in that particular way only his face could.
“You filed this bankruptcy just so you could avoid facing your contributors.”
“We asked Judge Overbeck for an opportunity to produce a plan to emerge from bankruptcy. That plan will be complete by the weekend. This may turn out to be the shortest Chapter 11 in U.S. history. That shouldn’t surprise anyone, considering by then we will have broken industry records on four continents.”
“See you in court, Coogan.”
“In about two years, Mr. Yancy. Enjoy the game.”
Chapter Nineteen
It had been an hour since the No-Name Guild had reconvened and taken a more measured approach to trying to understand Kings and Conquests. The new world that had blossomed before them was, in a word, breathtaking. Amy was first to take a risk and actually try to play a human character despite her better instincts. She had chosen a human female, and named her Arianne.
It wasn’t until the game asked where Arianne was from that the group began to see all the possibilities. Each option produced new imagery. The high grasslands of a southern region of the realm called Dayshire showed a soaring scene of Arianne riding a dappled horse through a verdant field. She was the third daughter of a horse trainer and retired cavalry leader. It turned out Arianne was the only one of the man’s five children to have taken to befriending and riding the horses he bred for the noble houses.
The other four watched as Amy considered her options. Was Arianne on good terms with her parents? If she chose to defy them, skills like subterfuge, manipulation and hostile diplomacy inched up. If she chose to be their loyal and loving daughter, traits and characteristics like honesty, self-sacrifice and honor rose instead. Amy found her character had journeyman level skills in horsemanship and even an elementary skill in mounted combat.
Arianne’s paternal grandfather was lost, but known to be a resourceful man and a smuggler. Four short-term quests and two long-term quest chains appeared in Arianne’s adventuring journal as she confirmed these facts. Amy gave her new character skills like appraisal of unusual items, disguise and practical healing. Arianne was also discovered to be wanted by magistrates in a place called “Threelands” in an adjacent kingdom. This activated an epic quest.
Amy considered making her maternal grandmother royalty, but when she saw it would make Arianne a target for dozens of small and annoying factions, she avoided all the noble options. She wanted a free spirit: A girl with formidable skill who was not only capable but likely to travel far and wide and use her experiences to make herself stronger and more resourceful.
When all had been said and done, the game rewarded Arianne with a two-year-old colt, a fairly expensive-looking saddle and the name and location of a stablemaster who had already agreed to groom and house the animal at minimal cost in exchange for occasional help tracking down lost animals and their semi-honest riders.
Arianne appeared in game working in the stables near the well-kept grounds of an ivy-covered stone mansion called Briarlane Abbey. She was rewarded with her week’s wages of two silver monarchs and presented with two daily quests. One was to ride the perimeter of the stable grounds and inspect the fences, gates and open areas for unwelcome guests. The other was to ride to Sunshire and check the prices for feed, grain, supplies and orchard leftovers. If she was able to beat the stablemasters strike price, she was entitled to one quarter of the total difference.
“Okay, let’s see a summary of all this. Bring up your character stats,” Marc said.
Amy switched from screen to screen. Finally a 3D avatar of a formidable-looking and more than attractive young woman appeared. She wore leather, finely spun linen and wool, and a field hand’s hat tilted at a jaunty angle. Her hair was done up in an appropriately long ponytail, and she was armed with a finely crafted knife.
“Might 48, Brilliance 58, Insight 70, Charm 61, Quickness 60, Will 65. What are the possible ranges of these values?” Dave asked.
“Eighty points for the first few levels,” Jordan replied. The lowest possible value is 19. The highest is currently 102. It looks like it is possible to exceed either range through extraordinary effects like magic or injury.”
“Why such weird limits? 19? 102? Why not 20 to 100?” Robb asked.
Amy shrugged. “Maybe that will become clear later.”
“Did you roll those numbers or were they selected for you?” Robb added.
“They were randomly selected for me. Horsemanship gave me a Quickness bonus. Self-sacrifice and honesty both gave me Will bonuses. I was allowed to redistribute 12 points because of my Will being higher than 60, so I pulled six from Might and six from Brilliance and added them to Insight. That put me over the minimum for acquiring the advanced skill of sensing danger when I get to level ten.”
“It seems like everything in this game is part of a process of discovery. Each decision interlocks with the others. Remember the big disagreement at Supercon? Everyone said the min-maxers would have this all figured out by the following weekend?” Jordan said reclining and noodling the mouse around on his own character options screen.
“Emergent properties,” Dave said.
“Say again?” Marc asked, grabbing a slice of the all-ingredients special pizza the team had ordered for lunch.
“It seems to me this whole thing is a series of emergent properties. Like procs on a weapon that achieves something and gains a special power because of it. When we put the right combination of numbers together, the character ‘procs’ a special ability, which can then be re-applied to the original options. It really is a clever way to do character selection.”
“You do realize what this means, right?” Robb asked.
Jordan raised an eyebrow. “What.”
“It means get
ting to the Safekeep may not be a simple matter of powering up to level 75. It might be a simple matter of thinking and understanding what Wyland was trying to do.”
“That sounds like another Internet weirdo theory,” Amy said as she guided Arianne to town for her first feed purchase.
“Not so fast there, horse girl,” Robb replied. “This is a guy who spent almost a half a billion dollars trying to prove a point. What was it? If we look at his earliest remarks about this game and compare them with his pre-release interviews, it looks and sounds like two different people. He went from raging money-grabbing douchebag to a reflective and some might say humbled man over the course of those two years. If we figure out what happened and what changed him, we might stumble on a big clue as to how to get to Safekeep first.”
Chapter Twenty
“Okay! Okay! We get it! Just tell me what happened without all the language!” Kacey shouted. Never before had the Questing Heart audience been subjected to so much invective in so few words.
“The game replied to one of my posts on Orbit’s! I posted that everything happening to us in the starting areas was unfair and the monsters were overpowered. And then I got a reply this morning from one of the monsters I almost killed yesterday. It said if I came back to Wallowbog, they would target me first!”
“Let me get this right, Epicks. You think Kings and Conquests itself, or one of the creatures in the game itself replied to you on a public message board and threatened your character by name?” Kacey asked, struggling to believe she even sounded like she was taking any of it seriously.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
The Questing Heart chat room was going completely off the rails. The Blibber social media feed for Questing Heart’s account was being deluged with what other accounts could only describe as a “monkey cage jailbreak.”
Overpowered: A LitRPG Thriller (Kings and Conquests Book 1) Page 7
