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System- Narrative idea

Started by Rusvul, May 31, 2014, 12:10:26 AM

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Rusvul

Hello! So, I've recently found my computer to be... less than satisfactory... and I've been throwing around a few ideas on ways I could earn some money doing things that are interesting and not stupid. Mowing lawns is not interesting. Completely unoriginal things are stupid.

Anyway, one of my ideas has been to write a book. I doubt I could get a big publishing company to publish a book written by me, of course, but it's entirely possible that I could do something a little... Easier. I've heard it's fairly simple to publish a book on Kindle. Anyway, yeah.

So, my idea is as follows. There's this guy in a video-game-like program, but everything around him is physically real. The game is very much like any RPG you might play- It has a level system, different zones, the like.

But he's trapped. Ooh, and maybe he doesn't know it's a game. That'd be neat.

As he progresses, he encounters challenges and trials, both physical and mental. He has to make his way through them, of course. But what's unique- Sometimes he doesn't. On multiple occasions, he will get stabbed to death, hurled into an abyss, crushed under boulders, poisoned, and murdered. You get the idea. But the System doesn't want that to happen. Like any good RPG, it respawns him. At the moment he's about to die, it zips his conciousness backwards through time into his former body. It deletes all of the files concerning what came afterwards, and he is free to try the puzzle again.

But there'd be another twist- He's too smart for the System. He's noticing abnormalities in the program- At first, it's small things, such as the 'Fireball' spell having an unexplained name shift to 'Fireblast.' But they become larger and larger errors- Some things are referenced without any context. Some characters experience rapid and unexplained personality changes, far outside of what a normal human might. At this point, he begins to realize something's off, maybe this fantasy world isn't what it seems. But as he silences his fears, the errors increase. Perhaps something happened like the total genocide of the Elven race, only for the next zone to be the completely intact Elven capital- Something drastic and unexplained like that, I don't really know. But then everything goes dark, and a voice might call out to him, saying something like 'Error. The System has run out of memory. Please contact an Administrator for assistance. Error. The System has run out of memory. Please...' 

And then he'd start some kind of adventure around the sci-fi facility in which his Program was created and run. The cause of the memory error would be something like him progressing too fast for the System to create new zones for him, and thus the content is riddled with conspicuous errors.

Hmm... I'm considering an amusing plot twist at the end...  Should I tell you? I'll tell you.

After his adventure through the System's workings, the computer gives him another message. 'Error. The System has run out of memory. Please contact an Administrator for assistance. Error...' and everything fades to black.


Thoughts? I just wanted to run this by you guys. The most helpful thing is honesty- I'm not attached, I won't be offended if you say you think it's a dumb idea :)

Jetthebinturong

That is quite possibly the best and most original idea for a book I have read in a long time
"In the meantime, no one should roam the camp alone. Use the buddy system."
"Understood." Will looked at Nico. "Will you be my buddy?"
"You're a dork," Nico announced.
~ The Hidden Oracle, Rick Riordan

Amarith Waterspring

That would be SO COOL!!!!!!! ;D
Rosie is weird,
Violets are weirder,
I can't rhyme,
Potato.

Rainshadow

  I would definitely buy that book.
If you're interested in my art or keeping in touch, I'm active on DeviantArt and Instagram!

Blazemane

That sounds really good! Plots tend to change as authors go through the writing of them, so what you have here might not stay exactly the way it is, but this is a really imaginative idea to get to work with.

Rusvul

Why thank you! Originality is something that is important to me, I don't want to do something that's been done before. And yeah, I'm sure the plot would vary depending on what made sense. Of course. :P

Blaggut

It reminds me of a book...

In it there's this kid inside a game. Everyday he goes into his virtual relay thing, like every other kid does, and basically plays the vast mini games. Then an evil team of hackers is trying to keep people inside the game. Forever. So this kid and his friends have to save it...

And it also has a twist ending. The advertisement for the final stage of the game, where only the elite can go, is not an advertisement. It's a LABEL. In the final stage, you don't even know its a game. And he finds out, he's in the final stage...

~Just a soft space boi~

Wylder Treejumper

Good idea! Executed carefully, it would be very good. If you need help publishing it, I can possibly help you. I am an author myself (though unpublished as of yet), and president of the local Young Author's Club, so, I have a bit of experience.

Be warned: As a first-time author, do not publish for money. Being an author is not a well-paying job. Unless you are a J. K. Rowling level, previously published best-selling author, you will not make a lot of money.
"'Tis the business of small minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death."
-Thomas Paine

"Integrity and firmness is all I can promise; these, be the voyage long or short, shall never forsake me although I may be deserted by all men."
-George Washington

Courage: Not only the willingness to die manfully, but also the determination to live decently.

Romsca

At first. Through careful marketing and finding good agents and such, you would probably be able to at least get your books in a ton of bookstores, maybe even in stores across your country. Now whether they would actually sell is a different matter entirely, unfortunately. I would buy your book though :) I like to support young, first-time authors (like I will hopefully be some day)

Rusvul

As I said, I would likely sell (At least at first) via some type of digital... Digitality. YesIknowthatisn'tawordshutupitisnow. But perhaps if I deem it worthy of mass-selling :P

Oh, and I don't need to make a lot of money. Keep in mind, I don't need to feed myself, or pay for a place to live. No, I'm thirteen. Don't quite need to do that yet. Really, part of the reason a new computer is helpful is because a powerful machine can open up several career paths. Also, I want to play WildStar. And modded Minecraft at more than 25 FPS on minimal settings. And really other things. I WANT TO PLAY ALL THE GAMES!

...No. No, I really don't. I don't need to play 'FootLOL Epic Fail League.' Don't look it up, it's awful.

The Skarzs

Not bad. ;)
Something that could make your book unique and enjoyable to read is putting into character dialogue some things that you, and your friends, would say. The way you put things sometimes are funny and unique. For instance. . .

Quote from: rusvulthesaber on June 03, 2014, 04:28:34 AM
As I said, I would likely sell (At least at first) via some type of digital... Digitality. YesIknowthatisn'tawordshutupitisnow.
These random things would bring interest to the reader, and attract younger readers who might be able to relate to such silly spouts of words that they make up on the spot.
Cave of Skarzs

Cave potato.