I had invited John and his friends Mark, Peter, Eric, and Adrian to my house. They had pitched an idea of starting a video game company to me, and I had accepted after seeing the demo they had made.
They were lacking an idea guy in the group, which they asked me to fill in. My plan was to guide them to make a game like Dark Souls, as I came to find out it did not exist here.
They were already talented. John and Mark were the programmers; Peter was the sound guy and had already done great work on the demo with limited resources; Eric designed the game mechanics and could easily do it with me describing Dark Souls' gameplay to him; and finally, Adrian, the level designer, who, like Eric, I was sure could replicate the levels from the game.
I had tried to remember as much as I could of the game and had written it all down. I knew the complete story, but some parts of the game were blurry in my mind.
"Maybe it was all the rage I felt from dying," I thought, smiling at the fond memories of playing the game. It helped a lot in a dark period of my previous life.
As they entered, Mark, Peter, Eric, and Adrian looked around in awe of the spacious, elegantly decorated interior.
"This place is huge," Adrian said, looking around with wide eyes.
"Of course it is," John replied with a smile.
I led them to the living room, where I had refreshments ready.
Peter, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, "Is the final Percy Jackson book done?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"Please tell me Annabeth ends up with Percy," Peter pleaded.
"That would be spoilers, my friend," I replied with a grin.
"Come on, I mean, I am not going to tell. I have so many theories," Peter said, looking eager.
John came over and gently steered Peter away. I laughed as Peter continued to shout his theories at me while John dragged him away.
"I'm going to get the drinks. You guys dig in," I said, pointing to the assortment of snacks on the table—chips, dips, cookies, and fruit platters.
The kitchen was modern and sleek, with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. As I started taking the drinks out of the refrigerator, John came over to help.
"The guys can be a bit embarrassing," John said, looking a bit sheepish.
"John, they are nice guys. I like them. Just let them be themselves," I reassured him.
John smiled, relieved, and helped me carry the drinks back to the living room. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, with everyone chatting and enjoying the snacks.
We talked for a while, mostly about my new comic book and the acquisition of Nebula by Stardust. It was good to see that there was a buzz around the acquisition, something I didn't expect.
"So, what's the plan with Nebula?" Mark asked, leaning forward with interest.
I shrugged slightly, trying to keep things vague. "Well, we're still working out the details."
Peter chimed in, "Please erase the current continuity."
"That's definitely on the table," I replied. The current state of DC Comics was bad; the storylines were awful. The first thing I asked Buddy to do after the merger was to fire the old writers and change everything.
Adrian looked intrigued. "Now that the new Ironman movie is coming, will you make a Superman movie or, better yet, a Batman one?"
"I can't say anything about that now."
John, sensing my discomfort, jumped in to change the subject. "What about your new comic book, Daniel? How's that coming along?"
"It's going well," I said, grateful for the diversion. "I'm really excited about it."
"Oh, I love Invincible," Peter said. "How could I forget I was planning to ask something about it."
"I like it too. We need more superheroes named Mark," Mark said.
Peter took out the latest issue of the comic from his bag and asked, "Now that issue 3 is out, will the coming issues be focused on Omni-Man and Mark?" He had a grin on his face, clearly excited about the characters.
"I like the Guardians of the Globe. They are like a knock-off Justice League," Peter added.
I couldn't help but smile back. "Wait for issue 7," I said with a knowing smile.
"What happens in issue 7?" Peter asked, leaning in with anticipation.
"Trust me, Pete," John said, who already knew the entire story. "Wait for it."
Peter, Mark, and Adrian looked hyped, exchanging excited glances.
"There's a lot coming that you guys are going to love," I added, enjoying their enthusiasm.
"Some very unexpected stuff," I added with a grin.
"Any hints about the future plotlines?" Adrian asked, trying his luck.
"All I can say is that it's going to be a wild ride," I teased.
I decided to get to the point of why we were here. "Alright, before we get started, what name have you guys chosen for our new enterprise here?" I asked.
"Arcanum," John said confidently.
"Arcanum Studios," I repeated, nodding. "I like it."
"Come on, let's go to my room. The PC is there," I said, leading them to my room.
Once there, I turned on the demo again. "I think we should keep the style the game has now," I began.
John leaned forward, curious. "What do you have in mind?"
"Eric and Adrian have done good work here," I said, showing the demo they had made.
"You know how in games now, the lower-tier enemies aren't that dangerous? We can easily kill them, and they don't really hurt us much. Here, in your demo, all the enemies are equally dangerous—they can kill you with a single strike if you are not careful," I said.
"I did that by mistake," Eric said sheepishly.
"Well, mistake or not, we keep it," I said.
"Here's the idea: a game that focuses on methodical, strategic combat. Players will face challenging enemies where timing and precision are key. You can't just hack and slash your way through. Each enemy has unique attack patterns, and players need to learn these patterns to defeat them effectively."
I continued, "Players need to be cautious and deliberate. The game is designed to be challenging but fair. Death is a part of the learning process."
"But won't people be put off by it?" Adrian asked.
"Yes, many will, but also many will stick around. Too many games nowadays hold our hands through it. We make a game that does the opposite," I answered.
We began to discuss more, with me slowly guiding the conversation to different aspects of Dark Souls.
"How should the game world be?" Adrian asked.
"Well, I imagined it to be an open world and interconnected. Everything should be seamlessly connected, with hidden paths and secrets."
"That would be difficult to do," Adrian said.
"Yes, it would be," I said. "We make a dark, atmospheric setting where exploration is rewarded. Players should feel encouraged to explore every corner, uncovering lore and secrets along the way."
"Non-linear storytelling," Mark said. "Players uncover the story at their own pace, through exploration and NPC interactions…..I like it."
"The lore should be subtly woven into the environment and item descriptions, allowing players to piece it together themselves," I said, adding to Mark.
"What about character progression?" Peter asked.
"We should allow players to customize their abilities and stats," I said. "Different weapons, armor, and magic should suit various playstyles. It's all about creating a personalized experience while overcoming difficult challenges."
"And when players die?" Eric asked.
"Death should be part of the learning process," I explained. "When players die, they respawn at checkpoints but lose their in-game currency or mana or something similar."
"Oh," I said, faking an epiphany, "They can recover it if they reach the spot where they died without dying again."
"That sounds cool," Adrian said, clearly intrigued.
"It is," I said with a grin. "It's also incredibly rewarding. Each victory feels earned, and the immersive world encourages exploration."
As our discussion reached the end, John began summarizing what we talked about so far.
"So we're aiming for a game that focuses on methodical, strategic combat. Every enemy encounter matters, and players can't just hack and slash their way through. The world is interconnected, just one seamless environmen. Exploration is heavily rewarded, and the story is pieced together through what you find in the world and interactions with NPCs."
"Character progression is highly customizable. And when players die, it's not the end. They respawn at checkpoints but lose their in-game currency."
"That sums up everything we discussed. There are more things I have in mind, but we can talk about those later," I said.
"What about the story?" Peter asked. "Do you have any ideas for that?"
"I have some ideas," I said, leaning forward. "The theme of the game can be about the cycle of life and death."
I continued, "We can explore the struggle against inevitable decay. Imagine a world that has fallen into darkness, where ancient kingdoms have collapsed, and the remnants of civilization are trying to hold on."
"You put a lot of thought into this," John said, intrigued.
"The player would be a mysterious figure, perhaps an undead warrior or a cursed knight, drawn into this decaying world. They would be on a quest to discover the source of the darkness or the decay and try to break the cycle of destruction and rebirth," I explained. "The story wouldn't be told through traditional cutscenes. Instead, it would be pieced together through exploration, interactions with NPCs, and item descriptions as we discussed before."
"The lore would be rich and deep, but it's up to the player to uncover it. They'd meet other characters, each with their own tragic backstories and motivations, and they'd have to decide who to trust and what paths to follow. It's about the journey and the struggle to find meaning in a world that seems doomed."
"Wow," Adrian said.
Mark looked excited. "I love it."
"Yeah, man, how did you come up with this stuff so quickly?" Adrian asked with wide eyes.
"Well….. he is Daniel Adler," Peter said with a grin.
"That he is," John said, looking at me with a large smile.
"Guys, guys, it's nothing. The real work begins now," I said.
"So when can we get started, like seriously put time into this?" Adrian asked.
"After we finish school," John said.
"Yep, after school. I'll have some people look into the business stuff. You guys focus on developing the idea we discussed here," I said.
Peter held up the glass in his hands. "To Arcanum."
We all raised our glasses and clinked them together. "To Arcanum!" we all echoed.