Guide on Novels and Games - VIDEOGAME CHARACTERS

Videogame Characters are characters that in a way or another use games feature and/or mechanics and are mainly divided into 2 categories:

* Similar, their powers and skills make them similar to videogame features but that in reality they are different, for example one can have an ability that show the list of skills of the target and relative descriptions in a game like way but this don't make them the real ones.
* Real, they use a large part of the videogame features and mechanics where the character have status window, inventory, skill upgrade page, etc.

I'm sure that said like this it's not very clear so let me make a summary...

Real ones are characters that use the complete set of videogame mechanics (level up, status windows, skill systems, classes, inventory, etc.) while Similar ones use small part of the videogame features (like only a status window with the list of skills and nothing more thant this) or that are similar to them but work in a different way.

Real Videogame Characters can be divided into 4 sub categories that are:

* Current Game Character.
* True Game Character
* Converted Character
* Game Feature User

Now, let's analyze them:

## Current Game Character

Under this category fall all the characters that respect this requirement:

1. The story take place inside a game and show only/mainly what happen inside it.
2. The characters respect at least one of this points:
	1. They are normal players and their adventure are only online.
	2. The characters are trapped in a game and can't log out.
	3. A NPC become self-aware and "live".

So for make it short they are "characters that have their stories that occur inside a game", that they are AI or humans is irrilevant because both fall under this category.

Normally the main plot of their stories are:

* For not trapped character is "play and enjoy the game", the MC live his/her normal life and the adventure we know all happen inside a game that can be left at will, for example a new player that thanks to its unique style become a "legend" in a certain game.
* For trapped-in-a-game characters is "found a way out", the players struggle to survive waiting help from the outside and searching a way for go out from inside the game while surviving hoping that is not "permadeath".
* For self-aware NPC... right now I don't know any story about a MC like that, I can only think that a NPC MC that become self-aware can be transported into another world but nothing more than that.

## True Game Character

Originally NPC or AI, they become real for "for who know which reason".

Normally we can found this character in this type of stories:

* MC is transfered into another world and took with him/her the NPC/s.
* The game world become real for an unknown reason.
* The NPC/AI is transfered from its game/location to another world.
* The NPC/AI after become self-aware, it become real too with some random technology or dimensional distortion.

When using the conversion from "fake" to "real" we need to take into consideration all the information of the NPC are know like role, background, appearance, etc., better use a little example... in games we enter in a Inn, talk with the innkeeper that rent us a room... but what happen if that innkeeper become real... the answer is simple, any info about it (she's a widow, a single man that is searching a wife, etc.) will become part of the character "molding" it into a living being.

All the info (notes, things said by other NPC, etc.) become part of the character, for example "the village was attacked by monsters and various villagers lost their life", in this case the character will become a survivor that fought or one that helped without fight and will become part of it.

The system that convert virtual entities into real ones is never mentioned in the works, and personally I know only one work where the NPC become real and are completed and this because one of the creators was a lore fanatic, but in the case of the ones that don't have that many info I saw that basically they are converted using the concept that their "true" self is molded based on the function of the NPC and that little informations are contained in its programming.

## Converted Game Character

Originally common humans, they become or can become a game character, they are divided into 3 categories:

* Avatar Morphing, the character change into his/her game avatar or "create" a new one to use in the story, till now I always saw this happen in stories where the MC is transported into another world, for what I know none use this in the native world of the MC... one more reason for create an avatar of your own gender in games.
* Character morphing, the character change its appearance into the one of a game he/she plays in his real world.
* Character reincarnation, the character die and reborn into a world that is the same of a game he/she played in the previous life... in various stories I saw normally the MC is reborn as the main antagonist of the game or as one that have a poor or bad ending.

## Game Feature User

This type of characters don't change its appearance, or at least not too much, and is able to use mechanics and features.

Despite the limited element for define this characters there are 2 variation of them:

* "Direct Usage", the character can use game features on its own since they are "integrated" with him/her, the windows can be see only by the user but is possible show them to others.
* "Tool Usage", the character use the game features using a tool/device like a tablet or whatever... personally I know only one story that use this method

WARNING THE NEXT PARTS OF THIS SECTION OF THE GUIDE IS DIVIDED INTO VARIOUS PAGES OTHERWISE THIS ONE WOULD BECOME TOO LONG AND DIFFICULT TO MANAGE ALL IN THIS SINGLE PAGE:

* **VIDEOGAME MECHANICS & FEATURES PART 1: WHAT ARE THEM**
* **VIDEOGAME MECHANICS & FEATURES PART 2: STATS AND THEIR USES**
* **VIDEOGAME MECHANICS & FEATURES PART 3: WEAKNESS**
* **VIDEOGAME MECHANICS & FEATURES PART 4: HINTS ON HOW USE THEM**
* **VIDEOGAME MECHANICS & FEATURES PART 5: GAME SYSTEM, FUNCTIONS AND INTERFACE**
	+ **DATING SIMS**
	+ **GATCHA GAMES**
	+ **FPS AKA FIRST PERSON SHOOTER**
	+ **SURVIVAL HORROR**
	+ **IDLE**