AKI

AKI is a video game, sport, and major cultural piece in *Deathboy 2000.* It connects to a player's nervous system and maintains a database of every person who has ever played, able to remember them and immediately connect to their account when they log in from any location. While the game itself is digital, it interacts with the real world in various ways, combining sports and video games into one genre. Players suffer injuries analogous to their injuries in the game, can have status effects placed on them, and can manipulate the way space interacts with them. Gameplay is typically done solo or in teams of 3 or 4 and can take place either in an arcade, with the game being primarily digital and less competitive, and in tournaments and bays, where the environment is real.

AKI is one of the largest cultural artifacts of the modern era, with many experts theorizing that it influences essentially all media and trends. It also plays a large role in the world's economy and is the most lucrative form of entertainment.

## History

### Background

AKI began as a less ambitious project, formerly known as Attack Kill Institute, in the year 416 AM, only a year after the official recognition of Newmerica as a country. Newmerica would go on to become the global capital of AKI, particularly Kennedy City in Lincoln, Newmerica. The first game was a simple mystery game, created by a single man. It failed financially, however the creator continued to create more titles in the series, until eventually *Attack Kill Institute 5* gained a small, cult following and he was able to fund grander projects.

In *Attack Kill Institute Weaponry* (AKIVI), the sixth installment of the franchise, combat was introduced. This combat only featured three phases, compared to the current six, and was extremely simple to understand and play. *Attack Kill Institute 9: Explosion Disease* (AKIIX) would introduce the element of virtual reality, and then eventually alternate reality in a DLC package. After experiencing major success with the addition of VR and AR, the next installment *AKI X*, released in 492 AM, would become the prototype for the current game, utilizing experimental methods of neural and nervous gameplay.

By the next year, AKI would cease installed releases and instead focus on regularly updating *AKI X* to include the new advancements made in gameplay. In 500 AM, *AKI* would be released as the AKI that is currently played. *AKI* introduced new phases, new weapons, and more substantial damage done to injured players, as well as new game modes. While the very real injuries of AKI were at first controversial, they are also credited with being a major selling point of the game.

### Series plot

#### *Attack Kill Institute - Attack Kill Institute 5*

The first five AKIs follow a mystery story surrounding a female detective and her relationships with various other characters, who all live in a fictional city in Newmerica. At the time, it was written as a potential prediction of Newmerican culture. Many believe one of the reasons why it has flourished so many years after its release is because its incorrect predictions have become endearing.

Agent Zero Mouse is the protagonist of the games and a reoccuring character in the narrative games after *AKI 5.* In *AKI 1*, she is sixteen years old, but she is thirty at the end of the fifth game. Each of the five games features a notably difficult to solve mystery, usually based around obscure puzzles, cyphers, and literary references. While working to find clues and eventually solve the mystery, the player must also balance Agent Zero Mouse's relationships with various people who she meets along the way. In *AKI 1* through 4, the characters are rarely reoccurring and at most are only featured as minor references in the other games. In each game, Agent Zero Mouse experiences a deep emotional connection to the mystery and the characters, and if the player achieves the true endings, she will overcome something in her past related to each. In the fifth game, Agent Zero Mouse's mystery is solving the murder of a fan favorite character and major series antagonist, Butler Gato. Through this mystery, Agent Zero Mouse reconnects with the many members of her past and eventually chooses to either continue a new life with one of them, or kill herself. This ending to the main series was heavily controversial and the series creator took his own life shortly after the release of the game.

#### *Attack Kill Institute Weaponry - Attack Kill Institute: Ultimate Missile Upon the Earth*

The next three installments of the series were released after the death of the series' creator, Hendrix Gravemen, by his son, Junior Gravemen, who wrote and directed the games. *AKIVI* was released on the five year anniversary of his father's death, and came with a letter from Junior explaining his intentions to carry on his father's game making legacy.

AKIVI follows Agent Vapor, a rookie detective with an optimistic personality, who is assigned to work a dangerous case involving a serial killer who targets factory workers. In this game, a combat system was introduced, as unlike Agent Zero Mouse, Agent Vapor had experience with combat training, as well as many more encounters with his prospective killers. The game also features a brief cameo of Agent Zero Mouse, herself, where Agent Vapor must track her down and request her help with the case.

The game was widely commended by fans of the series and its success allowed the first five games to be ported to new consoles. Production of a second game immediately began. However, a year after the game's release, Junior's wife was killed in a circulator accident. Junior scrapped the original plan for the game and for six years, worked on his a new narrative.

In this new game, AKIVII, Agent Vapor is tasked with a cold case abandoned by Agent Zero Mouse, herself. The game is extremely long, totaling around 300 hours, with the mystery being far easier to solve than other games, but requiring many more steps. Throughout his journey, Agent Vapor is forced to commit ethical and personal wrongs, which damage his mental wellbeing and cause him to slowly lose his optimistic personality. By the end of the game, he realizes that each of the final four suspects had a possibility to murder the victim at the same time, however there were no witnesses nor cameras, meaning the case is unsolveable. The game ends with Agent Vapor appearing at Agent Zero Mouse's house and murdering her.

The game was met with widespread criticism, receiving the worst reviews of any game in the series. Many saw Junior's murder of Agent Zero Mouse to be mean spirited and lackluster, and found the unsolveable mystery to not be compelling. Junior would die a few years after the game's release from an early heart attack. His surviving son inherited the franchise and brand name, which he immediately sold, publicly stating he felt the game was cursed to cause bloodshed. The IP was not used for another thirty years, until finally a game company bought it for an extremely cheap price and released a single game.

*Ultimate Missile Upon the Earth* retold the story of the last two games from the perspective of Agents Doll and Snail Cookie, a light hearted and comedic duo compared to both of the former protagonists. The game retconned the ending of *Weaponry* and explained that Agent Vapor was never an Agent at all, but rather one of the killers who Agent Zero Mouse was tracking in her retirement. His murder of her was imagined, and was actually prevented by a resurrected Butler Gato. While fans of the series enjoyed the game, many were quick to point out the poorly written narrative and many plot holes. For 21 years afterwards, the franchise would remain abandoned.

#### *Attack Kill Institute 9: Explosion Disease* - Current AKI

The ninth installment of the series was created by a major game studio who gave creative freedom to a small team who had grown up playing the original AKI games, and wanted to create a more modern title under the brand. AKIIX would become the final narrative game in the series, though its narrative elements would be extremely limited.

Once again, AKIIX retconned the previous game's ending and introduced a world where Agents Vapor, Doll, and Snail Cookie were in the same year at the detective academy and picked to work together on their first major case, which would happen in a wartorn area. This game had the player following the same lessons and tutorials as the characters and would then unlock a multiplayer mode, with little to no storyline.

The game was a smash hit success, and after eight years of working on experimental technology, the tenth installment would be introduced, along with the nervous aspects of the game. However, by this time, the plot of the story essentially faded completely from the project, and it became more of a sandbox title. However, some maps and weapons are named after characters and events from the other titles in the series.

## Gameplay

### Positions

There are five positions within AKI. While players are technically free to switch between roles at any point, access to weapons, training, and knowledge typically means high-level players are locked into a single position, which are called "phases." A handful of unofficial phases exist, such as the pink, yellow, and violet phases, however they are seen as extensions of the core five positions in competition and only recognized colloquially.

#### Phase Red

Phase red players are the strongest players in terms of sheer power, wielding both a gun and cannon. They utilize heavy armor and strong weapons to act as shields to their team and absorb damage in a way that minimizes their injuries. Phase red players typically have the most expected from them on their team and need to be good team players, as their job requires them to be able to protect and predict their teammates.

Phase yellow is an unofficial position based on phrase red, which allows a player to use two cannons in place of a gun and canon. This requires extremely high strength stats and significantly lowers one's dexterity and accuracy, but provides an intense amount of power. Phase yellow players also often utilize noxious gases, which can slowly harm opponents over time. However, unlike phase red, they are physically vulnerable and suffer in close combat.

#### Phase Green

Phase green is the most common position and the one recommended to new players. Phase green players focus on speed and close combat, wielding two swords. Phase green players are highly physically vulnerable, however, they can easily maneuver and their light armor allows them to hide in many places. Phase green is the most versatile class, and most teams will have at least one phase green player.

Phase pink is an unofficial position based on phase green, which gives a player a sniper rifle and a knife, in place of two swords. While so weak they can easily be one-shotted by almost any weapon, these players can target anyone across the map and serve a valuable purpose in eliminating specific, strong players.

#### Phase Black

Phase black is the most difficult position and was originally an unofficial extension of phase green, until an update patched it into the game on an official level. Phase black players wield a gun and a sword, and feature medium armor, which allows them to take more damage than a phase green player, but slows them down slightly. Because of their fire power and strength, phase black players are formidable, but don't work well on many teams. The position is also the most dangerous, seeing regular fatalities and serous injuries in competitive fields and requiring the highest stats of any other phase.

Phase black's unofficial extension is phase violet, which is the same class, but with phase green armor. This position is banned in most competitions and arcades because of the high risk of death or injury associated with it.

#### Phase Blue

Phase blue is the easiest position and works as a healer. Phase blue players have heavy armor and wield a knife and bottle. Their bottle refills over time and contains an agent which negates the effect of injuries inflicted by AKI. They are slow because of their armor, and have little ability to fight back against opponents, so they need to be protected by their team. Phase blue is not an allowed position for solo games.

#### Phase Purple

Phase purple is the least popular position, with only two players ever competing in it, Chessmaster and Skully Deathboy. Phase purple does not wield a weapon like other classes, and wears light armor. They are surrounded at all times by a circular holograph of a keyboard with specialty buttons, made to input complex codes. These codes cause status effects to happen to specific players. This power is often referred to as "magic" within the game.

### Rules

AKI can be played solo, or in teams, which consist of either trios, or full teams of four people. Solo AKI is the most brutal game mode and typically sees the most significant injuries occur. In solo AKI, twelve players are released into a large scale arena with two objectives: survive until the end of the game, and accumulate as many points as possible. Certain actions throughout the arena will gain minor points, such as finding specific hidden items, destroying certain things, or solving puzzles in the arena. Being in the final three members to survive grants a huge amount of points, essentially eliminating the win of any who did not make it to the top three. From there, the minor points earned in the arena before the game's end determine which of the final three are the winners. In casual competition, losing a certain amount of health causes a "death." In more competitive tournaments, fighting continues until it is impossible for a player to continue. In some competitions under rare circumstances, a true death is what counts as elimination.

Trios are the most common way to play the game, as well as the safest. In trios, groups of three are put in a small arena and pitted against another trio, and their goal is to battle and retrieve a "clue" from the opponents, and return it to their base. To win the game, a team needs to get two clues from two different opponents back to their base.

Full teams are played in more competitive matches. In these games, eight players on two teams of four are dropped into labyrinth-like arenas, separated from each other, but with certain positions receiving certain perks. Throughout the arena are three stages, which can be claimed by a team solving the puzzle there. Once a team solves two, they win. During the solving of the puzzles, the other team can attack and attempt to take it from them.

## Elves

Because of the major importance and economic aspect of the game, a new career evolved around AKI, called Elving. Elves are genius strategists, who are employed by teams to help them create strategies and learn about their opponents before matches. Elves can speak with their players during matches, but are banned from sharing certain information. Elves also handle betting and publicity for their teams.

Because of the publicity aspect of the job, most Elves are extremely unique looking and often dabble in other fame-related careers.