Dragons, Kobold Lords and Armored Titans

A brief look into the main Heroine of the series as well as a few tidbits of what to expect and some of the thought process that goes through the head of this over-worked-sleep-deprived-philosophy-student~



Ever since I was young, I've had a fairly active imagination. Enough to give Shirou a run for his money, I'd reckon - Ok maybe that's an exaggeration ^_^;;. However, if we were to pop open the hatch and see sift through the cobwebs, we'd see that my brain works a little differently than how I'd imagine the typical creative type's. Even though I've heard it put this way before, I would say its the only way my brain works - I need to construct a mental movie for myself in order to properly visualize anything - be it a book in front of me or simply something that boiled over inside my imagination. And when I say NEED, I mean everything down to set dressing, character voices, back ground music, ambient lighting, EVERYTHING. That said, I've always struggled reading novels - the only voice I could hear was my own, both narrating as well as reading each character's lines, watching a story unfold in a dream-like space, where everything but the center of my focus is obscured by a fog-like whiteness. 

Perhaps that simply means I have a terrible imagination, who knows ^_^;; But making the best of what I've got, I'd like to share a bit of the 'casting' I've done for the highly ambitious alternate universe/retelling of SAO.

Feeling

Lets be real for a second - MMO's and MMO stories are nothing without epic boss battles. People play these games to slay internet dragons and steal their epic loots and watch and play dress up with their pimped-out characters, amirite? 

Now when I imagine this translating to an experience where you are IN the game - a virtual reality so pervasive that you can hardly distinguish it from your every day life, the sights, smells and other sensations may even feel MORE stimulating than in the real world - some things are a bit different. Boss battles are less an exercise in efficiency and an less focused on passivly enjoying large unwieldy numbers flash across dim liquid crystals, but rather YOU standing face to face with a monster so terrifying it almost makes you want to shit your pants and 'log right then and there. Of course, you can't and you're stuck in the room with only a sword separating you from a certain and grizzly demise. 

Boss battles are EPIC experiences, not for the faint of heart - after all, このゲームは遊びじゃないってね～ (This game isn't something to be played - rough trans.) That said, when I visualize 20-40 people gathering to fight massive beasts head on, I hear Hiroyuki Sawano and the soundtrack from Shingeki no Kyojin. I see warriors ready to wet themselves, staring at a door larger than the tallest man ten times over, sick as if they were crammed into a small landing craft off the coast of Normandy, some squeezing the hilt of their weapon, a fire burning in their eyes as they say to themselves over and over "I'll kill every last titan!".... Ok wrong anime, but you get the picture!! Boss battles are bloody, brutish and trying to even the most seasoned of MMO veterans, an experience that few return from - at least at first - and then second - and third! Expects LOTS of death, Ok! 

So that covers bosses, but what about the rest? What about the common slime or harmless ladybug? Will they be as deadly and ruthless as the glare of a kobold lord? Well, yes and no - I imagine the world as a beautiful place. More beautiful than A Certain Reborn Realm, or even the actual anime itself. Its a place you almost would never want to leave, death game aside. Its a bit tougher to pin down what kinds of ambient music you'd experience in the 'happy' places of the world, but expect Kajiura Yuki in abundance!

Moving back to a less idyllic place, I want to heavily touch on PvP, something i REALLY wish SAO-original would have explored in greater detail. Without going too deep into my plansmachinations, I want a feeling of Athrun and Kira on the beach, gundams colliding with one another, hot plasma sundering tempered gundamium frame - or tear-stricken Arika drawing her weapon against Nina high above Windbloom, friendship cast aside, vision clouded by rage. Friends become enemies, the person you'd dread pointing a sword at you is there, poised to strike - stuff like that! Or a more somber scene, Roy standing over a cowering Ishibalan clinging to a worn rifle, barely able to lift its heavy stock, an intense hatred burning in his eyes as he tries to reload. A look of terror and disgust at the need to incinerate this poor unfortunate child, but also an overwhelming fear of dying. 

Whew - what a terrible, sad, depressing world... Not a game I'd preorder, that's for sure >_> 

Jokes aside however, that's just a small taste of what I have in store. Next we'll look into the projected psychology of our main heroine and the kind of terrible life she has in store!