"Now It's just what type of game to create... Do you have any ideas?"
[I do; however, while i can generate ideas for you, it is advised you only allow me be an executor of your ideas]
"I understand. Do I need to go into much detail or just vague explanations? Do I need to come up with a story by myself?"
[Those are not required. You simply have to pick the settings for the game. Should it be an open-ended game or a first-person shooter (FPS), what background do the characters have?
"I get it now, so then you will create the story and everything."
[Yes sir]
"Okay, then, how about we mix all the genres?" David said.
[I do not understnd sir] Nous replied, making David look at the figure again
Of course it understood, it was wasnt allowed to cuddle him, understanding what it meant, David immediately began to go into greater detail.
He didn't know if such a game was even possible; if it was, then many companies would have surely produced it by now. However the game was based around a few facts
It was to be an open ended game or Open world as many called it, The map should b that of planet earth, in scale meaning you get an earth sized map with continents and all to roam about but since its not earth
The characters both major and NPCs should feel alive, all should have their own backstory, motivations and motives as they go, this ensured that every character had a personality not just plot drivers.
To root it a bit in realism, fantasy elements were removed
It should be a solo player game or an offline game though he had thoughts for multiplayer version
It should be able to run on full settings on a mid-tier PC
David didnt exctly know what to expect from these requests and truthfully even he was afraid of what Nous might create but even so he was looking forward to it.
As he explained he relaised that this would be the ultimate game if Nous made it as he intended, why would you need any other game when you can do it here, FPS, Racing, Politics etc, it was all in one game.
[Generating video game now] A screen appeared as soon as he finished talking.
It even had a cute animation of a chibi version of Nous dragging the loading bar across the screen, and since it was fast, the chibi Nous could be seen acting proud as it dragged it until the loading was completed.
[Game creation is complete; however, due to its high requirements and size, some optimization is required. Should I proceed?]
"Go ahead," David replied without even a single thought.
The animation appeared again as David chuckled at the chibi's slight strain in dragging the bar this time. This showed that whatever optimization Nous was performing on the game was important and powerful enough to strain Nous even a little bit.
[Optimizations done. Should I send the application to your computer?] Nous asked
"Um? Sure," David replied
He tunred on the system and while he waited for it to boot, he realised that Nous didnt exactly have any external connection so logically it should be unable to send any data out but then agin, he didnt understand the technology behind Nous so it was best to just keep shut.
As soon as the system was turned on, David saw the standard transfer loading screen appear on it. At this point, he couldn't say he knew anything that was going on with Nous; its operating system was just way beyond him.
[Transfer is complete] Nous announced it as soon as the transfer was done.
David could see a new file named 'Renovatio' on the desktop, and something told him that this was the new game; however, he had never seen any games, even small ones like Plants vs. Zombies, transfer from one place to another this fast.
"Eh? Are you sure this is the game? What's the game size exactly?"
[Original size: 84.8 terabytes; optimized size: 43 gigabytes though the installer is only 5 gigabytes in size]
"What?" David said in shock,
This would mean that Nous had somehow managed to compress tens of terabytes of data into nothing but four gigabytes. That was a lot; normal compressing methods would only reduce it to a few thousand gigabytes. For it to be this low, Nous had to have removed a lot of components from the game.
This was a 1600:1 compression ratio, he expected shitty graphics and visuals but then again, this was Nous, somehow he knew things would be different from his expecations
David opened the folder and installed the game, then checked the size of the game, and just as Nous had said, it was exactly 43 gigabytes. To confirm if the so-called 'optimization', Nous had done, affected the game, David immediately launched the game.
"Nous Studios? That makes sense," David said, then he saw the opening title.
As the game began, like GTA, which he had been thinking of when he suggested the game, Renovatio featured a similar opening scene with pictures of models, in-game cities, and all showing up before it started.
A few seconds later, the opening screen disappeared as David sat up properly and immediately began paying attention.
The people could be seen walking around peacefully and talking about their day when a car pulled up in front of a bank. Four people walked out of the car and straight to their car's boot or the trunk of the car, where they could be seen removing some guns, a ski mask, and several other pieces of equipment they needed.
After ensuring that all weapons were hidden, they walked into the bank just like any normal person. As soon as they met the security guard. They fired their weapons as the guards at the front door dropped dead on the floor, and screams filled the air as panic reigned through the street and the bank.
"Hey, Bones, you're on the lookout... Get the hostages to the front desk and by the door!!" One of the robbers shouted,
"On it!!" The Bones replied as he did as the other party said.
"You all, come over here. I want you all to transfer 2,000 dollars each from everyone here into these accounts!!" The leader ordered the employees of the bank
"But sir?"
"Shut it and do as I say!" The leader ordered
David watched as the scene continued to progress with incredible details and graphics, as though he were actually watching a movie. The scene continued until some citizens called the police, and a SWAT team was sent to rescue the hostages.
Various complications later, shots were fired and exchanged between the robbers and the SWAT team. After a while, the camera switched from the third-person view to a first-person view, landing on the robber named 'Bones'.
Without any hesitation, David began to follow the commands given to learn the controls. As for his mission, it was fairly obvious that he was to escape from the bank and the police, who would probably chase after him.
David, who had played several games with this sort of beginning, proudly took charge, believing it was the same as the others. It was not.
Without realizing it, David remained on his computer for nearly three hours, just trying to complete the first mission. The mechanics of the game were somewhat different; its graphics were so good that he felt like it was a weird movie shot with a high-definition camera.
"Why is this thing so difficult? Why is it so complicated?" David complained in frustration.
[The game isn't difficult it was designd as you requested, every character has their own persdonlity and thus would react based on your actions]
"So basically, I should play it like these are actual human beings, right?"
[In simple terms, yes... It makes the game more complicated and entertaining. It also means that no player will have the same ending. If you do have the same ending with another person? It can be interpreted as you and said person having the same personality]
"You managed to fit all that into 43 gigabytes... Wait, each character in this game has a backstory and, basically, a life. Does that mean the player's missions are based on the people they meet and the decisions they make?"
[Yes]
"All that decision-making would surely take up too much space in the future, right?"
[Normally, yes, but due to the optimization process, the storage the game would take up at the end should be about 106 gigabytes, which is still nothing compared to some games.]
"That's good then," David said, even though he didn't understand how that would work.
He just left it for the Omniscient, known as Nous. It was the one who created the game and understood how it truly worked. If every character could make its own decisions like a human, then that meant that there were no NPCs in the game, just background characters or extras.
With the belief that he was playing against other humans, David's decision-making process changed, and soon the first mission was completed. However, since he felt he could do better, he replayed it, only for the ending to be completely different from the original one he just got.