Bait and switch: would you hate this?

[UltimaBahamut93]

I made this post not too long ago

MC trapped in a video game world. I can't figure out how to make this work

I was working on a novel idea that takes place in a world that operates with "rules" like you would find in a tabletop rpg. Things like classes and stats and levels exist as a common thing in the world. At first I wanted the world to operate like this, but I've been having ideas about revealing...

mythicscribes.com

Basically I had this idea for a world that uses video game/table top RPG rules. Things like classes and stats and abilities exist and everyone is aware they exist. (Litrpg/gamelit)

I had the idea of halfway through the novel/series to reveal that the mc is actually in a video game. I went into detail explaining this in the post I linked if you're interested.

My concern is would this be frustrating to the reader? Immersing the reader in a world for a long time only to later reveal it's not real. I'm worried this would have a "it was all just a dream" reaction, only the story continues after the reader realizes this. I was going to put hints and clues that something about the mc is different. He knows things that he shouldn't that other characters/NPCs can't know. The reader will know that something is off and then when the truth is revealed it'll make sense.

What are your thoughts? I originally did not plan to have the video game idea for the original story but it came to me and I do really like it, but I am worried what kind of reaction the reader would have to it.

 

[pmmg]

Execution trumps concern.

Tell the story well and put in enough hints, and reader may things its the coolest thing ever.

My guess is there will always be a range of reactions.

There are pitfalls, of course, execute it poorly and you may get more detractors.

In fact...isn't this kind of the story with inception? At the end, we are left to wonder if Dom is in a real world, or has he been in a dream on all along? Same with Total Recall, we don't know if the world was a dream or real. Fans did not react poorly to those.

JR Ewing getting shot, but not shot cause it was a dream was taken poorly though... It was not set up or executed well.

 

[Finchbearer]

Everyone has different opinion and tastes…so that’s that.

For me personally, I would feel like a book was not worth reading if the storyline revolved around an alternate reality where every character was also not real and therefore at the end of it was to be revealed that the whole thing wasn’t real - I would be highly disappointed.

However, if there were consequences from this virtual reality in real life, and the characters depicted real people who also engaged in the virtual reality, and there was some background story for their real lives beyond the video game, then I’d feel like there would be a point to investing in the story.

You would need to give a clear distinction between reality and virtual reality to make me invested.

 

[Ban]

I'd communicate this to the reader right away. You can still have it be a twist for the characters themselves, but when it comes to genre fiction, there's a limit (I feel) to the force with which you can throw your curveballs without pestering the reader. People buy and read these sorts of works primarily for enjoyment and escapism. By changing the dynamic to this extent, you're essentially pulling the rug from under your audience's feet and telling them: "Haha, you fools! You weren't my intended audience after all!"

I'd advise you to write the story how you envision it, but tell your readers through a prologue, the backside of the book and whatever pitch you may use what the big twist will be. That way you attract the right people who might enjoy it.

 

[UltimaBahamut93]

The more I think about it the more hesitant I am. I had a really cool idea about a hero paladin of the world finding out the truth that the world is a lie and ends up driving him to become a villain who ends up using corrupt code to break down the world and in doing so, the protagonist's mind that is attached to the game world (neutral link). As cool of an idea that is I can not figure out a way where the reader would not feel like they got sucker punched. I posted this in another forum and everyone there unanimously agreed they disliked the idea.

Maybe I can do this for another story that's more set up for it from the start.

 

[Jackarandajam]

The more I think about it the more hesitant I am. I had a really cool idea about a hero paladin of the world finding out the truth that the world is a lie and ends up driving him to become a villain who ends up using corrupt code to break down the world and in doing so, the protagonist's mind that is attached to the game world (neutral link). As cool of an idea that is I can not figure out a way where the reader would not feel like they got sucker punched. I posted this in another forum and everyone there unanimously agreed they disliked the idea.

Maybe I can do this for another story that's more set up for it from the start.

You can still do that.
What if the paladin is extremely successful and proud, and refuses to believe what the reader already knows until halfway through the story? That would allow the reader to really take a cringy ride-along for a while with the paladin while theyre in denial, which would build suspense and make the paladins psychological break extremely palpable and sympathetic.
Readers love knowing more/being smarter than story characters. This sounds like a great way to use that to your advantage.

 

[Finchbearer]

There’s a big difference between an idea and a finished story. The only way to find out how readers will respond is to write it and put it out into the world.

 

[Queshire]

The protagonist & audience knowing from the start could be an interesting way to explore what makes a person a person via the NPC AI's.

 

[pmmg]

The more I think about it the more hesitant I am. I had a really cool idea about a hero paladin of the world finding out the truth that the world is a lie and ends up driving him to become a villain who ends up using corrupt code to break down the world and in doing so, the protagonist's mind that is attached to the game world (neutral link). As cool of an idea that is I can not figure out a way where the reader would not feel like they got sucker punched. I posted this in another forum and everyone there unanimously agreed they disliked the idea.

Maybe I can do this for another story that's more set up for it from the start.

Um...I did not dislike this idea....but then, maybe your other group would find I am disagreeable.

I think this has good potential. A paladin-like dude comes to find out its all a lie, and then fights to remove the lie.... I think there are a a lot of good questions in that, when was he a hero and when a villain? Which was the greater good, maintaining the lie, or removing it...How might this affect his own sanity? How might it affect others. I would not abandon that idea.

I would go back to the problem of how to present it without losing the reader.

Perhaps there is another character who has run-ins with the MC and says things like...its a lie, see the truth instead... and he does not understand cause he does not see past his idea of the reality. That might be a way to ease into something is wrong and the MC is on the edge of it, and not just pull the carpet out from under the reader.

 

[The Dark One]

It reminds me of Ready Player One which is one of the best books I've read in the last 30 years.

As others have said it's all in the execution. Ideas are easy.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

If this is the story you feel pulled to tell, then you need to write it. Ultimately, the only one who can decide if this is a good idea is you. I think it sounds ballsy, but before anyone can speak to this with any degree of authority, you need to write it. Ideas are cheap. I had three while I was making dinner. One was really stupid, so that one I wrote down. Let's see how the idea shapes up once it hits the page.

 

[UltimaBahamut93]

I've been giving this a lot of thought and I think I am going to write these ideas as separate stories. I really like the world I've come up with for the original plot and am even considering writing other stories set in the world too, so I feel like doing the whole "its all a game" would not work. I still really like the concept of someone intentionally trapping themselves in a game world but maybe I can put that idea on hold and save it for its own standalone story later on. I feel like a lot of the conflict is about trying to smash these two different story ideas together when they would do best being their own individual tales. Thank you all for the advice.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Late to the party perhaps, but in my opinion, it very often depends on what the main viewpoint character knows.

If the main viewpoint character knows he's playing a videogame, then the reader should probably know from fairly early on that this is the case as well. If the main character doesn't, then the reader doesn't need to know either.

Usually when you hide stuff (for a long time) from the reader that the main character knows, then the reader will feel cheated at the big reveal, especially about something as big as "the world is not real, surprise!" And it's very hard to change that.

One example where an author does manage this is in Mistborn, where one of the main viewpoint characters, Kelsier, hides part of the plan from his crew and the readers. And he does so intentionally. You'll come across several instances, where he's about to think about that part of the plan and tells the reader "no, I'm not going to think about that, it's too painful." or "not thinking about that, because maybe we wont need it." It work, but only just.

 

[The Dark One]

You can also massively increase the tension when the reader knows something the MC does not.

 

[Devor]

I'll chime in. I've been watching a lot of anime Isekai stuff with the kids, and honestly, if an anime pulled the "it's all been a game" on us in the middle, I might be a little peeved. There's two reasons for that. The first is that it's the bait and switch with a tired game-world trope. The other is, the stakes suddenly go down a lot.

Like, this would be a great book.... if it opened here. Start of chapter 1: "Just up ahead is the demon lord....." End of chapter 1: "....wait. I think I'm in a video game. Err... what am I saying? What even is a video game?"

It's interesting, though, because going the other way works out okay. Chapter 14: "Wait.... I thought you were just NPCs, with the latest in AI tech. But all this time we've actually been in another world....?" Big twist reveal energy there. But a key part of why it works is that the stakes go way up. (Although it's not original - I've seen several anime which play around with this idea.)

Some general caveats apply, though. First, maybe you can figure out ways around these hurdles. Maybe it's a simcity-type game and there were no real stakes to abandon, or you've found some other way to focus on internal stakes to the point where the game's plot was always a secondary thing anyways, or maybe you've been able to make the game's stakes symbolic of the real world stakes that suddenly matter when he realizes it's a game, so that nothing feels lost, "that's right... all this time I've been avoiding the girl at the cantina because she reminds me of...." Some of those feel like they rely on kind of advanced writing techniques, but it's certainly doable. And the second thing: Your book is more than any one thing, so maybe it just happens to be good enough to survive what on paper sounds like an eye roll of a reveal. People were mad at Harry Potter for dropping the tired "Chosen One" line all the way in book five, and the books continued to do just fine.

Another thing to do is play up the horror element of it. You'd do that by undermining the big plot points with hints that tell the audience "something is wrong." The character slowly starts to realize something is wrong a bit later. And hopefully the audience puts it together before the player does. But that horror element, that lingering something isn't right, would have to pervade the whole story until it's revealed. I.e., killing the dragon doesn't matter - what really matters is whether that was lightning it spat out or static from a glitch in the matrix.