Game Making: Start By Healing the Player

What is this?

Does it know that I loaded a save file?

Is it talking to me? Not the character I’m playing?

Has it taken everything I’ve done into account?

Wu Tian suddenly felt creeped out, and even subconsciously looked back at the empty office.

Obviously, the little flower in the game is not talking to the protagonist in the game.

It is speaking to the player sitting in front of the computer.

It knows what happened, and it even knows when a save file is loaded.

Even if he knew very well that this was merely a setting in the game, it still shook him.

And what does that mean for this Flowey character?

Does it also have this ability?

And what is this “determination”?

While exploring the ruins, he came across some save points or interactables that shone like stars.

They often give some exposition or dialogue that tends to end with: It fills you with DETERMINATION.

For a moment, he felt countless doubts in his mind.

But also a strange anticipation.

In the beginning, it was just an average, uninspiring RPG game.

But with the appearance of Flowey, it was as if the fourth wall had been broken.

What kind of content will come later?

He was in an excitable mood now, and was eager to push forward.

Charming and unique characters kept appearing one after another.

Sans, who shook hands with him and got him with a whoopee cushion, he looked very laid back and loved to tease his brother Papyrus by constantly telling skeleton puns.

Papyrus, who loved using puzzles and traps to block the way, but would actually get impatient and tell you what to do if you take too long or choose too many wrong answers.

There was a merfolk named Undyne, who at first appeared nasty, and chased him for a long time. But when he reached the lava zone, she collapsed due to lack of water.

There happened to be a drinking fountain next to her, and the player could choose if they wanted to save her.

In a lab, was Dr Alphys, who looked a little dull and shy, reminding him of a couch potato.

Later, when he was trapped in a quiz battle with the robot she created, Alphys would try her best to help the player get the correct answers.

And from the robot’s last question, the player was given a hint that the Dr likes Undyne, the merfolk who chased him.

And the dance battle with the robot’s true form was absolutely jaw-dropping.

But what left a deep impression on Wu Tian, was the conversation he had with Sans in the magnificent corridor before facing the final boss of the game.

In the beginning, Wu Tian simply took for granted that the setting of ‘Undertale’ was similar to that of other RPG games.

However, the appearance of Flowey made him look at the game in a new light, and he felt somewhat amazed.

But after that, he continued playing the game in the same way as other RPGs.

Isn’t it normal to slay monsters and level up?

Muffet the spider, and some of the more pleasant monsters he encountered were spared by him, but he still killed off most of the more ugly and troublesome ones.

But now, it seems he has misunderstood.

EXP is not the so-called experience points. But the abbreviation for execution points.

Similarly, LV or LOVE, is not the so-called level. But an abbreviation for Level of Violence.

Every time he kills a monster in the game, his execution points and level of violence will increase.

At this moment, his LV was at 11.

At this moment, Wu Tian thought back to what Toriel said in the beginning, about making friends with monsters. There seemed to be several clues alluding to this.

In the final battle, the King did not seem evil. He was very friendly and warm. Before the battle, he kept asking the protagonist if he was ready.

And if he answered ‘no’, then the king would step back and say that he wasn’t ready either.

But when he pushed forward, everything changed.

An exciting yet melancholic BGM played.

【 A strange light fills the room 】

【 Twilight is shining through the barrier 】

【 It seems your journey is finally over 】

【 You’re filled with DETERMINATION 】

As the text faded, the king opened his eyes,

【 Human… It was nice to meet you. Goodbye 】

As if a god of war had descended into the mortal realm, a flash of scarlet revealed his massive trident, and with it, he smashed the button with “Mercy” written on it.

This encounter would be to the death.

The difficulty of this battle was very high. Although Wu Tian has played some bullet hell games before, it still gave him some trouble.

After defeating the king, the option to kill or spare him appeared.

Wu Tian remembered the words of Toriel and Sans, and chose to forgive.

Seeing the forgiveness of the protagonist, the king was also very surprised. He agreed to take care of the child with the help of Toriel. Together, they would form a new family in the Underground, it gave Wu Tian a warm feeling in his heart.

But there was a sudden flash of a blade, and with the king’s shocked face, Flowey made its appearance once more.

It killed the king.

【 You IDIOT 】

【 You haven’t learned a thing 】

【 In this world… 】

【 It’s KILL or BE killed 】

With Flowey’s wild and evil laughter, the game seemed to black out.

What’s the situation? Is it a BUG? Why has the game gone?

But before Wu Tian was confused for long, the game automatically restarted the next moment.

The opening animation of the game has also become strange.

When he looked at the save data, what was even stranger was that this data wasn’t his.

It says: Flowey, lv: 9999.

This is the save file of the little flower.

Choosing to continue, the protagonist appeared in the game with a dark background.

There was the little sparkling star of a save point, and when interacted with, his own save information could be seen.

But then the screen shook, and bloody cracks spread from the text box of the save file.

Eventually, the words [ SAVE DELETED ] appeared.

As the save file was destroyed, Flowey reappeared on the screen.

It had consumed the souls of six children, and now claimed to be a god.

But its figure had transformed into a strange and grotesque monster. So this was the true final boss of the game.

The battle was even more difficult than the previous one with the king.

After a death, a game over sign would appear, along with some disturbing text.

【 This is all just a bad dream… And you’re NEVER waking up! 】

In addition to the text, there was also Flowey’s terrifying laughter. The game screen was filled with the words ‘HAHAHAHAHA’’, and then the game crashed again and closed automatically.

After reopening the game, Flowey would continue to mock the protagonist with taunting words.

【 Did you really think I was gonna be satisfied… killing you only ONE time? 】

【 Don’t you get it? There’s no such thing as happy endings. This is all that’s left… 】

The only way to win is to persevere until the 6 souls awaken and turn against it. Causing Flowey to lose its powers and allowing the terrifying boss to be defeated.

After that, he saw the option to kill or spare the flower, but whatever he chose, the outcome would be the same.

The only difference is that if you spare Flowey, it will give you a hint towards the True Pacifist route.

When the final texts came and went, the game was officially over.

But Wu Tian sat motionless in front of his computer, not fully recovered. His pen and notebook were left forgotten.

It was amazing.

The fourth wall breaking, the deleting of his save files, the game shutting itself down, the setup of Flowey’s lines.

He was so immersed, that for a brief moment, Wu Tian felt that there really was such an underground world, and that the characters truly existed. There was a longing in his soul to fling himself into this world and not look back.

And after he calmed down, his curiosity grew stronger.

In the magnificent corridor, Sans revealed everything.

LOVE is Level of Violence, EXP is execution points.

So what are the other two endings like?