ERPG

by MellowSoul

What It's Like to Feel Loved (Part 2)

The game opened with a line of narration text from Harmonic's point of view. At the tender age of two, he had his first dream about Atmospheric. Of course, he didn't know who she was or that she existed in the first place.

"There are a few changes I made compared to the novel. I originally opened with Atmospheric's creation, which was actually happening as he was dreaming, but I left the details on her end out here so they would come as a surprise later. The other change was a major plot point. I planned to have her take a job as a teacher so she could get close to him, but I think you know why I scrapped that."

"You mean the news headlines where teachers were being exposed for molestation and statutory rape."

"Yeah. I didn't want her coming off as a groomer."

"How'd you get around it?"

"I had her enroll as a senior at the same high school Harmonic's brother goes to. She befriended him and met Harmonic for the first time at the start of the school year. That's where she had the chance to learn about him and what his life was like. Obviously, he doesn't have a developed personality here. He's a toddler at this point in the story, but he does recognize her."

"This is where it diverges from other RPG love stories."

"Yeah. Most relationships develop over a short period of time. Here, there's a pre-established history of friendship and trust. Her influence is part of what shapes him into who he becomes."

"Least he's in good hooves."

"The story and graphics share some similarities with Breath of Fire 2. The character models are really small and basic in the overworld. During combat the art style is way more detailed. Later on when the story picks up, you'll see custom art pieces that resemble realistic characters and environments. That's where the gallery comes in."

"Gotcha."

When the prologue was over, a time skip of twenty-one years occurred.

"This scene is fairly lengthy, but the gist of it is, Atmospheric tells Harmonic the truth about who she is and why she was created. There's an army of creatures with no name and a vague description. From what Atmospheric was told, they're as old as God himself. Their goal is to gradually snuff out all life on Equestria. Their main method of achieving this is asphyxiation via smoke inhalation."

"Cue papa roach."

"Haha. Very funny."

"I thought you said this wasn't gonna be all doom and gloom."

"It's not. Atmospheric's training is almost complete. This is where our first objective comes in. We have to find Lucifer and learn about the battle system."

"Isn't it just your typical turn-based style?"

"For the most part. We just have to go over the parry mechanic and pick up a healing spell."

Twilight opened the menu screen.

"This is pretty much your standard menu. You can equip weapons, armor, and accessories. Each character has their own unique abilities you can obtain through grinding and side quests. One thing to note is that Harmonic uses a street fighting style, so he can't actually equip any weapons. To compensate, his accuracy, luck, and strength get massive boosts every time he levels up. In contrast, Atmospheric uses swords. Her strength is increased by getting better ones and farming trinity items to boost everyone's stats."

"Sounds simple enough."

"I'll go ahead and save real quick."

Twilight approached the save point. It was the same style she'd used in 37,000: a column of deep blue light enveloped by spiritual energy.