Bonus Features
Thank you for reading this short story I made! I hope you enjoyed it. It was supposed to be a small, easy project of mine that would only take a month to write and edit (and now here we are, almost 6 months later from when I started). I don't know why this turned out to be much harder to write than I anticipated. Hopefully, the story is better for it.
The story has changed so much from its inception (probably the most out of anything I have ever written for fun). Therefore, I wanted to include a little "bonus material" section to include some interesting tidbits about the original ideas for the story. Besides, I've always enjoyed when movies and games give the audience a glimpse into the ideas around the project. Some of the ideas presented are going to make much more sense if you have played the game, so if you haven't, you may be a bit confused.
Plus, I am not a professional writer, nor am I trained in it. I just like to tell stories, so I don't feel any qualms about hearing criticism nor discussing what I was thinking for some things. Let's just have fun, you know?
Why Recore?
Unused Ideas for 'Repose'
What else have I written?
Any plans for future stories? (said no one ever, haha)
The story has changed so much from its inception (probably the most out of anything I have ever written for fun). Therefore, I wanted to include a little "bonus material" section to include some interesting tidbits about the original ideas for the story. Besides, I've always enjoyed when movies and games give the audience a glimpse into the ideas around the project. Some of the ideas presented are going to make much more sense if you have played the game, so if you haven't, you may be a bit confused.
Plus, I am not a professional writer, nor am I trained in it. I just like to tell stories, so I don't feel any qualms about hearing criticism nor discussing what I was thinking for some things. Let's just have fun, you know?
Why Recore?
- I chose Recore for two main reasons. First, Recore is an interesting title, because it feels like something in-between a children story and a regular adventure story. The events surrounding Joule are kind of dark and serious, yet she is innocent and optimistic. The player then experiences this dark story unfold from a perspective form someone who looks for the light in everything. This dichotomy felt fresh to me when I played it, and I thought it would be fun to write something that is dark, yet full of hope.
- The second reason I chose Recore is simply because I enjoyed the game. Is it perfect? No (Sorry!). As a matter of fact, the final boss was, for me, unbeatable for a time, because the prompt to extract the core wouldn't appear (it is fixed now). But despite the glitches and the unfinished nature of the game, it still had heart and was worth playing in my opinion. In fact, I'd be so bold to say it definitely earned a sequel, but I am afraid it won't get one since Microsoft seemed to "push it under the rug" before it was even released! it has real potential to be a great exclusive for Microsoft, so I hope it continues. I figured some fan-fiction might help that along ("Look Microsoft Executive! This poor soul, for some reason, decided to spend almost six months writing a short story in this universe for fun! If anything, that either means he is crazy or he wants to see more!").
Unused Ideas for 'Repose'
- This whole story spawned from Duncan. If you go to his crawler in the game, there are lots of environmental clues that tell a story. The crawler is torn up, the ceiling has been patched up, the entryway to the Shifting Sands has been fortified with a gate and a bunch of scrap! On top of that, how did a crawler that big even get into that little alcove surrounded by cliffs?! It's fascinating! I originally wanted to tell the story of how the crawler ended up in that state and why it is where it is.
- The story, as you can probably guess, revolved completely around Duncan and his human (who would be awake for part of the story and die at the end). His name was something like Kurenai Takayama (Kurenai, according to Google, means "Crimson" in Japanese, so it felt fitting for Duncan's pal).
- The adventures of Kurenai and Duncan originally had the title of "Those Who Wake," which is a reference to Victor's comment in the game when he first sees Joule and says, "Those who wake must die." In the end, the similarity between "Recore" and "Repose" was too good to pass up, so the title changed.
- An old medic from the Mandate fleet was always a part of the story (albeit more of a supporting character). He would run into Kurenai and Duncan and help them out. I originally wanted the conflict between young (Kurenai) and old (Rem) to be more prevalent in the story. I also liked the idea of having a Japanese character having to work with an American character, since that parallels how the game was developed.
- Sherman was not originally a T8-NK; he was a FL1-R (the flying corebot in the game) named either Jamie or Jaime (scrapped before I decided on the name). Regardless, the personality remained consistent (it even had the gun that fell off every so often).
- Victor planned on making a brief appearance. In fact, Rem knew Julius Roldan. They would have a conversation before Victor killed Rem.
- Here's where it gets weird: I originally had Duncan fight for Victor and the evil corebots. The reason for this is because of the art Duncan drew that told of events that transpired while the humans slept. My original inclination was that perhaps he was so knowledgeable because he fought for the wrong side but was redeemed (that also could explain why he is so much more aggressive than the other friendly corebots).
- Part of the plot would be Kurenai trying to save Duncan from going down that dark path. This would be resolved when the humans took Jamie/Jaime's core and put it into Duncan's core. That would calm him and make him come to his senses, since Jamie/Jaime's innocent and friendly personality would merge with Duncan. I liked the idea of one corebot sacrificing its essence for another, but I couldn't justify it in the game lore. I mean, Joule puts TONS of evil cores from enemies into her corebots to make them stronger, but Mack, Seth, and Duncan never take on evil personalities or anything. I eventually felt like it not only created more questions than answers, but that it was a bit too much Deus Ex Machina, so it was scrapped.
- To honor its sacrifice, the parts of Jamie/Jaime would be "scattered" across the dungeon the heroes were trapped in (think how some people scatter one's ashes out of respect). And yes, this of course would be the FL1-R that Joule has to then reassemble in the actual game, which further explains why the parts are there but no core.
- The reason so much of this got cut was because of the realization that there was no way to fit all this into a SHORT story. And even if I decided to do a longer story, I had trouble getting the pacing right; it felt sloppy and all over the place. It was too convoluted with too many characters. I needed to simplify it and sacrifice some ideas in order for what is hopefully a tighter, more refined plot. Although, it still bugs me to no end that Duncan was essentially relegated to a cameo in my final draft, given how he was essentially my muse!
What else have I written?
- Counting this story, I have written three short stories (and now a fourth!), one long story, and one blog for fun. Currently, the blog is the only thing I have shown to the public. Maybe someday, I'll post the other stuff.
- If you would like to read the blog, please visit kingdomheartsdojo.weebly.com/. A word of caution though, the blog is about the interaction between Christianity and video games, so please be respectful if you decide to read it.
- UPDATE: I have also made a new short story in the Overwatch Universe, recently released. See below for the link.
Any plans for future stories? (said no one ever, haha)
- I need a break, truthfully, but yeah, I have some other ideas for what to do next. it could be more fan-fiction for other games (Overwatch, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed currently sound like fun) or I might go back to stand-alone, independent stories. I haven't decided yet. However, writing is not my job. I'm actually an accountant, so my work hours can be a little crazy at times. That responsibility obviously takes precedence over any hobbies of mine. All that to say, don't expect anything for some time.
- UPDATE: I have finished writing a story in the "OVERWATCH" universe, entitled "IMAGE BEARER." It is a light-horror/suspense tale involving the character of Mercy (who, if you don't know, is a Doctor who dresses like an Angel and helps people). Feel free to check it out if you are interested! Here is the link: imagebearerfanfic.weebly.com/.