Good Examples of Settings that Use Game Like Mechanics?

[Drak4806]

A lot of the Isekai stuff and other manga/anime/LNs feature settings where reality acts like a game with things like leveling up and people having skills, abilities, classes etc. However a lot of them in my opinion seem to be rather shit in regards to actual execution of such concepts so what are good examples of them being used or how would you make such concepts work in a fictional setting?

 

[Nerx]

Having one in a horror setting might work, say give it to a serial killer in a real world like setting that starts off from thriller all the way to a cosmic horror place.

Get execution points the old fashioned way. From avoiding cops and the FBI to facing the Devil later on.

 

[Malbutorius]

Order of the Stick is a great example really, everyone from the lowliest rat to the highest of Gods all have to follow the rules of D&D.

 

[Heaven Canceler]

I must naturally recommend Harry Potter and the Natural 20, a D&D crunch-verse Harry Potter crossover, where an genuinely amusing OC from a very meta D&D verse ends up in Harry Potter. Bonus points for not just making either side of the equation broken, but instead showing that they work in utterly different ways. Like how D&D people never need to worry about losing any skill they have learned, while Harry Potter people do not have to act within exact 6 second intervals and can learn all sorts of insane spells without the limitations of a D&D class. Sadly hasn't updated since August last year, but I am always hoping for more with this one..

 

[january1may]

I must naturally recommend Harry Potter and the Natural 20, a D&D crunch-verse Harry Potter crossover, where an genuinely amusing OC from a very meta D&D verse ends up in Harry Potter. Bonus points for not just making either side of the equation broken, but instead showing that they work in utterly different ways. Like how D&D people never need to worry about losing any skill they have learned, while Harry Potter people do not have to act within exact 6 second intervals and can learn all sorts of insane spells without the limitations of a D&D class. Sadly hasn't updated since August last year, but I am always hoping for more with this one..

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Back when I originally read that one, it had just started to involve, um, let's just say a certain extremely evil HP character, being an OCP on the D&D side.

I never got around to it again, because I just couldn't think of any semi-plausible way how that plotline could possibly end in anything but horrible grimdarkness, and I really didn't want to start reading and find out that it did end in horrible grimdarkness.

 

[Heaven Canceler]

I never got around to it again, because I just couldn't think of any semi-plausible way how that plotline could possibly end in anything but horrible grimdarkness, and I really didn't want to start reading and find out that it did end in horrible grimdarkness.

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I can tell you that it didn't end up in total grimdarkery.