If there's one thing video game players love, it's being badass. Juggernauts that blow through every "challenge" thrown their way in record time with a smug grin on their face as lesser nerds toil in their attempts to max out their gamerscores.
That, or just proudly proclaiming it on internet forums.
Nearly every game has a subset of people bemoaning the lack of a Hardcore mode, where death is permanent and the difficulty is cranked to 11. Taking aim at these masochists, I have devised a hardcore mode that looks to present some serious challenges.
Survival
Health in the game is represented by a single block. Damage from any source, even a headache, will kill you instantly. If you die in the game, not only do you lose your character but you become ill in real life and all the saves and achievements for every game on your console are deleted and locked forever.
You must eat and drink every three minutes to stay alive. Food must be manually prepared by the player following actual recipes and cooking methods. If it is overcooked or poorly seasoned, it will disappear without being eaten. If it is the slightest bit undercooked, the main character will become ill, curl into the fetal position and refuse to respond to controller commands for several days.
Any chests or containers that are encountered will spew forth a neverending pile of junk into your inventory which instantly takes priority over all your precious items and subsequently deletes them forever.
All items, including equipment and inventory, degrade by 1% each time you take a step. Nothing can be repaired. There is a Repair skill, but using it causes your character to strike his throat repeatedly with a brick until it's dull corner punctures a hole in your neck.
Characters can gain any illnesses present in the real world and you will begin the game with a near-lethal dose of radiation that renders you blind.
No fast travel. No vehicles. No running. Walk speed has been reduced to a stationary lean forward.
Combat
All guns are more likely to misfire or jam than to shoot. Should you get a stoppage, you must manually pull back the working parts and remove the obstruction. When you do get a shot off, it will be as accurate as the real life equivalent of firing a shotgun while unscoped, running, and attempting to hit a target nearly a mile away.
Your attacks do 1% of normal damage to your enemies, and 300% damage to yourself. Every bullet that hits the enemy gives them a powerful health regeneration ability. Conversely, enemy attacks scan your game's program files and delete them one by one until your game disk becomes useless.
Any and all special abilities previously available are disabled, and replaced with L.L.L.L., which simply makes you turn counterclockwise in slow motion while being ravaged by bullets.
Character Interaction
Conversations are much more involved and rewarding in the main game, with many more options to help you feel connected to the setting. In hardcore mode, your only response to every line of dialogue will be, "I am a child molester. Here, take my weapons and armor before you kill me."
Companions and teammates display different levels of affinity for you. The first is "Murderous Rage", followed by "Slight Guilt."
All skill trees and experience bars are replaced with a steroid bar. Upon gaining a new level your character will inject himself and headbutt the nearest wall, falling into a coma.
Quests
All goals will be changed to timed escort missions that involve navigating an area jam-packed with explosives and fragile items that will end the mission in failure if anyone shoots or touches them.
Any attempt to complete a multi-pathed mission in a way that will benefit the player will fail, and any rewards gained after merely viewing it in your inventory will turn to dust.
Rewards range from being de-kidneyed, to an enormous golden nugget that will immediately overburden and crush you.
