History Literature / TheSpectrumGame

* ManaCrystals: Natura crystals can either be made with conscious effort from humans or found in nature - albeit, they are rare, because of Coronus Crystallus hunting them down for the sake of business.

* JustForFun/XMeetsY: ‘’VideoGame/OctopathTraveler’’ meets ‘’VideoGame/LikeADragon’’, with a touch of ‘’VideoGame/Persona5’’.

->''"Confusion...the name of this ocean in which I dwell."''

The Spectrum Game is a book written by Tropers/Iceaura39. While it is planned to be a series, there is only one book out.

The Spectrum Game is a game played by the gods. [[TheChosenMany Four humans who were deemed to have sufficient potential]] were appointed as 'Admins', while several others, called 'Spectrums' were enlisted to defeat them.

The objectives were simple - defeat the Admins and [[GottaCatchEmAll claim all four of their swords]], and only then may you claim the privilege of facing off against the gods themselves.

The book follows the story of a boy named Inigo Lenahan, who has [[AmnesiacHero lost all his memories]] regarding his past. Setting out to discover them, he [[KidnappedByTheCall ends up roped]] into the Spectrum Game as a Spectrum, partnered up with the enigmatic Iago.

The story details the two boys and the friends they make along the way as they discover more and more of Inigo's past.

The story was inspired by several other works, most noticeably ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' and ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', but is, for the most part, its own story. Written on Wattpad, it was taken down and completely overhauled in October 2020, and is much different from the story it was before that.

* AdaptationalBadass: Inigo's psychokinesis doesn't appear to be linked to his bloodline anymore, and it doesn't wear on his physical strength anymore, meaning it's more effective overall.
* AdaptationalWimp: On the flip-side, Inigo’s fight record is much less impressive compared to the original book, as many of his fights here end in ties and he ends up being defeated twice. Overall, he seems fairly underpowered compared to his pre-rewrite self, but makes up for it with [[AdaptationalIntelligence being much more versatile and generally tricky in combat]].
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Iago appeared in Chapter 9 of the original book, but appears as early as Chapter 2 here.
* AdaptationalHeroism: ''Iago''. Dear gods, Iago. Having gone from a ManipulativeBastard and a massive {{Jerkass}}, he is now something of a {{Keet}}, and is much more helpful. [[spoiler:Subverted, however, given that Iago has been hinted to be hiding details of Inigo's past even this time around. Might actually be a case of AdaptationalVillainy, seeing as his previous incarnation was never ''homicidal''.]]
* AdaptationalNiceGuy:
** Inigo is still an icy DeadpanSnarker, but he isn't flat-out cold like he was in the previous writing of the story; he's perfectly interested in socialising with others, he just ''sucks'' at it.
** Also, Iago, as part of his AdaptationalHeroism, is much more interested in getting along with the people around him, and isn't putting on a JerkassFacade.
** In spite of his AdaptationalVillainy, Makoto also underwent this, coupled with a dose of AdaptationalIntelligence.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: This happened twice to Makoto.
** Scarlett went from being his school friend who he was implied to have a crush on to a FriendlyEnemy working for an opposing organisation.
** In the original book, Minori was his childhood friend and an ImpliedLoveInterest, who he acted [[ObliviousToLove obliviously towards]]. After the overhaul, due to her AdaptationalVillainy, she became an AbhorrentAdmirer who is more open with her affection, and he can’t stand her as a result.
** Inigo's relationship with Silas is a downplayed example, since now they are VitriolicBestBuds.
* AdaptationalVillainy:
** Makoto is still a nice person, but he works for Apex, the overhaul's counterpart for the Malum Militia, meaning that while he's only a PunchClockVillain, he still made the leap from AntiHero to AntiVillain.
** Minori, to a much greater extent, going from merely a JerkWithAHeartOfGold to TheSociopath and a SoftSpokenSadist. She also works for Apex, like Makoto, and unlike him, genuinely enjoys her work.
* AdaptationDeviation: A lot. For starters:
** The Malum Militia is now called 'Apex', and Makoto and Minori are now members.
** Instead of taking place in a school setting, the book is an urban fantasy that allows for more freedom.
** Unlike in the original book, Inigo is actually ''guilty'' of killing Makoto's father. Iago is also absent from this subplot, largely because of his AdaptationalHeroism.
** The incident of Azurine, Silas and the lucky charm was written out of the book, since the author thought Azurine would look too unsympathetic if the backstory remained.
** Stats are now measured out of 20 instead of 10. Additionally, certain characters had their stat distributions changed; Inigo once had high Defense and low Luck, but now he’s swapped the attributes.
* BigThinShortTrio: [[HeroicBuild Silas]], [[NothingButSkinAndBones Inigo]] and [[PintSizedPowerhouse Azurine]], who are frequently referred to as a "giant/golem", "skeleton" and "dwarf/hobbit/midget/[[Franchise/TheSmurfs Smurf]]", respectively.
* CerebusSyndrome: Underwent this in ''Book of Order'', as while there are still many moments of levity, the story is overall darker and more serious.
* CrossReferencedTitles: ''Book of Order'' does this twice, both relating to Minori:
** Chapter 3 is her first chapter where she plays an antagonistic role, and it is called ''Green-Eyed Demon'', referencing Minori, who represents the Deadly Sin of Envy and is at this point a villain. Her final chapter as an antagonist, where she has undergone a remorse-powered SuperMode, is titled ''Green-Eyed Angel''.
** Chapter 23, titled ''Clashing Logic'', features Minori's MaskOfSanity beginning to slip as Inigo deconstructs her worldview. Chapter 24 has her undergo a full-on VillainousBreakdown as a result of that, and is titled ''Crashing Logic''.
* DarkIsNotEvil: The concepts of Chaos and Darkness are treated just as neutrally as Order and Light.
* DevilButNoGod: Inverted. There are four gods in this world, but there doesn't seem to be a 'Satan' counterpart. The Gods of Chaos and Darkness are just as good as the other two, actively defying this trope, with the former being the one Inigo chooses to represent.
* {{Dramedy}}: The story can be either comedic or dramatic when it needs to be, with the first-person POV done to enhance both.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''Prelude'' featured a somewhat lighter tone, with mild, occasional [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall breaking]]. This is [[CerebusSyndrome largely absent]] in ''Book of Order'' onwards.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** Inigo’s monologue in Chapter 1 showcases his nature as both a DeadpanSnarker and a [[TheEeyore pessimist]], while also showing that he is something of a {{determinator}}, setting the stones for his DeterminedDefeatist tendencies later in the book.
** Iago’s appearances in Chapter 2 make clear his LargeHam and {{Troll}} tendencies, while also giving a sneak-peek of his general dynamic with Inigo.
** Silas and Azurine in Chapter 4 make their SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl dynamic known to all reading. Silas also gets one in Chapter 20, when he reveals some of his HiddenDepths, like [[MommasBoy his closeness and devotion to his mother]].
** Makoto gets his in Chapter 9, as he’s shown to be a genuinely NiceGuy, but also harboring a deep inner wrath and thirst for vengeance.
** Scarlett’s comes as late as Chapter 26, when after being portrayed as a shallow and flirty nuisance, she is shown to be a kind, if pushy, girl who DesperatelyCravesAffection.
** Valerie gets hers in Chapter 32, where beneath the lazy snarker she depicts herself as, she’s shown to be a deeply troubled and conflicted individual.
** The first chapter in Minori’s POV, Chapter 40, serves to establish two things; that her desire to reunite with Makoto is genuine, and that she is sorely lacking in self-awareness.
* FriendlyEnemy: Inigo, Makoto and Scarlett are all friends with one another, though it took a while for Inigo to do so. All three of them, however, are on opposing sides, making it this.
* ImpartialPurposeDrivenFaction: Despite being at the top of ''everyone’s'' hit-lists, Apex is this. They don’t actually care about the other factions trying to bring them down, instead focusing on their own goals.
* KnightOfCerebus: Libera turns out to be this as a whole, as they wind up darkening the tone of the story noticeably with [[spoiler:Iago's kidnapping]]. [[spoiler:As the one who masterminded this, however, it can be argued that the true Knight of Cerebus is ''[[ApparentlyPowerlessPuppetmaster Azurine]]''.]]
* LesserOfTwoEvils: Libera is portrayed as this compared to Apex, as they would be a straight-up ''heroic'' faction if not for the fact that [[HeWhoFightsMonsters they go too far in their attempts to stop them]], which leads to them being TheHeavy. The actual characters within said groups go back and forth on this. While Libera’s Valerie is an AntiVillain who doesn’t partake in their more extreme operations, Apex’s Minori is just shy of an absolute monster, who engages in sociopathic acts of sadism. On the flip side, Apex’s Makoto is shown to want to change his organisation’s ways from the inside, and is generally depicted as a sympathetic JerkassWoobie, while Libera’s Scarlett ''does'' participate in her group’s terrorist actions, and until her motivations are revealed, she is usually seen as more of a nuisance than anything.
* MoralityKitchenSink: All over the place. The only completely good characters are Silas and Azurine, and the only really evil one is Minori. Everyone else is somewhere in-between; Inigo and Makoto are well-meaning but ultimately selfishly motivated (though Inigo does at least [[CharacterDevelopment get better]]), Valerie is generally just plain neutral, and Scarlett and Iago are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s, though Scarlett is lighter than him in that she doesn’t ''want'' to be one, whereas Iago willingly walked that path.
* PersonalityPowers: The characters all seem to have personalities alluding to their primary elemental powers - [[AnIcePerson Inigo]] is calm and collected, [[CastingAShadow Iago]] is enigmatic and mysterious, [[ShockAndAwe Azurine]] is eccentric and outgoing, [[DishingOutDirt Silas]] is grounded and sensible, [[LightEmUp Makoto]] is cheerful and honor-driven, [[PowerOfTheVoid Minori]] is TheSociopath, [[PlayingWithFire Scarlett]] is HotBlooded and flirty, and [[NonElemental Valerie]] is straightforward and impulsive. Secondary elements are mostly random, however - we will never ''quite'' understand how [[MellowFellow Silas]] found an affinity for Fire.
* RedOniBlueOni:
** The Partners seem to be sorted in this way, with the two of them typically clashing in terms of outgoingness and intelligence, and their ColorMotifs tend to reinforce this.
*** Iago (Red) is [[LargeHam loud]], [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness talkative]] and a bit of a BloodKnight, while Inigo (Blue) is [[TheQuietOne quiet]], [[TheSnarkKnight ever-sarcastic]], and [[BadassPacifist prefers to talk things out]]. Fittingly, Iago is associated with Black, and Inigo with Violet.
*** Azurine (Red) is [[ThePollyanna cheerful]], [[GenkiGirl hyperactive]] and [[WideEyedIdealist very optimistic]], while Silas (Blue) is {{mellow|Fellow}}, [[TheReliableOne reliable]] and [[StraightMan much more sensible]]. The colours are rather non-indicative, however, as Azurine is associated with Blue, and Silas with Yellow.
*** Scarlett (Red) is [[TheTease flirtatious]], [[TheSocialExpert extroverted]] and [[TheGadfly somewhat mischievous]], while Valerie (Blue) is [[TheSlacker lazy]], [[LovableCoward cowardly]] and [[DeadpanSnarker sharp-tongued]]. Appropriately, [[RedGreenContrast Scarlett is literally associated with Red, and Valerie gets Green]].
*** Makoto (Red) is HotBlooded, [[HairTriggerTemper quick to anger]] and [[HonorBeforeReason rather boneheadedly moralistic]], while Minori (Blue) is [[TheSociopath near-sociopathic]] and [[StrawVulcan tries to come off as emotionless]]. On the inside, however, Makoto is revealed to be somewhat disillusioned and pessimistic, while Minori is a raving lunatic, so it's actually the other way around until Minori's VillainousBSOD, thus inverting the ColorMotifs as [[OrangeBlueContrast Makoto gets Orange while Minori gets Indigo]].
** The other relationships the Spectrums form with each other tend to fall into this mold. [[BrilliantButLazy Valerie]] becomes the Blue to [[SmugSuper Iago's]] Red, but next to [[SugarAndIcePersonality Inigo]], ''she'' becomes the Red. Inigo is the Blue to practically everyone he interacts with, but this is especially pronounced with [[IdiotHero Makoto]] and [[PerkyFemaleMinion Scarlett]], who also happen to be Blue and Red to one another, respectively.
* SetSwordsToStun: Similarly to ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', this is justified with the existence of Natura. Natura does have its limits, however, and someone who runs out of it can find themselves seriously wounded.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: This story seems to take on a more neutral viewpoint overall, as while it features protagonists taking morally grey actions and the villains getting a major win early on, with all sorts of angst, it is also rife with [[CharacterDevelopment characters growing for the better]] and seems to acknowledge that if you fight hard enough for it, you ''can'' EarnYourHappyEnding, and that there is such a thing as true good.
* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: Typically leans more on the serious side of things, but there are definitely silly moments. It tends to lean more on the dramatic than the comedic unless the heroes happen to have any downtime. Then it becomes really funny.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: [[spoiler:When it's time to stop Iago from going on his rampage, Inigo, Makoto and Scarlett are uneasy at best about having to work with [[EnemyMine Kotoba]] to achieve this.]]
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Inigo hangs a lampshade on the frequency of this trope in gaming and writing.
--> '''Inigo:''' Ah, so this was a childhood friends thing. Were this a video game or book, they would be destined to fall in love and live happily ever after. Unless there was literally any other woman in Silas' life. Then Azurine was doomed to a life of loneliness.
* UrbanFantasy: Despite the copious fantastical elements, the story has a mostly modern, if slightly futuristic setting.
* VillainousCrush:
** Minori, a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] TokenEvilTeammate for Apex, has a crush on Makoto, Apex's idealistic InternalReformist.
** Scarlett is more of an AntiVillain, but she is mildly hinted to have developed feelings for Inigo.
* JustForFun/XMeetsY: ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' meets ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', with sprinklings of ''Franchise/{{Persona}}''.