The game comes to you

[BWTraveller]

OK, there's been a lot of shows the last few years about gamers getting sucked into the game, either through random chance or selection. Are there any good series though where the game invades reality instead, where literally rather than the heroes getting sucked into a game world some aspects of the game world enter their own reality? Besides Digimon, that is.

It doesn't have to be an actual "invasion" or transformation of reality either, it can just be a side of reality that was unknown and/or hidden being revealed, or even transportation to a different location where it's all happening (like how a couple old movies and books in America had a hero play a game about sci-fi battles only to get dragged away to fight a war once he demonstrates sufficient prowess through the "testing" device).

[coded321]

the only one that i know of is one of the games from the .hack video game series.

[Haak]

Dennou Coil is the closest I can think of.

[TinyRedLeaf]

And long before Dennou Coil, and at about the time the World Wide Web swept the world by storm, there was Serial Experiments Lain (1998).

YouTube

https://youtu.be/t9CXmEUwvgM

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The series focuses on Lain Iwakura, an adolescent girl living in suburban Japan, and her introduction to the Wired, a global communications network similar to the Internet.

Lain lives with her middle-class family, which consists of her inexpressive older sister Mika, her cold mother, and her computer-obsessed father. The first ripple on the pond of Lain's lonely life appears when she learns that girls from her school have received an e-mail from Chisa Yomoda, a schoolmate who committed suicide. When Lain receives the message at home, Chisa tells her (in real time) that she is not dead, but has just "abandoned the flesh", and found God in the Wired.

From then on, Lain is bound to a quest which will take her ever deeper into both the network and her own thoughts.

The series shows influences from topics such as philosophy, computer history, cyberpunk literature and conspiracy theory, and it was made the subject of several academic articles. English-language anime reviewers found it to be "weird" and unusual, with generally positive reviews.

ANIMANGA WIKI

Lain was a cult hit, partly for its horror themes and mind-bending plot, and partly because it articulated several fears about a "wired" existence long before it became cool to even talk about such concerns. You may find it difficult to find the anime today, though, given its vintage.

[Sackett]

Darwin's Game?

[larethian]

Phantasy Star Online 2

[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by coded321

the only one that i know of is one of the games from the .hack video game series.

From what I know of Hack it wouldn't fit. Hack's another of the stories where you're sucked into the game, trapped in the game or transported to a parallel world based on the game. I'm talking about stories where at first it's a game you're playing until either you find out that the things that are in the game are actually real, or they're now becoming real. This excludes parallel worlds where you're being taken out of your reality, as well as stories where you just decide to play a game only to find out that it's some sort of real-world person versus person thing. There's a game world, and real life, and then suddenly the things that only exist in the game are here in real life right alongside the normal real world. The furthest I stretch this request is things like people playing sci-fi games getting taken to a different planet or something similar where events are still happening in this universe. If you hijack a ship and head back to Earth, Earth doesn't look any different (unless there's been an invasion); the world's the same, there's just things in it that should only be on your PSP.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

I'm talking about stories where at first it's a game you're playing until either you find out that the things that are in the game are actually real.

Well, without giving too much away, I strongly suggest again that you check out Serial Experiments Lain. While it was not a game that drew Lain into the Wired -- nor was it a game per se that "invades reality" -- I think you'll find exactly what you're looking for in this anime.

They don't make titles like Lain any more, in any case. So, it's worth checking out just to see how different anime was, 20 years ago.

[SeijiSensei]

Both Gatchaman Crowds and Gatchaman Crowds Insight discuss the role of social networking and gaming based on those networks in modern society. They are both fairly serious social commentaries despite having a collection of superheroes as the main characters. They were directed by Nakamura Kenji who also made Mononoke, Kuuchuu Buranko, Tsuritama, and [C].

And a big second for Dennou Coil, one of my favorite shows of all time.

[Dawnstorm]

I haven't seen it myself, but from what I hear Bokurano might fit - with maybe a few caveats.

Maybe Selector Infected WIXXOS? (I haven't watched the second season, so I'm not sure how things end up breaking down in the end.)

[erneiz_hyde]

Wasn't there a ShinMegaTen title that have this? I didn't finish it so it's hazy but I think it had something to do with a social game becoming real or whatnot.

[kitten320]

Dennou Coil comes to mind.

Hmmm... Persona 4 maybe? They do go into the fictional world, but some elements (one of the characters) comes to this world from the other one.

[CeDeR]

Originally Posted by erneiz_hyde

Wasn't there a ShinMegaTen title that have this? I didn't finish it so it's hazy but I think it had something to do with a social game becoming real or whatnot.

That would be Devil Survivor 2 The Animation. I dropped it after a few episodes and I don´t remeber if it was any good TBH.

[Parousia]

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

some aspects of the game world enter their own reality? Besides Digimon, that is.

In the anime Accel World, the game does just that or actually it is one of the purpose of the game is to affect the players reality. The anime has a great concept on the game so the plot is quite good but be warned though, the MC is a problem for most of the people who have watched it.

Still it is a great watch so I highly recommend this.

[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by HolySin

In the anime Accel World, the game does just that or actually it is one of the purpose of the game is to affect the players reality. The anime has a great concept on the game so the plot is quite good but be warned though, the MC is a problem for most of the people who have watched it.

Still it is a great watch so I highly recommend this.

Seen it, and that's not what I meant about entering their reality. I meant the contents of the game become physically real or turn out to have been physically real in the real universe that the players originally inhabited. No getting sent to another world, and no diving into cyberspace or psychological impact of playing; if it's a game where you fight dragons, then there will be dragons in downtown at some point; if it's a game where you fly starships and fight aliens, there should be actual aliens either invading or abducting the player to participate in the real battle. The only scenario where transport to a parallel world fits to any extent is where the characters not only return to their original world, but the conflict and gamish elements come to their world with them, resulting in at least a good-sized arc in which, again, the elements of the gaming reality are manifest in their own world.

[Parousia]

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

Seen it, and that's not what I meant about entering their reality. I meant the contents of the game become physically real or turn out to have been physically real in the real universe that the players originally inhabited. No getting sent to another world, and no diving into cyberspace or psychological impact of playing; if it's a game where you fight dragons, then there will be dragons in downtown at some point; if it's a game where you fly starships and fight aliens, there should be actual aliens either invading or abducting the player to participate in the real battle. The only scenario where transport to a parallel world fits to any extent is where the characters not only return to their original world, but the conflict and gamish elements come to their world with them, resulting in at least a good-sized arc in which, again, the elements of the gaming reality are manifest in their own world.

How about BTOOOM! then? if you haven't seen it yet. It might be lacking some of the things you wanted but this is the closest one I can think of.

I forgot to add it last time, but Bokurano: Ours seems to fit the bill too.

[CeDeR]

Originally Posted by HolySin

How about BTOOOM! then? if you haven't seen it yet. It might be lacking some of the things you wanted but this is the closest one I can think of.

Yeah, this one fits perfectly what the OP asked for.