With Vampire Survivor's framework set, WindyPeak Games Inc. dove into production. Roguelikes, despite their simple graphics and minimal story, were a beast to build. The core was random equipment combos—dozens of items, hundreds of interactions. Balancing that without breaking the game was a nightmare, eating up most development time.
Luckily, Gus Shepard's Game Vault system was a cheat code. Beyond source code, it spat out a detailed Vampire Survivor item encyclopedia—weapon stats, prop effects, and superweapon fusion formulas. Gus only had to tweak and debug.
"Thank you, magic system," Gus muttered, poring over data. "Without this, we'd need two months, not one."
As planner and director, Gus juggled core design and project oversight. Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers, his trusty "iron triangle," handled the rest, only looping him in for big decisions. Their teamwork was seamless.
In a month, Vampire Survivor version 1.0 was born: two maps, four characters, sixteen weapons, seventeen props, eleven superweapons, ten drops. Goal? Survive 30 minutes. Simple, random, and unlike anything this world had seen.
Gus was hyped but nervous. The game was a hit in his past life, but here? No guarantees. Still, it was done. Time to hand it to IndieVibe and let the market decide.
…
Three days later, Saturday morning, 8 a.m., at IndieVibe Technologies' Seattle headquarters, a conference room buzzed with suited execs.
At the head sat Victor Lang, IndieVibe's VP and platform CEO, a sharp 35-year-old in a navy shirt, slicked-back hair, and gold-rimmed glasses. He exuded calculated charm.
His secretary glanced at him. "Mr. Lang, ready to start?"
"Yeah," Victor nodded.
One word, and the room fell silent. Execs froze, wary of the new boss's reputation. Nobody wanted to cross him.
"Let's get to it," Victor said, flipping open his notebook. "Tomorrow, Sunday, 8 p.m., our annual Indie Game Expo kicks off. Not our first rodeo, but this one's special."
He paused for effect. "We're shining a light on designers—bringing the game's soul from backstage to the spotlight. Call me cocky, but I want IndieVibe to birth the next global design icon."
The room erupted in applause. Victor, a dreamer with a plan, wasn't just running a platform—he wanted to reshape the indie scene.
He raised a hand. "This event's critical, so we've got rules: Two musts—every vote must be transparent, every game's exposure fair. Three no's—corruption, power abuse, or favoritism? No tolerance, no leniency, no rehiring."
His words hit like thunder. Past expos had seen shady deals, but Victor was done with that. This was IndieVibe's big push to crown a "Supernova Designer"—no room for screw-ups.
"Secretary Carter, details," Victor said.
Carter nodded, opening her notebook. "As of midnight, we've got 582 entries: 270 solo designers, 103 studios, 54 companies. The expo starts Sunday, 8 p.m., runs 14 days. All games are free-to-play during the event. The winner, voted by players, gets the 'Supernova Designer' title and a 30-day homepage banner."
…
That night, as dusk fell, the indie gaming world buzzed. Twitch, YouTube Live, and smaller platforms like IndieCast saw streamers swap to "Indie Game Expo" tags. Some paused mid-broadcast to refresh IndieVibe's homepage, hyped for the 8 p.m. launch.
Forums like GameBox and PlayTab were ablaze, speculating on the expo's dark horse and who'd claim "Supernova Designer."
In her cozy pink room, Zoey Parker lounged on her bed, half-watching a show, feet up. The clock ticked to 8 p.m.
Ding! Her Investment Rebate System chimed.
Investment opened!
Project: Vampire Survivor
Investment: $200,000
Estimated Rebate: $2 million
Settlement Time: 14 days, 1 hour, 0 minutes, 0 seconds