Zoey Parker's brain sparked in the Seattle Convention Center's bathroom. She locked the stall, sat on the toilet lid, and exhaled. Quiet at last. Her competitors' dumb questions had birthed a wild plan.
Small studios like WindyPeak were doomed in the VR pod market. Buying a VR game engine cost hundreds of thousands—$500,000 to $1 million a quarter. Development needed dozens of coders, artists, and testers. More cash. Big studios like Apex Interactive owned the market, leaving scraps for indies. It's a money incinerator.
Then, horror games. The market loved shooters, racers, and sports—VR's holy trinity. Horror? A ghost town. No demand, no profits. Perfect.
A VR horror game was a guaranteed flop. Invest $1 million, lose half—$5 million rebate. Zoey's eyes gleamed. I'm a genius. She waved a fist, vowing to top her framed $40 rebate.
…
WindyPeak scored big at the IndieVibe exchange. Zoey's toilet epiphany gave her a loss-making blueprint. Gus Harper, meanwhile, dug into VR pod tech. Chatting with devs, he learned VR pods hit the scene a decade ago, exclusive to rich techies due to high costs. Recent breakthroughs by global tech giants made them affordable, flooding the mid-range market. Movies, shopping, education—VR was everywhere.
Game giants pounced, locking VR into shooters, racers, and sports. Niche genres like visual novels or rhythm games flopped hard. Horror? Nonexistent. Gus was stunned. VR and horror are a match made in hell. No market was odd, but he shelved his questions, planning to grill Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers later.
The next day, media went wild. Gus and Zoey were indie royalty:
"Rising Star! WindyPeak's Designer Is a Kid Genius!"
"Shock! Three Hit Games from a College Student!"
"Cute or Cutthroat? Meet WindyPeak's CEO!"
"New Blood: The Future of Gaming Is Here."
X comments exploded:
"Gus is my age?!"
"Sunny vibe, but Who's the Daddy is pure chaos."
"Zoey's buns are giving Q-version energy."
"She's Nezha with those buns, lotus root vibes!"
"Her dad's a business titan, no cap."
Gus, sprawled in his office chair, munched potato chips and chugged soda, scrolling X. Life's good.
A knock. Chloe Quinn poked her head in. "Gus, got a sec? Zoey wants to talk new project."