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In WindyPeak's Portland office, Gus Harper slouched, scrolling X posts.
Shooting games—PC to VibeX1—ruled the market.
WindyPeak aimed to go big, challenging U.S. and global giants.
Gus's research showed a crowded FPS scene: first-person, third-person, single-player, multiplayer, modern, sci-fi, realistic, fantasy.
But, like horror, they were stuck.
Single-player? Protagonist mows through enemies, maybe swings a knife.
Multiplayer? Team deathmatches abroad, bomb-defusal or cop-criminal modes at home.
The freshest idea was Max Payne's bullet time—20 years old.
No "second-gen FPS" existed.
Second-gen FPS: hyper-realistic settings, no virtual crosshairs, aiming via iron sights or optics, dynamic health instead of fixed 100 HP.
In Gus's old world, Counter-Strike was first-gen; Call of Duty was second-gen.
Here? No COD, no Battlefield.
Virtual crosshairs dominated.
The closest thing? Fireline's XM8 secondary aiming.
Big studios ignored "shooting form."
Single-player devs chased epic plots and flashier effects.
Multiplayer devs tweaked "feel" or peddled $888 loot-box guns.
Second-gen FPS would come—VibeX1's rise guaranteed it.
But not yet.
Gus wanted to pioneer it, snag the "Father of Second-Gen FPS" title with a groundbreaking game.
His pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trilogy—Soap, Ghost, Makarov, that gut-punch airport scene.
A single-player benchmark.
Price tag? $5,000,000 in emotional points.
Gus balked.
Next best: Titanfall 2.
Epic, tragic, gut-wrenching.
Cost? $1,000,000 emotional points—for six hours, no multiplayer.
Phasmophobia's 100,000 points felt big, but this?
Unreachable.
Knock knock.
Luke Bennett posed at the door, all swagger.
"Agent Luke, more news?" Gus smirked.
Luke poured water, flopped on the sofa. "Two good newses."
"Spill," Gus said.
"Phasmophobia's monthly sales: 55,557 copies in week one, no slowdown. Topped horror charts four weeks straight, $13,560,000 revenue, $8,850,000 profit after costs and commission."
Legendary for a $2,000,000 horror game.
Most games fade post-week one; Phasmophobia was a diamond-hard teen, still surging.
Gus nodded. $8,850,000 profit, plus Cat Leo and Who's the Daddy cash, meant tens of millions for the next project.
Comfort zone's too damn cozy, Gus thought.
No budget woes, just pure creation.
WindyPeak could outshine his old world's Activision—no potato servers here.
"Second news?" Gus asked.
Luke tossed an invitation letter.
"Per U.S. Cultural Bureau, to advance the gaming industry, foster resource sharing, and boost entertainment development, the U.S. Digital Entertainment Association, with top gaming media, invites you to the 10th VR Gaming Design Media Conference…"
"Hot damn, USEA invited us?!" Gus gaped.
The U.S. Digital Entertainment Association (USEA) was the industry's kingpin, a semi-official juggernaut.
It hosted quarterly conferences—VR, PC, mobile, general—prepping for the U.S. Digital Entertainment Expo (USDE), this world's ChinaJoy equivalent.
Unlike Gus's old ChinaJoy—a chaotic mess—USDE rivaled Gamescom, Tokyo Game Show, and E3.
Shine at USDE, and you'd hit the World Game Awards.
A USEA conference invite for WindyPeak, barely a year old, was unreal.
Am I the protagonist of some tech bro novel? Gus chuckled.
"This is huge," Luke said. "Nail this, and we're VR platform royalty."
No exaggeration—USEA's clout was unmatched.
But timing sucked.
Perfect for a second-gen FPS debut—USEA's reach could spark media frenzy.
Problem? COD and Titanfall 2 were budget-breakers: $100,000,000+ and 900,000+ emotional points short.
A promo video was doable—three-minute CG, some in-game mockups, three months away.
But then what?
No game to back it up.
Big studios like Rockstar could tease GTA6 forever; players memed and waited.
WindyPeak? One empty promise, and players would torch them, tanking future sales.
Zoey Parker wouldn't stand for that.
Her $150,000 VibeX1 deal and Phasmophobia's $8,850,000 profit screamed quality obsession.
Sales hits were her gospel.
Gus scribbled: Second-gen FPS, $10,000,000+, 100,000 emotional points, killer themes…
Luke tossed him a cigarette, staying quiet.
Knock knock knock.
Chloe Quinn peeked in. "Boss Zoey's back. Wants you in her office if you're free."
Gus's eyes lit up.
Perfect timing.
Phasmophobia's success was half him, half Zoey's sly $80,000 IndieVibe nudge.
"On my way," Gus said, grabbing his notes.
Let's hear what the bigshot's got.