Zoey Parker felt a pang of guilt.
In her eyes, Boss Harper was always steady—bright as noon sun, calm as a spring breeze.
Gentle, yet unbreakable.
In game dev, nothing fazed him.
Weird demands? Odd feedback? He'd whip up genius ideas, crafting epic game worlds for all.
But this supernova, born for gaming…
Was now sulking over weak promo!
He looked lost, like "it's all fate, no control."
And the culprit? Zoey!
She'd squashed the game's hype!
Dodged all PR!
She'd dimmed a star, drowning his spark in cigarette smoke!
I'm the worst!
The more Zoey thought, the worse she felt.
What am I doing?
Killing a sapling that could've been a redwood!
Screw this!
Zoey steeled herself, gritted her teeth, and tossed her system and 100x Bonus Card aside.
Even if it meant losing $1B in rebates, she couldn't watch Gus crash!
"Speak up!"
"Any chance to fix this?"
Next second!
Gus Harper didn't hesitate. He flicked his cigarette ash and grinned:
"Yup, been ready for ages."
What the—?!
His sudden confidence nearly snapped Zoey's spine.
Wait… huh?!
Something's off!
Zoey scratched her head, brain buffering.
She eyed Gus—no trace of gloom on this guy's face.
Something's fishy!
"Uh…?"
Zoey squinted, unsure:
"You were… prepared?"
"Fearless Sniper'll hit our sales," Gus said, pointing at the stream. He shrugged:
"Two months back, post-USEA expo, they delayed their release. Obvious move—they're jacking our second-gen FPS. You didn't see that coming?"
Gus tapped his forehead, smirking:
"Oh, right. You were too busy chilling with Chloe Quinn."
What?!
Zoey's jaw tightened.
Is he shading me for slacking? Sneaky jab, huh?!
Her blood pressure spiked.
Then!
She realized she'd jumped the gun.
Gus spilled the full story from the USEA's 10th VR Game Design Media Conference—competitors swarming him, Twitch streamers hyping, his "MFGA" slogan, crowd cheers, media frenzy.
"Oh, and one thing," Gus said, stubbing his cigarette, puzzled:
"Why'd you try cheering me up at the expo? Heard some gossip? I was wiped and didn't ask…"
Zoey: …
"…Hold up, I need my meds."
She stood, wobbling, clutching the wall, and shuffled out of Gus's office.
Gus rose, worried: "You okay?"
Thud.
Zoey nearly faceplanted, waving shakily: "…I'm an idiot."
Outside!
Her face turned green!
Temples throbbed, veins popped, blood pressure rocketed!
So that day… Gus wasn't crushed!
Not a dreamless salted fish!
Just dog-tired, sprawled like a dead pup!
That's why!
He, Luke Bennett, and Jake Rivers ate like they'd starved for centuries!
Not "grief-to-gluttony" nonsense!
Gus Harper, you—!
Zoey wailed internally:
You're the worst!!!!
Ten minutes later!
Zoey returned with steaming BrewJoy herbal tea.
"What's that?" Gus eyed it.
"Calm-my-nerves tea," Zoey deadpanned, raising her mug: "Want a sip?"
"Nah…"
Gus waved it off:
"Not my vibe."
Pfft—
Gus's dry humor cracked Zoey up.
She blew on her tea, asking:
"So, you knew Fearless Sniper was coming and had a plan?!"
"Yup," Gus nodded, all chill. "If I couldn't predict that, I'd be a lousy director."
"Then why the mopey face during the stream?"
Zoey gaped, half-sure Gus was trolling.
"Oh, that?" Gus chuckled:
"Their second-gen FPS is a mess. It's an insult to our creativity and the industry's standards. It's like—"
"A gold-plated turd."
Zoey: …
Yup, I'm a fool for buying your act.
She chugged her tea, warmth soothing her.
"Okay, what's your plan?"
Knowing Gus was back to his cocky self, Zoey braced for doom—her investment was toast.
But she wanted to know how she'd crash.
Gus paused, then said: "Let players help us make the game."
"Huh? Players… make games?"
Zoey blinked:
"What's that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Gus said. "We let players add to Left 4 Dead 2, beef up its content."
Zoey kinda got it: "Like hiring an outsourcing team?"
"Close," Gus nodded.
"Except we pay outsourcers. Players…"
"We don't pay."
Holy—!
What a wild move!
Zoey's scalp tingled. She kicked her chair back, keeping distance from Gus.
There it is! The capitalist! Dang it!
Zoey glared, righteous fury burning:
"You're pulling a sweatshop move? Free player labor?"
"Yup."
Gus didn't flinch, owning it:
"For Left 4 Dead 2, we could've added more sensory tech—smells, better touch."
"But we didn't."
"We saved cash and teamed with IndieVibe Tech to build a game module."
"With VR cabin encryption and IndieVibe's support, we let players mod without exposing our core tech."
"Gun skins, character models, items, music, new maps, even game modes."
"It's customization, but we call it—"
"Creative Workshop."
Oh snap—
Gus's pitch was hype, his vision wild!
If this Creative Workshop worked, the game could blow up.
But!
Zoey sniffed the sugar-coated trap—two words:
Free labor!
Players working for love? No way.
Game dev isn't gaming!
Coding, modeling, bug-fixing—boring as heck!
Who'd slave away for free?!
No game ever pulled this off.
But!
This was her lifeline!
Zoey's lips curled.
She'd feared Gus had a genius plan to crush Fearless Sniper despite their budget gap.
But this? Wishful thinking!
She relaxed, nodding:
"Sounds… promising. When's it live?"
"Per our progress…"
Gus smacked his lips:
"Tomorrow night."
The Creative Workshop was tested, ready to launch.
But first, Gus's team needed demo mods—weapon skins, grenade effects, character outfits.
Small tweaks, just for show.
What players would do with it?
Gus, who'd once rocked a Miku model with a fire unicorn, slicing zombies with a gilded katana, and fought a Thomas the Tank Engine boss, shrugged:
"No clue. Depends on the players' vibe."
…
"40,000 copies sold day one! Fearless Sniper's a U.S. titan!"
"King's here! Radiant Games tops daily sales!"
"Perfect shooting! Fearless Sniper redefines FPS!"
"MFGA's real, but it ain't WindyPeak."
"Fearless Sniper dominates, Left 4 Dead 2's toast."
"…"
San Francisco, Radiant Games HQ.
Dylan Kane grinned at the headlines!
As he'd said, with enough promo cash, Apex Interactive's blitz was unstoppable.
Supernova or genius designer, you're just a stepping stone.
40,000 copies day one!
Beating Left 4 Dead 2's 32,772 by nearly 10,000!
A win worthy of the game's massive budget!
Felix Warren, seeing Dylan's grin, poured tea, beaming:
"Next, we'll ramp up promos, eat WindyPeak's market share, and push our 1+2 mode as RFPS—Reality First-Person Shooter."
Apex's classic play:
Steal a game's core, tweak it, localize it.
Then, with PR, bury the original, twist its gameplay name, and rebrand it.
Day by day, year by year, the original fades, forgotten.
Then Apex claims their "original" RFPS as their own.
"Solid," Dylan nodded.
"Do it. And push the poaching. Sooner it's done, the better."
"No worries," Felix said, clinking teacups with Dylan:
"It's in the bag, haha…"
Yup.
Day two of Fearless Sniper's launch, weekly sales pending.
But they popped champagne early.
It's always worked!
Once they dominate, rivals can't recover!
This time's no different!
Day-one sales gap will widen, leaving WindyPeak crushed!
That's Radiant Games' confidence—Apex Interactive's power!
Next…
They toasted, sipping tea, ready to watch Left 4 Dead 2 die slow…