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Connor Wright has always had an affinity for video games. Everything from discovery and adventure to stepping into different worlds outside his own, video games have given him an escape that he’s always looked for. As a college student, he is even trying to develop one himself. His enjoyment of games soon paid off as he was chosen by his favorite developer, Dominic Dawson of SnoWire Interactive, to test a new immersive augmented reality game called ‘The Mortal Gate’. By enlisting the help of the closest group of friends he has, he is given the opportunity of a lifetime to make his dream come true. In gaining this chance, it also comes with an unforeseen risk that Connor and his friends are not ready for. The technology used to immerse the players in the digital fantasy world of Albistair has now trapped them inside with no clue how to escape. With no way to logout or remove themselves from the game, their objective is made clear; find the Keystones of the Mortal Gate, endure the dangers of the game, and face its mysterious antagonist, the Archon, in order to return to reality before the game destroys them. Throughout their journey, Connor and his friends will meet NPC’s that seem a little too real, make questionable alliances, and discover their true selves can either bring them closer together or tear each other apart.
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The view through the ‘scope started to get shaky. Keeping the retinal view steady for the perfect shot is always a daunting task, but it’s necessary for those who have the patience to wait for their prey. The trigger is picking up condensation from how long my index finger had been resting on it. But it’s time to be vigilant. The sounds of approaching footsteps caused me to stir but couldn’t be the cause for hasty action. All the sides are covered, save for the one directly ahead. The only place the target could approach, knowing that they weren’t alone here. The footsteps slow down to a walk. Just a couple more seconds. The target bursts into a sprint again. Through the ‘scope, the target finally shows their face.
“Bang.”
The trigger is squeezed and it’s a direct hit. But the target isn’t done for yet, hanging on for dear life. Quickly reload my rifle to end it quickly. I gaze through the scope and find the target frantically trying to escape, but it’s fruitless. I squeeze the trigger, firing one last round into the target’s head. Finally, it’s done. “#1 Victory Royale” flashes on the screen.
I can hear the last player cursing and insulting my mom, but that didn’t matter. It only made me chuckle as I gained all the awards from the battle royale. After months of practice, this game has become less of a challenge and more of an endeavor to see how many twelve-year-old kids I can piss off.
“You probably live in your mom’s basement!”
“You’re probably 40 years old.”
“You’ve never gotten laid if you’re this good at Fortnite.”
“Get off your fat, lazy ass and do something with your life, you pathetic waste of human life!”
That one’s a favorite of mine. It’s amazing to see what lengths these kids will go to make themselves feel better. I live in an apartment in Salt Lake City with a roommate, paying $400 a month for my half. I am 20 years old going to the University of Utah for video game design; go figure. I am not a virgin, but it’s been a few years since...that. I am, in my opinion, a slender built guy, although I’m not the biggest fan of the freckles under my eyes.
I take the headphones off of my head and set my controller down, rubbing my eyes and looking at the time on my phone. It read 11:38 A.M., meaning I’d been gaming for about six straight hours and that class starts in about twenty minutes. “Christ!”, I leave my small bedroom and into the hall that separated my room from my roommate’s, who was out of the apartment at class, before going to the bathroom at the end of the hall. I close the door after turning the light on and look at myself in the mirror. My dirt blonde hair is matted down from how long I wore my headphones, and there were dark circles under my dark green eyes. I turn on the faucet and cup some water in my hands before splashing my face with it. Some droplets land on my dark gray oversized tee, which didn’t bother me much because I often wore it for bed. Running my hands through the towel I had, I wipe the remaining drops of water on my gym shorts before leaving the bathroom to my room to get ready for class.
When I got to my room, my phone is lighting up on the nightstand near my bed. The phone shows a missed call and a message from a guy that I met at a game shop in North Salt Lake City called “The Cache”. His name is Riley, a huge game nerd like me, but more into tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering while I stick to console games like Mass Effect or Call of Duty.
Riley texted me about a game tournament happening at The Cache and wants me to get into it. He knew how much of a gamer I was, hardly ever backing down from a challenge that I could face. In truth, I don’t find any challenge in tabletop gaming because I know how Riley thought during his campaigns. He’s predictable and it takes all the fun out of challenging myself. I don’t see myself as conceited or self-absorbed, just kind of good at reading people.
I reply with a “Maybe” before putting my phone away and shuffling through my closet for clean clothes. The best I can find was an Xbox One shirt, blue and gray flannel to throw over it, a pair of dark cargo shorts, and my best pair of shoes that have lasted me for a couple of years now. Once I got dressed, I quickly leave my apartment and run down the stairs that lead to the parking lot, where my bike is locked up at the rack. Quickly taking the chain off, I mount my bike and take off down the street towards campus.
In Salt Lake City, I live in a complex that’s about six blocks away from campus, which is a big ass campus for those who have never visited “The U”. Nearly 33,000 students, five different schools of study, and a very open campus with a lot of foot traffic that was not kind to those of us that rode bikes. Don’t get me wrong, I can drive a car well, but in a place that has so many people and such crazy traffic everywhere, I can’t help but feel safer on foot or on a bike.
I ride my ten-speed down the bike lanes on the streets on the way to campus, getting honked at every other car or so. It doesn’t bother me much since I always have my headphones in and hooked up to my phone to drown out the endless noise of the city. Reality is a giant clusterfuck of noise and endless conflict at every turn. Violence, death, lies, deceit, and it all just simply sucks. That’s why I turned to video games and electronic living, really. It’s an escape. The best kind. One that allows us to be whomever, wherever, and whenever we want to be in time and space. An escape where we make our decisions based on how we feel, and we learn the consequences of them without hurting anyone. If, somehow, people could learn to make decisions like those and put them into reality, the world would be less fucked up. At least, in my opinion it would.
I maneuver around some of the cars and bystanders before getting onto the campus itself, getting yelled at by some as I pass by. Sometimes it makes me laugh, other times it just makes me roll my eyes. Campus security often didn’t like those who rode bikes or skateboards on campus, but that has hardly ever stopped us. I pull up to the Entertainment Arts and Master Gaming Studio building, where I undertake most of my classes and studies. My entire future was in this building, and I have loved every damn minute of being here.
“Yo! Connor!”
I look behind me with a small smile, glancing at who called out. Mark Yong, a guy I frequently see in the building, and we’ve actually had the chance to become friends and hang out at the campus social when we wait for our next classes. He’s an Asian-American that is going to school for the musical entertainment industry by producing and generating music through different kinds of electronic instruments. Mark is about two inches taller than me, has softer features in the face, and short black hair. His choice of clothing style is as loud and colorful as his personality. Today, he’s wearing a bright blue muscle shirt with Steve Aoki’s signature silhouette on it, along with loose-fit shorts, shin-high socks, and sandals. Around his neck are a set of bright white ‘Beats’ that he wore all the time. Locking arms with him is a young woman, African American, lovely features that compliment her angular face, brown eyes, full lips, and long black hair with red highlights. She’s about my height, but healthily slim, wearing a white tank top and cut-off shorts, wearing designer sandals. Danica, Mark’s girlfriend.
They both approach me with Mark delivering a half-power punch to my shoulder that I returned. “Dude, you look like beaten shit.” Danica tries to stifle her laugh, but a small squeak still came out of her.
I sigh and stare Mark down, “Dude, you look like a douchebag.”
Someone walking by us made a spit-take sound at the comment I made, which made me smile in victory, while Mark simply just flipped me off. Danica pats us both on the shoulder, “You two idiots have fun. I gotta go. See ya.” She kisses Mark before walking away, leaving us to walk into the building together.
“Plans for Spring Break back home?”
I almost forgot that Spring break was coming up in about a week. “Not really. Probably just hang back here and see if Riley needs any extra hands at the Cache. I could use the extra money for rent. Dennis is getting sloppy with his half.”
“Dude, you need to get out more,” Mark scolded. “Get the hell away from the video games for a while and get a girl or something. Look, this weekend, just come hang out with Dani and me. We’ll get some people together, get some drinks in us, have some fun.”
I stop in front of the computer labs that I had all of my training and classes in to make my quick exit, “Maybe another time. Gotta go.”
The lab is huge. It has nearly thirty computers that are built specifically for programming and game design. Each computer came loaded with two gigahertz of processing power with some damn good RAM, HDMI outputs, and enough system cooling to air out a sauna and keep the system from overloading with the amount of programming we do every day.
My computer station is in the far back corner of the lab, so I can work in a more private part of the lab. Everyone in the class was responsible for a huge project due by the end of the semester, which was creating a startup for anything of their choosing. From my position in the lab, I got a firsthand look at some of the projects the others were doing, and when I say they are rip-offs of every major startup that has been made, I don’t joke. I have seen “the next ‘Minecraft’”, a “better version of ‘Fortnite’”, and my personal favorite, “the greatest game that will bury ‘Elder Scrolls’”. The gaming and movie industries have really slipped up on originality, which is why I am trying to create a much more unique style of gaming for a time that looks to find an escape.
“Mr. Wright?” My eyes shoot up from my station and look to the instructor, Professor Torres.
“Yes, sir?”
Professor Torres’s expression went from concerned to amused, “Don’t give me that ‘sir’ junk, Connor. Remember, it’s Mister T.”
That was cringy to hear, a man trying to get everyone to call him by a famous actor’s stage name. But he’s in charge of giving me my future passing grade to do what I’ve wanted to do my whole life.
“Yes sir, Mister T.”
“That’s better,” he jokes. At least, I hope he’s joking. “So, how goes your work on… what did you call your project again?”
“Soulscape, and it’s coming together nicely. I think it’ll be something to remember.”
Professor Torres smiles and gives me a thumbs up before moving on. I look back to the screen and begin working on the programming and mechanics of the startup. This startup, Soulscape, was everything I have been building up to on my journey to become a designer and developer. A chance for me, and others that would become interested, to finally escape what they thought was a shitty, empty world.
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