Jean’s frustration simmered as she stared at the menu, ignoring the growls and moans of the undead. She was standing now and back to her normal FIC avatar as she currently wasn’t in the campaign anymore. She took a breath and tried to calm herself. There had to be a reason. She hadn’t had this game long and she was really looking forward to seeing what else it had to offer. The thought of wasting money on an unfinished product made her blood boil. She shook her head and looked at the menu again. The normal options were there. Mentally, she clicked on “Support Us!”
A browser window appeared before her, showing the crowd funding website, RevUp! She saw the name of page was for a company called Shattered Minds Studios. A large picture showed the same title screen, zombies and all. The name of the project, however, was slightly different.
Shattered Minds Studios started up Survivor’s Siege!
It went on to describe the same game that she had been playing. She looked over the proposed features, noting a few small changes but nothing that would warrant a completely new game. Finally, she came upon an embedded video. She pushed it and a familiar face appeared.
“Hi,” said Anne, sitting at a desk, her arms folded neatly in front of her. “My name is Dr. Anne Diamante. If you see this video, that means you are someone who bought Survivor Siege recently.” She sighs as she gives the camera an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry that game was left the way it was. I really did want to finish it, but in order to make certain that it was as best as I could make it, I had to restart from the ground up.” Jean watched Anne as she stopped and collected herself. “You see,” she began again, “I am on the cusp of revolutionizing not only this game, not just the gaming industry,” she slides forward in her chair as passion fills her voice. “But even our own society.” She laughs, sitting back in her chair. “I know what that sounds like, but I believe I can do it. Most importantly, I want you to help.”
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Jean paused the video, thinking. Yes, this was a sales pitch, one she has seen countless times not only at her job but in her time as a gamer. How many times had she heard, “X will revolutionize the industry”? And yet, every time, there was a tell. A smile that didn’t reach the eyes, a forced laugh, or a eye that shifts ever so slightly. She saw none of that in the video. Anne could be a great actress, it’s true, but Jean didn’t think so. She really believed she was going to do something big. She pressed onto the window again, making the video resume.
“Now, for security’s sake, I can’t say what it is that I’m doing,” Anne in the video said quickly, holding up her hand as if placating her viewer. “But I promise you it will be worth it. As such, I have a choice for you.” She held out her hands, palm up as though presenting two choices. “On the one hand, if you just want to play Survivor’s Siege but want no other involvement, you can use this link.” She indicated her left hand where the image of a webpage appeared. “This will take you to the Rev Up! payment page that anyone else will have access to. You can choose your donation, look at the rewards offered, and get updates as normal. However,” her eyes gleamed as another webpage appeared in her right hand. “This will take you to a special reward level. Your payment for the original Survivor Siege will be deducted from the price of this level and you’ll have access up to two months in advance. You would be helping in beta access, not just bug hunting or giving feedback, but your unique character will be able to shape the game as a whole.” She held both hands closer to the camera. “It’s your choice.”
Jean paused the video again and looked at the gleaming face of Anne. Her initial reaction was to simply choose the normal wepage, pay her way into the game and be done with it. As she looked into the shining green eyes of the other woman, she found herself conflicted. Again, she got the idea that Anne truly believed in what she was doing. She knew she would change the world. She stood there her hand moving as though on its own. She wavered between the two options.
“Ah, the hell with it,” she sighed throwing her hands into the air. She clicked on the special webpage muttering, “What’s the worse that can happen?”