CHAPTER 1: GAME-TESTERS WANTED
WC: 1455
[Welcome to RE Games, where we strive to create an unparalleled virtual reality experience through exciting interactive storylines and endless epic fantasy adventures]
The speaker in the wall of my cubby had a soothing voice. The kind of thing you’d expect from a ship computer in a sci-fi movie. I sat in what looked like a cross between a gamer chair and the kind you’d find in a dentist office. My cubicle had three walls and no door, and a screen faced me on the opposite wall. A wireless controller and headset rested on a little table beside me.
“Thank you for coming to today’s interview,” a woman with an accent said through the overhead wall speaker. “Liaisons are coming around to each booth to help you begin the tutorial. The process takes about an hour, and after it is complete, you will answer a short questionnaire.”
I leaned around and looked out through the open doorway of my cubby. I hadn’t seen anyone come down the hallway. The office had black carpet and white walls, and the wall directly across from me featured a chair rail and above it was a dozen or so black-and-white photographs of metal technology components. Each picture was maybe two feet by two feet and surrounded by a wide white mat and thin black frame. Everything in the office seemed to be a shade of black, white, or gray.
As I was peering out, a woman in a black business dress and with short, curly reddish hair and glasses nearly ran into my face as she turned the corner. “Pardon me,” she said.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, and pulled myself back into my dentist chair.
She fiddled with a control panel on the side of my screen.
“Your number for the trial is #47,” she said. “What is your first name?”
“Tyler.”
“Last name?”
“Berkshire.”
“Okay, Tyler. My name is Mindy. Welcome to RE Games. You can place the headset on your head and take the controller. Make sure the front headset points rest comfortably on your temples and adjust as you need so you can hear well in the headphones. You may press start when you’re ready. Did you have any questions about the trial or any game content?”
“No.” It felt weird to ask when I’d get paid or whether I would be automatically hired. It was my first time looking for a summer job, so I didn’t want to look dumb.
“I see on your paperwork that you marked no to medical conditions that might be affected by a VR game experience. Just to be sure, have you ever experienced seizures, vertigo, loss of consciousness, faintness, or difficulty breathing—especially when on a ride or rollercoaster—or any other ill effects from heights or motion?”
“No. I don’t have any medical conditions.”
“Perfect.”
“I’ve played a lot of different kinds of games. VR ones, too.”
“Okay, Mr. Berkshire. If you do find yourself feeling faint or anxious during the game trial, please use your interactive menu to exit the game and press the option button on the controller to call for a liaison and I will come assist you.”
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“Thanks.”
“Okay, if you don’t have any questions, let’s get started.” Mindy tapped the screen and it turned on. She selected an option called Test Tutorial and gave me a warm smile. “Have fun, Mr. Berkshire. See you in about an hour.”
I relaxed into my seat and waited for the copyright stuff and health warnings to pass on the screen. Renaissance Faire-type music played in the headphones, and when prompted I pressed the button to start the game. A dramatic pan of a mountain range showed off the developers’ attention to detail. The camera’s view came to rest on a castle in the foreground of the mountains. Medieval in style, the castle was built of gray-brown stone, with ivy vining up its sides. The title faded in as the music hit a crescendo.
HEXENTOR
It all looked very epic fantasy, which was fine. I had played similar games for years. The only thing I didn’t love about them was how I often lost interest because either the content was too repetitive, or I couldn’t figure out how to get through the harder quests.
The menu appeared and I used the controller to select START.
Profile: #47
A background scene loaded, and a man dressed in steel armor stood beside a stream. Behind him was a blurred woodland or meadow. His name, when I scrolled down to him, was Franz Kranz. Wow. “Okay, I guess that’s me. Sir Franz. At least he comes with a two-handed sword.” The gear looked pretty epic—brass details on every piece of armor, engraving on the sword. Combat was going to be fun with a two-handed sword. It had been a long time since I picked something other than a gun as a main weapon. But whatever, I was ready to try VR two-handed sword combat. It might be kind of realistic, depending on how I had to hold the controller. I wasn’t that familiar with different VR systems. The controller looked pretty basic, so I guess I’d just wait and see. I wasn’t expecting to master any skills on my first go, but I hoped I’d do good enough to get the job. It sounded like a way better way to spend summer than chasing carts around the parking lot of our local grocery store.
I looked at the stat box on the left side of the screen and it read:
Health:20
Magic:20
Stamina:20
I selected my assigned character. What exactly were the people at RE Games looking for when they posted “Game-Testers Wanted” anyway? If they wanted people to rate games and give feedback about playability, I could do that. If they wanted people to live stream or vlog about games, I…might be able to do that with some competence if they told me what they wanted to see. Oh, please, let the test go well. I didn’t want to spend my summer stuck out in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
The sci-fi ship voice came through my headphones. “Initializing.”
And everything went black.
Not the screen, everything. It was like my mind turned off for a moment. The cubicle was gone, the screen, even me. Like, if you imagine what it’s like floating around in outer space, that’s what I felt like. Nothing.
Then gradually, the music came back, soft at first, and then louder, and I could see and feel again. But what I saw and felt I could never have described in words. I was in a mountain valley, with sunshine illuminating a sky that had two big moons faintly visible overhead. I couldn’t feel the sunshine on my skin, however, because every inch of me was covered in steel armor.
And holy crap, I was short!
I’d gone from a lanky 6-foot frame to a broad, short frame.
What the heck was going on?
I looked down the valley, to the hills and mountains that stretched as far as I could see. Green pastures, dotted with deer and wildflowers matched the peaceful orchestral music that seemed to come from everywhere.
A crow called in the distance, and another answered. All around me was an idyllic world. The perfect temperature, the perfect amount of light, perfectly green grass, and every wildflower in perfect bloom. It even smelled like a warm summer day. How the heck did they manage to create a summer smell?
A few feet away from me stood a little old covered well, straight out of a children’s fairytale book. It was made of whitewashed stone and had a little red roof and a wooden handle to wind the rope. On the edge of the well sat three silver coins. They seemed to shine bright as I approached. I reached out and fumbled with the coins because they were rather small and my gauntleted hand was unwieldy. I squeezed my hand and managed to grab one but when I tried to hold it up to the light, it disappeared. I leaned closer to the two coins remaining. I scrutinized the one on top. It featured writing I didn’t recognize and a face I didn’t know. I tried to grab it gentler than the previous one. As I peered closer to make out the letters or numerals, a voice startled me. “Stay where you are, dwarf.”
I turned and put my hands in the air. The coin disappeared again.
Before me, a knight on horseback, with only his moustache, mouth, and chin visible, glared at me through the eye slits of his helmet.