10 days. Raven only had 10 days until the deadline. Her job was to make a game prototype. That was easy, she made plenty before, but this time it was different. She had to make a game that her boss would like. And that boss of hers was one picky woman. Raven was staring at the clock. It was late, yet she hasn’t made an ounce of progress.

How many game prototypes has the boss turned down already? Seven? Or maybe eight? Raven couldn’t bother to check, she was too exhausted. Each time, she made a whole new game, and each time she was turned down. Can there even be a game that the boss would like? Maybe her boss just hates games in general. Raven cringed at the thought of that. A boss in a game company that hates games? That couldn’t be it, right? Either way, she just closed the computer and prepared to leave the building.

Daphne, her boss, stopped her, just before she could leave. “Do you have a moment, Raven?” Raven was dreading this. I mean she tried, she really did try to make a game Daphne would like, but… No! She couldn’t lose her job over a picky boss. That’s stupid. That’s unfair. Boss didn’t wait for an answer, and instead just continued, “Look Raven, I know you’ve been trying really hard making these game prototypes, but it feels like we are on a different wavelength here.”

“You can’t fire me! I’ve given so much of my time and creativity to this company. I made prototypes for games that could bring you millions if you just went through with them!” Daphne backed away, surprised by Raven’s words. Then she laughed.

“I’m not trying to fire you, Raven. I’m not stupid! I know you’re our best game developer. Nah, you’re probably top ten in the country.” She placed one hand on Raven’s shoulder. “I’m just trying to tell you what I’m looking for. Look, your ideas for games aren’t bad. They are good, yes, but also so unoriginal. You tell me they could make us millions, but I want a game that will make us billions.”

“That’s absurd,” Raven responded, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Only if you let it be. But really, the money isn’t the issue here, the game's success depends on so many factors besides how good it is.”

Raven looked Daphne in the eyes, “Tell me what do you want and I’ll make it. Just give me something concrete.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Make something that’s unique, and something that’s yours.” Raven opened her mouth, but Daphne stopped her as she continued, “Don’t make another game that exists already. That’s boring.” After she said that, she turned around and left the building.

A unique game, that’s hers? What’s that supposed to mean? Why is her boss always so vague? It’s so annoying!

What could be uniquely Raven’s? What is she good with? What does she like? Well, she likes role playing games. But she’s tried that before. The response she got was, “Wow! That was the most boring game you could come up with!” I mean, it really wasn’t anything special, but it was just a prototype!

What else? Raven scrambled her brain to think of something else she likes. I guess she likes those time traveling shenanigans. Like how you can change the smallest of stuff in the past and then it has vast changes in the future.

What if you could have a semi open world game, where you start in the future, trying to find something out, maybe like a murder mystery. And then you can go into the past, and maybe you can prevent murder, but if you do, you make something catastrophic happen. And then you have to fight monsters in the present and only then you can return back and- “Eh, that sounds stupid,” she said to herself a bit too loudly, as Daphne hasn’t yet left the building and heard her.

“What sounds stupid?” She peeked from around the corner.

“Ah, nothing. It’s just an idea for a game I had. But it’s stupid, don’t worry about it.”

Daphne walked back into the room. “Well, I’ve heard all your good ideas before,” she made the air quotation marks with her hands, “so let me hear this stupid idea.”

Raven sighed. “Well I just thought I could make a role playing game where you time travel, and uncover mysteries, like a murder or something. And then you try to prevent the murder, but everything you do just makes it worse.”

Daphne smiled, as she grabbed Raven’s hands, “I love it! I mean the premise with the murder isn’t really what we’ll go with, but role playing and time travel? Well, now that’s something I can get behind.”

Raven looked shocked, as if she just heard something completely unheard of, and well in a sense it was. I mean, when did the boss last greenlit a game? Did she ever greenlit a game? Maybe, but for the whole year Raven was working under her, she didn’t see it happen once.

“I’ll extend your deadline for another month. Make a game prototype until then.”

Raven nodded. Now, the first part was over. But making a prototype for such a game still sounded absurd. Well, she better figure it out in a month, or she’s for sure getting fired.