1 A Whole New World, Ripe for the Picking
Rowan was a twenty-two-year-old man, a university student, and working a dead-end job to help offset the cost of his student debt.
In order to not place any more pressure on his family, as they were struggling financially, he had taken out a hefty student loan from the bank, combined with his living expenses, which meant that he was living a very poor lifestyle.
His average salary would quickly get reaped and diced into pieces whenever the bills came in, the water bill, the gas bill, the electricity bill, rent, etc. All of this added up to more and more expenses so that he would barely be able to put aside some savings for himself.
Each month after receiving his wages he would set the majority of it aside for expenses and keep the rest in case of a rainy day.
To sum it up, Rowan was economically unable to indulge himself in the pleasures he desired. Mainly videogames.
Before his father had lost his job when he was younger, his family was able to afford such purchases and because of that he had become enraptured in these videogames.
Starting with games like Super Lario and moving upwards, he grew a passion for these amazing worlds contained within these small discs and cards.
Entire worlds were contained within those small, little pieces of plastic, possessing the ability to entertain him for hours on end.
The popularity of video gaming as a whole had undergone a massive surge in recent years, achieving heights that no one had dared to dream of prior.
To meet this popularity the video game industry underwent rapid development, with new companies being established to compete for the customer's money.
From the old 8-bit games to the 16-bit ones, video games underwent constant evolution; the new trend going on was the rise of VR experiences.
Rather than just watching these characters undergo adventures on the screens, players desired to actually go into these worlds themselves, becoming the character rather than just playing the role of the character.
Companies like MoonLabs, PhoenixTide, Raptor, etc, all of these companies wanted to get a piece of this metaphorical "pie"; with them developing and launching what came to be known as some of the first true VR games (titles like Tales of the Desperado, Wild West, Sunset Hills).
However, a major flaw of these VR games was the astonishing lack of realism. Visually the graphics were terrible, being choppy and unsmooth. To hammer this in, the controls were also pretty wonky. All of this didn't even add to the fact that these games were similar to their predecessors in that these games were purely visual.
These companies that initially pioneered this VR genre soon fell out of popularity as they struggled to improve their games, and other companies rose to take their places.
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To match this development in the game industry, the Esports scene naturally developed as well, before it used to be centered around team-based MOBA's and shooters; however, nowadays it had expanded so that other genres were included as well, such as RPGs, puzzle games adventure, etc.
Video gaming had gradually become a respectable job after decades upon decades of struggling to be accepted within society. Long gone were the days where someone was gazed down upon for gaming.
People could take up jobs in streaming, going pro, writing guides, etc. The prospects of this industry were truly boundless.
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The most recent title that had left everyone had been anticipating was about to start its open beta. This new game of course being, Tyranny.
Tyranny was a game that would be the flagship game to pioneer the new generation of VR consoles, ones that would implement a complete sensory experience, or so they advertise.
The game boasted an incredible story and possessed graphics on an entirely different scale. As such, the hype was pretty justified. Ranging from great music to a sense of realism that everyone should be able to enjoy, to a thrilling/engaging plotline, it pretty much had everything one could desire.
Rowan had applied in an online raffle for the closed beta thanks to the help of one of his friends, Edgar, who possessed some connections to the people organizing the event.
The game wasn't entirely complete yet and was slated to hopefully be fully fleshed out by early next year; set to release during the spring season so that people would get enthralled in the game during their vacation, and continue to play it throughout the summer months.
From the information provided via email, each applicant who had successfully joined the closed beta would be able to provide a limited measure of feedback to be received by the developers.
These actions, of course, would not go unrewarded, and as such (thanks to their efforts), they would receive a free copy of the game when it was set to release.
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Rowan was quite excited for this closed beta, mainly because this represented a chance, an opportunity.
See if he managed to establish himself as a leading figure within the community and established some authority early on, he would be able to change the fate of his family.
This game represented a chance to turn his future on his head, restore the fortune of his family and finally make something out of himself.
Of course, he wasn't too extravagant/ambitious and believe that he would be able to secure a contract to some sort of big guild, but at least he would be able to become a relatively well-known figure that could make some sort of money through their abilities.
Perhaps he could generate some fame by writing an early guide and posting it to the forums, following that he would establish his own blog and sell tips of some sort.
The ideas of how to obtain success in the game rushed through his head; however, he made sure to keep in mind that he might not even be able to participate in the closed beta.
Of course, he hoped that he would be able to, but the chance was slim. Millions of people had wanted to get their hands on the game to get ahead of the other players, thus, the chance of him actually getting this chance was slim.
Shaking his head of these wild thoughts of his, he calmed himself down, looked back at the textbook he was reviewing, and continued with his review for the test he would have tomorrow before snagging a couple of hours of sleep.
