New Realms

While people were enjoying Halo Multiplayer and an unknown enemy was approaching the Earth, James was expanding on his virtual realms without a care in the world.

"This should fit nicely here… annnd, done! That's three down, two more to go," he stated with a proud smile adorning his face.

Ever since getting his new home, James had felt more energized than ever before to create new content. While these he was working on now were just small, Full Dive exclusive mini-worlds that apparently didn't contribute towards his system's tutorial, he couldn't care in the least.

He saw them as necessary, how could James open up Full Dive and there only be the three worlds he'd created so far? It would feel like such a let-down to come into this new experience and only be able to play games you'd already finished. Yeah, Full Dive was a completely new and different ordeal, but first impressions mattered quite a bit for these sort of things.

It was with this mindset that he got to work and for the last two weeks, which were closer to a year from his point of view, James created multiple new realms that could be entered on day one of Full Dive's release. These weren't anything like the full game worlds he'd released so far however. For example, the first one he'd built was based off one of the favorite movies of his childhood, 300.

It encompassed a very small portion of Earth, that being Greece, and would playout half the movie as a viewer experience for background knowledge, while the second half was the game. The purpose of this realm was to survive as long as possible while being in the body of one of the three hundred Spartans.

The body the players receive will be totally random on the first few playthroughs and exclude Leonidas, until they play enough and earn merits to unlock his character later on. There was even a leaderboard for how many 'waves' the player lasted, how many enemies they killed, and how much they contributed to their side's survival. They were also all split into whether you were playing Solo, Co-op, or Multiplayer, with up to 300 player slots of course.

For this game however, unlike in Halo, you received no former knowledge from the VR. Meaning that you went in with only the skills you possessed previously, no memory implants or downloads.

This world was designed to be a gauntlet of pure skill, where everyone possessed the body of a mortal man and must fight against impossible odds. Where the most talented warriors throughout the omniverse showcase their prowess to all.

Yet, James was not heartless enough to leave the 'normal' players without a way to improve themselves, which was precisely the reasoning behind the second realm he created, For Honor.

Another realm with no added knowledge, For Honor was a small realm dotted with arenas, dojos, and battlegrounds. Players would come here to both learn and compete in pure martial combat.

In his vision, James wanted this realm to be the great equalizer for players. A place where some random kid from New York, LA, or London could train to match blades with any warrior of Asgard. Outside of some specific places, in VR everyone had an equal starting point and while in the future, some may enter with more knowledge and skills than most, many more worlds such as this one would be created to ensure that it didn't remain that way for long.

This was just the first taste that Full Dive players would receive in how playing his games could better themselves and if they thought that these skills wouldn't transfer back to their realities, then they were in for a huge surprise. The UVR Pods from Supremacy Games did more than just facilitate a player's entry into ASTIR and there was a reason why James picked that specific tech with his sole Voucher.

The third and final realm he'd spent his time fishing up, was one that would appeal to all ages. After looking back on his most recent releases and the next few he'd planned on shipping out, James was at a loss for what children would be allowed to play. Besides Pokémon, nothing he created could be enjoyed by those under the age of 18 and he needed to rectify that as soon as possible. Kids were a huge market after all.

That's when the memories of a certain game came to mind. One that, despite being so simple, captured the hearts and minds of all ages, Minecraft.

This world fit perfectly within his VR and, in less than a few days, a massive square 'planet' now floated within a void of virtual space. James didn't even have to do a Reality Synch for this one, he only needed to create the basic outline of the game world and he the rest would be procedurally generated.

This wasn't to say that his version was lacking compared to the original however, it had all the features the latest version possessed and more. Don't let the fact that it was all contained within a simple 'planet' fool you, this was a fully simulated universe that expanded infinitely in all directions. The 'planet' was simply a representation of the zone from the outside.

James had even integrated the possibility for interstellar travel into his version, where players could create rockets and starships to leave their home planet and colonize new ones. In fact, despite being both the fastest and easiest creation of his to date, Minecraft was by far the largest and most complex aspect of his VR.

With its own private servers, with customizable time dilation options available for older players, James fully expected the world to be the biggest draw for people to purchase Full Dive pods. He even thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't remembered this game earlier, as it wouldn't have had nearly as much pull if it was available to those playing from standard devices as well.

"Your starting to sound like all those gaming companies you hated in your previous life, sir," Queen's voice came from behind him as if reading his thoughts. "EA and Activision would be proud of the mindset you've cultivated these past few weeks."

*cough* "There's no need to be mean, Queen," James said after being startled out of his thoughts. He turned to face her as he continued with slight embarrassment, "I don't even know how you can say that, all my creations are fully complete worlds without any need for the players to shell out more after their purchase."

"Besides, all of these last realms are free for Full Divers, I'm nothing like those bastards…" he turned away sheepishly as his thoughts for the next 'free' game passed through his mind for a moment.

"Mhmm," the AI circled around her creator and looked him in the eye with a smug expression as if she saw right through him. "You seem to forget that I have full access to all data within this VR, sir. I've seen what you plan for next."

"I'm not blaming you, sir," she said while dawning a bright smile. "After seeing how your system generates FP, this business model is by far the most optimal. I'm just reminding you that this should be the exception, not the rule. Lest you forget all those days you spent in the hospital, complaining over how so many games were pay-to-win in those days."

"Yes, yes," he sighed while waving off her concerns. "I still have some integrity left, I'm only using ASTIR Points aren't I? It's just a coincidence that AP could also generate a small amount of FP, that's all. Also, players need a way to show off their earnings, luxury goods are what drive the economy!"

"I'm just saying, sir," Queen said without a change in expression. "You're on a slippery slope right now, be careful not to go too far."

James grunted in acknowledgement and turned around as she faded away. He had more work to do before announcing the Full Dive Pod's tournament and couldn't afford to be distracted now.

He shifted over to an empty location of virtual space and got started on the next realm. This one would be a dramatic shift away from the prior three, in more ways than one.

It was time to bring the herald of Battle Royale's into his VR. The one that brought this genre into the mainstream, Fortnite.