ON
Tamahagane Offices
Prime City, Nepleslia Prime
Kiku entered the Tamahagane compound driving in her Zephyr. She could have had a driver, but she preferred to do her own driving. It also gave her time to think and clear her mind. She parked the aircar in her designated visitor spot in the parking complex.
She stepped out of the car and smoothed her dark brown pencil skirt. She closed the car and locked it as she made her way to the elevator. So far this trip has been educational... if that applies. she thought. As the head of Acquisitions for the Entertainment divisions of the company she came her looking for possibilities. Most of the time had been spent meeting with people, who tried to ply her with alcohol, drugs, money, and sex. While she enjoyed diversions as much as the next person. So far she had only a couple of promising offers in the works.
Kiku left the elevator and walked briskly to the office assigned to her, it was larger than her office back on Yamatai, but that was the perk of being a visiting executive. Sitting in front of the door was a temporary assistant supplied by the office pool. She requested a male assistant just to establish that it was she who was in charge. So far Taylor had handled all her requests just fine.
"What is on the agenda for today?" she asked before entering the room.
"I placed a number of contract proposals for your signature in your inbox. You have an appointment with some representatives from Kirin Games Manufacture, they should be here in thirty minutes. After that you have a meeting with the VCE team regarding the contract to establish some of the proposed cafe's here on Nepleslia Prime." he stood up and handed her a steaming cup. "And here is your coffee black, two sugars."
"Taylor, you ever think of relocating to Yamatai. I could get used to having you handle my affairs." She said taking it and opening the door.
"Is that all you would want me to handle." he said flirting back.
Kiku walked into the room, the door closing behind her, she took off her coat and hung it on hanger to keep it from creasing. She then settled down behind the desk sipped her coffee being careful to avoid spilling any on her white silk blouse.
She reviewed the contracts before her, and submitted a query to the system to pull up all available data on the Kirin Company.
-
Five figures were making a walk down the sidewalks in the upper end of Nepleslia Prime. Commercialized, sanitized and safe to walk in at night, this was where the high rollers made their marks. The Kirin Games Manufacture team looked somewhat ill-fitted. Formally dressed, but it didn't quite seem to fit them. "Don't you think you're fretting just a little too much?" Asked a rotund Nepleslian, curly haired and straightforward in voice.
A smaller, bespectacled, curly blonde haired Yamataian man was pushing his index fingers together, and looking at the Tamahagane Office building over in the distance. Sweat ran down his forehead and he was blinking nervously, "It's just that this is something we've been working on, free of charge and with our hearts poured into it. Whomp, what if-"
The man felt a clap on his shoulder and was hugged by a younger Delsaurian woman dressed in an overcoat and fedora over the business suit, "I'm sure we'll be fine, Jonesy." Anomaly Detective's voice was laden with concern for the passionate designer, "Q and Donny have us covered, isn't that right?"
The two men leading the others looked back at the others and gave them a reassuring smile. One of them didn't seem all that out of place in a suit and had a couple of grey streaks through his hair, while the other had a bit of scruff, and had his tie in a sloppy knot and looked as though he'd forgotten to shave this morning. Respectively, they were Donny and Cue-Cum-Bur, affectionately called Q by the staff. "We just have to stay calm, stay rational and engaged." Q reiterated, "I know some of you aren't the social type, but we'll let your work speak for you."
"Th-thanks." Jonesy nodded towards Q. The Tamagahane office's front entrace was now ahead of them. Jonesy took deep breaths, before Whomp gave him a jab in the side with his elbow to calm the designer down. They moved through the glass sliding doors and into air conditioned, cool corporate surroundings. Anomaly Detective took off her fedora and tucked it into an overcoat pocket, minding her manners and revealing her red hair in a neat bun and twenty-sided dice earrings. The occasional errant strand of red hair dangled before her face like antennae.
Q made walked towards the reception desk and waited patiently for an attendant while the others sat back and looked at the scenery.
A young Nepleslian looking man with short brown hair stood up, he was wearing the Tamahagane Corporate brown shirt and slacks. He had the slender build of a runner, but his facial features were classic Nepleslian, the strong jaw and prominent facial bones. "Good Morning Welcome to Tamahagane Corp. How may I be of service?" he inquired as he glanced down at the security scan from the doorway.
"Ah, good morning," Q started, straightening up his sloppy tie and giving the clerk a smile, "I am here with some colleagues of mine from Kirin Games Manufacture, I believe we have an appointment?"
The receptionist entered the name into the terminal. After a moment he looked up. "Ah yes, you are here to see Murakami Kiku. She is on the nineteenth floor, office 23a." He took a moment to create visitor badges. He handed them to Q, "You folks will need to wear these while you are in the building. If you will kindly follow me I will show you to the lifts. The badges will take the elevator automatically to her floor." he said as he came around from behind the desk.
"Thanks, one moment please," Q looked over to his colleagues and gave them an upwards nod, motioning them to come over. The five of them converged and Q handed them their badges. Jonesy fidgeted with his badge, feeling official and nodding in agreement with himself. Anomaly Detective gave him a quiet snerk and a smile. Whomp looked about himself and wondered quietly about the security measures. They were game designers, not corporate spies.
"Okay everyone has their badge... good. Do not remove the badge while you are upstairs or you will set off the building security. Also I must ask that you turn off any recording devices that you may have with you."
Anomaly Detective blinked then searched her overcoat before pulling out a communicator attached to a microphone. She unplugged the microphone and de-activated the recording program on it, "Sorry, er - force of habit," She admitted before putting the items back in separate pockets. The others didn't have anything else to declare.
"I'll make sure they stay in line," Q assured the clerk.
"I'm sure you can understand the need for Intellectual Property protection. Right this way, the lifts are just around the corner." Said the young man, when he approached the lifts he hit the call button and moment later one of the pairs for high polished steel doors slid open. He held the door. "Once you are all in, one of you just needs to insert your badge in the slot. Ms. Murakami's office is to your left at the end of the hall. Her secretary will be there to meet you."
The interior of the elevator was alternating panels of wood and mirrors. The mirrors making the spacious elevator seem larger. From the ceiling instrumental music from the ceiling speakers could be recognized as a KOgama song.
The less socially oriented members of the Kirin team made a move into the elevator, whilst Q and Donny stayed outside for a moment, and they gave the clerk a polite bow, "Many thanks, sir." Donny told the clerk before heading into the elevator with his badge ready to swipe at the slot. Q gave the clerk a parting smile before stepping inside the elevator, waiting for the doors to close.
The only control was a slot just large enough for a badge to inserted, and a numeric keypad. The doors to the elevator remained open and the slot blinked as it waited for a badge.
The elevator in this building was definitely bigger than the one they had back at Delsauria, where getting into an elevator with Whomp was a comfortable ordeal. Jonesy rolled his shoulders idly, Whomp kept his pudgy arms folded as he waited patiently for the elevator to make its journey up and Anomaly Detective kept her hands in the pockets of her overcoat.
Donny looked over to Q as he pushed the card into the slot and asked: "So, what's our contingency?" The doors closed, and the elevator began to move.
The scruffier of the two faces of the team scratched his chin, "We can offer to distribute some of the games they've made using our service as a backup deal. We've had about two million or so players every day, taking into account day/night cycles on other planets so there's bound to be some profit in there, that way we don't go home empty handed." He nodded, using his business acumen and gut feelings. Anomaly Detective seemed concerned, Q looked over to her.
"I'm just worried that we might have more breathing down our necks: Remember Galaxy Adventure 3?" She stated, "Kaidan made us rush the release, and we suffered a critical loss." Whomp snorted in agreement and Jonesy frowned too.
"Commercially we were fine, and the community laid most of the blame on Kaidan," Q affirmed to the tabletop game enthusiast and programmer. The elevator had managed to reach the nineteenth floor and opened with a Ding!, "I'm sure this'll go smoother than Kaidan in the long run." Kaidan were grasping for straws when they went to the Kirin team for help, and underestimated their business prowess, taking them for artsy game designers with little else to do with themselves.
Meanwhile in her office, Kiku had been notified by the front desk of the arrival of her next visitors.
"Let's see, the clerk said 23a, didn't they?" Donny asked as the quinto team walked towards Kiku's office. Anomaly Detective confirmed this by playing back the recording she got while she was in the lobby. He nodded in agreement and cautioned: "Put that away, delete it afterwards or something." They found the door to Kiku's office and waited outside for an invitation in.
Kiku's assistant watched the unusual group of people approaching. "The Kirin Group I presume." He got up walked over to the door, "Ms Murakami is expecting you. Please go on it." He said opening the door and moving aside.
"Thank you," Q replied before giving the assistant a bow, then looking to the others, who followed suit shortly after, having followed Q's lead on Yamataian manners. The group then moved inside the office, one by one, and waited for Murakami to speak first.
Kuki stood up and walked around to the front of her desk taking a quick look at the people before her, "Good day, Welcome to Tamahagane Corporation. Perhaps it would be best if we used the sofas for our discussion." she said pointing to the white leather sofas to her left. There were two identical ones with a coffee table between them, and a leather chair at one end. Kuki took the chair and waited for her visitors to be seated.
"Hajimemashite," Q replied in Yamataian with a light Nepleslian accent. Donny was the first to walk towards the couch, and sat down with his hands in his lap. Whomp sat down next to Jonesy's right and caused him to bounce lightly on the couch as the larger man pushed the smaller man.
Anomaly Detective sat to Jonesy's left, and Donny sat at Anomaly Detective's left. Q was the last to be seated, clasping his hands and looking at the businesswoman before her, "We're glad to be doing business with you. We've only heard good things from your entertainment sector." He started with some bantering pleasantry.
"Well, we are doing what we can, it is an area ripe for growth. Your own company has done well in this market. But I am sure you folks did not come all this way to exchange pleasantries. Time is money in the business world. So shall we cut to heart of the matter. How can our Corporation be of assistance to you, Mr Roberts?" Kuki said in a pleasant tone with a hint of a smile.
Very few people called him Roberts, he hadn't even divulged his real name with the other members staff at Kirin. Jonesy looked at him with a raised eyebrow and saw that Q had made a momentary pause. "As you know," He started, putting aside his concern with practice, "Companies like ours need to look for and adapt to new technologies to deliver products. We take advantage of the Internep, PANTHEON, SYNC and the Lazarus Network to deliver our services. Recently though, we've been interested in your service, the Virtual Collective Experience." Anomaly Detective nodded in agreement, "Some of us have spent our spare time investigating it, but I believe we've only scratched the surface of what it has to offer, and we are interested in providing a new game for your service, with your consent."
"Ah.. yes, the VCE is our most innovative and promising enterprise. As we like to say it is only limited by ones imagination. We have a growing customer base as we have businesses using it for conferencing; a number of educational institutions are using it and naturally people using it for group or solo entertainment. We even hosted a live concert with KOgama that was very well received.
So tell me something about this new game, and why you think it would be a good fit for VCE?" She said crossing her legs at the ankle.
"As you said, it is only limited by one's imagination," Q smiled. He looked over to Donny, and gave him an assuring nod. The smaller Nepleslian man shuffled forwards and cleared his throat, "We plan to take full advantage of it."
"At Kirin, we spend a majority of our downtime playing games that rely on interpersonal actions, and on our imaginations, using paper and dice. So we started to prototype a similar sort of experience for Gamers." He opened his jacket and put a communicator down on the table, then pressed a button, producing a holographic image. "Our main focus was to unfetter players from restrictions that most games enforce, and let them rely on their ingenuity to change the landscape. Over time we started to provide a better framework and players responded positively to having a goal, even if it was simple. However, we were having problems on trying to convey this experience."
The images appeared to be in a first person view of a blocky landscape, eventually resolving themselves into an exaggerated reality. Other players could be seen creating, running about and communicating with each other in what appeared to be a neighborhood of some sort. However, each neighborhood was somewhat different, and certain buildings stood out, "Once we stumbled upon your VCE technology, we found after investigating what it had to offer that it was ideal to our needs."
Kuki listened attentively, "So Mr Orson, have you tried loading your game into a Landscape and playing from within?"
'Donny' froze for a moment. Anomaly Detective gave him a nudge and he resumed, "Yes. We bought a ring of VCE units for ourselves, and we started using them to refine our concepts through iterations. Our previous stumbling block was reading the player's mind and adapting to it, which isn't possible with other platforms."
Kuki smiled briefly at another palpable hit, "I am pleased to hear that, because it is important to us that the people we partner with, have actually used it, and appreciate it. So are we talking about a completely new program? or are you interested in creating a Realm using one of your existing products? I do hope that if it’s a new one, it will not have the unpleasant matter that Galaxy Adventure 3 had. A bad customer experience within the VCE because of another person's product can of course cause a negative impact on the VCE as well."
Seems like they've done their research, Q pondered, listening to the woman and leaning in with interest. Whomp raised his hand and looked at Q, who gave him the go ahead.
"We took it up'n ourselves to rectify the problems caused by the previous partn'rship," He spoke tersely, "We take pride in our undertakin's." He unfolded his arms.
"Yes, but you only get to make a first impression once. So you can see my concern, I understand that it was not your fault. But we would want to ensure that any product before being released would be exactly how you wanted it when released. Which of course is in the best interest of all concerned." she answered.
Whomp nodded knowingly, "Ah, t'anks for the understandin'," He did something that was rare to the Kirin team: He smiled, "Moving on, I 'ad a chance to get up close with the VCE's internal code, and we found that the best way to convey our game was to create a Realm that creates a Landscape for the players of a given round based upon player input, and settling into broad frameworks that scale with the number of players."
He cleared his throat, "Since this's the lynchpin to the experience, I made sure it was stable as a skyscraper and our Landscape Generation code was scaled to handle up to 8 players in full swing." He then looked down at Anomaly Detective, who took the proverbial baton from the programmer, "'course, what players do with it is up t' them." He chuckled.
Instead, she waited for Murakami to proceed politely, figuring that she needed a chance to take that all in.
"Okay, as you have said none of that is beyond the capabilities. We in fact have had numerious Realms with much larger player bases. So you are obviously wanting to limit player size to maximize the impact each player can have. I like that idea, so what is the actual game concept?" she said leaning forward slightly in her chair.
My turn! "Imagine for a moment that you wake up in your house, or whatever you call home. You walk out into your neighborhood, but something doesn't feel right. You see the familiar neighborhoods. You may even realise that it isn't familiar to you at all." She removed Donny's communicator and placed her own down on the table, "And then the corners of the world darken, and you find yourself face to face with what you fear - but you aren't going to let it overwhelm you."
She pressed the communicator, and a short, prototype gameplay video from one player's perspective could be seen, shifting to a different player occasionally. "Instead you and whoever else is in the neighborhood band together, facing each other's problems and solving them together in a fight for survival until The Hour is over and you emerge victorious together." She paused for a breath, and the others smiled at her, "The gameplay might not be as open ended as most other Realms or Landscapes VCE has to offer, but we feel as though a definite goal, shifting landscapes and consistent challenges will ensure that players are never short of something to spend an hour doing together."
"I can see the appeal, it makes the experience more immediate. They aren't sitting in front of console talking to their friends in other places. They are actually in the situation. I like it, very much in what our demographics say customers are looking for. Now what is the antognist? Is there only one type, or does the game offer for other types? And do the antagonists learn?" Kiku answered, her interest piqued.
Whomp nodded, "They do learn from the players and adapt, just as players will adapt to them, which is why only a handful can play at once."
"As for game types, we are trying to investigate the creation of other scenarios that don't exclusively feature player versus environment combat." Anomaly Detective picked up from where Whomp left off, "We have been interested in player versus player or competitive modes. We will be experimenting with, and playtesting this since our main concern is how to balance it."
Kiku nodded, "Very interesting, interactions with other living players, has always ranked highly in our customer surveys. They find playing against the AI controlled beings challenging, but there is something about knowing that you are playing against a group of people who want to win just as bad as you do. Perhaps in the PvP experience there could be some sort of a tangible prize. The groups start with similar equipment, so that is a test of skills than toys. Or if a team wants to give the other team an advantage to earn better odds..." Kiku paused. "Sorry, I am letting my enthusiasm get the better of me. I not only am responsible for the acquisitions of products for VCE, I am also a player. I enjoy challenging myself in the environment playing a wide range of games. It is one of the reasons I was given this assignment. Firsthand experience with the gaming market."
The Kirin team shared a collective smile, "We understand," Q thought it was time to seal the deal, and it was obvious that she had taken a shine to the group, "After all, it takes one to know one, though the input of other players is always valuable." He extended a hand for a handshake, "I think we've reached a mutual agreement, Ms. Murakami."
Kiku took his hand, "I believe we have. Q." she said giving it a firm handshake. "Al that remains is the paperwork. I can have my assistant draw up the standard VCE contract if you like."
"That would be optimal to our needs, yes, and I believe we can assist you with one more deal while we are at it." Donny knew where Q was going and glanced at him. It was the contingency. Jonesy fidgeted a little then placed a sheet of paper on the table. "We're willing to host Tamahagane entertainment products on our distribution network, and give you a good cut of the profits in sales made to cover licensing costs."
"Ah, that is acceptable. A variant on our Associate program where we allow a business to sell our products. I will have Taylor draw up both sets of documents. When it comes to the selling of the products, we provide them at wholesale and you are allowed to sell and keep the difference. That gives you the option to bundle and offer discounts without having to coordinate with us. Tamahagane believes in enablement."
"I do have one query," Q spoke up again, "We do believe in players being able to modify their games after release and provide tools to do so, and we have few restrictions since we believe constructive players should be rewarded for their efforts. We're wondering if you'd take issue to this sort of freedom, since it isn't our property. Where do you draw the line?"
"Your Realm your rules. We grant you an autonomy within the realm. Many of the Realms offer customization. Just so long as they do not provide the customers with access beyond the Realm. It’s all good."
She stood up and went to her desk, she pressed the intercom. "Taylor, please prepare our standard hosting agreement contract, modify it to reflect a 15% discount on my authority, and attach the Associate program clause as well." she said. "I am on it ma'am. I will bring it in shortly."
"So, while we wait can I offer you something to drink?" She pressed a button on the desk and a panel opened in the wall and a fully stocked bar slid forward. "I do not usually have alcohol available for business meetings, but when in Nepleslia... But there is plenty of non-alcoholic beverages."
She walked over and poured herself a tall glass of ice tea and added a lemon to it.
"Ah, much obliged," Anomaly Detective took two colas, one for herself and one for Jonesy, who finally seemed to have calmed down, realising that the deal had gone well. Whomp helped himself to a single shot of whiskey and gave a non-threatening agreement grunt custodial amongst Nepleslians. Q and Donny hung back.
Jonesy and Anomaly Detective started writing down notes on the sheet of blank paper that he put down beforehand, taking some of Kiku's enthusiastic input and refining it, using pictures and terse paragraphs of mechanics to expand on. They could be heard cantering in designer-speak over their creation, and it wasn't long before some new paper was required.
Kiku watched as the Kirin personnel were fast at work. She looked at Donny, "So Mr Orson, do you folks have any idea of a time frame for when this endeavor will be targeted. Also I presume you do not have any problems if we make a press release announcing this arrangement."
Again, the name shook Donny, but he rolled with it, "We tend to work at our own pace, but we are open about our updates and progress, including any setbacks. I'm responsible for most of the press releases along with Butcher, and we make public updates at least once every two days."
"I understand, we will not mention the specific product. Just that we are working with you to host a new product. We will leave the announcements of your product up to you naturally." she answered.
A few minutes later Taylor entered the room with a small stack of paper. He walked over to the desk and placed them on the table in two neat piles. "Here you go ma'am everything as you requested."
Kiku walked over to the desk, "We just need to sign these, a digital copy will be supplied as well as this physical one." she said placing a pen on the table.
Q produced a pair of reading glasses from his breast pocket and placed them on his face. He then looked at the document in detail, examining the ins and outs of the deal, and the fine print to ensure that the agreement was in spirit as it was in letter. He would occasionally pause to flip back and cross-reference what he saw. Donny would occasionally look in and offer assistance. Being the heads of Publishing and Advertising, respectively, they had the utmost authority on making sure the deal was correct in the absence of the rest of the team.
The document was actually rather simple for a legal document. It clearly layed out the terms, the conditions and the responsibilities of both parties. There was no double talk, hidden clauses or deceptive clauses.
"This seems reasonable." Q finally concluded after going through the whole document. He produced a fountain pen and uncapped it, "We accept your terms." He signed a dignified 'Q!' on the page and looked at the other members of his group. Jonesy, Anomaly Detective and Whomp had converged into some mass of game-design brainstorming and were clearly lost in their own world. Donny smiled at them, and then Q asked somewhat sheepishly with a smile, "I hope you don't mind if we stay a little longer. When the dev team have an idea, they don't really move..."
Kiku looked at the developers, "Well, fortunately my schedule is rather light, although if you think it would not disrupt their creative process, they could use the conference room next door if you like. I am flexible; I just hope they will not mind my conducting some business while they are in here."
Donny gave Kiku a nod, "Good suggestion. Jonesy," The developer looked up and the others stopped, having been abruptly whisked away from their train of thought, "There's a spare conference room over there."
Jonesy made an 'ah', and scooped his notes, holding them in both arms. Anomaly Detective and Whomp took a few leafs of paper off of him, fearing that he might trip over himself, and they made tracks to the spare conference room.
"You were saying?" Q asked, now that the developers were out of the picture.
"Excellent, sounds like they are very excited. I must admit that I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with. If you do not mind my suggesting, but perhaps after this endeavor they might consider creating a VCE version of their earlier products. A more personal experience and they could even add new content for those players so that it is a different overall gaming experience." Kiku suggested as she walked around to her desk.
"We'll see," Q nodded as he tapped his pen against the freshly signed contract.
Kiku walked over and pulled out her gold pen, she took the paperwork and signed them in the required locations. She took one set and fed them into a slot in her desk. There was a hum and a bright glow from the slot. Once she finished feeding papers in she pulled out a data module.
She walked over to Q. "Here is your digital copy as promised. Welcome to the VCE family. My contact information is included on the module, in case there are any questions or problems getting you folks set up." she said handing the module.
Donny nodded as he pocketed the module, "I'm sure we'll be in touch in case anything arises." Q gave Donny a glance and a smile, and Donny was happy to return it. To them, the deal had gone well. They had official support and access to more developer tools, and a publisher, "Once again, on behalf of Kirin Games Manufacture, I'd like to extend my greatest thanks for your hospitality."
Kiku smiled, "It was my pleasure, I think this will be a very profitable arrangement for both our companies. When your team is ready to leave, just go to the elevators. When you reach the reception desk, they will have your VCE Developer package ready for you to take."
OFF
Tamahagane Offices
Prime City, Nepleslia Prime
Kiku entered the Tamahagane compound driving in her Zephyr. She could have had a driver, but she preferred to do her own driving. It also gave her time to think and clear her mind. She parked the aircar in her designated visitor spot in the parking complex.
She stepped out of the car and smoothed her dark brown pencil skirt. She closed the car and locked it as she made her way to the elevator. So far this trip has been educational... if that applies. she thought. As the head of Acquisitions for the Entertainment divisions of the company she came her looking for possibilities. Most of the time had been spent meeting with people, who tried to ply her with alcohol, drugs, money, and sex. While she enjoyed diversions as much as the next person. So far she had only a couple of promising offers in the works.
Kiku left the elevator and walked briskly to the office assigned to her, it was larger than her office back on Yamatai, but that was the perk of being a visiting executive. Sitting in front of the door was a temporary assistant supplied by the office pool. She requested a male assistant just to establish that it was she who was in charge. So far Taylor had handled all her requests just fine.
"What is on the agenda for today?" she asked before entering the room.
"I placed a number of contract proposals for your signature in your inbox. You have an appointment with some representatives from Kirin Games Manufacture, they should be here in thirty minutes. After that you have a meeting with the VCE team regarding the contract to establish some of the proposed cafe's here on Nepleslia Prime." he stood up and handed her a steaming cup. "And here is your coffee black, two sugars."
"Taylor, you ever think of relocating to Yamatai. I could get used to having you handle my affairs." She said taking it and opening the door.
"Is that all you would want me to handle." he said flirting back.
Kiku walked into the room, the door closing behind her, she took off her coat and hung it on hanger to keep it from creasing. She then settled down behind the desk sipped her coffee being careful to avoid spilling any on her white silk blouse.
She reviewed the contracts before her, and submitted a query to the system to pull up all available data on the Kirin Company.
-
Five figures were making a walk down the sidewalks in the upper end of Nepleslia Prime. Commercialized, sanitized and safe to walk in at night, this was where the high rollers made their marks. The Kirin Games Manufacture team looked somewhat ill-fitted. Formally dressed, but it didn't quite seem to fit them. "Don't you think you're fretting just a little too much?" Asked a rotund Nepleslian, curly haired and straightforward in voice.
A smaller, bespectacled, curly blonde haired Yamataian man was pushing his index fingers together, and looking at the Tamahagane Office building over in the distance. Sweat ran down his forehead and he was blinking nervously, "It's just that this is something we've been working on, free of charge and with our hearts poured into it. Whomp, what if-"
The man felt a clap on his shoulder and was hugged by a younger Delsaurian woman dressed in an overcoat and fedora over the business suit, "I'm sure we'll be fine, Jonesy." Anomaly Detective's voice was laden with concern for the passionate designer, "Q and Donny have us covered, isn't that right?"
The two men leading the others looked back at the others and gave them a reassuring smile. One of them didn't seem all that out of place in a suit and had a couple of grey streaks through his hair, while the other had a bit of scruff, and had his tie in a sloppy knot and looked as though he'd forgotten to shave this morning. Respectively, they were Donny and Cue-Cum-Bur, affectionately called Q by the staff. "We just have to stay calm, stay rational and engaged." Q reiterated, "I know some of you aren't the social type, but we'll let your work speak for you."
"Th-thanks." Jonesy nodded towards Q. The Tamagahane office's front entrace was now ahead of them. Jonesy took deep breaths, before Whomp gave him a jab in the side with his elbow to calm the designer down. They moved through the glass sliding doors and into air conditioned, cool corporate surroundings. Anomaly Detective took off her fedora and tucked it into an overcoat pocket, minding her manners and revealing her red hair in a neat bun and twenty-sided dice earrings. The occasional errant strand of red hair dangled before her face like antennae.
Q made walked towards the reception desk and waited patiently for an attendant while the others sat back and looked at the scenery.
A young Nepleslian looking man with short brown hair stood up, he was wearing the Tamahagane Corporate brown shirt and slacks. He had the slender build of a runner, but his facial features were classic Nepleslian, the strong jaw and prominent facial bones. "Good Morning Welcome to Tamahagane Corp. How may I be of service?" he inquired as he glanced down at the security scan from the doorway.
"Ah, good morning," Q started, straightening up his sloppy tie and giving the clerk a smile, "I am here with some colleagues of mine from Kirin Games Manufacture, I believe we have an appointment?"
The receptionist entered the name into the terminal. After a moment he looked up. "Ah yes, you are here to see Murakami Kiku. She is on the nineteenth floor, office 23a." He took a moment to create visitor badges. He handed them to Q, "You folks will need to wear these while you are in the building. If you will kindly follow me I will show you to the lifts. The badges will take the elevator automatically to her floor." he said as he came around from behind the desk.
"Thanks, one moment please," Q looked over to his colleagues and gave them an upwards nod, motioning them to come over. The five of them converged and Q handed them their badges. Jonesy fidgeted with his badge, feeling official and nodding in agreement with himself. Anomaly Detective gave him a quiet snerk and a smile. Whomp looked about himself and wondered quietly about the security measures. They were game designers, not corporate spies.
"Okay everyone has their badge... good. Do not remove the badge while you are upstairs or you will set off the building security. Also I must ask that you turn off any recording devices that you may have with you."
Anomaly Detective blinked then searched her overcoat before pulling out a communicator attached to a microphone. She unplugged the microphone and de-activated the recording program on it, "Sorry, er - force of habit," She admitted before putting the items back in separate pockets. The others didn't have anything else to declare.
"I'll make sure they stay in line," Q assured the clerk.
"I'm sure you can understand the need for Intellectual Property protection. Right this way, the lifts are just around the corner." Said the young man, when he approached the lifts he hit the call button and moment later one of the pairs for high polished steel doors slid open. He held the door. "Once you are all in, one of you just needs to insert your badge in the slot. Ms. Murakami's office is to your left at the end of the hall. Her secretary will be there to meet you."
The interior of the elevator was alternating panels of wood and mirrors. The mirrors making the spacious elevator seem larger. From the ceiling instrumental music from the ceiling speakers could be recognized as a KOgama song.
The less socially oriented members of the Kirin team made a move into the elevator, whilst Q and Donny stayed outside for a moment, and they gave the clerk a polite bow, "Many thanks, sir." Donny told the clerk before heading into the elevator with his badge ready to swipe at the slot. Q gave the clerk a parting smile before stepping inside the elevator, waiting for the doors to close.
The only control was a slot just large enough for a badge to inserted, and a numeric keypad. The doors to the elevator remained open and the slot blinked as it waited for a badge.
The elevator in this building was definitely bigger than the one they had back at Delsauria, where getting into an elevator with Whomp was a comfortable ordeal. Jonesy rolled his shoulders idly, Whomp kept his pudgy arms folded as he waited patiently for the elevator to make its journey up and Anomaly Detective kept her hands in the pockets of her overcoat.
Donny looked over to Q as he pushed the card into the slot and asked: "So, what's our contingency?" The doors closed, and the elevator began to move.
The scruffier of the two faces of the team scratched his chin, "We can offer to distribute some of the games they've made using our service as a backup deal. We've had about two million or so players every day, taking into account day/night cycles on other planets so there's bound to be some profit in there, that way we don't go home empty handed." He nodded, using his business acumen and gut feelings. Anomaly Detective seemed concerned, Q looked over to her.
"I'm just worried that we might have more breathing down our necks: Remember Galaxy Adventure 3?" She stated, "Kaidan made us rush the release, and we suffered a critical loss." Whomp snorted in agreement and Jonesy frowned too.
"Commercially we were fine, and the community laid most of the blame on Kaidan," Q affirmed to the tabletop game enthusiast and programmer. The elevator had managed to reach the nineteenth floor and opened with a Ding!, "I'm sure this'll go smoother than Kaidan in the long run." Kaidan were grasping for straws when they went to the Kirin team for help, and underestimated their business prowess, taking them for artsy game designers with little else to do with themselves.
Meanwhile in her office, Kiku had been notified by the front desk of the arrival of her next visitors.
"Let's see, the clerk said 23a, didn't they?" Donny asked as the quinto team walked towards Kiku's office. Anomaly Detective confirmed this by playing back the recording she got while she was in the lobby. He nodded in agreement and cautioned: "Put that away, delete it afterwards or something." They found the door to Kiku's office and waited outside for an invitation in.
Kiku's assistant watched the unusual group of people approaching. "The Kirin Group I presume." He got up walked over to the door, "Ms Murakami is expecting you. Please go on it." He said opening the door and moving aside.
"Thank you," Q replied before giving the assistant a bow, then looking to the others, who followed suit shortly after, having followed Q's lead on Yamataian manners. The group then moved inside the office, one by one, and waited for Murakami to speak first.
Kuki stood up and walked around to the front of her desk taking a quick look at the people before her, "Good day, Welcome to Tamahagane Corporation. Perhaps it would be best if we used the sofas for our discussion." she said pointing to the white leather sofas to her left. There were two identical ones with a coffee table between them, and a leather chair at one end. Kuki took the chair and waited for her visitors to be seated.
"Hajimemashite," Q replied in Yamataian with a light Nepleslian accent. Donny was the first to walk towards the couch, and sat down with his hands in his lap. Whomp sat down next to Jonesy's right and caused him to bounce lightly on the couch as the larger man pushed the smaller man.
Anomaly Detective sat to Jonesy's left, and Donny sat at Anomaly Detective's left. Q was the last to be seated, clasping his hands and looking at the businesswoman before her, "We're glad to be doing business with you. We've only heard good things from your entertainment sector." He started with some bantering pleasantry.
"Well, we are doing what we can, it is an area ripe for growth. Your own company has done well in this market. But I am sure you folks did not come all this way to exchange pleasantries. Time is money in the business world. So shall we cut to heart of the matter. How can our Corporation be of assistance to you, Mr Roberts?" Kuki said in a pleasant tone with a hint of a smile.
Very few people called him Roberts, he hadn't even divulged his real name with the other members staff at Kirin. Jonesy looked at him with a raised eyebrow and saw that Q had made a momentary pause. "As you know," He started, putting aside his concern with practice, "Companies like ours need to look for and adapt to new technologies to deliver products. We take advantage of the Internep, PANTHEON, SYNC and the Lazarus Network to deliver our services. Recently though, we've been interested in your service, the Virtual Collective Experience." Anomaly Detective nodded in agreement, "Some of us have spent our spare time investigating it, but I believe we've only scratched the surface of what it has to offer, and we are interested in providing a new game for your service, with your consent."
"Ah.. yes, the VCE is our most innovative and promising enterprise. As we like to say it is only limited by ones imagination. We have a growing customer base as we have businesses using it for conferencing; a number of educational institutions are using it and naturally people using it for group or solo entertainment. We even hosted a live concert with KOgama that was very well received.
So tell me something about this new game, and why you think it would be a good fit for VCE?" She said crossing her legs at the ankle.
"As you said, it is only limited by one's imagination," Q smiled. He looked over to Donny, and gave him an assuring nod. The smaller Nepleslian man shuffled forwards and cleared his throat, "We plan to take full advantage of it."
"At Kirin, we spend a majority of our downtime playing games that rely on interpersonal actions, and on our imaginations, using paper and dice. So we started to prototype a similar sort of experience for Gamers." He opened his jacket and put a communicator down on the table, then pressed a button, producing a holographic image. "Our main focus was to unfetter players from restrictions that most games enforce, and let them rely on their ingenuity to change the landscape. Over time we started to provide a better framework and players responded positively to having a goal, even if it was simple. However, we were having problems on trying to convey this experience."
The images appeared to be in a first person view of a blocky landscape, eventually resolving themselves into an exaggerated reality. Other players could be seen creating, running about and communicating with each other in what appeared to be a neighborhood of some sort. However, each neighborhood was somewhat different, and certain buildings stood out, "Once we stumbled upon your VCE technology, we found after investigating what it had to offer that it was ideal to our needs."
Kuki listened attentively, "So Mr Orson, have you tried loading your game into a Landscape and playing from within?"
'Donny' froze for a moment. Anomaly Detective gave him a nudge and he resumed, "Yes. We bought a ring of VCE units for ourselves, and we started using them to refine our concepts through iterations. Our previous stumbling block was reading the player's mind and adapting to it, which isn't possible with other platforms."
Kuki smiled briefly at another palpable hit, "I am pleased to hear that, because it is important to us that the people we partner with, have actually used it, and appreciate it. So are we talking about a completely new program? or are you interested in creating a Realm using one of your existing products? I do hope that if it’s a new one, it will not have the unpleasant matter that Galaxy Adventure 3 had. A bad customer experience within the VCE because of another person's product can of course cause a negative impact on the VCE as well."
Seems like they've done their research, Q pondered, listening to the woman and leaning in with interest. Whomp raised his hand and looked at Q, who gave him the go ahead.
"We took it up'n ourselves to rectify the problems caused by the previous partn'rship," He spoke tersely, "We take pride in our undertakin's." He unfolded his arms.
"Yes, but you only get to make a first impression once. So you can see my concern, I understand that it was not your fault. But we would want to ensure that any product before being released would be exactly how you wanted it when released. Which of course is in the best interest of all concerned." she answered.
Whomp nodded knowingly, "Ah, t'anks for the understandin'," He did something that was rare to the Kirin team: He smiled, "Moving on, I 'ad a chance to get up close with the VCE's internal code, and we found that the best way to convey our game was to create a Realm that creates a Landscape for the players of a given round based upon player input, and settling into broad frameworks that scale with the number of players."
He cleared his throat, "Since this's the lynchpin to the experience, I made sure it was stable as a skyscraper and our Landscape Generation code was scaled to handle up to 8 players in full swing." He then looked down at Anomaly Detective, who took the proverbial baton from the programmer, "'course, what players do with it is up t' them." He chuckled.
Instead, she waited for Murakami to proceed politely, figuring that she needed a chance to take that all in.
"Okay, as you have said none of that is beyond the capabilities. We in fact have had numerious Realms with much larger player bases. So you are obviously wanting to limit player size to maximize the impact each player can have. I like that idea, so what is the actual game concept?" she said leaning forward slightly in her chair.
My turn! "Imagine for a moment that you wake up in your house, or whatever you call home. You walk out into your neighborhood, but something doesn't feel right. You see the familiar neighborhoods. You may even realise that it isn't familiar to you at all." She removed Donny's communicator and placed her own down on the table, "And then the corners of the world darken, and you find yourself face to face with what you fear - but you aren't going to let it overwhelm you."
She pressed the communicator, and a short, prototype gameplay video from one player's perspective could be seen, shifting to a different player occasionally. "Instead you and whoever else is in the neighborhood band together, facing each other's problems and solving them together in a fight for survival until The Hour is over and you emerge victorious together." She paused for a breath, and the others smiled at her, "The gameplay might not be as open ended as most other Realms or Landscapes VCE has to offer, but we feel as though a definite goal, shifting landscapes and consistent challenges will ensure that players are never short of something to spend an hour doing together."
"I can see the appeal, it makes the experience more immediate. They aren't sitting in front of console talking to their friends in other places. They are actually in the situation. I like it, very much in what our demographics say customers are looking for. Now what is the antognist? Is there only one type, or does the game offer for other types? And do the antagonists learn?" Kiku answered, her interest piqued.
Whomp nodded, "They do learn from the players and adapt, just as players will adapt to them, which is why only a handful can play at once."
"As for game types, we are trying to investigate the creation of other scenarios that don't exclusively feature player versus environment combat." Anomaly Detective picked up from where Whomp left off, "We have been interested in player versus player or competitive modes. We will be experimenting with, and playtesting this since our main concern is how to balance it."
Kiku nodded, "Very interesting, interactions with other living players, has always ranked highly in our customer surveys. They find playing against the AI controlled beings challenging, but there is something about knowing that you are playing against a group of people who want to win just as bad as you do. Perhaps in the PvP experience there could be some sort of a tangible prize. The groups start with similar equipment, so that is a test of skills than toys. Or if a team wants to give the other team an advantage to earn better odds..." Kiku paused. "Sorry, I am letting my enthusiasm get the better of me. I not only am responsible for the acquisitions of products for VCE, I am also a player. I enjoy challenging myself in the environment playing a wide range of games. It is one of the reasons I was given this assignment. Firsthand experience with the gaming market."
The Kirin team shared a collective smile, "We understand," Q thought it was time to seal the deal, and it was obvious that she had taken a shine to the group, "After all, it takes one to know one, though the input of other players is always valuable." He extended a hand for a handshake, "I think we've reached a mutual agreement, Ms. Murakami."
Kiku took his hand, "I believe we have. Q." she said giving it a firm handshake. "Al that remains is the paperwork. I can have my assistant draw up the standard VCE contract if you like."
"That would be optimal to our needs, yes, and I believe we can assist you with one more deal while we are at it." Donny knew where Q was going and glanced at him. It was the contingency. Jonesy fidgeted a little then placed a sheet of paper on the table. "We're willing to host Tamahagane entertainment products on our distribution network, and give you a good cut of the profits in sales made to cover licensing costs."
"Ah, that is acceptable. A variant on our Associate program where we allow a business to sell our products. I will have Taylor draw up both sets of documents. When it comes to the selling of the products, we provide them at wholesale and you are allowed to sell and keep the difference. That gives you the option to bundle and offer discounts without having to coordinate with us. Tamahagane believes in enablement."
"I do have one query," Q spoke up again, "We do believe in players being able to modify their games after release and provide tools to do so, and we have few restrictions since we believe constructive players should be rewarded for their efforts. We're wondering if you'd take issue to this sort of freedom, since it isn't our property. Where do you draw the line?"
"Your Realm your rules. We grant you an autonomy within the realm. Many of the Realms offer customization. Just so long as they do not provide the customers with access beyond the Realm. It’s all good."
She stood up and went to her desk, she pressed the intercom. "Taylor, please prepare our standard hosting agreement contract, modify it to reflect a 15% discount on my authority, and attach the Associate program clause as well." she said. "I am on it ma'am. I will bring it in shortly."
"So, while we wait can I offer you something to drink?" She pressed a button on the desk and a panel opened in the wall and a fully stocked bar slid forward. "I do not usually have alcohol available for business meetings, but when in Nepleslia... But there is plenty of non-alcoholic beverages."
She walked over and poured herself a tall glass of ice tea and added a lemon to it.
"Ah, much obliged," Anomaly Detective took two colas, one for herself and one for Jonesy, who finally seemed to have calmed down, realising that the deal had gone well. Whomp helped himself to a single shot of whiskey and gave a non-threatening agreement grunt custodial amongst Nepleslians. Q and Donny hung back.
Jonesy and Anomaly Detective started writing down notes on the sheet of blank paper that he put down beforehand, taking some of Kiku's enthusiastic input and refining it, using pictures and terse paragraphs of mechanics to expand on. They could be heard cantering in designer-speak over their creation, and it wasn't long before some new paper was required.
Kiku watched as the Kirin personnel were fast at work. She looked at Donny, "So Mr Orson, do you folks have any idea of a time frame for when this endeavor will be targeted. Also I presume you do not have any problems if we make a press release announcing this arrangement."
Again, the name shook Donny, but he rolled with it, "We tend to work at our own pace, but we are open about our updates and progress, including any setbacks. I'm responsible for most of the press releases along with Butcher, and we make public updates at least once every two days."
"I understand, we will not mention the specific product. Just that we are working with you to host a new product. We will leave the announcements of your product up to you naturally." she answered.
A few minutes later Taylor entered the room with a small stack of paper. He walked over to the desk and placed them on the table in two neat piles. "Here you go ma'am everything as you requested."
Kiku walked over to the desk, "We just need to sign these, a digital copy will be supplied as well as this physical one." she said placing a pen on the table.
Q produced a pair of reading glasses from his breast pocket and placed them on his face. He then looked at the document in detail, examining the ins and outs of the deal, and the fine print to ensure that the agreement was in spirit as it was in letter. He would occasionally pause to flip back and cross-reference what he saw. Donny would occasionally look in and offer assistance. Being the heads of Publishing and Advertising, respectively, they had the utmost authority on making sure the deal was correct in the absence of the rest of the team.
The document was actually rather simple for a legal document. It clearly layed out the terms, the conditions and the responsibilities of both parties. There was no double talk, hidden clauses or deceptive clauses.
"This seems reasonable." Q finally concluded after going through the whole document. He produced a fountain pen and uncapped it, "We accept your terms." He signed a dignified 'Q!' on the page and looked at the other members of his group. Jonesy, Anomaly Detective and Whomp had converged into some mass of game-design brainstorming and were clearly lost in their own world. Donny smiled at them, and then Q asked somewhat sheepishly with a smile, "I hope you don't mind if we stay a little longer. When the dev team have an idea, they don't really move..."
Kiku looked at the developers, "Well, fortunately my schedule is rather light, although if you think it would not disrupt their creative process, they could use the conference room next door if you like. I am flexible; I just hope they will not mind my conducting some business while they are in here."
Donny gave Kiku a nod, "Good suggestion. Jonesy," The developer looked up and the others stopped, having been abruptly whisked away from their train of thought, "There's a spare conference room over there."
Jonesy made an 'ah', and scooped his notes, holding them in both arms. Anomaly Detective and Whomp took a few leafs of paper off of him, fearing that he might trip over himself, and they made tracks to the spare conference room.
"You were saying?" Q asked, now that the developers were out of the picture.
"Excellent, sounds like they are very excited. I must admit that I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with. If you do not mind my suggesting, but perhaps after this endeavor they might consider creating a VCE version of their earlier products. A more personal experience and they could even add new content for those players so that it is a different overall gaming experience." Kiku suggested as she walked around to her desk.
"We'll see," Q nodded as he tapped his pen against the freshly signed contract.
Kiku walked over and pulled out her gold pen, she took the paperwork and signed them in the required locations. She took one set and fed them into a slot in her desk. There was a hum and a bright glow from the slot. Once she finished feeding papers in she pulled out a data module.
She walked over to Q. "Here is your digital copy as promised. Welcome to the VCE family. My contact information is included on the module, in case there are any questions or problems getting you folks set up." she said handing the module.
Donny nodded as he pocketed the module, "I'm sure we'll be in touch in case anything arises." Q gave Donny a glance and a smile, and Donny was happy to return it. To them, the deal had gone well. They had official support and access to more developer tools, and a publisher, "Once again, on behalf of Kirin Games Manufacture, I'd like to extend my greatest thanks for your hospitality."
Kiku smiled, "It was my pleasure, I think this will be a very profitable arrangement for both our companies. When your team is ready to leave, just go to the elevators. When you reach the reception desk, they will have your VCE Developer package ready for you to take."
OFF