A few taps on the mic with his hand confirmed it was live, and he started his speech, “Welcome to Gaia Corp! I’m Kevin Ingram. I’m the Director for Immersion Pod Facility Z, and one developer of the new Limitless VR interface you will experience in our new game. I know you’re all excited to get into the game and experience it for yourself, but I ask that you bear with me for just a little while longer.”
Mr. Ingram looked around the room and remained silent until the murmur of excitement settled back down and the room was mostly quiet, “We are supremely happy that you’ve chosen to come play this new game with so little information available. Destiny Fall was a tremendous leap in video game technology, and we’ve done everything possible to keep this one a secret. It’s with great pleasure I finally announce the name of the game you will soon enter,” he said with flair as he picked up a small wireless device and pressed a button.
An enormous banner unfurled from the ceiling and fell to cover the entire wall. Atlas stared in wonder at the assortment of characters shown on the banner. Twenty distinct races of people adorned the banner. Elves, Dwarves, and even Beastkin appeared on the large canvas and each held a wide assortment of weapons. He spotted everything from knives and swords, to bows and staves. He even swore he saw a musket in the mix. All wore an equally diverse set of armor and clothing. Fabrics, leathers, metals, and even many others he couldn’t identify stood displayed on the characters. The top of the banner was the exciting part. After a year of hype and development, he finally laid eyes on the name of what he was positive would become his new obsession. Divine Genesis.
Cheers rang through the room as everyone took in the sight. Atlas watched as random people high-fived around the room in excitement. Mr. Ingram called for everyone to settle down so he could continue.
“We want our players to discover most aspects of the game on their own, so we will only provide small snippets of information to help you. Tutorials won’t be offered and most of the mechanics you need to investigate yourself. I’ll only stress that you can do anything you put your mind to in this game. Since it’s a full integration with your mind, there are no physical limits to what you can achieve. Craft anything you want, cast spells, swing swords, sit around all day and carve wooden figures. You can do whatever you put your mind to,” he explained to the looks of shock around the room.
Atlas turned toward the young woman on his right. She had an asymmetrical bob hairstyle that came to her jawline. Her hazel eyes turned to regard him with the same look of disbelief he felt.
“Did I hear him say no tutorial? No guidance?” Atlas asked.
“I think so. Unless we’re both hearing things,” she responded with a grin.
“We won’t send you in completely blind, though. I will tell you basic details of the game. You will enter and choose a class and race. These details will decide the general area you will start. It also decides your base abilities and bonuses. Choose carefully here because you’ll never be able to change this. You also can’t create alternate characters. The neural link for the Limitless VR will tie directly into your mind so you can’t integrate alts.”
Grumbling echoed around the room as people protested at the idea. I love playing alts. Atlas complained as he slouched forward and rested his chin on his hands.
“Also, I’ll stress there are no limits on your skills,” Mr. Ingram reassured them. “You won’t need alts to spread your skills across. No matter your class or race you can learn any weapons skill, any armor skill, or any craft. Certain combinations carry penalties based on specific criteria. For instance, a wizard trying to wear plate may encounter difficulties and spell penalties unless you get certain items.”
Atlas perked up at that. What items could allow people to overcome specific downfalls like those? Can it have something to do with specialized classes?
“And now, the cherry, or in this case cherries, on top. Players in the game can earn the chance to become company executives at Gaia Corporation,” he announced and the entire crowd turned silent. Everyone stared at him as though he’d gone insane.
All at once, multiple voices rang across the room, peppering the man with questions. Some announced loudly how they would be the next executives, while others proclaimed someone at the company must’ve gone insane.
“Everybody, calm down!” Mr. Ingram yelled into the microphone. The volume of his yell caused the speakers to buzz and screech slightly from the feedback.
“We will not reveal any details about that program, but the next announcement might interest you even more. We have worked over the last year to solidify market agreements, and currency in the game will have direct value in the actual world. Retailers will begin rolling out Divine Coin purchases in their businesses. The prices will fluctuate slightly with the market, but we’ve striven to make the conversion simple. Each copper coin is roughly one cent. One hundred coppers equal a silver and one hundred silver equal a gold. For those mathematically challenged, a gold coin is worth an average of one-hundred dollars. You can cash out your in game currency with us directly to convert it to standard money or spend it with the supporting retailers.” Mr. Ingram said before another explosion of sound rocked the room.
Cheers and hollering echoed off the walls, and Atlas had to cover his ears because of the volume. The room went pitch black for a few moments and fell silent. When the light returned, a smiling woman in a lab coat walked away from the light controls near the edge of the room. How does that always work?
“Be careful here because
