prismatica | Text, UN: xXGalOmegaXx [Forward-dated to charity stuff]

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Text, UN: xXGalOmegaXx [Forward-dated to charity stuff]

hello everyone. my name is nanami chiaki. i haven't been here very long, but i have a request to make. i know things have been scary lately and people got hurt, but i hope you'll still hear my idea out. it's because so many need help that i want to do this with as many other people as possible.

you see..... i noticed lots of people are doing different things to raise money for charity. especially to help everyone who got hurt. but what if you don't have a lot of chroma to give away, right? or it's not easy for you to get more, right? i think..... the more ways everyone has to help, the better.

so what i wanna do........ is put together a kind of video game tournament.

if people donate lots of prizes, we can have lots of different goals, like...... rhythm game played longest, or adventure game finished fastest. most monsters collected, or cutest monster created. there's so many different types of games! so anyone can play, and they can play however they wanna play and still have a chance to win something. all they need to do is pay an entrance fee, and all the fees we collect can go to helping people.

as for consoles and games, it'd be easiest if people who have those things already let other players borrow them or join them for co-op or versus play. video games are most fun when you play with other people, you know! and it's not like games are one-use consumable items, so.... it'll be fine. everyone will get a chance to play, and all the helpers should get their games back. i think.

...but if there aren't enough, i'll try to get more... no, i'll definitely get more! even if it takes a lot of chroma, i really think we can help this way, so i'm gonna do my best!

......probably.

so.... if you think you can help with prizes or games, or you know you want to play, please reply to this post. i can't do this by myself, so.... i hope it's ok that i'm counting on you all.

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Yep. It isn't inaccurate to say... I've spent my whole life in video games.

[In more ways than one, haha.]

But I've always been curious about tabletop gaming, too. It lent so much to other games, especially old-school adventures and RPGs... But I never had the opportunity before to play any.

Well, for someone your age, that's an admirable start. [Ren started playing Vanguard when he was about twelve or thirteen, so that's a good half of his life by this point, and he's been in the industry for about that same length of time as well.]

Really? I suppose they do fall to the wayside a lot compared to video games...I worked just in collectible card gaming back home, but there's no way that would have been successful in a world like this, when there's so much focus on things like virtual reality. But tabletops still always have people who love them even in places like this, so I thought it would be better to incorporate all kinds.

Of course. The more options there are for players... the better the chances they'll find something they can really connect to.

[Something something make your own future something.]

For me... I want to branch out more. 'Cause there's so many things I haven't tried yet... I get a little excited thinking about it, you know?

Right, that's the important part. That there's something everyone can get involved in. [It's hard for someone like Ren to underestimate the impact something like gaming can have on lives and friendships, because he's experienced most of it personally.]

The industry here is a little more advanced than my world, so I can definitely understand being excited about the opportunities. I've learnt a lot about things like their virtual reality systems from working with them, but it still feels a bit like I've hardly scratched the surface.

VR... offers a lot of possibilities. But there's something good about being able to still see and talk to the real people around you while you play. Then... there's the possibility you can share what you're doing with them.

[After a moment, she lifts her hands and mimes the toggling of a joystick and the pressing of buttons.]

The feeling of real controls in your hands is nice, too. I think.

Mmm, I think each different kind of gaming has its advantages...there are things you can do in each one that wouldn't work as well in the others. VR seems to be the most popular here, so I try to work with that, but I can't just leave the others by the wayside.

[When he's so familiar with those two and virtual reality is a relatively recent development in his world, it's hard not to be a little nostalgic. Even if, technically, he's done more work with VR recently in his own world too.]

Besides, just because new things appear doesn't mean the old things disappear, right?

Right! New or old, every game that's been made... a lot of hard work and dedication went into each one, so someone could make their vision a reality. When you look at games like that, even the ones people call "crappy"... you're holding someone's dream in your hands, and isn't that amazing?

[...Yep, she says all that and isn't a bit embarrassed. Nanami Chiaki just has a lot of feelings about video games.]

Mmm, I think even the not-so-good ones have their charms, even if it's stuff like the fans who enjoy finding new ways to break the game. Even a "bad" game can be enjoyed in some way. [Someone will find a way to enjoy it one way or another, with all the different ways people choose to game. But with the topic of the conversation trending the way it is, Ren can't help but arc the subject a bit.]

How long have you been here, anyway? You seem like the kind of person who'd want to get into the industry.

Ah, not that long. Maybe... a week or so?

[IF THAT.]

By 'get into the industry,' do you mean... like having a job?

Mmm, getting a job that involves games. A lot of people who've shown up here have gotten back into the kind of work they did back home, so it's not like it's unusual.

[Other than himself, he knows a good number of idols who are working their way back up. Some people just have things they're better at than others and prefer to pursue them.]

But if you've only been here a week I can understand why you wouldn't have had time.

Hmmm. I've never thought about getting a job anywhere before... um, because I'm supposed to be in high school.

[And not for any other reason. Certainly not.]

Is that the sort of thing people are supposed to do here? I wonder... if someone would even hire me.

Hmm, that's not that young. I started in business when I was in middle school. [He built a company at 13, which is definitely ridiculous, but it means he's pretty open to younger people working.

And as it happens, one of the things he tends to look for most in staff is passion for the job. And also knowledge, so with a slight hum of consideration, he tilts his head at Chiaki like he's measuring her up.]

If you want, I could interview you for a job here. You seem passionate enough for it, and I'm sure you'd learn a lot from the other employees.

...

[Give that a few seconds.]

...Ah, really? Is that really okay?

[Work, here, surrounded by different sorts of games, not just among people that love them, but people that make them, people as skilled as her father must have been? Could someone like her help them, or even learn how to create her own?

Chiaki's not a particularly demonstrative person, but she rises a little higher on her feet, excited.]

There's a lot I don't know yet, but I'll do my best...! ...I hope.

[Ren gives something of an amused hum at that, leaning against the table.] I mean, when I'm interviewing people, the thing I tend to look for most is passion. Skill is important, but it's also something that can be trained - some people are naturally talented, but determination and ambition to do better can outstrip even that. Passion, though, is something you can't really force if you don't have it. So people who've given their whole lives to this kind of thing are the ones I tend to seek out.

[If you're not passionate about your job, then what's the point in doing it? Ren's spent his whole life working in an industry he'd never want to leave because he loves it so much, and at the very least, he can try and make that the case for others as well.] So I'll have to talk to you a little more like any good employer, but I think you're the kind of person who'd suit this place well.

[She nods eagerly along with Ren's explanation--yes, that's exactly what she thinks about talent and hard work, too!--and weighs his words thoughtfully.]

That makes sense. Ah, I can fill out a résumé or application form to start if you want, since we don't really know each other yet. But all I can probably put on it is the school I'm from.

[Which, back in her Japan, would mean a whole heck of a lot, but isn't something she'd necessarily want to advertise here. The questions it might bring up for anyone actually from her Japan...]

Well, I'll at least need a little bit of information. I think in terms of things from home, experience with gaming and the industry is more important than actual qualifications. [Ren doesn't technically have any qualifications beyond high school, and neither do his two closest associates in his company, because they were running their business perfectly fine without them. In a completely different world, he's come to be rather doubtful of the types who cling to titles or qualifications that aren't relevant anymore.

In any case, he heads over to the counter and fishes out a form from the other side of it.] And even if the school is a big deal in your world, it might not exist in mine. That's the kind of thing that happens here.

Mmm, like in branching timelines, even if it seems like we could be from the same planet... okay, I understand.

[Thanks, time-travel puzzle games, for the otherwise inapplicable knowledge of multiverse theory. Chiaki wanders after Ren so she can fill out the form.]

Since your name is Suzugamori... are you from Japan, Ren-san?

I'd almost call it more like alternate universes... [Ren muses on that as he goes looking for a pen. He's met people from what sounds like some severely different variations of Earth while he's been here.

He finds his pen a moment later, so Chiaki can get to work on the form. Most of it is general information, but there's also more specific questions asking after personal experience with games and why the applicant wants to work with games.]

I am. You are too, right? I've met quite a few others here from Japan, but none with the same quirks as my version of it.

...Yup, I'm Japanese.

[Probably she was just distracted for a moment there with the form. Her handwriting, as she slowly fills it out, is almost surprisingly childish, but it's legible enough. Of course most of her credentials are in playing computer and video games, so she's limited in that sense: not a lot of non-digital experience, none in creating them herself. But she's played a lot of video games in her world, it seems. After a pause, she adds that she can read code, too.]

I know there's one or two other people from the same universe as me, 'cause we were classmates... What makes yours special, Ren-san?

[Ren watches her write, but considering he works with kids reasonably often back home, it's not like the form is a troublesome level of legibility. He's seen tournament application forms filled in by young kids, which is a whole other level of reading disaster.

As she fills out the form, Ren leans back against the counter and hums slightly at that question.] I mean, the biggest difference I've seen is with Vanguard...that's my professional background in my world. There's a card game called Vanguard that's really internationally popular, and we use virtual reality technology to display the games, so they're treated pretty much like a spectator sport. Being a pro Vanguard player is kind of like being a pro athlete when it comes to the fame. But nobody I've talked to from other worlds has even heard of it.

[These days, in his world, even if someone on the street doesn't really know much about Vanguard, they'll know the name.]

That's so cool...!

[She forgets about the form for a moment, but she continues quickly enough.]

There are pro gamers in my world, too... but they're only popular among other gamers. Tournaments are sometimes organized across the country or internationally, but it's still not on the same level as baseball or soccer... It must be a pretty amazing game to impact the whole world like that.

Mmm, that's kind of like how they do it here, right? But in my world we can hold tournaments in stadiums and things like that, because they'll fill up. It's definitely an amazing game, so I'm glad I've had the opportunity to work with it for so long.

[His tone in saying that sounds somehow more earnest than much of the conversation has - he hasn't been insincere, but it's definitely very obvious he's passionate about this topic.]

I don't play professionally anymore because I know most of the players who can challenge me, but now I just try to make a good environment for everyone to enjoy the game.

In some ways, I think that's even more important. The people who make games, the people who make sure everything's fun and fair for everyone... well, without them, it's obvious we wouldn't have games at all, right? So, thank you for all your hard work.

[Even if she's never played Ren's game in particular, it still feels good to say. It's a warm kind of feeling, getting to acknowledge the tears and effort game creators put in to create those worlds she's spent her life exploring. She's never had this opportunity before.]

Mm, but all work and no play's no good either, right? So even if you aren't a pro anymore... I hope you still get to play a lot with your friends.

[Ren waves a hand at that, though he's still smiling.] Well, I wouldn't do it if it wasn't something I wanted to do. Watching people grow their skills makes it worthwhile in the end.

[Even if Ren is on another level, there's something nice about watching the next generation. Spotting those with innate talent, people who might eventually come to stand before him through some means or another. After all, Vanguard's more otherworldly links have a way of catching up the best players.]

I don't see my most skilled friends very often at the moment since they're living overseas, but I definitely make them play with me whenever they visit. And besides them, I always have the friends who were on my old pro team, who are good for a challenge.

[One of them's never beaten him and the other's not managed it nearly often enough to unseat Ren's position as best in their organisation, but they're both formidable.]

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Text, UN: xXGalOmegaXx [Forward-dated to charity stuff]

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