Now See Here! (m/m)

A Sight for Sore Eyes

Great… Mark thought darkly to himself. So maybe I just wasn't worth it, then?

"Let's just forget that conversation at the party ever happened, shall we?" he forced himself to smile.

"Yes, lets… or I won't be able to convince you that I'm a great guy… and maybe to have a drink with me sometime?"

"I-" Mark raised his hands.

"I get it, it's too soon… but let me know if you ever feel like it, okay?"

"I will," the blond nodded, with no intention whatsoever to do so.

As the lunch progressed, however, he found O'Connor to be the one who really drove the conversation forward and actually understood what they needed to talk about. The others seemed to be hung up on numbers and sale statistics.

"Listen," Mark said in the end, interrupting a delve into the company's budget for last year. "We're here to sell you, not your numbers. Your customers are teens, right? They won't be impressed by a nice looking prognosis and ideas about going public. You need to deliver what they can connect to. A background story, perhaps? Having your own gaming company, creating your own games, that's a dream come true for so many out there… How did it start? How long have you known each other? Were you working on these kinds of things back in your old bedroom in your parent's house? What about your first games? There's nothing like the story of the little guy making it in the big scary adult world! And, a little later, you should open up more. Let them see some bloopers; laugh at yourself, let them see you enjoying yourself, having fun! That will create the true image of a dream company that they can connect to. I'm sure you have a story to tell, and we can help you tell it… but it won't be through numbers."

The whole table was quiet for a moment, and Mark was almost afraid that he had insulted them until there was a low whistle.

"Damn, you're right!" the man in charge of the finances said.

"Yeah," O'Connor added. "I remember reading about Google's head office back in school and thought that it must be the coolest company on earth."

"I'm not saying you should build a sand volleyball court in your office just yet, but yes: have your customers root for you. Become more than a provider of products to them, become a friend, someone who plays with them, who are excited about the things they are excited about. That's how you should present yourself at the conventions."

"Yes," Sue agreed. "And make sure to talk to the critics, and I don't mean the newspapers or major gaming sites now. I'm talking about the YouTube gaming channels. Those people have the real power now, they are not limited by sponsorships or what is printable; they are honest, brutally honest, and their viewers love that… but they are also just regular people, many doing this in their spare time, so court them a little. The attention might do you a world of good. That is, if you deliver what you promise."

"Well, we intend to do that," O'Connor chuckled.

"We should schedule a time to talk more in-depth about these things," Mark said. "It might be a good chance to figure out what to build on for your 'origin story' so to speak, and also make sure you know how to support it in interviews… we don't want it to seem fake, after all."

"Absolutely," one of the men agreed and Mark heard a rustle and beeping as phones and calendars were checked. "When?"

"As soon as possible. If any of you are free tomorrow…?"

"I am," O'Connor said.

"Yes, but you're the only one," one of his coworkers announced after a moment. "Still, as a programmer you will probably be more interesting to the public. And Davis."