Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus

Chapter 134 - Reality Check

Zen, Simtrixx's esteemed Games Master jumped up from his swivel chair in jubilation. The expensive high backed leather bound CEO's chair was pushed back forcefully and crashed noisily against the stout mahogany cabinets behind.

"Yes! Yes! YESSSS!!"

"Oh my God! I can't believe they did it!" he shouted pumping his fist in the air. "Valentine! You are the man!! You got the Lifestone. You saved Lazarus! Yeah!!"

He hugged himself tightly standing still facing the multiple screens. He couldn't take his eyes off his Heroes now. The hours of Virgil were worth it, so damn worth it! They actually did it! He laughed out loud, in your face Nadine!! Now his Stars will be unstoppable! Ahhh, he needed a fresh cup of coffee.

Oh, wait. What were they doing? He stopped his impromptu celebration to peer at the screens, were they logging out? Makes sense, he supposed. They had played for hours already. Now that Lazarus was finally out of the woods, they could take a break. Suddenly he yawned; maybe he too should take a break. The tired Games Master stretched. He should get a short nap and check on them later.

Zen inhaled deeply, letting out his breath slowly to calm himself down. He schooled his face carefully, wiping off his silly grin before opening the blinds to his sound proof office. A few senior staff glanced his way but soon turned back to their screens when he did not call for them.

Quickly the Games Master switched his viewing screens to general ones and waited until the company's screen saver came on. O'kay, it was safe to leave now. No one would be able to access his terminals as it was voice activated, and even if on the off chance someone did, they would see nothing. Once he was certain that his office was secure, he stepped out into the bustle of Games Control.

Season Two of the reality game show was scheduled in a few weeks. His staffs were all busy working round the clock, they had no time to monitor the GateKeepers like he did. Then again, he had a special interest in them. Nadine may have had used the Players to prove and show case Orc Wars gaining the recognition which she had craved but he had followed their journeys, cheered for them and protected them.

Seeing the Players play and work so hard to complete the gruelling missions and quests thrown at them, made him identify with them even more. He had been an avid hard core gamer too. Their passion and enthusiasm showed how much they truly appreciated the whole Game, its story, quests, NPCs and avatars. They did not try to cheat, hack or take short cuts; they played like true Gamers, experiencing the full story and quests within the set rules.

He sighed in regret for a moment. If there was any cheating, it was done by the Director and himself.

Zen looked out over the floor. The place was buzzing, people were bent over keyboards and scrutinising data, NPC algorithms and gaming mechanics. His staffs were too busy updating and perfecting Orc Wars for Season Two. It was less than a month and there were still so many new additions and adjustments to the game. It had a new theme, missions and Bosses to keep it exciting and fresh.

Besides the upcoming new season for the virtual gaming reality show, his team also had to maintain the overall game quality of the current game. Problems encountered by existing Players were solved. The general graphics for common scenery, dungeons, Player's Keeps, unclaimed keeps etcetera were also randomly checked. Algorithms for each NPC and avatar were continuously tweaked and upgraded.

The orc realm was also more than ready now but still needed some fine-tuning. More and more Gamers were successfully collecting the Gate Keepers' Orbs. Soon they will be crossing over. Thanks to Lazarus' obsession with crossing, his awesome Creative and Design teams had been pushed to complete the orc realm ahead of schedule. Damon, Head of Creative had literally lived in Simtrixx during the last few months, Zen allowed himself a smile. Poor fella, but he was getting paid a hefty sum for his hard work. Thanks to him, the orc realm was now ready and had beautiful detailed maps, programmed NPCs, refined dungeons and sub-quests. They had also fixed some glaring problems brought to their attention by the pioneer Gatekeeper group.