*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* Within a dimly lit room a device spoke. “The time is 7:00 am. Friday, June 26th, 2020…”

*whack*

*Yawn* I woke up, smacking the alarm clock while attempting to stifle a yawn. While still reluctant to get out the futon I pulled myself up, rubbing my eyes. I looked over at the gap between the curtains, to the left of my futon; the sun shining through the gap. I squinted my eyes and brought a hand to my face, partly covering my eyes. Since I clean the apartment every few days the room was relatively clean, with barely a spec of dust lit up by the light.

I had a desk placed against the wall, faced towards the foot of the futon with a desktop computer placed on top. Just below the desk lay a few boxes of computer parts tucked away in case of emergency. On the desk, in the top-left corner sat potted lilies in all their glory; the walls painted blue; complimenting and enhancing their color.

On my longest facing wall I had a framed picture of my dog which I had as a kid hanging on the wall opposite my window. Feeling satisfied I went over to draw open my curtains. When the sun hit me in the face I grimaced slightly, but pushing through it I took the curtains and pulled them back; aligning them at each side. I went over to roll up my futon, tidying it away into storage and fetching my dressing gown from my wardrobe.

After putting it on I make my way to the kitchen to get breakfast. There wasn’t much in my cupboards nor my fridge because I’d rather save money when it comes to those luxury foods; I just don’t need them. Most of the money I make goes into my passion and hobby, that is, writing the video game I’m working on. Although I work at a bespoke software company, I like to code my own stuff at home in my free time. I’ve recently decided to get back into game development which stemmed from my interest in gaming.

Because I love games and gaming so much, why not try making a game myself? I can code so I should be able to pickup the necessary skills to make a game right? Though I say that making a game and making other software is different because there is more involved in game development like sound design, game-play, modeling, level design, and so many other fields like marketing; but, it’s a lot of fun. Hard; but a lot of fun and rewarding too, although I’m far from completing it.

I decide to treat myself today so I fetch my favorite cereal from the cupboard; Nisshoku; a cereal made with beet sugar which has been attracting attention lately as an alternative to refined sugar. Beet sugar is made from sugar beets, contains oligosaccharide, so it can help with constipation and improve immunity. Or so I hear; But actually, I just like the taste.

That said it’s really sugary and it’s a premium product so I don’t eat it that often, but today, being a Friday, and the last work day of the week It should lift my spirits so that I can give my all at the company, and later, working on my video game.

I pour in the milk and go to unfold the table which is pressed up against the kitchen wall. Being a 1K, or one room with a kitchen and bathroom apartment it’s relatively small. It isn’t because I don’t make much money but because my preference lies in minimalism. That said, I don’t make as much as I did many years ago. Due to my age it’s actually harder to pick up new things, I can still do so but it takes longer than It did when I was young. Software development favors the young.

These days programming is becoming a fundamental skill like riding a bike or using a smart phone, so, naturally; because there is no shortage of people out there who can do my job the wages reflect that. Nevertheless, I get by fine and I work hard.

I fetch the newspaper from my front door; come back and sit down, eating my breakfast while also reading the newspaper in-between bites.

Time goes by and I look up at the clock on the wall, the time is now 8 am. Since I’m finished eating I wash up my bowl and make my way over to the bath. After spending a short yet satisfying soak I brush my teeth and get dressed for another long day at the company.

A long but rewarding day. It can get boring sometimes but overall I enjoy what I do. I straighten my tie and make sure my suit is all in order. The company has a strict dress code unlike other software companies.

I grab my brief case containing my laptop and other documents, put on my shoes and walk out my apartment door while wearing a smile on my face. I start walking to the train station.

Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Hasegawa Seiji, or for the rest of the world Seiji hasegawa. As previously stated, I’m a software engineer working at a bespoke software company. If you didn’t know before, bespoke software is software which is custom-made tailored specifically to our client’s requirements.

This can be many things, from financial applications, to property management, to presentation software; it really depends on what the client wants and because of that, I have experience developing many different kinds of software, of all shapes and sizes. Or, quite a few at least!

When I was 8 years old, my parents got me a desktop computer. I didn’t play on it much since I spent most of my time outside playing with my friends; but, when I turned 10, during that year I found out about game arcades and ended up spending more of my time there instead. Of course, my friends were annoyed at first since they didn’t see much of me anymore; however, when I invited them to come play with me they got hooked on the arcade machines immediately.

This made me all smug and happy so I ended up talking about all the possible ways I found to beat the boss. I was so happy and excited at being able to share my passion with them that we wound up challenging each other to a game; we compared notes on secret areas and competed in our knowledge of the games too.

This went on for a year until I turned up at the arcade and found my favorite game out of order. Yoshida-Ojiisan was there trying to fix the machine. He saw me peeking through the gap in-between two of the arcade machines and asked me If I wanted to watch. I nodded. He then asked me what I thought was wrong with the machine but I just shook my head, dumbfounded. I had no idea, how could I know?

I stood there while Yoshida-Ojiisan took the machine apart as he explained what each part was supposed to do. After taking most of it apart he soon found the issue. There was a burnt square thing with metal on one side of it. He sighed and told me that the burnt thing was a ROM chip, or a read-only-memory chip and that it stored the game on it. I was shocked. How can this tiny chip store a whole game. But my shock soon turned to grief when he told me that I probably wouldn’t be able to play the game anymore, that he’d have to buy a replacement and it may not be the same game.

Just when I was about to cry in despair over the sudden loss of my favorite game; knowing I may never get to play it again, Yoshida-Ojiisan smiled and told me there might be something better. In my confusion, he took me by the hand led me into the back room of the arcade. There I saw several people crowded around an arcade machine playing a game I had never seen before. I asked them where they got that game and who made it…

They all looked at each other, smiled and turned to me. When they said they worked together to make that game It was like my mind exploded… they made it… seriously? Why? How? That was the day my passion for gaming evolved into something more and I started to learn how to code and make my own games.

'Ah!' I realized I was lost in thought; and, it looks like we’ve arrived at the train station. Quickly passing through the terminal, paying promptly, I boarded the train heading in the direction of my workplace. It takes 20 to 25 minutes to get there so we’ve got time to continue. Where was I? Right! Back to the arcade, the moment my passion evolved…

SirMetathyst

I feel like this chapter could be better but I'm not sure where... I was also hesitant to release this chapter yet because this is 1 chapter split into 2 chapters and I have't started the next part; but I've decided to release it anyway and work on chapter 2 now... Lastly I've decided to keep each chapter to about 1500 words because I feel like I can write better and get more done in these smaller chunks.