Chapter 2: How It Works
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Manager Jia passed out some paperwork and began to explain them to everyone. “But before we do, unfortunately, we must first get the legalities out of the way.” 

 

Xiang Chen understood where Techno was coming from. This was their baby, their new virtual gaming technology that could make them millions; it was necessary to protect themselves as well as the hard work of all their employees. 

 

“The first document is a non-disclosure agreement. The second is a packet listing a few rules about your time here; such as strict visitation days in which you may only have one or two guests on set days off outside of the beta testing. Additionally, the next few documents require your signature. Let me explain; in a promotional venture, we will be recording your actions within the game to compile episodes to allow audiences to view you experiences as well as the capabilities of the Mirage VGD. Additionally, you’ll receive monetary compensation for your efforts this month; think about it like a temporary job.”

 

After hearing this, Xiang Chen was aware as to why Techno would hire five fairly famous people to be a part of the beta testing team. In this way, the people would gain exposure, but their fans would also be exposed to Techno’s new video game and the Mirage VGD. It was a smart and beneficial relationship for both ends, except that Xiang Chen wasn’t really here for any of that. He felt a little weird about being recorded, but Manager Jia promised that there would be aspects of the gaming that would allow for privacy. Xiang Chen had come this far already, so he couldn’t really refuse. At least, back home, Xiang Liang could see the gameplay without Xiang Chen having to explain everything. 

 

“Next, there are medical and health documents to fill out. We’ll have to ask for a record of your medical history to ensure that everyone is in good condition. The Mirage VGD has gone through many stages of development and testing, and this is the last part of it so we aren’t really worried about health repercussions. However, the horror video game Five Tales of Terror can be rather stimulating. We’d prefer our participants to have low health risks in order to prevent any issues with the beta testing.” Manager Jia explained the forms in a neat and orderly fashion. “After this meeting, we’ll also need a physical and psychological exam done to ensure you are in good health to begin the beta testing tomorrow.” 

 

As a medical student, Xiang Chen agreed with this sort of reasoning. He’d never really played virtual games too much, but he knew that they could be quite stimulating. In a high-pressure environment such as a survival horror, to receive a large scare could cause heart attacks, seizures, and the like. The experimental-like beta testing was quite clinical actually, and Xiang Chen was intrigued by this setup. He also wondered just what kind of scares did Five Tales of Terror have in store for them… 

 

After signing and going through the documents, Manager Jia collected them all before returning to discuss the main topic. “Like I said previously, the Mirage VGD is a new-type of virtual reality gaming device that allows players to enter a virtual world. Unlike the current virtual gaming devices out there, Mirage VGD has quite a few innovative functions that allow for it to be more of a prototype of a new generation of virtual gaming.”

 

Xiang Chen felt properly hooked by these lines, quite curious about these new ‘innovative functions’ that Manager Jia mentioned. Beside him, Yi Xiazhi seemed quite excited as she leaned forward in her chair, literally on the edge of her seat in anticipation.

 

“One of the best features in the game is allowing for the manipulation of time. One hour in real life is calibrated to be about twenty-four hours or one day in the game time. Additionally, the Mirage VGD allows for a fully ‘immersive’ sort of experience. You do not need a controller to move around the virtual space, but a neural connection will allow you to move freely. You can think of it as being similar to dreams; in your dreams, you can move around freely, feel and experience things, but you once you die, you wake up.” Manager Jia explained simply. His words and his analogy made Xiang Chen, who was sort of a newbie in virtual gaming, be able to properly understand the mechanics of the Mirage VGD. 

“So what about in terms of the gaming experience then?” Jiang You asked with a furrow between his brows. “If you ‘wake up’ when you ‘die,’ then you have to start the game all over again. Is there no sort of save points or ‘lives’ that allow you to restart instances within the game?” 

 

Manager Jia smiled, expecting no less from a pro gamer to ask one of the tougher questions to answer. “The Mirage VGD is currently the first prototype of its kind, so currently, it is only able to handle two types of fixed ‘deaths.’ One is where you die and are forced to restart the game in terms of storyline; this is more suitable for single player or multiplayer role-playing games. The second is where you die and are brought back to a particular location within the game, which is more suitable for MMOs. In terms of allowing players to ‘save’ at certain progression points and be able to load from those points after death, this is a bit more difficult so we are saving this feature for a future version of the Mirage VGD.” 

 

Xiang Chen understood from this that Five Tales of Terror would probably utilize the first type of death; if you die in the game, then you wake up and are forced to restart the whole story once again. However, wouldn’t it be frustrating for beta testing if you are constantly forced to restart the game over and over again? But then, a sudden thought came to him. “Manager Jia, in regards to the gaming experience, do these ‘deaths’ affect our rankings in the competition?” The competition that Xiang Chen referred to is something that he had learned from Xiang Liang. According to sources online, the participants of the beta testing for Five Tales of Terror would also be put in a competition to win another exclusive prize. 

 

Manager Jia was a little surprised by Xiang Chen’s sharp question. He hadn’t even mentioned the competition yet, but the young man had already been able to deduce the qualifying factor for winning the competition. “You are quite right, Mr. Xiang. Five Tales of Terror will definitely utilize the one time death; in this way, whoever is able to survive through the night will definitely be in a higher ranking than someone who did not. The goal of the competition is to see who will survive the most in the game’s five stories.”

 

“So is the game going to be five different stories with interconnected storylines or are they going to be standalone stories?” Chen Rong, the web novelist, inquired curiously.

 

“You can think of Five Tales of Terror as being a bundle of standalone games. They are five different stories with different plots and different characters. However, they all have varying degrees of difficulty. To scale, the first story will be the easiest to survive through and the most difficult will be the last story.” 

 

After discussing a few more things, Xiang Chen felt like he understood the basic idea of everything. In short, the five different stories were not connected but could be thought of as difficulty levels. In regards to the competition, whoever survived the most within the games would win. 

 

“You all must be quite curious about what the prize is.” Manager Jia began with a smile. “The prize for the competition is going to be a gift of one free Mirage VGD as well as a copy of Five Tales of Terror. In addition, you’ll receive a free year subscription to all the Techno games on any console as well as the ability to feature as a character in the next game for the Mirage VGD.” 

 

Xiang Chen felt the excitement of the people around him grow. Being able to feature in a game coming from Techno was a great opportunity for exposure, so he understood their excitements. He, however, was more happy to be able to receive a free set of the Mirage VGD and video game Five Tales of Terror. In this way, he could give them to Xiang Liang without breaking his bank to buy one after it releases.

 

After speaking a bit more about a few things, Manager Jia ended the meeting. As he had informed earlier, there were medical staff on hand to give them physical and psychological exams. For privacy, each participant had their own room in which they were examined; this room was also going to be the place where they would be donning the Mirage VGD to play the game. After a brief tour and answering a few questions, Manager Jia brought them back to their living quarters. It was already late and time to settle in for the night and get a proper rest for tomorrow’s busy day.

 

I'm really not creative with these chapter titles...(^^#)

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