Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Developing Game [2]

Myles Holms.

He didn't register in my mind immediately. It wasn't because I had forgotten about his character or anything of the sort.

Myles wasn't a character that I could easily forget. How could I not with the way he was designed?

He was ruthless, psychotic, and two-faced. He was the type of character who took advantage of others, stealing their credit in order to push himself forward. This sort of setting made sense considering the game he was in.

It was a ruthless zombie survival game where he had to steal and take from others in order to survive.

There were several reasons the game didn't succeed, but if I had to pinpoint one, I'd say it was the graphics. They... weren't exactly impressive. A lot of the game's budget was invested in the storyline, neglecting the graphics as a result.

I had brought up the problem several times with management, but they all responded the same way: 'The story will make up for the lack of graphics. Don't worry about it. Just do your job.'

I could only retreat in silence then.

"...No wonder I couldn't recognize him immediately."

Zoey was a lot easier to recognize since she was the direct result of 'Dead Rising' failure, prompting the company to shift to a more graphic-based based design.

But even that failed.

"Well, it's not like all the games failed, but why are the main characters of the two worst games here?"

I was really struggling to understand this.

Not only was Zoey present, but so was Myles. Just one was enough to give me a headache, but two?

"And Myles of all people..."

If previously I had any lingering thoughts about joining the Guild, such thoughts quickly faded.

There was simply no way I would join the Guild with him here.

I didn't want to work in a place where I had to worry about getting backstabbed at any given second.

Never.

***

"...I'm telling you he didn't mean his words. Seth... he just recently got fired, so he might be a little moody. He might also not know."

"He recently got laid off?"

"Yes. That's why I had him come here."

"I see."

"...You're not going to do anything to him, are you?"

Zoey looked at Kyle's stiff expression and didn't answer immediately. However, after a brief pause, she shook her head.

"I won't be."

"Oh, good."

Kyle looked visibly relieved by her words.

"I know Seth well. He can be a little careless at times, but he doesn't mean any harm. You also won't have to see much of him since he won't be working with us directly."

"Mhm, I figured."

Zoey's tone was light. Her voice didn't carry much emotion. This seemed to ease Kyle somewhat.

"....That's good. I'll go check up on him. He probably was also shaken up from the trial."

"Alright."

Zoey watched as Kyle left. Her mind drifted towards his last words, and her expression turned dark.

Shaken from the trial...?

That was laughable. Not only had he cleared the trial faster than anyone before, but the moment he came out, he looked completely unfazed, as if he hadn't just beaten some of the best recruits around.

He was anything but shaken.

Suddenly, her stomach started to twist.

—I don't get to rely on my rich parents when things don't go my way.

The man's words echoed in her mind again, forcing her stomach to twist further. It wasn't long ago when the helicopter crashed, stranding her and her family on that darned island. Those were some of the darkest days of her life.