This Fortnight Adventure

This Fortnite Adventure Part 1

The winds were howling. His face was burning from the cold. Jared looked up at the sky as he ran across a snow-covered field, trying not to slip or trip over anything that could have been hidden by all the white powdery stuff surrounding him. The wind blew so hard it felt like an invisible hand pushing down on top of him, making everything feel heavier than normal. It made breathing harder for some reason too.Jared stopped running when he saw something ahead—a building with lights glowing through its windows. A sign hung above the door: "Lucky Landing." That had to be where they were supposed to go next if you wanted to get out alive. There was no other way but forward now; there wasn't any turning back anymore after what happened last time..."I can do this!" Jared said aloud as he pushed open Lucky Landing's doors. Inside, it seemed nice enough, though nothing compared to his house in California. Everything was covered in fake snow, including the carpeting. On one wall, there stood a huge map showing which places players would need to visit to reach different areas. Most people didn't know about this part since most games only showed your character moving around. Here, however, you got a glimpse into another world, seeing where everyone else was going. People also used these maps to plan their strategy before heading off somewhere new. They'd mark important locations and things they needed to find along the way. In fact, the more detailed the better. If someone knew exactly where they were headed, then maybe they wouldn't die again!As he walked further inside, Jared noticed two men talking behind the counter. One man wore a green shirt while the other was dressed in red. Both looked very serious. At first, they both ignored him until suddenly the guy wearing blue turned around and smiled at him."Welcome to Lucky Landing," he said cheerfully as he took out a clipboard filled with papers. "Can I help you?""Um..." Jared started to say before looking past the clerk toward his friend who was standing nearby staring at them curiously. "My brother told me to come here to meet him. Is he still working? He should have gotten called already—""Oh yeah," the man replied. "He's right over there. Come on, let's show you where to go."With that, he pointed to the side of the room and led Jared away. As they passed by, the older man waved goodbye, giving him a thumbs-up. Not wanting to seem rude, Jared did likewise. Then, they continued walking together. When they reached a hallway lined with offices, the clerk asked, "So, are you guys brothers?""Yeah, we're twins actually," Jared answered proudly. "We've known each other forever.""Well, good luck finding him," the clerk remarked as he opened the office door closest to them. "It looks like he went upstairs to talk to the boss."That sounded ominous somehow, Jared thought as they entered. He followed closely behind the man as he moved slowly up the stairs, passing several rooms on either side of them. Some appeared to be storage spaces while others just contained random junk. All except one, which was full of computers and monitors. This must be the place where they worked. Upstairs ended abruptly in front of a large metal door with a small window set into it. No doubt the person inside would be able to see anyone approaching from outside. Once the clerk knocked loudly three times, a muffled voice responded immediately. After hearing footsteps coming closer, the clerk opened the door slightly and peered inside."Hey Boss!" he shouted. "You gotta look at this!"A moment later, the door swung wide open revealing a tall thin figure wearing glasses sitting at a desk surrounded by piles of paperwork. Beside him sat a smaller version of himself, probably ten years younger. Despite being half his age, the kid couldn't hide his excitement."Boss! You won't believe what's happening today!""What is it?" the man replied without taking his eyes off whatever he was doing. "And don't shout like that. We'll attract unwanted attention.""But I think you might want to hear this!" the boy insisted excitedly. "I'm telling you, it's amazing! I mean seriously incredible!"The boss sighed heavily as he leaned back against his chair. With a grunt, he placed his elbows onto the table and rested his chin atop them. "All right...what do you have to tell me?""Remember those plans you sent us for the Battle Royale game?" the clerk inquired. "Well, our programmers finished developing it yesterday!"There was a long silence before he finally spoke. "Really?""Yep," the clerk confirmed eagerly. "They tested it out earlier this morning and apparently, it works great!"At that point, the boss jumped out of his seat and hurried over to the computer console. "Let's see this!"Once he arrived, he typed in a few commands and began scrolling through a series of numbers. "How many players did you put in the beta test?" he demanded."About five thousand," the clerk explained. "Which means we got plenty of feedback to work with.""Five thousand?!" the boss exclaimed. "Are you sure? That sounds awfully low considering how popular the idea seems to be lately.""No worries," the clerk reassured him. "Our developers found a solution. Apparently, the whole thing runs much smoother now. So, we decided to add even more people!""More?! How many more?" he asked anxiously. "Ten thousand?""Maybe fifteen hundred," the clerk answered. "Just enough to make sure nobody gets left behind."Then, the boss paused for a second and stared directly at Jared. "Who's the lucky son of a bitch?" he whispered quietly.When Jared realized what the boss was referring to, he blushed deeply. "Me...me personally. I was chosen because I helped design the map.""Wait, really?" the boss repeated skeptically. "Why?""Because my dad designed it," Jared quickly clarified. "His company owns the rights to the game, remember?""Right, right," the boss nodded. "Now why would I want you in this game?""Uh..." Jared stammered nervously. "To keep the peace between the two companies. Plus, I figured that if I was in charge of designing it, I'd know exactly what needs fixing and what doesn't. And besides, I haven't played any other Battle Royales yet. Maybe I'll learn something cool from playing this one."After thinking for a minute, the boss shook his head. "Fine," he muttered under his breath before continuing louder. "If you insist, fine! But listen carefully: if you screw this up or cause problems anywhere in the process, I will personally kill you myself.""Understood," Jared agreed solemnly. "Anything else?"The boss considered this question for a moment before responding. "Yes. Don't take anything seriously. Seriously."With that final warning, he spun around and stormed out of the room. For a brief moment, Jared wondered whether he should follow him. Then, he remembered the old saying about curiosity killing cats. Instead, he simply shrugged and returned downstairs."Okay," the clerk announced once he came back. "Here's what we've got planned so far. First, we added a bunch of new weapons and items to the game. Second, we gave the map a complete overhaul. Third, we fixed some bugs that kept cropping up during testing. Fourth, we made some changes to the rules and gameplay mechanics based on player suggestions. Fifth, and finally, we tweaked the difficulty level to make things easier for beginners. Oh, and we changed the name of the game to 'Fortnite' instead of the original title, 'Battle Royale.' Now, does anybody have any questions?"Nobody spoke up. The clerk looked disappointed for a moment but then brightened up again as he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Jared. "Good news, buddy!" he cheered enthusiastically. "You're officially part of the development team! Congratulations!"Jared glanced down at the page before looking back up at the man. "Huh...why am I listed as Lead Programmer? Shouldn't I be Head Programmer or something?""Nope," the man chuckled happily. "Lead Developer is the highest rank we offer."Jared grinned widely at that remark. "Thanks," he said appreciatively. "I guess I'm glad I joined now. Otherwise, I never would have met you guys.""Don't mention it," the clerk assured him. "In fact, we owe you big-time. Thanks for helping us out.""Well, you can thank my father," Jared replied with a grin. "Without him, none of this would exist anyway.""True enough," the man agreed. "Anyway, I think that's everything. Let's wrap this meeting up and get back to work."Once they were gone, Jared grabbed the piece of paper and began reading through the list of improvements they'd implemented into Fortnite. It seemed like quite an extensive collection of fixes and tweaks. To start, they increased the amount of ammo available throughout the map. Next, they decreased the respawn timer by half a minute to give players a little more time to recover after dying. Finally, they adjusted the damage done by all guns and grenades to reduce the number of kills required to win a match. Overall, it seemed pretty impressive. Of course, Jared knew they hadn't completed all of their work yet. Still, he felt confident that they could deliver a solid product eventually. If not, the only way his father would ever forgive him would be if he failed completely—and given how well things had been going so far, such an outcome didn't seem likely anytime soon.By lunchtime, Jared was exhausted from staying late every day at school to finish homework assignments. Fortunately, the boss allowed him to leave early since he wasn't scheduled to return until tomorrow night. By the time he stepped into his house, he was ready for bed. Just as he was getting undressed, his phone buzzed with a text message alert. Quickly checking the screen, he saw a familiar name flashing across its face.Mom: Hey honey! Where have you been? I tried calling you twice last night but your voicemail picked up. Are you okay? Did you fall asleep somewhere? Please call home when you have a chance. Love ya!Sighing, he hit the button to answer her call. "Hi Mom," he said softly into the receiver. "Sorry about that. School stuff got crazy busy these days. What happened?""Nothing important," she answered cheerfully. "Your sister's birthday party turned out great though! Everyone had fun.""Great," Jared mumbled. He hated birthdays. They always reminded him of his mother. She loved them and threw parties for everyone. However, they were also reminders of how long she'd been dead. Every year, they came around reminding him of his loss. Yet another reason to avoid celebrations altogether."Did Dad tell you about the Battle Royale project?" his mom asked next.He frowned deeply at this sudden change of subject. He wanted nothing to do with his father. In fact, he hoped the guy died someday. Unfortunately, he knew better than to say that aloud. As far as his parents were concerned, the man was still alive. There was no need for him to worry about losing a job because of something someone else told them. Besides, his father wouldn't dare hurt his family. Not unless Jared screwed up first. Which meant he needed to stay away from the boss and play along with his plan. After all, there was too much riding on this battle royale game for anyone to risk messing it up."Yeah," he responded cautiously. "It's awesome! Can't wait till it launches.""That's good," she smiled brightly. "We worked hard on it and we hope you'll enjoy it."For a moment, Jared thought she sounded slightly sad. Before he could ask what bothered her, however, his phone rang. At least he assumed it must be his stepfather. Why else would the caller ID show up as 'Dad?' When he answered it, however, he heard the voice of his real dad."Hey, Son," he greeted casually. "Long time no talk.""Um..." Jared hesitated. "Hello, sir.""Oh yeah," he laughed lightly. "I forgot who I was talking to.""Sir?" Jared repeated uncertainly."Never mind," the older man cut in. "Listen, I just got back from visiting your mom. You won't believe what she's been doing these past few weeks.""What are you talking about?" Jared questioned sharply. "Is something wrong?""Wrong? No, nothing's wrong," his dad assured him. "Actually, I couldn't be happier for her. Anyway, I want to congratulate both of you for working together so well lately. Your relationship has grown stronger than ever before."Jared swallowed hard at that comment. His stepmother had become pregnant recently. Since his father had been sleeping with her for years, this shouldn't come as any surprise. Although, knowing how often his dad cheated on his wife, he doubted the pregnancy was entirely his fault. Either way, he didn't care anymore. All that mattered now was protecting himself and keeping his family safe."...So, how is everybody doing?" he pressed on."Wonderful," his father promised. "Everyone's happy and healthy. We love each other dearly now. Isn't that wonderful?"Jared sighed loudly at the unnecessariness of those words. He'd known for months already that his father cared less about his marriage than he did about his own happiness. Even without asking, he knew that his mother was aware of the truth too. From the very beginning, she'd insisted that he should try harder to please his father. Given the choice between his biological parent and his stepmother, he chose the latter every single time. Only unbelievableness prevented him from telling his dad off outright. After all, the man was rich enough to buy Jared a mansion full of servants if he really wanted one. And besides, it might actually help protect his family.Instead, he took the high road whenever possible and ignored most of his father's insults. That way, he avoided causing trouble while simultaneously avoiding any major blowback. While it certainly wasn't ideal, it served its purpose. So far, he remained relatively unscathed despite living in constant fear of being fired over something stupid. Eventually, he suspected his luck would run out.And if it did happen, he'd deal with it then. Until then, he focused on making sure Fortnite became a success. Once he accomplished that goal, his life would go back to normal.***As soon as Jared woke up the following morning, he checked his email immediately upon logging onto the internet. One glance revealed several messages waiting for him. He opened them up one by one to find a flood of positive responses coming from people all across the globe. Some even wrote short reviews about playing Fortnite online. Others offered suggestions on how to improve the overall experience. A few mentioned potential ideas for future updates. Most importantly, though, he found plenty of gamers begging him to let them join the beta test program.While he read through the feedback, he noticed two new emails sitting beside the ones he received earlier. Both were from companies wanting to sponsor the launch event. He clicked open the first one right away; the second he saved for later. The message was written by a representative from a large media company called Twitch.tv. It requested permission to stream footage from the upcoming launch ceremony.After thinking it over briefly, he decided to grant their request. With so many viewers interested in seeing his debut performance, streaming the entire thing live was probably a smart move. Plus, having a popular video game publisher like Twitch involved would attract more attention to the whole affair. As he considered whether or not he should accept the offer, a third email arrived in his inbox. This one came from an equally famous gaming website named IGN.com. Their editor-in-chief sent him an invitation to participate in their annual Game Awards broadcast.Although Jared hadn't seen any videos related to this particular award show, he recognized the logo displayed prominently on the sender's email address. For some reason, it made him feel uneasy. Curiosity finally overcame caution and he opened the message. Much to his shock, the title of the article caught his eye instantly: "Top Ten Worst Video Games Ever Made."His heart skipped a beat at the mere sight of that headline. He quickly skimmed down the rest of the content before clicking the link embedded within the message. An instant later, he stared dumbfounded at the top ten worst games list posted below. Onscreen, he saw images of various titles including Mortal Kombat 3, Grand Theft Auto III, and Super Mario 64. But the one that shocked him most was featured above all others.The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.He gasped audibly at this revelation. How could Nintendo make such a terrible game? Granted, he remembered disliking the ending, but he'd enjoyed most of the actual gameplay itself. Perhaps it was due to his age at the time, but the game felt fresh and exciting compared to previous entries in the franchise. Or perhaps the writer simply hated the series as a whole. Regardless, it appeared that IGN had chosen to ignore his contributions to the industry. Instead, they'd decided to focus solely on criticizing the latest release from his employer.A cold chill ran through him as he scrolled further down the page. Each entry contained a brief description accompanied by scathing criticism. Naturally, none of these comments were favorable toward the studio responsible for creating the game in question. In fact, most of the articles ended with the author urging readers to boycott the developer's products forever. Meanwhile, several of the reviewers went on to praise other games from the same developers. The only exception was a small paragraph praising Twilight Princess specifically for its visuals and soundtrack—both of which were among the best available anywhere.However, that didn't stop them from putting the game on this list. Apparently, it was still viewed as a failure given its lack of innovation and poor controls. Considering everything else on this list, however, that seemed somewhat understandable. If anything, it showed how far the development team behind this game had fallen from grace.When he finished reading the entire piece, Jared closed his eyes tightly for a moment. Then he opened them again and typed out a reply. Dear Sirs,Thank you for contacting me regarding my recent work on the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I appreciate you taking the time to write about this critically acclaimed game. I can assure you that the staff at Nintendo remains proud of our efforts here. I am glad you enjoyed the music and art design. My team worked incredibly hard to create something unique and memorable.Unfortunately, your review is quite inaccurate. Many aspects of the game you criticize are based on fan requests. These changes reflect modern trends in the gaming community, so I'm afraid they cannot be changed back. Please understand that we have tried our best to provide players with a compelling story line and enjoyable characters. Our intentions remain unchanged. Sincerely yours,Jared Beckett (aka Link)***Once he composed his response, he hit send and waited patiently until he received a confirmation message. Finally, after three minutes passed, his cell phone buzzed. Opening the email, he discovered that the editors at IGN had accepted his rebuttal. They also added a personal note thanking him for his input.Now, all that remained was dealing with the other company trying to get sponsored by the event. By comparison, this one was considerably smaller. Its name was Twitch TV, Inc., and it specialized in live broadcasting services. According to their website, it provided millions of users worldwide access to thousands of channels featuring professional gamers, celebrities, musicians, and other personalities. Because of this wide range of programming, it claimed to reach more viewers than any cable network currently operating in America. Of course, this claim likely meant little when compared against television giants such as CNN or ESPN. Still, considering the popularity of streaming websites like YouTube, Twitch TV was clearly growing rapidly.With his decision made, Jared logged into the Twitch chatroom and began typing out a private message. Within seconds, someone replied. The person used a username consisting of four letters followed by the number 100. Judging from the profile picture attached to the message, he guessed it belonged to a female gamer. She wore a headset around her head, suggesting she played using a microphone.Hi! I see you're looking for sponsors for your big day tomorrow. Are you planning on streaming the entire thing?Yes, I intend to do exactly that, the young man confirmed. Thanks for asking. Would you like to be part of the audience?That sounds great!! Do you think there's room for another viewer??There definitely is, he told her. What's your handle?Her username was 'Killer100.' He typed it out on screen and returned a smiley face emoticon along with the letter Y.Great! Just leave it to me. See you in the stream, Killer100!She responded with an X. Soon afterward, the woman's avatar vanished from his monitor. At last, the countdown clock reached zero and the main menu appeared.At long last, it was time to start playing.***It was late afternoon on December 1st, 2012. Two days since the official launch of Fortnite. As planned, Jared and his friends gathered inside a large conference room in the headquarters building of Nintendo Headquarters. There, they prepared themselves for what was expected to be a huge public event. However, no one present realized just how much bigger things would become."Okay everyone!" Jared shouted enthusiastically. "Let's begin!!"They cheered together at his proclamation. Everyone looked forward to celebrating the grand opening of Fortnite with hundreds of fans watching online. To Jared, it represented nothing less than a dream come true. Not only was he going to play the game for real onstage, but he'd done so alongside dozens of other talented creators who helped build it over the past year. All of them were now sharing the stage with him. No matter how many times he experienced this feeling during the next hour, he doubted he ever got tired of it.The countdown timer on his display counted down slowly. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Zero.Finally, it was time to enter the lobby area of Castle Town where the battle royale would take place. Before entering the map, he checked the status panel once more. His HP bar indicated that he held a total of 2,000 points worth of health. He assumed his stats would eventually drop down to 0 if he died too often, but for now, he figured that gave him enough leeway to survive."Everyone ready?" asked Jared as the door to the castle opened. His teammates nodded in unison. After exchanging glances with each other, they stepped outside and disappeared from view.Suddenly, the sound of cheering filled his ears. He glanced upward to discover that the crowd surrounding the entrance to the castle had grown significantly larger. Hundreds of people stood atop balconies overlooking the courtyard below. Even more crowded the streets leading to the gate. And countless more sat on the ground, eagerly awaiting his arrival.To Jared's surprise, he spotted familiar faces scattered throughout the throng. Several members of the press were standing near the front row wearing microphones in hand. Other spectators sported logos representing major gaming magazines, record labels, movie studios, and other entities eager to cover this historic occasion. A handful of celebrities and famous athletes were also visible on the sidelines. None, however, drew his interest as much as the girl with bright blue hair and matching lipstick. Her name tag identified her as Missy Martinez, a reporter from the popular entertainment news site TMZ.com. The thought crossed his mind that she might be interviewing him soon.But then he recalled something else. That same morning, the magazine Rolling Stone released their own interview with him, conducted via email. It wasn't nearly as well known, but it did contain a few interesting questions about his background and future plans. Maybe she wanted to discuss those issues instead. Either way, he knew this wouldn't be the last time he spoke to the press today.In order to avoid being overwhelmed by the massive crowd, he walked straight ahead while waving cheerfully at onlookers. When he reached the first checkpoint marker, he turned right and headed deeper into the city center. As he moved farther away from the castle walls, he noticed that the buildings grew taller and denser. More roads appeared on either side of the street, connecting them perpendicularly to the roadways already present. Eventually, he entered a new section of town called Plaza District. Here, tall apartment complexes stretched up vertically from both sides of the plaza.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!