Hell's Glitch (initial draft)

25 Phase 2

It was surreal seeing Milner's real life head superimposed in the center of his HUD. The man was so dedicated to player immersion that he didn't even let people voice chat or directly message each other, but here he was breaking all types of immersion with his joyless real life face.

"Hello alpha testers. I highly suggest you watch this message somewhere safe. At a Beacon Fire perhaps. I'll give you ten minutes to find one."

His face disappeared faster than it appeared, leaving Sam with a very peculiar feeling.

"What a weird guy. Guess I'll make my way back to the Beacon Fire at the cave."

Sam rested inside the cave and leveled up his stats as he waited for Milner's next immersion breaking message. He leveled his speed up to twenty-eight and went back to thinking about what Milner's impending message would be about. Maybe he would have something to say about the missing log out function. Hopefully they'd get it up again pretty soon. Sam was getting anxious thinking about such a huge flaw in the game's system. How did they mess that up, he thought. He checked the time again and saw that his gameplay hours had stretched even further. He had already logged over fifteen hours in the game. He really needed to get out and check on himself and see if he could even move his legs after getting so immersed in this world. He was sure that he'd have to pee like a racehorse too, once he got out.

Video Message Incoming: Fulton Milner, Director/Lead Designer

Milner's image cut into Sam's HUD. He was visibly sweating and the dark rings under his almond shaped eyes were now more pronounced. His shaggy black hair was more disheveled and for whatever reason, his five o'clock shadow looked messier than before. He then remembered that it was an automated digital clone that he had come across before when configuring the game or perhaps Milner had simply pulled an all-nighter to ensure that the test was going well. Looking at him, Sam wondered if Milner shared the same Japanese heritage as himself. Milner was not a traditional Japanese name, neither was Fulton for that manner.

"Bear with me, testers. I know this is jarring. My team is just finishing the calibrations to allow me entrance into your game worlds. Ah, looks like they're already done."

The video feed was cut and suddenly a light blue portal appeared next to Sam. Sam hurriedly got to his feet and drew his sword. A light blue, pixelated version of Milner stood in front of him with his hands in his coat pockets. Slowly, digital Miller came to be colored with more realistic hues and eventually it seemed as if the man from the video had now stood right in front of Sam. It reminded Sam of when he had first entered the virtual world. Milner was wearing the same white lab coat as before. Milner stared right at Sam, but his eyes didn't seem to be focused on him. Most likely, it was the same look he was now giving to all the testers in mass.

"Yes, this is good, feels more natural this way. With that aside, I'm here to make a few announcements regarding this alpha build test. First off, I'd like to congratulate our top testers for giving us some much needed data. The top five testers include Immortal Kalika, Sword Wrench Man, Sarem the Sanguine, Justinian Eighty-Nine Thrills, and Regal Deego. These testers have made the most progress in the game, collected the most rare items and equipment, and are generally the best overall players of the game. Top five player Sarem the Sanguine is also the first tester to find five distinct glitches in the game earning him the reward for that contest."

A replication of Sam's avatar appeared next to Milner in his black armor and long swooping cloak. He was life sized and made Milner look like an ant. Milner's head barely came up to his chest. Sam grinned and mumbled to himself.

"I look good in my Bloody Sunday's Best."

Milner dismissed the digital Sarem clone and continued on.