61(2): Redoing my Life, A New Venture

I parked my car in the garage. My phone had been buzzing during the entire drive. 

It was probably Haley.

 Upon entering the house, I decided to check the messages. I was glad I had left Haley's place before Claire’s wrath descended on everyone.

Unlocking my phone, I scrolled through the flood of messages from Haley:

Haley: Hey, why did you leave so suddenly? 😟

Haley: Are you okay? You didn’t say anything before you left.

Haley: Okay, you’re not answering... Did I do something wrong?

The texts stopped after that and then continued an hour later.

Haley: Mom is super mad, by the way.

Haley: She’s been ranting about responsibility and how we made her look. Ugh.

Haley: Okay, I get now why you left. Could have taken me with you, jerk.

“Called it,” I muttered to myself and began typing a response to Haley.

After sending the response, I began to look through other texts to find messages from John about the game demo he had given me.

John: Hey Danny, have you had a chance to check out the game yet?

John: Don’t mind the graphics, it’s very PS1-like, but I think you'll like the gameplay.

As I read through the texts, I remembered that the CD was still in the car. I headed back to the garage to pick it up and returned to the house.I was very intrigued to see what John and his friends had managed to put together, despite their self-deprecating warning about the graphics.

After installing the game on my PC, I settled into my chair. The game instantly opened to the player character standing in a dark and foreboding castle. The graphics were rough, reminiscent of early 3D-era games, but there was a charm to the blocky textures and clunky animations.

I maneuvered the character and attacked some enemies, who I found to be very difficult to get through as they could kill me in two or three hits. The gameplay reminded me of Dark Souls. After navigating a particularly tricky corridor filled with traps and enemies, I entered a large, dimly lit room. For the first time, music started playing; until then, the only sounds were from the enemies I encountered. The music was alright, but it could be better. However, it did indicate that a boss was ahead. I was proven right as a massive creature burst from the shadows, wielding a giant mace that it swung with terrifying precision.

I died countless times, getting angrier with each death. I was right, it was very  similar to Dark Souls. My earlier reservations about the graphics were forgotten as I found myself enjoying the gameplay. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I finally landed the last series of hits needed to take down the boss. The creature roared in defeat before collapsing, the screen fading to black. Text appeared:

Thank you for playing our demo!

“Damn, it's over,” I said out loud, disappointed.

I sat back from the computer. The game, though rough around the edges, had an undeniable allure similar to what I remembered of Dark Souls.

'Was Demon's Souls out yet? Did it even exist?' I thought. I quickly searched online for any information on the game. To my surprise, there was no trace of it. This realization struck me hard—there was a chance that Dark Souls might not even be released in this timeline.

The possibility sparked a flurry of thoughts. Here was a chance not just to invest, but to potentially guide John and his friends towards creating something like Dark Souls. They had the foundational gameplay down; it was solid, challenging, and engaging. What they needed was financial support, proper equipment, and more importantly, time to refine and expand their concept.

They didn’t have a story yet. That was something I could help develop. I could act as a creative consultant, slowly steering them towards a narrative and game structure similar to Dark Souls. The potential was enormous.

I grabbed my keys and headed out to the garage, pulling out my phone as I walked. Dialing John's number, I waited for him to pick up.

"Hey, John, it's Daniel. I'm heading over to your place," I said when he answered.

“Oh, you’re coming over? That’s great, we are all here—my friends I mentioned,” he replied.

“Ah, good, even better. I'll be there in about an hour," I said before ending the call.

As I got into my car, I dialed Carter—he was my money guy, and it seemed like a good time to get him involved. He picked up after a few rings.

“Daniel, is this about the Netflix thing?” he asked.

“No, no, we’ll talk about that later. I want to talk about an investment opportunity in a company one of my friends is starting. I believe there is significant potential,” I said as I began explaining what it was about.

Carter was always straightforward. "Video games... Are you sure about this, Daniel? It sounds risky.”

"Yes, I've thought it through, and I've seen their demo. There's something there, Carter. I also want to get involved as a creative consultant, not just a financial backer."

Carter paused, likely weighing the pros and cons before responding, "Alright, I trust your judgment. Why don't you come by my office later, and we can go over everything? We’ll need to discuss the specifics and how you want to structure this investment."

"Thanks, Carter. I’ll stop by after I meet with my friend,” I said before ending the call.

After an hour of driving, I finally arrived at John’s house. He was waiting for me at the door, a broad smile on his face as he ushered me inside.

"Daniel, glad you could make it, man!" John greeted me enthusiastically. "Let me introduce you to the team." As we walked into the living room, I was introduced to a group of eager faces.

"This is Mark, our lead programmer," John pointed to a man with glasses perched on his nose, who nodded at me with a respectful smile.

"Over here we have Alex, he's handling our sound design. He's a wizard with audio," a young man with headphones around his neck gave me a thumbs up.

"Then there's Eric, he’s in charge of game mechanics," a friendly guy with a welcoming grin extended his hand for a shake, which I took.

"And this is Adrian, our level designer," John continued.

Alex suddenly piped up, "I’m a huge fan of your Percy Jackson books, by the way. They're awesome!"

"Thanks, Alex! Glad you enjoyed them," I replied.

John then turned the conversation towards the demo I had played. "So, how was the demo? We’re all dying to know what you think."

"It was great, seriously. You guys have done an impressive job. I’m interested in investing and potentially helping out where I can," I announced.

The room erupted into cheers and high fives.

John looked pleasantly surprised as he responded, "We were hoping you might be interested in helping with the story. We haven’t got a good writer yet."

"Actually, I've got some ideas already bubbling up. I think we can create something really good here," I said.

"That's fantastic!" Adrian exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

John and I shook hands, solidifying our new partnership. "This is the beginning of something big, guys," I said. “Let’s make something great.”