1 The Fated Reveal (1/2)
”Dude, Hurricane's been quiet all year. They're up to something big I'm telling you!”
”No way. Hurricane's lost its touch. Ever since the merger with GA and ActiSight they've produced nothing but garbage and new content for their old stuff. This G3 is going to be nothing but new stuff for old content.”
”I'll bet you anything they've got something big planned! Too quiet I tell ya...”
Karl smiled as he overheard the heated conversation between two young men hurrying by. He certainly hoped that the optimistic one was right. If Hurricane had something big planned it would be one of the biggest scoops of G3! ”Still…” His friend had a point too. Despite their stature as a giant in the gaming world, Hurricane seemed to be in a rut. Their games were still as fun as always, but nothing they'd released in the past few years had succeeded in reigniting the same spark with gamers as their early stuff had. No one would be happier than himself if Hurricane had something big up its sleeves. As a reporter, any big news from Hurricane would be sure to draw in the views like crazy. Especially if they revealed it during today's press conference.
Karl rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm up, despite the early June heat the temperature in the convention centre was a cool 20 degrees. Pausing to grab his lanyard, he flashed the nametag at the bottom to the security guard.
”Karl Matthews, reporter for the Daily MMOGamer” he said, staring nervously at the security guard's toned forearms.
”Mmmmh”, the security guard nodded. ”Alright, head on in, show starts in 15 minutes”.
With that, Karl was directed through the doorway into a narrow hallway, which quickly opened up into a massive auditorium. Despite their lack of new titles over the last couple of years, Hurricane was one of the biggest names in gaming and the prestige they commanded at G3 was still incredible. Many gamers would have given their left arm to be allowed in to this room and hear about Hurricane's upcoming plans even a moment earlier. Not for the first time, Karl thanked his lucky stars that his boss had chosen him to cover Hurricane's press conference.
Walking to the front of the room, Karl elbowed his way through the throng of onlookers gazing excitedly at the stage. An enormous projector wall covered two thirds of the wall behind the stage and two smaller, but still massive, screens flanked the main wall, currently showing Hurricane's logo and a timer counting down to the beginning of the conference.
Settling near the front of the press area, Karl checked the screen. ”10 minutes, just enough time to go over my questions and check my recorder”. Once his gear had been double checked and he'd reviewed his gameplan, Karl calmed down and waited for the beginning of what promised to be one of the biggest conferences of the entire event.
”Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the press. Thank you for being here with us today...”
Karl started to drift off, just like in years past this Hurricane conference was fairly boring. With no new titles, and only expansions and new DLC announcements for their existing titles, it seemed that Hurricane was content to spend another year simply existing. At least he'd be able to write some articles on the upcoming expansions, he mused, staring up at the Hurricane logo which had replaced the final trailer.
All of a sudden the lights dimmed once more. Straining his eyes Karl could just barely make out the tall man leaving stage and a new figure taking his place. As the screens came to life once more, the Hurricane logo was replaced with a new unfamiliar symbol, vaguely triangular in shape with intricate runes adorning a knotted Celtic ring. Karl perked up, he'd studied everything there was to know about Hurricane in the two weeks leading up to the conference plus his two decades as a gamer --- this symbol was brand new. His reporter instincts were screaming that this was a major scoop. Readying his eyeglass recorder, he refocused the image on the logo and then zoomed out to cover the whole stage.
A somewhat portly man stood centrestage, having replaced the tall gentleman. Wearing a loose fitting T-shirt emblazoned with that strange logo and a pair of faded jeans, his looks were nothing impressive, clashing with the prestige of the event. And yet Karl knew better than to underestimate him. Michael Lietke was a legend in the gaming world. The key mind behind many of Hurricane's most famous titles. His appearance meant one thing: This last trailer was going to be huge.
”Thank you all for being here.” Michael began, his baritone voice rousing any who had not yet realized what was happening.
”This next project has been many years in the making. It was made possible with the help and investment of several key companies including Goggle, Amozon, and many more. The tech required for this project has been one of the biggest barriers to its release. But today, I am pleased to announce that after many years of waiting, Hurricane will finally be releasing its next major MMO... Fate!” pausing for applause, Lietke glowed before continuing.