Neck-Deep In It: A LitRPG and GameLit Series.

by Jason Cheek

  “Is that it,” Rani asked in confusion as she watched her supervisor start to put away the conference room’s wireless mouse and keyboard.

  “Sure is,” Doug confirmed as he began walking back to his office.

  “Wait,” Rani exclaimed in confusion as she glanced around at the rest of the team, before hurrying after him, “Aren’t you going to issue a corrective Emergency Hot Fix?” She didn’t understand the reaction her supervisor was having. “This is worst than the Moonshine Elementals!”

  “Actually, the spell is functioning as it was intended,” Doug said, frowning at the unbelieving look on her face. Sitting down behind his desk, he motioned for her to sit across from him as he explained the reasoning. “Look Rani, the spell is functioning as intended. The Dark Lance spell was made for exactly the situation that this Startum Ironwolf used it for. For most battles, it is a nearly useless high-level spell. It does low damage on single targets. So far, no one has used it quite this effectively against the demi-humans and monsters within The World.” He rocked back in his chair and smiled. “The only thing we need to confirm is that the enemy learns from their mistake and comes up with an intelligent response which will be your next assignment.”

  “But Vengeance Burnslinger will probably kill me again,” Rani stuttered as her supervisor gave her a shrug.

  “That’s the job,” Doug said, “worst case scenario is that you schedule the use of the Nautilus. I’ll let Jules Verne know you have my approval for the change in schedule.” Her supervisor let out a heavy sigh. “I’d still like you to try going back once to see if our forty-eight hour forced logout curbs Mr. Burnslinger’s aggression or not. Otherwise, we’ll have to implement something more severe.”

  “Now we’re talking,” Rani said, before realizing that meant she would still have to suffer another ignominious death. Even worse, she’d have to deal with the peculiar Admin who captained the Nautilus. The guy was a complete nerd and was a little bit of a freak about the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Her internal contemplation was interrupted by her supervisor.

  “Just remember this Rani,” Doug said, looking her in the eyes, “Part of what we want is for our player base to think outside of the box and live The World. The flexibility to create new items, skills, and the ability to even create new classes are just a few of the many things that makes The World so unique in comparison to the other games out there. You can’t simply gimp a player every time they do something creative or smart. You’ve got to let them have their victories until the PVE or PVP adapts to the new ability, skill, or strategy being used.”

  “Otherwise, what do you have?” Doug demanded, not waiting for a reply as he continued. “A handholding game that makes weak players feel good about themselves because they don’t have to face any challenges or learn to adapt.” Her supervisor snorted in derision. “That’s a quick way for people to stop playing the game. The challenge is what draws players in. It’s the challenge of overcoming The World’s environment, of overcoming the various PVP challenges.”

  “Now don’t get me wrong,” Doug said, pointing a finger to emphasis his point, “players always bitch up a storm when they lose and want the rules to be bent in their favor all the time.” He laughed out loud. “Some even will rage quit in anger at losing,” his voice lowered as if he were passing on an important secret to her, “but that challenge is what keeps them coming back. Take that away and we would be like any other cookie-cutter MMO with a full-immersion interface.”

  “That’s surprisingly deep Boss,” Rani said, one hundred percent serious. In that second, she also realized that was one of the leading main philosophies V-MMORG was using in its development of The World.

  “That was part of the speech that Alon Müsk gave us when the game was in development,” Doug confided as his eyes got a faraway look, “so far I haven’t seen anything yet that proves him wrong.” Her supervisor suddenly coughed and sat up in his chair as he turned serious once again. “Is there anything else that was on your mind Rani?”

  “No, sir,” Rani said, feeling somewhat confused and disappointed. She’d really wanted to see Startum lose for once. It was an odd feeling, she silently thought. Why would him losing be on her mind so much? Her contemplation was interrupted by her supervisor.

  “Then why not call it an evening,” Doug asked, checked the time, “Your shift is up anyway, right?”

  “More or less,” Rani agreed, looking down at her tight-fitting gaming suit, “I just need to change and shower.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Doug said, waving her away, “I’ll go ahead and email Captain Nemo about the possible change in schedule.” He pointed a finger at her. “You go get cleaned up and out of here.” A grin cracked his lips. “Hell, it’s a Friday night.”

  “Actually, it’s officially Saturday morning,” Rani grumped as she climbed to her feet, “but I appreciate the thought.”

  “One of these shift changes, we should go out for drinks and dinner,” Doug said with a laugh as Rani headed for the door.