straightaway. “Hey, I thought we were gonna get
to play some games? There’s enough tests at
school. I came here to get OUT of tests.”
A few of the students giggled.
Clipboard Man turned toward Sam. He wrote
something on his clipboard. “Hello, Sam. You
have broken Rule One, NO talking. This is an
error,” he said calmly.
20
Suddenly, the gray square below Sam glowed
red. He looked down, puzzled. Without warning, it
opened like a trapdoor, and Sam disappeared.
“Sam has gone to the waiting area. He will join
you again on the bus home.”
The kids looked startled. What was this place?
Clipboard Man continued. “When the door
opens, you will have 4.2 minutes to find a chair,
sit down, and start playing. There will be three
different games for you to play today. Only the
highest-skilled players will receive an invite to the
BETA of our latest game, and get to help shape its
future. If you do poorly in any game, you will not
be invited to the BETA. You will not be involved in
its creation. You will not be asked to participate
in any future INREAL GAMES projects. Ever. Oh,
and have . . .” He looked down at his clipboard.
“. . . fun.”
This wasn’t feeling very fun to Rip.
Then the blue door creaked open and everyone
charged in.
21
Let's get ready
to button mash
M
ei Lin stood gaping for a moment, before
realizing the herd of kids had stampeded
past her and she was now standing all alone.
She blinked, snapping back to attention.
Ripley was already at a console, putting his
headset on.
There was an empty spot near Angela, who
was with a group of her friends, giggling loudly at
something. Mei didn’t need that kind of
distraction. Honestly, some people weren’t even
taking this seriously! Her eyes darted around the
room. In the back corner, she spied a free console
and made a run for it.
“Oh!” Mei cried as her foot caught on
something, nearly sending her sprawling. She
22
collected herself and
looked back to see
what she’d tripped on.
“Oops.” A kid called
Brayden was grinning
at her. He was an
annoying boy who
liked to play pranks on
people. Mean pranks. Sure
enough, Mei saw that he’d kicked his schoolbag
into her path as she was running. “Better be
careful, Gamer-Girl, or you won’t win the big
awesome nerd prize!” He snickered, and his
friends joined in.
URGH. Really?! It certainly wasn’t funny
to Mei.
“Yeah, you’re so hilarious, Brayden,” she fired
back sarcastically, trying to hide any sign of hurt
on her face.
You don’t have time for this, she told herself,
focus on the game—that’s why you’re here!
23
Mei’s lips set into a thin line of
determination as she took her
seat at the console and lifted the
headset onto her ears. She logged
into the INREAL system, creating a profile using
her screen name:
M31.
The other students’ screen names appeared on
a player list as the game loaded. She saw a
screen name she recognized:
RIP.
She grinned. “RIP”
was also the initials
for “Rest In Peace.”
Nice one, Ripley.
“The first battle will
now begin,” Clipboard
Man said sternly. The
blue door shut firmly
behind him, closing
everyone in. “By now
you will have entered
your screen names.
However, for this test,
24
you will not be able to see one another’s screen
names in-game. This is to ensure no alliances are
formed, and that you are all relying on individual
skill alone.”
Angela raised her hand. “Um, what if I have
to pee—”
“START!” Clipboard Man yelled.
Suddenly, the screen went black and the
game began. Mei recognized it instantly. It was
Space Horizons 4—an aerial space laser-
shooter.
Mei switched the flight-control
settings to inverted, so she’d
be using the thumb stick on
the game pad like a real pilot
would use a control column in a
plane.
She launched the space fighter with fierce
precision. Ship-flying games were not her biggest
strength, but she’d played through all four
editions of
Space Horizons and had
developed some pretty crafty techniques.
25
Mei turned, banked,
and wheeled her ship through
asteroid belts and zipped around planets.
She fired her ship’s laser at space debris in her
path, seeking out other players’ ships. One, two,
three . . . she zapped spacecraft out of the starry
sky with ease. Things were going well so far.
As Mei took down one fighter after another,
her confidence grew. Feeling bold, she performed
a series of clever acrobatic maneuvers with her
fighter, and focused her sights on two of the
remaining ships that were locked in a laser-fire
battle with each other. Mei checked the game’s
heads-up display to see two heat-seeking missiles
in her arsenal that she’d been saving. Now was
the time to use them! Mei locked on to one of the
ships—and fired! A moment later, the second
missile was away, both seeking out their targets
with deadly precision. A fiery pixel explosion
reflected brilliant orange in Mei’s eyes as both
ships dissolved from existence, their
players out of the game.
She heard a groan from the other side of the
room. It sounded like Brayden. Mei couldn’t help
but smile.
Mei guided her spacecraft around the
remaining debris, scanning the screen. All was
quiet. Was this it? Had she actually won?! There
were no other ships in sight. Mei performed a
barrel roll to avoid an asteroid as she coasted
toward a pretty red planet with rings around it,
feeling a flood of relief. If the whole competition
was going to be this easy, she would be the
winner for sure.
But why wasn’t the game over? Where was the
score screen?
By the time Mei noticed the missile-lock, it was
too late.
“YES!”
Rip couldn’t help but let out a few fist pumps
into the air as the words GAME OVER
appeared and the score screen popped up with
his name at the top. Rip stood up and looked
over the row of monitors to where Mei was
sitting, still stari
ng at the obliterated ship on her
screen in disbelief.
“Nice try! Maybe next time!” He waved at Mei
playfully. That last stealth maneuver he’d pulled
was nothing short of perfection. He’d won the
game!
Mei looked at him with a mixture of anger and
hurt on her face. “For you, there isn’t going to be
a next time,” she said firmly.
Rip frowned and sat down. Gee, what a sore
loser! He couldn’t help it if he was the best
gamer in the room. He perked up at the thought,
wondering what kind of game the BETA title
would be—since he was obviously going to be the
one who got to play it.
30
Round two began almost immediately, with all
the students back in the game.
SUPER BLOCK KNIGHTS was a melee
sword-fighting game set around a battlefield at
the foot of a huge castle. Nice, Rip thought. It was
another game he was pretty familiar with and he
felt sure he could repeat his success.
There were two classes to choose from:
KNIGHT ARCHER
Rip chose Knight.
Generally he was better with ranged weapons,
but in this case the heavily armored Knight with
harder-hitting attacks seemed like the better
choice to give him a competitive edge. He was
31
also equipped with a small shield. It would add
weight to his character, slowing his movement,
but the extra protection would be worth it.
3 . . . 2 . . . 1!
Rip urged his character forward, metal armor
clanking as he ran.
His first opponent came charging straight for
him; a Knight with a sword raised high above
their head. It was an obvious attack, so Rip
blocked the blow easily with his shield and then
countered with a low strike.
Rip’s sword knocked the Knight back with a
stagger, leaving them open for another blow.
Acting quickly, Rip launched into a final sword
strike that saw his foe disappear in a shower of
pixels.
Somewhere in the room, Angela could be heard
wailing angrily.
His next few fights were a little tougher, as a
large group of Knights and Archers had collected
in some stone ruins and were locked in a group
melee. As Rip approached, he lifted his shield in
33
front of him, and felt the frightening thud of
arrows raining into it. He made a move toward a
nearby Archer, but another Knight got there first,
striking the Archer down. Rip then caught the
Knight unawares, and with a single, swift blow
they too disappeared into pixels.
It wasn’t long before he was locked in a final
one-on-one battle with an Archer, who had
already sunk five arrows into his shield, and was
loading another into their bow.
Rip grinned. This would be the moment.
Just as the Archer had loaded the next arrow,
Rip’s sword came down and another explosion of
pixels saw his opponent out of the game.
Rip glanced around the pixel-laden battlefield.
Swords, bows, and shields lay
scattered everywhere. But
the game wasn’t over.
There must be one more
player left.
Suddenly he heard
a noise behind him.
35
He whirled around quickly to see an Archer,
perched high on a crumbling wall, with an
arrow aimed right at him!
No! Before he could raise his shield, the
arrow whizzed from its bowstring and struck
his avatar in a devastating pixel-burst.
GAME OVER
How? How??! How could he let that happen?
How could he have let himself become
distracted at the very last moment—the very
moment when it mattered the most!
The score screen flashed up and, sure
enough, there it was. At the top of
the list of players—M31. He
looked up to see Mei peering over the monitors
at him, grinning.
Rip’s mind raced. He and Mei had both placed
first and second in the last two rounds, giving
them the highest scores. None of the other
players in this group were even close to being
competition—he was just too good. But apparently
so was Mei!
Whoever won the next game—Rip or Mei—
would have the overall highest score.
The next game would be . . . the decider.
37
divide and
conquer
C
lipboard Man raised both arms in the air.
“It’s time for the third and final round.
Remember, we are only looking for the most
skilled players. Seven of you have done so badly
in the first two games that you’ve already failed.
Everyone put your controllers down and connect
your keyboards please.”
The stress of this competition was starting to
get to Rip. Getting to play INREAL GAMES’ next
game before it was released was a big deal. He’d
be the envy of everyone. But, if he missed out,
other gamers from school, and those he played
with online, might start to question his gaming
skills. They could even go so far as to call him a
“NOOB.”
Rip was obviously not a NOOB.
38
NOOBs are gamers who are terrible at
everything. And if you were branded a NOOB,
you’d have to defend yourself online for the rest
of your life!
Games were everything to Rip. He organized
guilds on weekends where he would train new
players. He read every review and followed every
gaming channel online so he would always know
what was coming out and when. He loved
everything about games. He often dreamed of a
day when games would look almost as good as
real life.
If he didn’t get into this BETA, it would be
months—maybe even years—before he could
experience whatever INREAL GAMES was cooking
up. Rip was not willing to let that happen.
Clipboard Man lowered his arms. “The next
game is GLOBAL CONQUER. Your goal is to
defeat as many players as possible with your
armies. Afterward you will be asked to leave and
you will each receive a piece of fat-free turnip
cake.”
39
Turnip cake??
What on earth?
Rip shrugged, connected his keyboard, and
waited for the game to load.
GLOBAL CONQUER was a complex strategy
game where world leaders fight it out for total
control of Earth. It required a combination of
diplomacy, base building, resource management,
and lots of attacking and defending. It was not
a game just anyone could pick up and play and
be good at. You had to practice to stand a
chance online. You had to know all the units
well and how to build them efficiently. Most of
all, you had to know how to make a plan an
d
execute it perfectly.
Mei smiled. It was right up her alley.
The screen blinked on and a blank patch of land
appeared, with one single unit called a “Founder.”
It was a tiny little pixelated family and their
40
pixelated horse. Soon
her screen would be
filled with a mighty army!
Mei prided herself on being prepared for
games like this. She practiced over and over
against the computer AI and only when she could
beat it on the hardest difficulty, did she then feel
ready to play against others. She always won. She
was an unstoppable force of strategic domination
on the battlefield.
Mei immediately started building a base of
operations. She already knew exactly what she
was going to do. Her strategy was all about
“turtling.” She would build strong walls around her
base, put down a practical selection of turrets, and
steadily build up her armies. Then, when the time
was right, she would send them out as one giant,
unbeatable force and conquer the entire planet.
All she had to do was build, defend, and wait.
41
All Rip had to do was find Mei. He knew the
only way he was going to stand a chance of
winning today was if he could take out the
biggest threat in the game world. Without a
doubt, that would be Mei.
He flicked his mouse and keyboard around
with the speed of a pro. “Where are you?” he
said, squinting at the world map as his drones
flew around.
He loved drones. They were cheap to produce
and could scan huge areas of the earth to reveal
enemy bases. His initial goal was to find the most
advanced base on the board. That would be
Mei’s. Then he’d rush it with everything he had.
He flew past a few players fighting it out in a
swamp with tanks. They’re using ground units in
a SWAMP! he thought,
shaking his head. Not
only did this cut their
movement speed in half,
but they also took water damage and would rust
within minutes.
“Amateurs.”
If the rest of his class was playing this badly,
Pixel Raiders_Dig World Page 2
