(Chapter 9 - The Money Club)
Upon hearing her advice, GameDev mused in profound speculation. As far as he could tell, she was pretty much spot on.
The square continued. "If the game's worldview is too simple, it will be mundane. If it is too complex, it will be confusing. This is the pattern you have probably noticed."
She then raised herself above the seat and vibrated a bit. The entire forest disappeared and was replaced by a clean lounge which resembled an arcade.
GameDev observed their new surroundings. The entrance of the lounge had a large revolving door, above which was a neon sign which said, "The Money Club."
"Money Club? Is this a place for business?" He asked.
She nodded with a smile. "Close. This is a gaming arena where every participant gets a chance to earn real money while playing."
He looked around to see what was going on. There were groups of wide circular tables filling up the whole area, occupied by shimmering electronic toys. A huge crowd of people were playing them with tokens, cards, plastic gems, and other colorful pieces, while also devouring candies that were handed out as intermediary rewards.
He walked towards one of the tables and watched closely. The main body of the machine had a graphical depiction of a pile of gold coins with a woman in red bikini on top of it. Occasionally, a loud clapping sound burst out of its central statue which looked like a cartoony personification of a treasure box. Each time a fiery fanfare enraptured the air, a slit on the side of the toy dispensed a handful of dollar coins.
GameDev glanced at the square and asked, "How is this different from gambling?"
"It is not," she answered.
He peeped into one of the translucent chambers of the glittering device. It was occupied by several dice, rapidly being cast in random directions due to the presence of pneumatic forces. Every time they came to rest, a bell rang and a circular billboard of LED lights displayed a visual hint of how awesome the player's latest choice was.
"This is just a soulless garbage, designed to exploit the gullible," he exclaimed in disgust.
"Hush, you are offending those who simply want some goal to pursue!" She interrupted in embarrassment.
She moved in front of GameDev's face and continued. "When a fictional world of too large a scale is deemed too complex by the eyes of the unacquainted, all we are left with is the belief that money is the ultimate virtue. It is the only type of reward which is simple enough to comprehend yet infinitely expandable in meaning."
He began to wander slowly in the open area of the lounge, feeling the muddy carpet with his feet. Her argument was sound, and he could not refute it.
"Contextual richness sprouts from one's own imagination," she moved on. "Money shows more visions than any list of goods it can buy. It is the only solution to resolve our dilemma between monotony and complexity. You just throw money at people, and they will fancy whatever they can afford with it; they are the little prince who will be content with an empty box."
A thought struck GameDev's mind. He faced her and said, "Attracting people with financial opportunities may work out effectively, but it is only when the game is already popular. I don't think anyone will trust an unknown indie game which promises any kind of monetary gain; they will simply dismiss it as a scam."
The square giggled. "So, it seems that your main concern is the difficulty in establishing the initial fan base."
She moved back and forth a couple of times, resumed her idleness, and continued. "You believe that the range of methods you can harness to overcome this bottleneck is too narrow, and you have no clue where to find that tiny hole of glory through which you will see the light of day."
He had no choice but acknowledge the sheer accuracy of her exposition.
"I see what you mean," he muttered in frustration. "All I need is fame, then. That pretty much sums it up."
He became speechless, realizing that the only thing he could do was to let his eyes wander from table to table. Loud mechanical melodies and joyous laughters thundered the colossal factory of fabricated peace in which he stood, overshadowing the solemnity of his inner desolation.
Was the world shaped in a way in which he wasn't even meant to be invited to the party in the first place? Was his silent maneuver nothing but a blind assortment of gesticulations to push his ego upward, just to hit the brick ceiling of the world's preset expectations?
"The best way to figure out how to obtain fame," whispered the square, "is to learn by examples."
She flew away from GameDev a bit and expanded herself indefinitely. One of the sides of the room became an overwhelming wall of magenta, rendering a monotonic cross section of the space. It then marched forward, gradually engulfing the Money Club up until the point at which it completely annihilated his view.
Her voice spoke. "When you are clueless, remember that observation is the fountain of reason."