[Social] Dragon Games

[Drake Martin]

Drake knocked on the door to Jez's dorm. He was carrying a small, flat box.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez answered the door dressed a little formally for her usual look, but was just lacking some of the upper layers of her new... "work uniform". Or one of them, anyway.

"Oh, hi Drake! What's up?"

[Drake Martin]

Drake's reptilian eyes lingered appreciatively for a moment too long before he snapped himself out of it.

"Apologies, I really like the uniform look."

"Ahem. I hear you like video games," he said, holding up a game case with a stylized armored warrior on the cover. The title was "Grimblade."

"May I present the debut title from a new Genoshan developer. It's an action RPG with a semi-turn-based option. Technopaths programmed it, so you know it's well done. It has co-op, so I thought you might be interested in playing."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jezabelle stifled a snort. "You ain't seen nothin' yet." Though the girl looked at Drake curiously as he showed her the game.

"Whoa, I was in Symkaria longer than I thought. I had no idea something like this was being made in Genosha... that's fantastic! And it makes so much sense, the first steps from isolationism and dipping their toes into the international market, what better way than with software that can be sold and downloaded from anywhere in the world? This could be a huge stepping stone for..." She stopped herself.

"Sorry, you know how I feel about... politics and stuff. I get a little carried away sometimes. Of course I'd love the play it!"

[Drake Martin]

"Awesome! Do you have your own system or do we need to use the public one?"

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez rolled her eyes. "Do I have my own system, he asks." She said in an almost mocking tone before she stepped back from the door and invited Drake in.

[Drake Martin]

"Silly me," he smirked as he walked in, "Lead the way... whatever that uniform is."

Acting uninformed was such a chore. #SpyWorldProblems

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Oh, I figured that the whole campus knew by now, now that the cat is out of the bag. You remember that night that you caught me running in the hallway because Doctor Doom was in my room, and then Katarina and I disappeared for the summer? Well, long-story short of it is that during that time I became one of her handmaidens. Now that she's back, I've been... blessed with the responsibility of being her personal assistant and protector. Which means I've gotta look the part as well."

For a protector, she... wasn't doing a good job, what with Katarina not being there at the moment. She seemed to anticipate the question before it was asked.

"A copy is with her right now. I try to spend as much time with her as I can, but some things I need to take care of personally, and I can't always let a puppet do it for me."

It was a lot of not-gaming talk as she got the tv turned on and her system hooked up - she couldn't fit a tv this big in her bedroom, so she kept it in the shared space for the dorm mates.

[Drake Martin]

"At least it gives you a reason to stay by her side that her less enlightened countrymen can wrap their heads around," he said, "Even if that's a big responsibility to take on for such a new relationship. You must really like her to take this on."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"After what she's been through, and how much of it was my fault, I'd be a pretty awful person if I didn't." Jez admitted, getting up to take the game from Drake and put it in her system. But also getting up and heading for her own room off to the side.

"Do you want something to drink? I've got a minifridge in my room where I keep the good stuff."

[Drake Martin]

"No thanks, I'm good," he answered. When she was out of sight, he quickly scanned the area and planted a listening device in a nearby lamp. He felt conflicted and more than a little dirty about it but he had to find a way to get one in her room.

He then shifted to human and made himself comfortable. Claws were bad for gaming.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez eventually returned with a bottle of unnaturally yellowish-orange soda, the one sitting on the couch letting go of the controller in one hand and spreading her arms apart slightly as the other "fell into" her. It was kind of strange to see, how in just a second she went from two people holding two objects, to one person holding two, all done seamlessly.

"How've you been holding up? I never even asked, did you go back to Genosha at all over the summer?" It didn't seem like she'd noticed Drake's covert little movement.

[Drake Martin]

"I did. Didn't really do anything special. Just spent time with family and caught up with a few friends. Well, there was that game of aerial paintball. Would have won too if my buddy Peregrine hadn't been sick that day."

It was mostly true if you exchanged game with training match.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Aerial paintball? Wow, I wish I could've been there to see that. Not enough sports include the Z axis, it must've made for a pretty good show.

But I'm glad you got to see your family and friends. It sounds like you had a pretty good break."

[Drake Martin]

"Oh, it was pretty awesome. But let me tell you, getting hit in the wing hurts like hell. But at least scales are easy to clean."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Oooh, yeah. I mean if pinching the webbing between your fingers hurts... I can only imagine how much that must sting." Jez handed Drake a controller and settled in with her own.

"Alright boss, show me what you can do."

[Drake Martin]

Drake caught the controller with flair because that's how he rolled.

After a slick title screen and a brief tutorial, the two created characters and entered the dark fantasy realm of Shadowmoor. Drake had chosen a quick and stealthy rogue type that utilized bombs and traps for crowd control, which was handy in the face of the impressive number of foes the game engine could throw at them.

"If the game designer isn't a goth, I'd be surprised," he commented.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

For her part, Jez had chosen some sort of battle-axe wielding barbarian - a pure close-range DPS. The best way for her to get a feel for the combat in this game, and the balance.

"You can't get into game aesthetic design and not be SOME variety. Goth, Cybergoth, pastel Goth... it's Goths all the way down."

Jez was quickly learning that the character wasn't exactly a glass cannon, but it wasn't a tank either. The stuns from getting hit could really stack up if she wasn't careful and just rushed in recklessly. But it was so satisfying to do just that.

[Drake Martin]

"Great, now I'm imagining goth turtles."

After playing a while, he said, "Back to talking about Katarina... I don't think she likes me very much."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"What makes you say that?" Jez asked, not taking her eyes off of the screen. "Is it just the whole 'princess and dragon' thing?"

[Drake Martin]

"Maybe? European culture is pretty biased against dragons. I just know she doesn't trust me."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Katarina was betrayed by the person closest to her; I don't think she can put her trust in very many people right now. These things take time."

[Drake Martin]

"God. This was before all that," he sighed.

"I just want to help in whatever small way I can."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Welllll, she was also trying to hide her identity, and wasn't used to how we - commoners - did things...." Jez took a moment to do air quotes as she spoke, before her hands were back on the controller. "... so I'm sure she just didn't give herself a chance to get to know you. Maybe a few of us can get together to watch some movies or something some night, like a group thing?"

[Drake Martin]

"That would be great. I can even cook something. I'm actually a pretty decent chef."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Well there's your ticket in." Jez said with confidence. "Food is one of the easiest ways to win people over. It doesn't have to be terribly fancy, it just has to taste good; trust me."

[Drake Martin]

"As if I would make something bad," he smirked with exaggerated pride, "This is me we're talking about."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"I don't think I've ever had your cooking either, flyboy. Hopefully it's better than your aim." Shots fired.

[Drake Martin]

"Ooh. Bold words. We're so playing a shooter next."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Fortune favours the bold. Though it'll have to be best 2 out of 3, I can't spend all day gaming. Adult responsibilitieeeeees."

[Drake Martin]

"Boo. Adulting. Boooo," he said as he delivered a flashy deathblow to a hulking ghoul.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"I know, right? Spending all my time making money, so that later I can use that money to buy time. Oooh environmental hazards? He he he he...."

"But I AM very appreciative for this little bit of a break you've given me. Thanks."

[Drake Martin]

"That was the general idea. Or close enough anyway."

"Damn this game has some nice environment designs."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Naw, that's old-fashioned thinking. With all the threats facing us on a daily basis, why bother worrying about a pension?" She took some glee in now trying to throw nearby enemies into the hazards with the knockback of some of her character's attacks, complete with a little chuckle.

"It really is a beautifully done game. If all of this was done in-house... that's fantastic. To have so many talented artists and programmers working together... I never would have imagined it so soon from Genosha."

[Drake Martin]

"I do think they outsourced a little here and there, and I think they used an existing engine that they modified. But the artists in Genosha are beginning to find their voice for sure."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Well you can hardly blame them for that. Even professional bakeries use cake mixes. I just... I guess I wish I had been there to see it manifest. It sounds to me like Genosha is a different country than when I left it, even if just a little."

[Drake Martin]

"Maybe. The people at least are ready for social progress. At least, at a less glacial pace."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Thank God. When I left, things were... not good." Jez was quiet for a few moments before she spoke again.

"Drake, do you think I made the right choice in doing what I did?"

[Drake Martin]

"I can hardly fault you for making the best of a bad situation. Would I do the same? I honestly don't know."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty I guess." Jez said. "I guess I never expected progress to happen from the inside without a little nudge. A bit selfish to think that I'd be the one doing the nudging. As though I was the only one who saw the problems."