Virtual Gaming Mishap p1 extended preview

Virtual Gaming Mishap.

Victoria rubbed her chin. “I don’t know, Harry. Is it as good as they say?”

Harry ran his dark, rugged palms over the sleek box. “It’s better. It’s one of a kind.” He smiled as his hands gripped the sides of the box. “It is the next generation in gaming, is what this is.”

Victoria giggled. “I think you are being a bit extreme here.”

Harry spun around; his eyes wide with rage. “Extreme!? Do you even have the slightest idea of what we are dealing with here?”

“I. . .”

He thrust the package into her hands. “This is the new Oculus Introverse. It is the first real working virtual gaming console.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the headset. “I thought they already had virtual gaming consoles. Weren’t they kind of. . .” She waved her arms about. “You know.

Crappy?”

Harry rolled his green eyes. “Yes, the old, outdated tech in this field was crappy.

But this. . .” He ran his hands along the gaming console box. “This is a masterpiece. You are taken into a virtual world that you can control. The real world?” He waved his hands. “Forget about it. It doesn’t exist while you have this baby on.”

Victoria’s blue eyes widened. “Really? That sounds like something out of a science fiction movie.”

“Well, more and more things out of movies are becoming reality every day. And this is another thing off the checklist. Bam.” He made a check motion with his hands. “And I know how much you adore gaming, Vicky.”

“Well, duh. I am a streamer.” She rolled her eyes.

“Well, then, why wouldn’t you buy this? It would be perfect for your business and pleasure.”

“But—

“Give me one good reason why not?”

Victoria sighed. “Well, I am guessing this thing has shit games.”

Harry laughed. “Even there, you are wrong. For the first time ever, the Oculus Introverse has all of the newest hit games along with its own console exclusives. So, you can’t go wrong.” He took a deep breath. “Hey, why the long face?”

“I just. . .” She shrugged her shoulders. “I just feel like this is too good to be true. I mean, how can this do all you say without some downside.” Victoria looked at the ground. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”

He put one hand on her shoulder. “Sometimes things can be a bit overwhelming, but hey, it’s life. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, Vicky. Take it. Have fun with it. Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

She forced a smile. “Ok. I guess it won’t hurt to try it out tonight.”

“See, that’s the spirit.”

Victoria took the box out of his hand. “Hey, this even comes with a game.”

Harry chuckled. “More like an immersive virtual reality experience. Trust me. Play it tonight for your stream. You will be blown away.”

“Sure. Why not. It has been ages since I have played a new game, anyways. It could be fun.”

Harry rubbed his hands together. “Yes. It will be very entertaining. Now I have some other things to do. Why don’t you go and get checked out? I will talk to you later. Ok?”

She smiled as she began to make her way toward the checkout. “Ok. I will see you this weekend?”

“Yes. This weekend. That sounds good.” He waved to her with one hand as he put his other hand into his jeans pocket. “Have a good one, Vicky.”

“You too.” Victoria made her way to the front of the store, where an elderly woman guarded the checkout register. “Hi. I want to buy this.”

The lady set her phone down. “Hmm. Let me see it.” Victoria handed the box over to the elderly woman. “Another person buying one of these?” She looked Victoria over. “Well, I am going to tell you what I told all the others. When you get this piece of junk home, uninstall the size scaling from the system.”

“What?”

She pointed a boney finger at Victoria. “Trust me. You don’t want anything to do with size scaling on this piece of junk. Things can get a bit too real when you enter this land of virtual, what you muh call it’s. You will want to keep things at a level height, or you will regret it.”

Victoria narrowed her eyes. “Look, I don’t know what it is you’re on, but I don’t need someone trying to scare me out of buying this product.”

The cashier shook her head. “I’m not trying to scare you. I’m just trying to give you a fair warning. If you leave the size scaling settings as is, you might regret it.” She took a puff from her e-cigarette. Ok, that will be a hundred and fifty bucks. Rather cheap if you ask me for a new console.”

Victoria reached into her purse. “Here.” The cashier took her money. “That should cover it.”

The elderly woman nodded her head. “Yup. That about does it.” She slid the change gaming console across the counter. “Here you are. And remember what I said. Uninstall. . .”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “I know. I know.” She took the goods. “Look, I know how to deal with this stuff. I have been streaming for ten years. I don’t think this will throw me any loops that I won’t see coming.” She picked up her goods and walked towards the door.

***

Later that night, Victoria found herself in her house, staring at the box containing her new gaming console. “Ok. So, I just play it. It will be a surprise stream for everyone.” She gulped. “I can do this. I can delve into the realm of virtual reality. What is the big deal? Huhhh.”

She slowly opened the box. “Here I go. Joining everyone in this big gaming revolution. Oh boy.”

Victoria slowly took the headset out of the box. “Wow. I thought this thing would be much more intrusive. But this thing is just a pair of glasses.” She slid the glasses onto her face. “Now, how can I get this thing to turn on?” Suddenly a display appeared before her eyes. “Wow, that was easy.” Her eyes lit up. “And this thing comes with Twitch already installed? So, I can get to streaming much faster.” She jumped into the air. “Let’s see what’s next? Where are the controllers?” She dug around in the box. “Ah, here they are. They sure do fit nicely in my hands. Let’s see here.”

Suddenly two icons appeared on the screen. “Those must be my controller icons. Let’s get this baby going.” She smiled as her body shivered. “Ohh, I am so jittery. I can’t wait to get this started.”

Suddenly Victoria’s surroundings vanished, and she found herself in a lush meadow. “Wohh. I wasn’t expecting this.” She looked around. “Now, how do I proceed.” She walked around. “Ummm, I am looking for the game hub? Hello?” A building suddenly appeared before her. “Wow. This is very strange.” Victoria walked up to the strange cabin. “When Harry said this was next-gen technology, he wasn’t kidding.”

Victoria entered the building and looked around. “Umm, let’s see here.” She entered a room that was much bigger than the outside made it seem. “Wow, this looks like the central hub. I think I can pick what I want to do here.” She looked to her left. “Ahh, here I can start my Twitch stream.” She rushed over and tapped the door with her hand. Suddenly her Twitch feed appeared in the corner of her vision. “That is so cool.” She waved. “Hello, everyone. I am testing out the new Oculus.” She smiled as her chat greeted her. “I hope everyone is doing well today.”

Victoria crossed her arms and read the first question that popped up in her chat feed. “What new game am I going to play on my new Oculus?”

She gulped. “Well, I hadn’t even thought of that. I had been in such a rush. . .” She looked around. “I wonder where the store is. I need to buy something quickly I. . .” Her eyes widened. “Oh, wait. Harry said this comes with a game. Didn’t he? I swear he did.” She looked around at the doors which surrounded her. “Let’s see here.” She walked up to a door marked Size Altering Obstacle Course. “Hmm. I wonder what this could be?”

“Oh, I heard about this. It’s the new hit game for the Oculus Introverse. You have to try it!”

Victoria smiled. “Well, it’s the new hit game, then I will gladly play it for my loyal Twitch streamers.” She tapped her hand on her chin. “But I feel like I am forgetting something. Didn’t someone tell me to turn something off?” Victoria tapped her fingers on her chin for a moment before looking at dozens of scrolling messages on her Twitch stream. “Ok, I get it. You all want to see me play this game.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my. A sub-goal has been reached. So, you know what that means.” She danced around. “For the next hour, you get to see me live.” Victoria flipped a switch, so she was streaming herself live to her audience. “Ok, everyone.

Are you ready?” She smiled as her chat lit up with yeses and other emojis.

“Then here we go.” Victoria walked up to the Size Altering Obstacle Course door and pressed her hand against it. Suddenly her surroundings changed, and she found herself in the middle of a gigantic forest. “Holy crap!” She looked around. “This place is huge. How do I get out of here?” Then, she noticed a signpost on the nearby tree. “Hmm. I am guessing this will tell me.” Victoria walked up to the post and read the message.”

“Welcome to the Size Altering Obstacle Course. To escape and reach the exit, you must eat the delicious edibles scattered around the course. They will alter your size and shape and allow you to move through the maze. Please note that there is only one path to the end, so don’t get yourself into a bind. Be careful what you eat.”