Grab Bag Writing Challenge - June 2018
- avatar - defense - escape - gate - hack - key - media - port - quest - route - shield - text - virtual - wade - web -
by Arianna Stonewater
I really enjoy puzzle/strategy games that have a point. I don't want to just solve puzzles, I want to solve puzzles as part of a quest to get some kind of reward. I want to design my own avatar (who usually looks nothing like me) and have them travel along a route filled with riddles/puzzles/some kind of test I have to pass to get through. I want to wade through level after level of tasks, completing puzzles/defeating villains and their defenses, and winning trophies! There needs to be a convoluted web of subplots to the storyline so it's just as complicated as real life! I want there to be special gates that have specific keys. I love the idea of doing side quests to get special powers and objects like a shield that glows blue when there is hidden text on a wall near me or refillable bag of powder that lets me escape from a task I'm about to lose (obviously one time use powder, so I'd have to keep earning more). I also want some cool hacks that take me to secret bonus levels. After I'd finish everything, I love to be able to go back to the beginning with what I have earned and find new stuff in the ports I'd already finished. It'd be especially cool if this game were available across various devices, like my phone, my laptop, and my virtual reality headset. (Seriously. I need more games for this!!) Basically, I'm looking for games that can be time fillers but that I also want to play when I don't have time! Games that are entertaining, that are engaging, that are better than whatever other things media is showing on TV.
I really enjoy puzzle/strategy games that have a point. I don't want to just solve puzzles, I want to solve puzzles as part of a quest to get some kind of reward. I want to design my own avatar (who usually looks nothing like me) and have them travel along a route filled with riddles/puzzles/some kind of test I have to pass to get through. I want to wade through level after level of tasks, completing puzzles/defeating villains and their defenses, and winning trophies! There needs to be a convoluted web of subplots to the storyline so it's just as complicated as real life! I want there to be special gates that have specific keys. I love the idea of doing side quests to get special powers and objects like a shield that glows blue when there is hidden text on a wall near me or refillable bag of powder that lets me escape from a task I'm about to lose (obviously one time use powder, so I'd have to keep earning more). I also want some cool hacks that take me to secret bonus levels. After I'd finish everything, I love to be able to go back to the beginning with what I have earned and find new stuff in the ports I'd already finished. It'd be especially cool if this game were available across various devices, like my phone, my laptop, and my virtual reality headset. (Seriously. I need more games for this!!) Basically, I'm looking for games that can be time fillers but that I also want to play when I don't have time! Games that are entertaining, that are engaging, that are better than whatever other things media is showing on TV.
by Gail Allen
"What are you doing?"
Jim looked over Garth's shoulder where he sat working intently on something on the screen. "It's a new skin for the avatar," Jim replied, leaning back a bit so his colleague could see.
"Maybe a bit more green behind that web on the shield," Gareth suggested, prompting a quick move from Jim to test it.
Both men nodded in satisfaction. "Looks good," Jim said, "I'll put it on the virtual hard drive, then they'll get it in the next update." He entered a bit of text – the kind of fun little descriptions with puns in them that the most dedicated players liked to read and grin about, but no one else cared about, and sent it off.
The afternoon wore on and when the workday ended, Jim powered down his machine and decided that rather than take a cab home, he'd walk today and enjoy the park for a little. When he walked down his regular route he noticed something strange off to his left – a flicker of something. He looked at his watch. It wasn't that late and he could afford a bit of a detour and still make it home in plenty good time for dinner.
He ducked under the arch and found the light changed ever so slightly. He looked back, but there was nothing changed there; it was probably just the overhanging foliage. He continued on his quest to find whatever it was that glinted there in front of him. Finally he reached it and when he picked it up he realised it was a key, but that was not all there was; suddenly a female voice – slightly metallic and unnatural, began speaking.
"Welcome Hero of the Gate of Time," it said and a chill ran down Jim's spine. That was the name of the hero of the game they were all working on in his department.
"The system has been hacked," the voice continued. "You must hurry to escape or all will be lost. You will find your ship waiting at the port of Newgate, Jim." How did it know his name? This was terrifying and even as he pinched himself, it was frighteningly real, "You are our last defense. Save us."
The voice fell quiet and Jim was left in a world that, while it looked no different from before, suddenly felt far more sinister and dangerous.
He began to walk backwards – to find a way out, but instead of the easy ground he had found before, he found that he had to wade through a bog and soon it became so impossible that he had to turn again and continue deeper into the world created by Real Media, the company he worked for, that had suddenly turned all too real.
"What are you doing?"
Jim looked over Garth's shoulder where he sat working intently on something on the screen. "It's a new skin for the avatar," Jim replied, leaning back a bit so his colleague could see.
"Maybe a bit more green behind that web on the shield," Gareth suggested, prompting a quick move from Jim to test it.
Both men nodded in satisfaction. "Looks good," Jim said, "I'll put it on the virtual hard drive, then they'll get it in the next update." He entered a bit of text – the kind of fun little descriptions with puns in them that the most dedicated players liked to read and grin about, but no one else cared about, and sent it off.
The afternoon wore on and when the workday ended, Jim powered down his machine and decided that rather than take a cab home, he'd walk today and enjoy the park for a little. When he walked down his regular route he noticed something strange off to his left – a flicker of something. He looked at his watch. It wasn't that late and he could afford a bit of a detour and still make it home in plenty good time for dinner.
He ducked under the arch and found the light changed ever so slightly. He looked back, but there was nothing changed there; it was probably just the overhanging foliage. He continued on his quest to find whatever it was that glinted there in front of him. Finally he reached it and when he picked it up he realised it was a key, but that was not all there was; suddenly a female voice – slightly metallic and unnatural, began speaking.
"Welcome Hero of the Gate of Time," it said and a chill ran down Jim's spine. That was the name of the hero of the game they were all working on in his department.
"The system has been hacked," the voice continued. "You must hurry to escape or all will be lost. You will find your ship waiting at the port of Newgate, Jim." How did it know his name? This was terrifying and even as he pinched himself, it was frighteningly real, "You are our last defense. Save us."
The voice fell quiet and Jim was left in a world that, while it looked no different from before, suddenly felt far more sinister and dangerous.
He began to walk backwards – to find a way out, but instead of the easy ground he had found before, he found that he had to wade through a bog and soon it became so impossible that he had to turn again and continue deeper into the world created by Real Media, the company he worked for, that had suddenly turned all too real.
by Maxim Trevelyan
“Wow, I’ve never been in such a Muggle populated place,” Gary said, amazed at seemingly hundreds of people milling around in the mall, some texting on their phones, some busy with other forms of media.
Maxim rolled his eyes, shrugging, “Really, it’s not that dissimilar to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley,” he pointed out. Not wanting to lose his friend in the masses of people, he grabbed Gary by the cuff of his shirt, escaping into the coolness of their destination.
Gary puffed up, defensive. “There are many more Muggles than wizards, you know.” He looked around the spacious room filled with different contraptions, shielding his eyes when neon lights shined brightly.
“Welcome to a gaming café,” Maxim grinned as he pushed Gary before one of the fancier looking things. “Sit there and look pretty, I’ll be with you soon with the drinks.”
After a few minutes, Maxim sat next to Gary, briefly explaining basics of a computer and what they would do on it. “…and there are the ports for USB keys, but you really shouldn’t concern yourself with them. We may surf the web for a bit, but first, let me welcome you to the world of virtual reality and video games,” Maxim grinned and booted up the game.
“Watch Dogs 2?” Gary asked, incredulous. “What is that?”
Scoffing, Maxim replied, “Only the best hacking game in the world.” He further explained, “While it doesn’t allow for great customization of your avatar, it has amazing, and not to mention, funny, quests. It also allows you to choose the route you want to take; a stealthy pacifist or loud aggressor. So awesome.”
Gary shook his head, faintly smiling before following further instructions from Maxim, so his character finally waded weirdly through the gate in the tutorial. Baby steps, but it would make for a fun time between friends.
“Wow, I’ve never been in such a Muggle populated place,” Gary said, amazed at seemingly hundreds of people milling around in the mall, some texting on their phones, some busy with other forms of media.
Maxim rolled his eyes, shrugging, “Really, it’s not that dissimilar to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley,” he pointed out. Not wanting to lose his friend in the masses of people, he grabbed Gary by the cuff of his shirt, escaping into the coolness of their destination.
Gary puffed up, defensive. “There are many more Muggles than wizards, you know.” He looked around the spacious room filled with different contraptions, shielding his eyes when neon lights shined brightly.
“Welcome to a gaming café,” Maxim grinned as he pushed Gary before one of the fancier looking things. “Sit there and look pretty, I’ll be with you soon with the drinks.”
After a few minutes, Maxim sat next to Gary, briefly explaining basics of a computer and what they would do on it. “…and there are the ports for USB keys, but you really shouldn’t concern yourself with them. We may surf the web for a bit, but first, let me welcome you to the world of virtual reality and video games,” Maxim grinned and booted up the game.
“Watch Dogs 2?” Gary asked, incredulous. “What is that?”
Scoffing, Maxim replied, “Only the best hacking game in the world.” He further explained, “While it doesn’t allow for great customization of your avatar, it has amazing, and not to mention, funny, quests. It also allows you to choose the route you want to take; a stealthy pacifist or loud aggressor. So awesome.”
Gary shook his head, faintly smiling before following further instructions from Maxim, so his character finally waded weirdly through the gate in the tutorial. Baby steps, but it would make for a fun time between friends.
by Shiloh Adlar
My avatar could not keep up with the demand being placed on it. I was in constant defense with the huge boss monster ahead of me. As far as I could see, there was no hope for escape. I had come through the gate expecting to find treasure, and while I was sure a treasure chest was right behind the boss monster in front of me, I would have to defeat him first to get to it. Strangely though, this boss monster was like no other I had seen in the game before. It was almost as if someone had placed a hack into the system to create this strange looking thing with a pig's snout for a nose, a snake for a tail and some kind of ox for the body. These sort of creatures were not allowed in this world.
The treasure it must be protecting must be great. When the boss monster falls, I fully expected it to drop some sort of key to open the chest behind it. The timing was becoming crucial so I took an invisibility potion and logged off quickly to check social media for any news on this strange monster. Of course, it was at that point that something in my internet screwed up and the port that I usually used to connect became clogged and I had to go through the process to reset it.
I did not have much time left to finish my quest, and no one had heard of anything about this crazy boss monster, so I needed to log back in and do my best at defeating him. I decided to try a different route this time. I grabbed my shield out of my bags and equipped it. It was diamond tipped and had always brought me luck in the past. A text came in at the bottom of my screen from another player all of a sudden, and I realized I was no longer alone in the room. Another player had logged into the virtual room, and I wondered how long she had been trying to defeat the boss monster or if she only recently discovered it herself.
I watched as she waded across the small stream that flowed through the lower areas of the dungeon and eventually she made it by my side. A quick healing potion told me that the waters in the area were very dangerous, so it would be best to not go that way. However, that gave me a brilliant idea. What if the monster could be killed by drowning in the poisoned water? The other player took my hint and we angled the monster towards it and eventually it tripped and fell in, almost disintegrating as it did. We had to loot quickly for the key, and when we opened the treasure chest we saw, we both took share in half the loot.
That was enough of the world wide web for me that day.
My avatar could not keep up with the demand being placed on it. I was in constant defense with the huge boss monster ahead of me. As far as I could see, there was no hope for escape. I had come through the gate expecting to find treasure, and while I was sure a treasure chest was right behind the boss monster in front of me, I would have to defeat him first to get to it. Strangely though, this boss monster was like no other I had seen in the game before. It was almost as if someone had placed a hack into the system to create this strange looking thing with a pig's snout for a nose, a snake for a tail and some kind of ox for the body. These sort of creatures were not allowed in this world.
The treasure it must be protecting must be great. When the boss monster falls, I fully expected it to drop some sort of key to open the chest behind it. The timing was becoming crucial so I took an invisibility potion and logged off quickly to check social media for any news on this strange monster. Of course, it was at that point that something in my internet screwed up and the port that I usually used to connect became clogged and I had to go through the process to reset it.
I did not have much time left to finish my quest, and no one had heard of anything about this crazy boss monster, so I needed to log back in and do my best at defeating him. I decided to try a different route this time. I grabbed my shield out of my bags and equipped it. It was diamond tipped and had always brought me luck in the past. A text came in at the bottom of my screen from another player all of a sudden, and I realized I was no longer alone in the room. Another player had logged into the virtual room, and I wondered how long she had been trying to defeat the boss monster or if she only recently discovered it herself.
I watched as she waded across the small stream that flowed through the lower areas of the dungeon and eventually she made it by my side. A quick healing potion told me that the waters in the area were very dangerous, so it would be best to not go that way. However, that gave me a brilliant idea. What if the monster could be killed by drowning in the poisoned water? The other player took my hint and we angled the monster towards it and eventually it tripped and fell in, almost disintegrating as it did. We had to loot quickly for the key, and when we opened the treasure chest we saw, we both took share in half the loot.
That was enough of the world wide web for me that day.
The Great Outdoors - by Sky Alton
I reached up to shield my eyes from the sun, then made a wild grab as the map made one of its frequent escape attempts. The wind was really picking up. Muttering under my breath, I shoved it back in the plastic pouch. The squiggly line I’d drawn to represent our route and the helpful notes in minuscule text along the latitude and longitude lines were proving about as useful as a car made of chocolate.
“If we’d brought our phones, this wouldn’t be happening,” Ellie told me.
“I think it’s that way,” I said, indicating, “through the gate and to the left.”
“How sure are you?” she asked, eyeing me, “I will not wade through any more streams. I refuse.”
“Pretty sure,” I lied, “Come on, we’re virtually there.”
With Ellie grumbling behind me, I set off down the slope. My confidence took a knock as my foot vanished in a hole cunningly disguising itself as a bit of solid ground and I nearly fell on my face. I heard Ellie tut. I straightened up and kept going. I was not going to let her see that I wasn’t enjoying this little ‘back to nature’ quest any more than she was.
I reached up to shield my eyes from the sun, then made a wild grab as the map made one of its frequent escape attempts. The wind was really picking up. Muttering under my breath, I shoved it back in the plastic pouch. The squiggly line I’d drawn to represent our route and the helpful notes in minuscule text along the latitude and longitude lines were proving about as useful as a car made of chocolate.
“If we’d brought our phones, this wouldn’t be happening,” Ellie told me.
“I think it’s that way,” I said, indicating, “through the gate and to the left.”
“How sure are you?” she asked, eyeing me, “I will not wade through any more streams. I refuse.”
“Pretty sure,” I lied, “Come on, we’re virtually there.”
With Ellie grumbling behind me, I set off down the slope. My confidence took a knock as my foot vanished in a hole cunningly disguising itself as a bit of solid ground and I nearly fell on my face. I heard Ellie tut. I straightened up and kept going. I was not going to let her see that I wasn’t enjoying this little ‘back to nature’ quest any more than she was.
***
“Eww eww eww!”
“It’s just an old spiders web.”
“Yeah but where’s the old spider?”
“Probably plotting which bit of you to eat first.”
The rain was hammering on the shed’s wooden roof. “We’re wet enough,” Ellie grimaced, “We might as well keep moving.”
“You’d hate it,” I told her, sitting down on a broken crate and stretching out my legs. “Besides, the key to survival is not getting cold. This sucks but it’s a port in a storm.”
“We had to hack through nettles to get in and,” her voice rose by a whole octave, “there’s rat droppings over here.”
“How do you know what those look like?”
I huddled in my sopping jacket. I could scorn Ellie all I wanted for her social media withdrawals and insistence on thinking of nature only so far as it provided pretty backdrops for her idealized self (her shiny, well-groomed, always smiling Instagram avatar); I knew it was only a defense mechanism. I needed something to distract me from the fact that I was no more equipped to face the real world than she was.
“It’s just an old spiders web.”
“Yeah but where’s the old spider?”
“Probably plotting which bit of you to eat first.”
The rain was hammering on the shed’s wooden roof. “We’re wet enough,” Ellie grimaced, “We might as well keep moving.”
“You’d hate it,” I told her, sitting down on a broken crate and stretching out my legs. “Besides, the key to survival is not getting cold. This sucks but it’s a port in a storm.”
“We had to hack through nettles to get in and,” her voice rose by a whole octave, “there’s rat droppings over here.”
“How do you know what those look like?”
I huddled in my sopping jacket. I could scorn Ellie all I wanted for her social media withdrawals and insistence on thinking of nature only so far as it provided pretty backdrops for her idealized self (her shiny, well-groomed, always smiling Instagram avatar); I knew it was only a defense mechanism. I needed something to distract me from the fact that I was no more equipped to face the real world than she was.