NOVEL WEB Chapter 3
Why do people play games? When I throw that question out to folks, the answers are all over the place.
Usually, I hear about hobbies, habits carried over from childhood, the thrill of winning, or the competitive spirit. But they all boil down to one simple answer.
Fun. It all comes back to the word fun. Games are trendy because they’re enjoyable, and people play them because they find them amusing.
I wasn’t any different.
My introduction to gaming was trivial. My friends were playing, so I joined in. The first game I played was the famed game from Company N, MapleStory. Hitting mushrooms and snails, that simple system brought me a sense of pleasure I couldn’t quite understand as a kid.
I quickly became immersed in this game-like amusement. It started as an RPG, but soon I began playing across various genres.
I hunted monsters, strengthened my character, and mercilessly took down opponents with guns and swords. Sometimes, I’d strategize and control numerous units as a mighty lord.
Before I knew it, while fulfilling the game’s objectives across genres, the sun would set.
My decent comprehension and concentration allowed me to immerse myself further in games, and I grew while savoring the true essence of gaming.
Of course, I didn’t always feel that thrill. I’m human, so there were times I got tired of games and occasionally felt disillusioned while playing. Most often, it was after I lost in a game.
As time passed, I aged and started feeling less passion and enjoyment towards games.
Busy with life, the days I spent gaming decreased even further.
Yet, on holidays, I’d boot up my computer as if doing homework, regularly.
I couldn’t muster the courage to play the newly released games, so I logged into old games I used to play.
My stiff hands and brain couldn’t showcase skills like before, but I still demonstrated my seasoned prowess and came out victorious.
After spending some time gaming, I felt a bit liberated from the issues surrounding me.
After taking a brief breather, I found the strength to face reality once more.
While fun is delightful, it’s also another reason why I love gaming.
When I play, the worries that give me headaches disappear.
Even now, it felt the same.
I woke up to find I had inexplicably become a stranger, a woman I didn’t recognize, and I had no idea how to return. I couldn’t even contact those around me. What happened to the real “me”, and what should I do going forward?
That’s exactly why I turned on the game.
And the game immediately showed me its effect.
Bang!
The crisp gunfire sliced through the air. Soon, a kill log appeared in the upper right corner, announcing an opponent I had taken down.
Shortly thereafter, I saw my teammates drop like flies, but I didn’t care.
In fact, it was almost a relief.
Maybe it was because I hadn’t played in a while, but the sensation in my hands felt incredible. As I focused on the game, my otherwise blurry vision sharpened, letting me see far into the distance.
Was it because of Ji-eun’s body? A fleeting thought crossed my mind, but right now, I didn’t care.
I pulled the trigger again.
*
“No way, this can’t be real!”
A woman was fuming at the monitor. The screen displayed a replay of how she had just been killed. A character’s head was pierced by a bullet, collapsing uselessly.
[Killed like a bug!]
[Died just 30 seconds in this time]
[This stream is weird; the screen keeps showing in black and white]
[Me]
[How am I only getting headshots?]
[Dead artist Sua, oh no]
[Season 1258423 Extreme Rage]
[Rock]
[Can’t play at all]
[Complaining after losing knows no bounds]
[So ugly, Sua]
“I’m not bad; it’s that person doing so well!”
The woman groaned at the monitor in frustration. To an outside observer, it seemed like she was talking to herself, but she was indeed addressing someone who virtually existed. It was just that connection existed through the network.
With various sound equipment, including a microphone, and the lights shining down from behind.
She was a broadcaster. To be precise, a streamer.
Derived from music and video streaming played in real-time, simply put, she was an internet broadcaster.
Whenever, wherever, she could communicate with the viewers watching her stream live via the internet.
Now, the woman named Sua, who had just died, was also a streamer.
Streaming on the enormous site Switch, her main content was gaming broadcasts, and she had a considerable viewer base.
And she was currently being mocked live by those viewers.
[Sua, didn’t you say you’d carry this section? LOL]
[Wait a sec, you said you’d carry!]
[1/10/3: Gold? You could win there with your eyes closed]
[100 kills, 3 assists. Team members can’t keep up with Sua’s level]
[Is there a diamond who’s getting wrecked in gold?]
[That’s just how they act]
[Change the broadcast name]
In truth, the ridicule directed at her was entirely her own doing. Just looking at the broadcast title was enough to understand that.
–Golds running wild, Platinum race
It was merely trivial baiting. A little promotional phrase for viewers saying, “Come watch me while I do this kind of content!” In fact, this was a situation where she wouldn’t even be embarrassed to call it baiting. The truly heavy baiting broadcasts had much more provocative titles.
To survive in the harsh broadcasting industry, you needed something unique that set your broadcast apart. Capturing the attention of viewers who flit from one broadcast to another according to their tastes isn’t easy.
Nonetheless, Sua had managed that to some extent. With her pretty looks, pleasant voice, and decent gaming skills, she had created her own loyal viewer base.
Her occasional “sub-account training” content received a decent response too.
Not a blockbuster hit, but it came close enough, ensuring that at least the viewers who were watching wouldn’t leave.
In truth, presenting “running wild” as content didn’t earn her much praise. This was because the crucial new players crucial to gaming growth wouldn’t stick around. Also, in an industry where image mattered, there was a certain risk that she would be branded solely as a game streamer focused on that.
Knowing this, Sua ran this content only occasionally, while having the safety net of training a sub-account.
But the situation she was presently experiencing was something she had never faced during her past sub-account training sessions.
[That person is pretty good; how many times has he saved by himself already?]
“Right! That person isn’t even supposed to be here. Are they a pro sub-account or something?”
Amid the many mocking chats, when Sua spotted one that defended her, she began to conjure excuses.
Or rather, she genuinely believed that.
Agent of War.
That was the name of the game she was playing.
Agent of War, abbreviated as EOW, remained firmly established as a popular game even after several years since its release.
The genre was Hyper FPS. This term indicated it transcended the regular FPS, creating a type of gaming that people had neither seen nor heard of before.
When people think of FPS, they usually imagine blood-splattered battles and echoing gunshots. EOW shattered that perception with a bang.
While it adopted the aim system of traditional FPS, the battlefields of EOW were packed with bullets and dazzling magical effects.
Inside the game, numerous characters referred to as agents existed, each with their unique skills and characteristics.
A magician launching fireballs, a ninja throwing shurikens, an assassin plunging daggers into enemies—characters typically found only in other games mixed together here.
Some rated it as a mix resembling Kimchi Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork, but the wide variety of characters allowed for diverse playstyles.
This game characteristic garnered a great response from old-school gamers craving something different, and it now proudly stood among the top games in terms of PC cafe occupancy rates.
However, as time passed and new agents emerged, the complexity of skills and abilities deepened, making the game more difficult.
Players needed to be well-versed in the unique skills and weapon properties of each character, as well as the terrain of maps that changed every game round.
With the addition of new skills to FPS, the chaotic nature ramped up even more compared to traditional games.
Thus, accurately aiming at enemies and coordinating with teammates required considerable skill.
It’s no wonder players without prior experience dive into this game, only to get smacked by agents flying around recklessly and vanish, ultimately abandoning the game.
What more can I say? EOW had become a stagnant game.
Sua’s skills hovered around a decent level, positioned at the lower end of the diamond tier.
Out of the nine tiers ranging from Iron to Challenger, that placed her six levels down. She was an old player who had played since the early days of EOW, thus showing decent skill.
While viewers teased her about being carried, deep down, they likely understood that she had exhibited her abilities in the past.
The bustling chat seemed to reflect some agreement with her claims.
[Is it for real?]
[A pro sub-account? LOL]
[Do you think being a pro is common? They’re too busy practicing]
[Pro players wouldn’t be here unless they had super accounts]
[She’s not doing bad; sub-character or not]
“The aim is just ridiculous. Look at this.”
Once again, Sua replayed the video of her being eliminated for the viewers. In the kill clip from the enemy’s perspective, her agent could be seen helplessly falling.
If she had been defeated in a fierce battle, it wouldn’t have felt so unjust.
The opponent toyed with her, performing acrobatic maneuvers before piercing her head with a shot.
With a sniper rifle, one of the notoriously difficult-to-handle weapons.
Mollru 13/0/4
A mysterious master who allowed not a single death. That unknowable username strangely pricked at her.
[Sua, check that person’s record; it’s insane]
[Definitely a sub-account]
[What’s up? Quickly search them]
“What… Lu? How do you even pronounce this?”
Following viewers’ tips, Sua searched the master’s record while feeling a flicker of hope. If it turned out to be the sub-account of a top-tier user, then she might find a way out. Judging by the reactions of the viewers, it seemed to be a sub-account indeed.
Sua searched eagerly and gasped softly.
“Wow… Who is this person?”
13 wins, 0 losses.
Her record screen was painted entirely blue. After the first five placement matches defining the tier, they continued to rack up victories. And all of them with overwhelming carries.
Sua realized she was merely a victim swept up in that overpowering current. At this point, the viewers had ceased to mock her.
[What’s going on?]
[For real, is that a pro sub-account?]
[Oh LOL, it wasn’t that Sua couldn’t play. How can you beat a Challenger’s sub-account?]
[This agent is versatile in their playstyle too]
[An unknown master showing up in gold tier, seems like a YouTube moment]
[Let’s send a friend request and ask who they are]
There was no doubt of it being a sub-account. Clearly, it was a top-tier user playing with ease against a diamond-ranked Sua. Speculations began to rise among the viewers and Sua about who this mystery user could be.
[Isn’t it Junghun? No other top-tier users use a sniper like that]
[Junghun would never play this poorly! LOL, he’s too good even in Master]
[No mentioning of Mad-Dam]
[But they aren’t just using a sniper; they’re also using daggers and bows. Could we guess who this could be?]
[That must be Weapon Master Daesik]
[Daesik is really…]
Before long, the chat transformed into a discussion about the identity of the mysterious master. Sua, momentarily silenced, deep in thought, pondered who this person could be.
But the atmosphere shifted suddenly due to a single chat.
[Isn’t it just hacking? The Master Challenger couldn’t do this either]
“Hacking?”
Sua’s voice echoed through the mic, resonating inside the booth.