Soon the obstacles descend, and we all slide down the barrier back to the stage. Tara releases the losers. Pablo starts cursing and Tara has Jerry chase him off stage, dirt clods flying and clouding the air behind Pablo. He’ll be back. Pablo gets second pick thanks to Anna’s time penalty. I don’t know why he’s so impatient. Tara then glides over to me. Literally floating on air.
Tara taps the Gear in my hand and it expands before my eyes into a scrolling list of options with visual icons attached. Some I recognize from my time waiting on the others. Tara projects a larger version of my options to the audience. I spot some obvious Gear names like Camouflage, Endurance, and then outlandish options like Human Torch. There are some bad historical connotations with human torches. Romans could be cruel. More importantly, I don’t remember Lee talking about it in his original vision of the game. Tara must have made some new Gear options for Terra Tamers.
“Matt, what kind of play style do you like?” Tara asks as the options flicker with every move of my finger.
“Lee originally made Terra Tamers as a turn based game. More like chess than wrestling. But he always wanted Terra Tamers to be action packed. Is the game still based on a Tamer and his team fighting together?”
Tara stares at me, “Did you ignore everything I said in the seminar?” The stars in her eyes spin aggressively.
“Hey, I was a little occupied focusing on a rescue mission. Someone kidnapped my little brother. And then used him as a hostage to get me to test a game.” I stare right back at her.
“I grudgingly accept you have a differing paradigm than me on this issue. Lee, can you summarize for Matt?”
Lee nods, “Terra Tamers is a monster taming action role-playing game.”
“What?”
“You are an active participant in combat, you can gain titles, equipment, and you tame Terrors to fight with you as a team!”
“No, I get that. I just don’t get why you call it a role-playing game. I am literally the player, not acting in a role.”
“It’s the closest thing I could find to describe Terra Tamers, Matt.” Uh oh. Oakley only calls me Matt when he’s irritated and thinks I’m not listening.
“Ok.”
“To continue, there are three main Taming jobs: Brawler, Ranger, and Supporter.”
“Melee fighter, ranged fighter and utility?”
“Correct!” My brother beams at me. “I think you’ll like Brawler best. You get some more armor and deal more damage from your Rayment than the other classes will at base level.”
“I can level up the Rayment?”
“Yes. You can equip Gear and Titles to upgrade it further. But don’t forget to level up your Terrors! Two heads are better than one. Probably. We really need to playtest it. That’s why we’re doing this Alpha test.”
“I’ll pick Brawler then. Let’s focus on the Gear. What’s your recommendation, Lee?”
My brother preens as he picks three options from the menu. I would have spent an hour reading and evaluating all the options. Sometimes it pays to know an expert. The options are Cascade, Iron Skin, and Elemental Affinity. “Cascade lets you deal more damage with each successful hit. A real combo finisher! Iron Skin is a defensive bonus. Elemental Affinity lets you add your Terror’s elemental damage to your own attacks.”
“I’ll pick Cascade.”
“I thought you’d like it!” Lee savagely grins. The Gear Icon shimmers into a fist with a roaring dragon’s head ascending a waterfall as a background behind it. Then it shatters into thousands of light particles which flow into my Rayment. I look at my leather jacket and don’t see a visible difference.
“Lee, did anything change?”
“Your Gear, Cascade, is now equipped! You’ll have to check your menu on your Heads Up Display or tablet to see your status. We decided not to make cosmetic changes to Rayments without Tamer input. But, if you want to, now you can have that supercool fist embroidered on your Rayment!”
“Then my opponent would know what I have equipped.”
“And?”
“And I don’t want them to know.”
“That’s no fun.” Lee pouts. “You should overwhelm your enemies and destroy them even though they know exactly what you can do!”
“Real life usually doesn’t go that smoothly. Information is power and—”
“—and you don’t give your enemies power. Unless you can crush them with it.” Lee scowls as he finishes Dad’s well-worn advice. It’s a bit morbid. Sadly, it’s already saved my life. And Susie’s. “It’s too late to worry about since everybody already saw it, Gēgē.” I rub my eyes with a hand. Reality. I stare at my updated screen.
Tara hovers back over to us, “Alright you two! Let’s get Matt ready for his first Terror!”
“Great now Gēgē can show everyone how to tame!” Lee jumps up and down excitedly.
“Lee, he still needs to pull out his tablet for the scan,” Tara says. Lee starts rooting around in my pockets for the tablet.
“Wow look at these cracks!”
“Yes, Lee, I fell on it. While trying to save you.”
“That would do it. Good thing I don’t need any saving. I already picked your Terror. Now go get that Driger!” Lee hands the tablet to me.
“Driger?” My brain whirs into overdrive remembering the creatures I’ve drawn for Terra Tamers. Oh, Jerry was a Child Gigamouse. And Driger, my favorite dragon tiger hybrid, pops up immediately. I’ve always had a soft spot for the design. And then I met Old Garth. Now I fervently hope Driger won’t act like a real cat.
As I take the tablet it lights up with a blank screen and a new app icon. My Rayment’s jacket sleeve starts glowing green again like the new Holos. I can’t take the time to worry about it as a red-glowing, winged silhouette approaches me from the darkness backstage. Claws tap on the wood as it approaches me. Yellow eyes shine within the shadows. I’m relieved it’s shorter than me.
“Get him!” Tara says behind me.
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