190  stories of a Geek.

Raimon had red eyes from staying up all night playing video games, but he heard about a challenge called Speed Run and the cooperative combat that ID Software would perform. The first-place winner would get a brand-new Ford, a yellow sports car with luxurious seats, and the best Doom impressions stamped on the car. Winning the luxury edition car was a must; he needed to improve his technical skills. Billy suggested that he modify the controls to make it more practical to control the characters.

The classic, not-so-classic programming: W for up, A for left, S for down, and D for right. Although he considered it a bad idea, Billy assured him that it would improve his skills this way.

-You didn't sleep at all, - Rachel said, upset by Raimon's irresponsibility, who was covered by a large blue blanket.

-Come on, Rachel, don't be mean. It was just a miscalculation, - Raimon said, trying to calm Rachel, who was his monitor at Anne's request.

-A miscalculation is arriving five minutes late, but what you did is irresponsibility. You're pale, and your eyes are red from playing video games late into the night, - Rachel said, arms crossed, obviously annoyed.

-I'll work, I'll work, - Raimon said, rubbing his eyes, clearly tired.

-You're impossible. It's forbidden for you to have soda. It's not good for your health, and you won't work on Luxtoons' issues. You'll be dedicated to filing with Mr. Gorman, - Rachel said.

Raimon's eyes, once narrowed by fatigue, opened wide, ready to defy Rachel's directives. He tried to say something intelligent, but Rachel's furious look was enough to refrain from saying something that could get him into more trouble.

-Yes, ma'am, - Raimon said, defeated by his paperwork day, a place where he couldn't easily escape until he finished organizing all the files.

-Good morning, Raimon. There's coffee on the table; we need to organize the files from A to M by noon, - Mr. Gorman said. The filing office was packed with papers, the entire place was bursting with everything from minor purchases, account adjustments, salary payments, confidential information, and all kinds of files.

-I hate my life, - Raimon muttered.

Organizing the papers by subject, and then organizing some by date, some by names, and others by subject and importance. He almost followed Mr. Gorman's brisk pace, who organized with all the rigor that depended on him. Mr. Gorman, the official archivist of the company, was a sort of corporate notary who adjusted reports, filtered with his formal considerations, and material he discussed with Anne and Billy.

Learn about animation at fifty? No one would believe it.

-Raimon, finish quickly; we have some matters to discuss, - Anne said.

-Oh, sure, -Raimon said, with some fear. Mr. Gorman looked away. The company was a matriarchy at Billy's request, who used Anne, Jolie Carter, and Rachel to keep the talented Steve Parks, Lucas Reid, previously an intern but now consolidated in the administration, analysis, and finance team led by Mr. Cloud, Raimon Green, and Rumino Denver, in line.

- think I'll go see what Anne wants, - Raimon said, finishing sorting out the relevant matters related to burger and pizza franchises. Walking at a slow pace, memorizing an excuse or an apology, after taking three sips of coffee, he had a fresh mind. He touched the door, and Margaret greeted him with a sly smile. The old lady knew how to fan the flames, and Raimon, a man who always wore his emotions on his face, just seemed like another of the lady's grandchildren, now indispensable to Anne.

-Good morning, Anne, - Raimon said.

-Why do you have that look? Cheer up! Your plan worked; we received a message from George Lucas. He'll come next week to negotiate the agreement between the companies. It's decided, according to his words, - Anne said, so animated that she forgot Raimon's reproachful words about his irresponsibility.

-Do you have everything ready? - Anne asked.

Raimon nodded. - I'll talk to Parks, and we'll squeeze this relationship as much as Billy asked me to, - Raimon said.

To which Anne smiled, delighted with how things were unfolding. - You can go. Remember to help Rachel with the paperwork for the channel. We have all the permits, but we still need some equipment and negotiations with some cable companies. I'll leave this week for you to adjust everything perfectly, but next week, I want you and Rumino to negotiate with the companies, - Anne said.

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Texas. – Kansas.

The computer engineers at Id Software had another company accompanied by many future projections. John Carmack himself had the desire to leave the game company; he would be earning double the money by making games based on his own experience. But what the heck, the orders, and the vision, along with the projections of the higher-ups, were admirable. It was as if they knew where video games were headed with their innovative and pragmatic ideas. The new Tomb Raider was more than a challenge, even with the genius Rilley spouses who were a gem, the game was a challenge in its entirety.

-The boss's new suggestion is a great cooperative battle royale video game tournament. To qualify, you must perform a speed run of the game Doom in less than five hours. He's a genius! - Carmack said, a very different young man, now with an annual salary of $240,000 and bonuses of $800,000 per year. He was one of the luckiest men in Texas.

-No kidding. Although I could have made the offer for Doom 3, a special edition with metal music as an introduction, and it was approved, - Romero said, his long, thick black hair reaching his hips.

Both followed Billy's established guidelines on the requirements of the new Lux Animation event, creating a great computer game competition. Four states, the top four among all, would face a big round of everyone against everyone. The winner would get a car and their participation in Doom 2 for the year 1998.

-Damn, - Carmack said, surprised by Billy's audacity, who wanted to bring the greatest rock band in history, of course, for these two crazies.

Still pending on the project, there was intrigue about the creation of the game. Bringing Metallica into the game was a crazy feat. There is a general idea of the game, but it seems it will be a huge, million-dollar investment in scope.

-Are you participating in the competition? - Romero asked.

-Yep. I want that car. Alexa mentioned that as long as no one cheats, anyone can play. Plus, everyone will know the map, and we're under fair estimation. However, I think I need to practice a bit, - Carmack said.

Alexa, the new director of Id Software, programmed the new player designs for mobility, jumping, elasticity, riddles, and all the programming details combined with the game mechanics and controls.

Meanwhile, her husband Brian programmed the NPCs to perform certain actions. Billy asked to elevate the levels to a new type of difficulty, madness, a level that is almost like competing against the same player experiencing it. Although Lara Croft's game is about a female archaeologist, weapons are at the forefront. Only the lower-ranked ones.

-You should get to work, - Brian said.

-We're done, - Romero said along with Carmack.

Alexa could only sigh at Carmack's elastic genius in programming. - Go and help the newcomers with their Crash video game; the boss wants the game to be good. He has many plans for it and hopes that the game can become a franchise like Mario. - Comment, Alexa.

Carmack and Romero stopped to look at Alexa. - You know a lot about the boss's future projects. Do you have a clear idea of what the boss expects to allocate for future video games? - Carmack asked.

-It's crazy. You can ask him. He'll come in June to renew contracts. He hopes that the future he has budgeted for the company will encourage you to join for another six years. - Alexa said with a suspicious look. Even Brian himself didn't know and was completely curious, but he knew it was something business-related that Alexa would guard with secrecy.

-I hate you. - said Carmack, going to the other group to make the corresponding contributions. The game designs would be handed over to a small team at Pixar, consisting of novices and some experts working extra hours for good pay and the love they had for making adjustments to the design and mapping of worlds already outlined in Billy's instructional guides, now assembled with his comic work team, handling the complicated tasks.

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