[Part 1]Is the game-development detective in over his head?
It was pouring rain as I stared out the window. It always was during this time of year--the Fall Release Deluge, they called it. I was about to take another sip of my LevelUppp GamerJuice on the rocks when the phone rang.
By Matthew Wasteland & Magnus Underland
-this article was originally published in the December issue of Game Developer
"Stack? It's First," said the gravelly voice on the line. Police Commissioner Depth First sounded tired. Of course he did. People come to me when they're out of options.
"First. Look, I'm not in the mood for pizza."
"Stack, I already apologized for that. I said I'd never order Papa John's for crunch again. Let it go, okay? This is serious. I mean real serious."
"Shoot."
"He's dead, Stack. Triple-A Development is dead."
There was a pause as long as a dropped ping.
"Development? You mean the Aaron Alexander Akbar Development? Are you sure?"
"I am. What's more, it's murder. Someone killed him."
Commissioner First was right: This was serious. Everyone in town knew who A.A.A. "Triple-A" Development was. He'd basically built the place--bought up all the best property with the help of his old buddies from the military days. Sure, he had ups and downs over the years, but he was always a force to be reckoned with. He was a fixture. An icon.
And, to be honest, not the kind of man whose business I wanted to get mixed up in.
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"Look, Stack. This is hot--too hot for us. There are so many players involved: the platform holders, core and casual audiences, retail chains, analysts, bloggers--you name it. Stack, this is like the Arcane Explosion of cases."
"The what?"
"AoE, Stack. There's a huge area of effect on this one and I can't get near it. That's why I called you--to see if you could do a little digging, talk to his former associates, find out what he was up to in the last few months. Are you in? I promise there's a reward in it for you that's not pizza."
***
I knew who I had to talk to first. I figured I'd find her in the subway station in the morning or the afternoon, and I was right. I spotted Mobi LePhone, absorbed in the latest indie beats, as she was getting off the train the next day. She was hard to miss, silhouetted against a shifting sequence of bright, flat colors.
"Hey, Mobi! Hey!" I said, waving at her. She finally noticed me and yanked out one of her earbuds.
"Oh, hi, Stack."
She continued dancing and had the earbud halfway back before I managed to say, "Did you hear? Triple-A is dead."
"Is he?" She stopped. "Well, isn't that something? I'd heard things had been rough for him lately, so I can't say I'm surprised."
"Listen, Mobi... Do you know if Development had been hanging out with anyone new lately? Trying any risky new business model?"
"Well, sure he was--but he did that all the time, you see. You don't stay the kingpin of this town without dancing with every new devil that comes your way."
"Business models like free-to-play, for example? Microtransactions? Your kind of thing?"
"Stack, don't be ridiculous. You can't possibly think that I'm the one who did it, do you?"
"Just investigating every lead. I am a detective, you know."
"Not a very good one. Sure, ol' Dev was looking at free-to-play--who isn't these days? But it doesn't take a venture-backed online metrics platform to figure out he was spending too much to chase down too few users." She shrugged. "I thought everyone knew that by now."
"Then I guess I'm the last to know."
"Besides, I couldn't have killed him, even if I wanted to. I don't have the memory or processing power to take on someone like Triple-A. You know as well as anyone that true gamers want rich, high-fidelity experiences that only fixed consoles and large television screens can provide. In fact, I believe there will always be an audience and a future for A.A.A. Development's games."
"Now you're just repeating his propaganda, Mobi. You can't expect me to believe you posed absolutely no danger to his empire of--"
"If you want, you can stop bothering me and follow up on a real lead," Mobi said. "There was a new guy in town that Development was real keen to work with."
My ears perked up. "Yeah? Who was that?"
"Honestly, Stack, you really are the last to know. Everyone's been talking about him--he shows up outta nowhere a while back and suddenly he's the talk of the town. Development was falling all over himself to get in cahoots with this guy."
I was starting to get impatient. The sun had just begun to set, and there was a bottle of GamerJuice at the office with my name on it.
"Okay. And who was that, Mobi?"
"Well, maybe I don't remember."
"Come on. Don't do this to me."
"Sorry. If you want the hint, it's one coin. You can buy coins for 99 cents each. For two coins I'll give you an upgraded magnifying glass, which allows you to find clues more easily, and for five coins--"
"Yeah, just the hint, please. You can put it on my tab."
"Pleasure doing business with you. Ah, yes, it's coming back to me now... His name was... It was... Mr. Waggle."
TO BE CONTINUED...
"Stack? It's First," said the gravelly voice on the line. Police Commissioner Depth First sounded tired. Of course he did. People come to me when they're out of options.
"First. Look, I'm not in the mood for pizza."
"Stack, I already apologized for that. I said I'd never order Papa John's for crunch again. Let it go, okay? This is serious. I mean real serious."
"Shoot."
"He's dead, Stack. Triple-A Development is dead."
There was a pause as long as a dropped ping.
"Development? You mean the Aaron Alexander Akbar Development? Are you sure?"
"I am. What's more, it's murder. Someone killed him."
Commissioner First was right: This was serious. Everyone in town knew who A.A.A. "Triple-A" Development was. He'd basically built the place--bought up all the best property with the help of his old buddies from the military days. Sure, he had ups and downs over the years, but he was always a force to be reckoned with. He was a fixture. An icon.
And, to be honest, not the kind of man whose business I wanted to get mixed up in.
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"Look, Stack. This is hot--too hot for us. There are so many players involved: the platform holders, core and casual audiences, retail chains, analysts, bloggers--you name it. Stack, this is like the Arcane Explosion of cases."
"The what?"
"AoE, Stack. There's a huge area of effect on this one and I can't get near it. That's why I called you--to see if you could do a little digging, talk to his former associates, find out what he was up to in the last few months. Are you in? I promise there's a reward in it for you that's not pizza."
***
I knew who I had to talk to first. I figured I'd find her in the subway station in the morning or the afternoon, and I was right. I spotted Mobi LePhone, absorbed in the latest indie beats, as she was getting off the train the next day. She was hard to miss, silhouetted against a shifting sequence of bright, flat colors.
"Hey, Mobi! Hey!" I said, waving at her. She finally noticed me and yanked out one of her earbuds.
"Oh, hi, Stack."
She continued dancing and had the earbud halfway back before I managed to say, "Did you hear? Triple-A is dead."
"Is he?" She stopped. "Well, isn't that something? I'd heard things had been rough for him lately, so I can't say I'm surprised."
"Listen, Mobi... Do you know if Development had been hanging out with anyone new lately? Trying any risky new business model?"
"Well, sure he was--but he did that all the time, you see. You don't stay the kingpin of this town without dancing with every new devil that comes your way."
"Business models like free-to-play, for example? Microtransactions? Your kind of thing?"
"Stack, don't be ridiculous. You can't possibly think that I'm the one who did it, do you?"
"Just investigating every lead. I am a detective, you know."
"Not a very good one. Sure, ol' Dev was looking at free-to-play--who isn't these days? But it doesn't take a venture-backed online metrics platform to figure out he was spending too much to chase down too few users." She shrugged. "I thought everyone knew that by now."
"Then I guess I'm the last to know."
"Besides, I couldn't have killed him, even if I wanted to. I don't have the memory or processing power to take on someone like Triple-A. You know as well as anyone that true gamers want rich, high-fidelity experiences that only fixed consoles and large television screens can provide. In fact, I believe there will always be an audience and a future for A.A.A. Development's games."
"Now you're just repeating his propaganda, Mobi. You can't expect me to believe you posed absolutely no danger to his empire of--"
"If you want, you can stop bothering me and follow up on a real lead," Mobi said. "There was a new guy in town that Development was real keen to work with."
My ears perked up. "Yeah? Who was that?"
"Honestly, Stack, you really are the last to know. Everyone's been talking about him--he shows up outta nowhere a while back and suddenly he's the talk of the town. Development was falling all over himself to get in cahoots with this guy."
I was starting to get impatient. The sun had just begun to set, and there was a bottle of GamerJuice at the office with my name on it.
"Okay. And who was that, Mobi?"
"Well, maybe I don't remember."
"Come on. Don't do this to me."
"Sorry. If you want the hint, it's one coin. You can buy coins for 99 cents each. For two coins I'll give you an upgraded magnifying glass, which allows you to find clues more easily, and for five coins--"
"Yeah, just the hint, please. You can put it on my tab."
"Pleasure doing business with you. Ah, yes, it's coming back to me now... His name was... It was... Mr. Waggle."
TO BE CONTINUED...
