Rise To Stardom - Chapter 246

Chapter 246: In Clutch
“Um, where’s Kyle?” Sharon, dressed neatly for the occasion inquired curiously, the press conference on the eve of commencing.

“In his office.” Dahlia casually replied as they all descended down the stairs to meet with the group of gamers, journalists and reporters whom were giddily waiting for the event to start.

“Apparently he had an important conference call to pick so he asked of us to begin without him.” Carlos chipped in, hands tucked into his pockets as he descended the staircase last.

“Alright then.” Sharon gave a small nod in appreciation of their responses.

And then, with her eyes closed briefly, the lady opened them as she put on her most dazzling smile while stating;

“Showtime.”

*

Meanwhile, Kyle, having just rounded up his conference video call with Cass, Hank and Bruce regarding the movie’s pre-production and planned promos in the coming months, gave his farewells;

“Yeah. Need to attend the press conference now. Talk to you guys later.”

The movie was targeting a late holiday release (an unannounced 20th of December to be exact)… and so was [Fables & Legends], unfortunately.

From the onset, Kyle had definitely figured out that this would happen, although he wasn’t too perturbed by it.

With the transmission ended though, phone tucked in his pockets, Kyle proceeded to exit his office, only to feel his phone buzz again.

Already expecting another private number call from one of Atlas’s employees, Kyle’s brows arched in unexpected amusement when he saw his phone’s identifier app, bring forth the actual name of the caller this time.

Lex Alexander Harlow.

So, with a light chuckle almost escaping his lips, the young star instead, reeled in his amusement.

Swiping the receive button, Kyle picked up the call;

[Good day Kestis. Lex speaking.] the smooth voice from the other end carried an informally strong hint of disrespect to it.

“Hello Harlow. Fancy hearing that annoying voice of yours. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” Kyle poked right back, his tone even more disrespectful despite the ‘innocent’ smile on his current features.

*

The press conference for the [Tech Wiz]’s DLC release had initially been planned as a straightforward showcase.

A small tour of SpawnPoint Studio, an hour of gameplay, and, a brief Q&A session with gamers, gaming journalists and reporters, all in response to fan requests on various social media platforms.

After all, with the immense success of the base game, the curiosity as to how the studio had come to be and who its employees were, especially with Kyle’s fame, had been of genuine interest to a lot of fans.

However, with all the recent rumors swirling that [Tech Wiz: Year One] had officially wrapped up filming, and would be releasing in late December, the anticipation for the event had skyrocketed, turning it into a fairly major spectacle.

Even at the moment, as the event included over a 75K+ people watching live on ViewTube, a few more netizens were still streaming into the session at a moderate pace, their comments every bit as expected;

–

RDC_Wrld: Man, ain’t this studio quite small in comparison to all them big AAA studios?! How in incarnation were they able to achieve such refined levels of gameplay with their limited resources.

American_Dragon: Okay, that basement tour was sick!

Noob Dev: I had no idea there was something called The Volume Technology but if that’s where they filmed the CGI scenes of the movie like its rumored, then I expect to see some amazing action scenes in the movie.

Wiz Lord: Finally, the showcase! I’ve been patiently waiting for this! If they have an hour+ of gameplay to show, it just means they’re that confident in what they’ve crafted.

–

Currently seated in their mini-lobby on the first floor where the massive 146′-inch OLED TV screen was, were gamers and journalists in equal measure, all of whom had been lucky enough to be accepted through an application system prior to the press release.

As more gameplay footage for the DLC was shown, with the addition of two completely brand new maps added in-game in the form of fictional renditions of Queens and Brooklyn, the audience in the room could only watch in genuine intrigue and excitement as Carlos and surprisingly, Sharon, played in co-op through a set-piece moment.

The livestream comments too, did a good job of reflecting just how hyped the gamers, both in the room and online were;

–

Wiz Lord: You know, SpawnPoint Studios could’ve opted to make this DLC, [Tech Wiz 2] for a full price and I’d still buy it because damn, these guys cooked!

BubbleTeaLover: That gamer journalist in front is literally me! Dude’s so excited his legs won’t sit still!

Indie_Lover: What still really baffles me is how they optimized a game as complex as this across a range of hardware, especially those on the lower ends of the spectrum. Do they have an in-house game engine?!

Chai Cenat: Eyyy! Nobody told me Sharon could game! I thought she was just here for the movie’s promotions since she voices Voltress and plays Felicia in the live action. Speaking of promotions though, where’s Kyle?

–

As the DLC’s showcase continued, an hour swiftly passed by and before everyone knew it, that actual press conference moment of the showcase had arrived.

The Q&A session.

Seated around the semi-circular couch in the very same lobby, was Carlos the Studio Head, Dahlia the Lead Animator, Chase the Lead Software Engineer and Programmer, Ariana the Lead Narrative Designer, Sasha the Project Manager and Sharon herself, the Performance Capture of Voltress, the main antagonist in the DLC.

Save for Sharon, they had all being the ones to attend Games Con initially with Kyle, Oliver and Owen.

In any case, currently behind them was the poster of the game and before them was a similarly curved desk, populated with game pads, table mics and refreshments.

As journalists and reporters clicked pictures at frequent intervals, the occasional questions flying about here and there, one of the gamers soon directed her question to the Studio Head, her voice peppy;

“How long in production has the DLC being?! I mean, if we’re being honest, you could practically market it as a part 2 and everyone would probably agree!”

Chuckling a bit in response to that question, same as majority in the room, Carlos let out a light smile as he responded;

“Roughly a year and a few months, give or take. The reason why the DLC’s so stacked is because there was so much we wanted to fit into the base game but couldn’t.”

“So, in an effort to not waste those resources, we figured we could just make it into its own thing and polish it to create another complete experience.” he concluded with a gesture towards the lady, hoping that answered her question.

With a curt nod from her, other questions soon piled up, most directed to any of the game devs willing to answer;

“Does this DLC lay the groundwork for a possible [Tech Wiz 2], or is this purely an extension of the current story?”

“Are there any plans for additional side missions, challenges, or post-DLC content updates?”

“What were some of the biggest challenges you guys faced while developing the DLC?”

“With the upcoming live-action adaptation, has there been any sort of, you know, creative synergy between the game studio and the film production team?”

With each question getting answered to the best of their ability, still with Kyle nowhere to be found, both the audience in the room and the livestreamers, simply assumed the young CEO was probably busy with the live-action adaptation’s post-production and promos.

As all this was happening though, a masked Bianca, quietly sat among the gaming journalists, her presence blending in and unnoticed.

While others kept eagerly asking about the game mechanics and other technical details, the embittered agent was carefully biding her time with her own agenda.

“Sharon, can you share any fun or interesting behind-the-scenes details about your performance capture as Voltress? We wouldn’t mind spoilers for the live-action adaptation too.” a male reporter asked, grinning at the lady as he inquired.

“You cheeky little thing~.” the actress gave the reporter an amused smile, prompting the entire room to chuckle loudly as she proceeded to give a proper answer.

And so, the moment the atmosphere in the room was at an all-time high, just after Sharon had responded to that very last question, Bianca promptly seized her moment.

With a meticulously feigned air of professionalism, she raised her hand, and luckily… or unluckily, she was called upon.

Subtly licking her lips, her voice laced with an almost smug curiosity, she dropped the bomb;

“Sharon, given today’s emphasis on DEI— you know, diversity, equity, and inclusion— initiatives in Hollywood, do you believe the upcoming Tech Wiz live-action adaptation is doing enough to meet those standards?”

The question, at least with the way it was presented, seemed innocent.

But, it was also undeniably and completely irrelevant to the gaming-focused event.

Yet, it immediately shifted the atmosphere in the room as journalists exchanged glances, some raising their brows in confusion, others quickly jotting away and whipping out their notes as they sensed a potential controversy.

–

SharkDooDoo: Uh, oh…

CJ: Ah shit! Here we go again.

Politics Hater: For the love of all things good, why can’t these darned, crazy-ass reporters just not bring darn politics into every darn thing!

–

Despite this shift in ambience, Bianca, trained her laser-focused gaze on Sharon who similarly, squinted her eyes in the masked reporter’s direction, a hint of disdainful familiarity in her ocean-blue irises.

As the atmosphere got heavier, with most journalists and reporters watching, waiting, hoping… for even the slightest misstep in the lady’s response that could fuel the headlines, a door clicked open.

And walking out of his office, a light smile on his features, was the CEO who casually spoke as he pocketed his smartphone;

“Well, that’s not a question about the game.”

His noticeably tense employees became instantly relieved at his arrival and so was Sharon.

The livestream comments on the other hand… well it exploded in a stream of comments;

–

WeDoABitOfTrolling: Him! Him! HIM has arrived!!!

Wiz Lord: Kyle walking into the building like he’s Mary Poppins y’all!

GamerGirlNextDoor: Hi K.K! Oh wait! He can’t hear me! Fudge!!

Politics Hater: AH! Take that masked reporter!

–

“Excuse me?” Bianca feigned innocence as Kyle walked over to seat amidst his employees, his smile as steady as ever as he affirmed;

“I said, that isn’t a question about the game.”

“But—”

“What sort of press conference is this?” the young CEO cut the lady off with a gentle smile, his question simple yet polite.

“A gaming, press conference…” Bianca, through gritted teeth, responded.

“Exactly. Any questions you might want to ask, DEI related or not, please make it gaming focused.” Kyle maintained his composure as he kept speaking, his soft smile never faltering.

He was tethering on the edge of a touchy subject here but the young man didn’t look the least bit perturbed.

“Also, just to clarify, we here at SpawnPoint Studio, prefer to keep politics separate from fiction. That’s an iron-clad rule here.” the CEO returned his attention to the audience in the room, an element of eloquence to his tone as he continued calmly;

“Now I may not be 100% right on the statement I’m about to make but I’m fairly certain, fun and escapism is what most gamers want. Why then would we want to impede on that wish of theirs with our beliefs? That would be extremely insensitive of us, no?”

“So, as long as gamers prefer that sense of fun, escapism and most of all, romanticism over reality, then that’s what we’ll keep giving them.” Kyle gestured to the audience in the room, after which he then angled his gaze back to Sharon as he playfully inquired.

“I hope you didn’t mind me stealing your thunder.”

“What do you mean ‘steal your thunder’?! As you can see, I’m clearly enjoying hearing you speak so please, be my guest!” the lady replied with a gesture of her hands, her tone full of mirth.

What followed next was a wave of hearty chuckles in the room that dispelled the previously tense atmosphere, the live streamers similarly joining in with their own comments;

–

Wiz Lord: This ladies and gents, is why I love this man. Even though he had every right to bash that reporter for asking such an insensitive question, bro handled it with class.

SlickLikeMe: Smoothest save I’ve ever witnessed on this topic being brought up.

KingKong: Kyle’s a whole different breed man. How did he even manage to talk so long on such a touchy subject without pissing off anyone? Mad respect.

WeDoABitOfTrolling: See. I told you guys Kyle’s HIM!

–

And just like that, the livestream session went on, Bianca and any other controversy-seeking journalist or reporter unable to do as they would’ve pleased due to Kyle’s full-circle response essentially keeping them from trying anything funny.

Due to this, the rest of the press conference was smooth sailing from there, not a single controversial issue arising till it was over.

As for Kyle, no sooner had he left the studio for the day, he couldn’t help but whistle happily as he made his way to his vehicle.

Just before he had joined in on the conference, the certain CEO whom had called, had formally requested for an audience with him.

And in the next two days, both parties would be meeting up to sign an NDA agreement that was heavily skewed in the young mans’ favor.

That said…

Kyle’s phone buzzed again.

Only this time, he was extremely curious yet concerned when he saw that it was a video call from Christina.

And therein lay the issue as the lady, for obvious reasons, preferred texting over calling unless it was really important or urgent.