This is a short story that I wrote and then read out load for class.

A Video Game Story.MP3

This was a short story that I wrote and recorded for one of my school classes.  A short story of a boy being motivated to pursue a career in video game design.

A Video Game Story

A Video Game Story

The first meeting of the year for the cub scouts was always an exciting one.  New cubs were joining while old ones graduated to a new rank.  First meetings were always held at the home of the scoutmaster.  The scoutmaster would welcome the new cubs scouts while saying goodbye to the older children.  Today was a special day his mother had told him; it was Nathaniel’s first day as a cub scout.  Reluctantly he stood in front of the scoutmaster’s house, not really wanting to become a scout in the first place.  Earlier his mother had told him it was a good way to make friends and build a child’s self esteem.  After much resilience, he had finally agreed only to make her happy.  He had been to this same house many times, it being the home of his best friend Matt.  On this visit though, he was here to join the scouts.  He knocked on the door twice and waited.  No answer.  He knocked twice again.  Finally Matt himself answered the door followed by his mother.  The boys hugged and exchanged high fives with each other.
“Hi Nathaniel,” said Matt’s mom, “ we are about to start the meeting, why don’t you join the other boys in the backyard.”
“Come on Nate,” Matt said excitedly as he turned and rushed off in the direction of backyard, his mom following after him.  Nathaniel followed at a slow pace, debating in his mind whether he should turn around and flee.  Slowly he shuffled his feet through door and into the hallway.  Hearing laughter coming from the backyard, his curiosity got a hold of him and quickened his pace.  He started toward the backdoor, passing the living room on his left.  Suddenly he stopped.  Turning toward his left, he saw Matt’s older brother Tim sitting in front of the television.  Tim was holding a controller in his hands while staring at a ball bouncing back and forth on the screen.  Nathaniel stepped into the room and stopped, his shy behavior surfacing into a form of a question.
“Excuse me, what is that?” asked Nathaniel.
“This? This is an Atari, kind of like playing in another world,” Tim responded.
“Playing in another world,” questioned Nathaniel, “how do you play in another world?”
“I don’t know exactly how, I just know someone created something called a video game to play in another world and I’m playing in it,” he chuckled as he diverted his attention back to the screen.
“May I sit down and watch while you play?” Nathaniel asked.
“Sure, you can sit over here,” said Tim as he motioned with his head for Nathaniel to come sit down next to him.  Nathaniel sat and watched Tim play for a full ten minutes before Tim finally spoke again.
“Would you like a try?” Tim asked.
“Could I please?” Nathaniel responded excitedly.
“Go for it,” Tim said as he passed the controller over.  As soon as Nathaniel took it, he felt a calming control wash over him.  He looked up at the screen and started to control the paddles that hit the ball.  After a few minutes of gameplay, he put the controller down and turned toward Tim.
“What else does the video game do?” asked Nathaniel.
“That’s it,” Tim responded, “just hitting the ball with the paddles.”
“That’s it? Well, someday I’m going to create a video game of my own.  A video game that does more than just hitting a ball back and forth,” Nathaniel promised.

Years later, that same boy was now a teenager, a teenager that loved to play and create video games for fun.  At that exact moment, he was sitting in his room playing a video game called Final Fantasy seven.  Final Fantasy seven being one of his favorite video games of all time.  He was about to complete another part of the story when a small rock bounced off of his bedroom window.  Pausing the game, he stood up and walked over to the window.  Pulling the window shade aside and peering out, Nathaniel took in the site of his three best friends waving at him from his front yard.  He opened the window and stuck his head out.
“Hey guys, how’s it going?” he asked.  
“Come outside and hangout with us dude! You have been up there for the last three days, give it a rest,” one of them yelled.
“What are you doing up there anyway?” another barked.
“I’m trying to beat Final Fantasy seven and finish writing this storyline before the end of summer break,” he responded, “I need to get my story done for my college application.”
“So you can go to video game college?” they chuckled amongst themselves.
“So I can do what I love to do and get paid for it at the same time,” he responded, chuckling along with them.
“Whatever man, good luck with your career professor!” one of them yelled sarcastically.
“Thank you guys!” he yelled back in the same manner, “I will remember to add you guys as characters in my future video games.  Why don’t you guys come up and help me?”  After some debate amongst his friends, they each agreed with a nod of their heads.  Piling through his door and forming up into a line, his friends each stood at attention with grins on their faces.  Nathaniel turned in their direction.
“Now, I am almost done with my story but I need a volunteer.  Who wants to be a dwarf?” he asked.

After years of hard work and dedication, it had finally paid off.  Here he was shaking the hand of the man who would finally give him the freedom to create video games.  He had worked long and hard to be where he was at that exact moment.  Graduation day from college meant that he had finally realized his dream; he was now a professional game designer.  As he smiled at the cheering and clapping crowd, his mind would not stop thinking about all the new possibilities he could bring to the gaming world.  He could finally start designing games from all of the stories he had ever written.  He took his seat in the group of his fellow graduates, picking out the familiar faces of his mother and best friends in the crowd.  Each one of them had encouraged and inspired him to reach the goal he had achieved this very day.

Many years later, sitting in his living room by himself, he inserted the completed product of his first video game into his console.  It had taken him many years to complete but the wait was worth it.  He had finally achieved what he had always wanted to.  He had built a game with one of his own stories.  Suddenly he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his right eye.  Looking at the mirror towards the left of the television, he saw the reflection of his four-year old daughter standing in the doorway of the living room.
 “Why do I feel like someone is spying on me?” he asked out loud as he paused the game.
“It’s not me daddy! I wouldn’t spy on you,” she giggled as she ran into the room, falling into her father’s lap.
“Oh I know you wouldn’t spy on me, I meant someone else,” he chuckled as he tickled her.
“Daddy, what is that?” she asked, pointing at the television screen.
“That is a video game that daddy created, it is the first one I ever made,” he explained.  Resuming the game, he started to show her how it worked.  Her eyes immediately lit up with curiosity and delight.
“Daddy, what is a video game?” she asked.
“Honey, it is another world,” he replied.


NateSchlicher