"Checkmate!"
"Again."
"Reset and run it back!"
"…Haha, nice one! That move's got fire, unstoppable. Like you're riding a wave, charging full speed. Today's game is straight-up aggressive."
Weekend noon!
Walter Parker held a chess piece, grinned, and shook his head, conceding defeat.
"Nah, you went easy," Gus Harper said, smirking as he grabbed Walter's piece to review the board.
"No way," Walter said, sipping tea and waving off Gus's humility. "Young guns like you are supposed to bring the heat. If you're not, are you even young?"
"Chill, Dad," Zoey Parker said, strolling in with a fruit tray, popping an orange slice into Walter's mouth. "He's already a big deal. Right now, he's the king of the gaming scene, globally. Any hotter, and he'll burst into flames."
Zoey wasn't wrong.
Gus was on fire!
Since clashing with Komina a month and a half ago, "Gus Harper" and "Sam Harper" haven't left gamers' or media lips!
First, Outlast cemented him as the horror king, crushing Silent Hill into oblivion.
Then, 1.16 million copies sold in a week blew up the horror genre, tanked Komina's Tokyo International Game Festival revenue plans, and took down Yamamoto Studio, one of their top dogs!
Early this month, GDC dropped its invite list.
WindyPeak Games and Gus, invited as an exception, lit up the industry again, with buzz that wouldn't quit!
Players went wild, acting like they owned stock in WindyPeak, some more hyped than Gus.
Not just because it's WindyPeak's first global gaming conference.
It's because WindyPeak is the only studio from Asia bringing new work to GDC!
Yup!
The other big players—Radiance, ThunderCore, and Ember Entertainment—brought nothing.
Why? GDC's got rules.
Projects need pioneering, game-changing vibes to shine.
Mediocre stuff? It'll backfire.
Radiance, ThunderCore, and Ember, burned by WindyPeak before, played it safe.
At the Asian Games, Ember's hyped-up racing title got smoked by Gus's gold-crown win.
In the somatosensory cabin wars, ThunderCore, part of the "Three Musketeers vs. Gus" showdown, got wrecked by BT-7274.
Radiance? Double-whammy.
They caught heat alongside ThunderCore and got obliterated by Left 4 Dead earlier.
So, at GDC, Asia's big three stayed quiet.
WindyPeak's move? Let 'em shine.
And just like that, WindyPeak became Asia's sole rep!
The hype of the whole scene!
Sure, GDC's a non-competitive exchange.
But tradition holds: at the close, media and organizers pick a "Most Anticipated Game."
No Asian game's ever won it.
The closest? Six or seven years ago, when somatosensory cabins popped off, Ember got a nod for Ford.
That's the vibe fueling fans' hopes for WindyPeak.
"So, no horror game this time, right?" Walter asked after Zoey's rundown. "GDC's about innovation. Doubling down on horror's a bad call."
Walter's experience cut through, pointing Gus in the right direction.
Special moments need bold moves. Cashing in on horror's hot streak might make bank, but not here.
"Yup, horror's on hold," Gus nodded. "Wrong vibe for GDC, plus my next horror project's hitting a snag."
"Oh?" Walter raised an eyebrow. "What's the holdup?"
"Copyright," Gus said. "My next horror game's tied to an old IP floating around. Gotta lock down the rights first."
"Got it," Walter said, nodding slowly, thinking. "Tough?"
"Not huge, not tiny," Gus grinned. "Money's no issue, but favors? That's the real hurdle."
"Hm," Walter mused, then after a pause, "There's always a way. Luck might just find you."
He grabbed a chess piece and dropped it.
Clack!
…
"Five in a row. You're toast."
On the tablet, black pieces linked, crushing Zoey's white ones again.
United States, Rocky Mountains.
Conference Hall 5, International Conference Center.
Day three of GDC!
Time for the "Asian Game Developer" speech!
Over 300 seats, packed with media and devs.
The stage, decked with a massive screen and Dolby surround sound, glowed under bright lights.
Click, click!
Camera flashes popped off.
Media rigs lined the back, long lenses ready.
Top devs from five continents waited, hyped.
Under the stage's side curtain, Gus just smoked Zoey in Go—ten wins straight!
"You're cheating! No heads-up!" Zoey griped, pissed at another loss. "No more diagonal links. They don't count!"
"Whoa, who's cheating?" Gus laughed, floored. "You're changing rules last second?"
"My rules, my game!" Zoey shot back, all confidence, no logic. "Or give me three pieces and first move!"
"What, just crown you champ?" Gus was done. "Three pieces, you go first, and you'd still steamroll me. What am I even playing?"
Watching them bicker over tablet Go, Chloe Quinn nearby was speechless.
Guys! GDC!
You're about to hit the stage for a speech and demo!
Arguing over Go rules? Really?
But before Chloe could nudge them, the host's voice boomed:
"Please welcome Sam Harper, Chief Game Director from WindyPeak Games, Asia, for a keynote on 'The Future of Cinematic Games' and a live demo of their latest work!"
Boom!
Applause erupted, mixed with screams and whistles!
The hall went dark.
Whoosh—
Wind roared through dozens of speakers, like a storm ripping past.
Funky music kicked in, and the giant screen lit up:
Ten thousand meters up!
The camera tails a lanky guy plummeting.
Then it flips—behind him, a burly dude with a square beard!
As they freefall, an eagle slices the frame in two.
Left side: the bearded guy, subtitled [Starring: Vincent].
Right side: the lanky, hook-nosed guy, subtitled [Starring: Leo].
Scenes flip, delivering a wild dual-perspective ride!
In prison, Leo punches a cellmate from the right screen to the left; Vincent knees the same guy back to the right.
Vincent passes a wrench left to right; Leo grabs it.
On a high wall, Vincent climbs a rope on the left; Leo holds it steady on the right.
Vincent rows left, Leo steers right.
Vincent drives left, Leo blocks enemies right.
Different screens, different angles, same goal—perfect teamwork.
From prison to walls to fields to swanky villas.
Finally, the split screens merge as Vincent and Leo walk toward each other.
Flashback to prison.
They pass, swapping quick words:
"How's the weather?"
"Good news—storm tonight."
"We moving tonight?"
"Tonight's the night!"
The screen goes black, barbed wire casting shadows over bold text: A WAY OUT.
Half-second silence.
Then—thunderous applause and gasps!
"Holy—this a trailer? A game trailer?"
"Looks like a damn movie!"
"Insane! Same action, split screens, totally different vibes!"
"Push-ins, pull-outs, surround shots—like a Hollywood storyboard!"
"It's Prison Break meets The Shawshank Redemption, but chiller!"
"WindyPeak never flops on creativity!"
"Never seen a trailer like this. Mind blown!"
"Where's Sam getting these ideas?!"
The simple trailer sparked chaos!
Killer storyboards and montage tricks delivered a cinematic banger.
Gus, rocking a gray-blue suit and a Mickey Mouse watch, strode onto the stage under blazing lights.
Applause roared.
The trailer's fresh visuals had everyone leaning in, hyped for Gus's speech.
He grabbed the mic: "Morning, folks. I'm Gus Harper, Chief Game Director at WindyPeak. That was our new project, built for GDC—a two-player co-op cinematic game: A Way Out."
Live stream comments exploded:
"This trailer's fire!"
"Those storyboards! Montages! Transitions! Damn!"
"Knew Gus was bringing heat to GDC!"
"He nailed the cinematic game vibe!"
"WindyPeak, the scene's MVP!"
Gus dove into A Way Out's design, breaking it down.
Exclamations filled the hall; the stream's comments were a nonstop "whoa!"
Wild game!
Some weren't even sure if A Way Out was a game.
The trailer's "starring" roles? Two players, no AI subs.
The seamless CG-to-live-action transitions? Nerve-racking.
Fancy montages, slick camera work, and a 2.40:1 cinematic ratio left everyone floored.
WindyPeak's bold; Gus's genius was unreal!
A game packed with movie tricks, starring two players.
What sparks would this setup ignite?
"I know you're all curious, maybe a bit confused," Gus said. "A trailer and my words can't capture the full vibe."
"So!" His voice kicked up a notch.
Every eye locked on him, cameras zooming.
"I've got a half-hour live demo ready."
"No more talk—my partner and I will show you."
"Please welcome my partner—WindyPeak Games President, Ms. Zoey Parker, to join me for this live demo!"