Chapter 3: Obtaining Copyright and Testing the Game
When William arrived at the Copyright Office, he approached the front desk. "Hello," he said to the receptionist. "My name is William Devonshire. I made an appointment by phone the day before yesterday."
The receptionist checked her appointment book and said, "Hello, Mr. Devonshire. Please follow me."
After following the receptionist, he submitted his materials and, at the staff's request, made three copies of his game story and design manuscripts. The original and the copies were all stamped with the Copyright Office's official seal, and he signed his name and added his handprint to each.
Two of the copies were placed in a file bag to be left with the copyright office, while William kept the third for himself. The original manuscript was also sealed and stamped. On Katie's advice—who had heard he was coming and stopped by to see him—he then went to the post office to mail the sealed original to himself.
The advantage of this method was that if a copyright dispute ever arose, he could produce the unopened mail, bearing the official seals of both the Copyright Office and the Post Office, giving him a significant advantage in any lawsuit.
Since it was an original story and design, and with Katie's help, the copyright review was expected to take only three days.
During the three-day wait for the copyright registration to complete, William, who had been busy for over twenty days, finally had some free time. That afternoon, he strolled around campus, mulling over how to promote his new venture, and found himself wandering toward the school stadium.
Seeing a game in progress with only a dozen or so spectators, he was in a cheerful mood. It suddenly occurred to him that while testing his magic on people was a bad idea, testing it on a football was another matter entirely.
He figured that if he applied his magic to the ball after it was kicked, its flight path would become erratic, making it much harder to predict where it would land.
His mental power and the Magician's Hand were invisible, after all. So, when the ball came flying toward the goal, William, who was casually strolling nearby, used the Magician's Hand on it. The football's trajectory suddenly deviated just slightly.
After he successfully repeated the experiment several times, the unhappy goalkeeper, blaming him as a jinx, shooed him away from the goal.
At lunch the next day, he spotted a bully from the school's rowing team who had given him trouble before.
The guy was holding a lunch tray, laughing and talking with an attractive girl. Seizing the opportunity, William focused his mental power on the bully's right hand. Without any warning, the tray flew out of his grasp and over the girl's head.
With a splat, William winced in sympathy for the girl.
The girl, now covered in food and drink, held her head and looked around in confusion. The bully's first reaction was to whip around, searching for whoever had played the prank on him.
But when he looked, everyone nearby was avoiding him like the plague, keeping their distance.
The girl, on the verge of tears, finally came to her senses. She also looked around but saw no culprit. Without a second thought, she broke up with the stunned bully on the spot.
As the bully hurried after her, William used his Magician's Hand to grab his feet, sending him tumbling to the floor.
He scrambled up with a bloody mouth, two of his teeth missing, and ran, nearly in tears, toward the school clinic.
William felt a surge of satisfaction at the sight of his enemy's miserable state.
This was the same guy who had deliberately bumped into him in the park just off campus. Not only had he not apologized, but he had also cursed William out for not watching where he was going.
William had rushed him, and they'd fought, but it ended with him getting beaten up by several of the bully's teammates from the rowing team.
Today, he'd finally gotten his revenge. The only downside was that no one knew he was the one who'd done it.
But who cared? Getting revenge without getting into trouble was the safest way.
After lunch, he returned to his dorm room and lay on his bed, contemplating the cheapest way to promote his game. He couldn't help but think of Zuckerberg's early success, which had started with word-of-mouth promotion across college campuses.
If others could succeed that way, why couldn't he?
Besides, his game was quite compelling compared to other titles available in the year 2000.
Released this early, the game's lifespan should be much longer than in his previous life. Plus, in addition to the single-player version, he could develop an online mode in the future—perhaps a four-corner defense mode modeled after a Warcraft RPG.
William decided it was worth a shot.
That afternoon, he received a call from Katie, telling him he could pick up his copyright certificate and pay the remaining fees the next day.
The next morning, William left the Copyright Office with the file bag in his hand. He had finally completed the first step of his plan in this new world. Now, it was time to promote the game.
Back on campus, he took a CD with the game burned onto it and headed for the school's gaming club.
Entertainment options were still relatively scarce compared to what would be available a decade later, so university clubs were a popular choice for many students.
It was common for students to bring their own homemade games to the club for others to try, not just to find bugs, but also for the same reason as William: hoping to gain popularity on campus and attract the attention of game companies.
Even if they couldn't immediately reach a deal with a company, once a game became a hit, it wouldn't take long for word to spread through the universities and high schools in London, leading to a lot of sales.
Pushing open the door to the gaming club, William scanned the ninety-square-meter room. It was filled with more than thirty computers, all sponsored by various manufacturers.
Dozens of students were scattered about. Some were playing games, while others were gathered around a blackboard, writing and drawing, deep in discussion and occasionally breaking into arguments.
As a computer science student who had been working on a game for a while, it was inevitable that news had spread. So, when William walked in holding a CD, those who knew him understood immediately that his game was finished.
A tall, thin student with curly white hair spotted him and shouted, "Hey, everyone, look who it is! If it isn't our resident genius, William Devonshire!"
"Brought the game you made? Let's see how a genius's creation differs from what us mere mortals make!"
William rolled his eyes, silently cursing himself for picking a bad time to come. He had no intention of responding to the curly-haired guy's taunts.
Engage with this guy, and he'd talk your ear off for an hour straight without repeating himself once. What was more baffling was his complete lack of self-awareness; he was so over-the-top that everyone just ignored him.
"I'm not your dad," William thought. "Why should I show you just because you asked? What an energy vampire. No wonder nobody likes you."
Richard Dek, a friend of William's, also glanced at the curly-haired student.
Richard nudged William and said, "Just ignore him. He'll start pestering us if no one else talks to him."
William shrugged and smiled at Richard. "Come check out the game I made. I think you'll like it."
Knowing the club's computers were configured to prevent copying, William led Richard to the machine he'd just been using. He inserted the CD and copied the game files onto the hard drive.
After installing the game, he gave the seat to Richard. As his friend started it up, William began explaining the game's premise in a deliberately loud voice. Just as he'd hoped, a curious crowd began to gather around them.