MHS – Chapter 148

12th April 2012.

Dream Vision Head Office, Santa Monica, California.

Jay and Arnold had received a call from Dream Vision studios a few days ago. The famous new star of Hollywood had personally invited Arnold to talk about something important. 

Although Arnold was a big man in the gaming industry, the gaming industry was still a lot smaller than Hollywood, and he himself was a fan of Will Evans, so he gladly accepted the invitation. 

He told Jay to tag along with him since he was present during the day they were invited, and they had more of a friendly relationship than that of an employer and employee.?  

Entering the six floors of the large building, they didn't have to wait even a second before a beautiful woman with red hair and office clothing came to pick them up.

"Hello, Mr Rival. Welcome to Dream Vision. I am Will Evans' secretary. I have been instructed by Mr Evans to guide you to his office room. Please follow my lead."

Politely saying so, Alexia walked up ahead, and the two men unconsciously followed her. Arnold was a married man. He had a beautiful wife and two kids and was very content with his life. But even his nerves flared up after watching Will's secretary. 

Even Jay was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of the beautiful back of Alexia.

Soon, they entered the modern elevator while being guided by Alexia and seemed to have reached their destination. 

Looking around the vast office and separate divisions with people actually smiling, talking and cheerfully working amongst themselves. It was an unimaginable sight that can't be expected in most corporate offices. This just spoke levels of the man named Will, who led this company.

After walking a few more divisions, the clear glass office door came into view, behind which one could locate a working table, above which a laptop was placed, successfully managing to hide the face of the man sitting behind.

Knock

"Get in, Alexia."

A clear voice came from inside just after one knock.

Entering the office room, one could see that every corner of the office was very tidy and well kept. There were trophies and certificates decorated on one side of the wall, while the other side had movie posters of famous movies like [The Blair Witch Project], [Sherlock Holmes], [1917], etc., plastered on the wall.

A handsome and honed face greeted them. Will Evans, the young brand of today's Hollywood, gave them a light smile as he stood up and held his hand out for a handshake.

"Hello, I am Will Evans. Nice to meet you two."

Arnold shook his hand.

"The pleasure is all mine Mr Evans. I am called Arnold Rival."

"Jay Lincoln. Nice to meet you Mr Evans."

Jay shook his hand, too, as he smiled.

"Please take a seat. Would you like to drink something? Tea? Coffee? Or anything cold?"

Will asked, still with the same smile.

"A cappuccino, if you would."

"Same for me."

Jay said as Arnold followed.

"Two cappuccino and a cup of tea for me, Alexia. Ah, and don't forget two sugar."

Will said to Alexia, who was standing beside them, as she nodded and left the room right away.

"I hope there wasn't much trouble on the way."

Will started the chat with the light questions so as to make the two comfortable with him.

Arnold was already thoroughly impressed by Will's amazing first impression.

'He is way more enigmatic than the media shows him out to be.'

Arnold and Jay both had this same thought as they kept talking about various things with Will.

Soon, Ethan and Johnathan also came to Will's office and joined in on the chat.

Will finally started telling Arnold and Jay about the game franchise he had thought of. From the game's basics to its mechanics, he tried to explain everything he could.

"First of all, the game is going to be an open-world gangster game…."

For Will, even without the system, this task was quite easy. And he was sure that most of the later 90s and 2000s kids from his old earth would find it a rather fun and easy task. After all, Will knew Vice City like the back of his hand.

He started telling how it would start, what the world background was, what the major goals were and what the missions were going to be.

"The view should be third person, and it should strictly follow all the plot points that I give. Apart from that, you have to make sure that the player can feel and experience the life of a gangster through the game."

Will continued to speak as Arnold, Jay, Ethan and Johnathan all listened to everything attentively.

From Jay's and Arnold's perspective, they had never heard or thought about such a game, yet it had so much to offer that they wondered why their R & D and innovation department hadn't yet thought of such a type of game. 

The detail with which Will talked about the game almost seemed like it was an existing game, and Will had played it himself.

The duo from EC games were again impressed by Will. 

On the other hand, Ethan couldn't hide the excitement on his face. He was known throughout Hollywood as a game fanatic, and after listening to the idea of Will's game, his heart couldn't help but pump blood furiously, making it rush all over his body.

"Vice City is the city where Tommy Vercetti hails from. Vice City is a prequel to [Liberty City] and would be based on the life of Tommy Vercetti. The game would feature murder, robbery, and many other things, but the most important one of them would be the car robbery. We need to have various models, and types of cars, minivans, mini trucks, bicycles, motorbikes, etc., featured in the game, making it one of the biggest and the most appealing parts of the game."

Will continued along, getting somewhat excited in his heart as he remembered the old days of GTA. If he really pulled this off, then he would be able to see another one of the masterpieces from his world that boiled the blood of the younger generations.

Then Will said that Ethan could do the voiceover of Tommy Vercetti, which just made him even more excited. He felt like it all was a great idea, but it would all depend on the success of the movie [Liberty City].

It seemed like Ethan wasn't the only one with such worries as Arnold questioned.

"All this is only going to work if [Liberty City] does well in the box office. Otherwise, making a game franchise on a movie that was a flop would be suicide."

Will smiled at that and turned around his laptop, which reported the graphical data of estimations regarding [Liberty City].

"[Liberty City] is currently considered as one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and it would have no problem crossing the $100 million mark. My estimate is that it would earn at least $200 million, and that should be more than enough to back up the game. On a side note, I am confident that both [Liberty City] and [GTA: Vice City] would do well, and there is a reason why I still haven't released the movie."

Will assured Arnold. 

"I want to do a mid-credit scene of young Tommy Vercetti in Vice City. He would be doing the stunts and actions that will be used in [GTA: Vice City] later on. At the end of the movie, we can show the game title and the young Tommy Vercetti's animated version."

As if something clicked inside their brains, everyone showed a sign of surprise as Will continued without waiting for anyone to ask any questions.

"If [Liberty City] works well, [GTA: Vice City] will eventually become the most anticipated game of the year. After all, what better publicity than a movie? Now tell me what are your thoughts Mr Rival."

Arnold and Jay looked each other in the eye, and as if talking without saying a word, they nodded their heads as Arnold coughed and said.

"Honestly speaking, I absolutely love the idea and wouldn't want anything else other than to dive right into this project. But I would first like to know about the terms and conditions of the contract and partnership from Dream Vision's side first before giving a definite answer."

It was an obvious choice to not be in a rush and possibly fall into an unfavourable contract, so Arnold requested to learn more about the partnership conditions.

Will picked up his phone, dialled on it and talked to someone shortly. After a while, Amanda knocked and entered the room.

"Well, about all that complicated stuff, I will leave it to her. She would explain and tell you everything, and you could freely voice any concerns you have. I want this partnership to last long and be a win-win for both the parties."

Will said as he pointed toward Amanda. 

Soon, Arnold and Jay left his office, following behind Amanda to talk about the deal. Will told Ethan about the reshoot, and Ethan happily agreed, more enthusiastic than ever after finding out why the reshoot was happening.

Soon, both Ethan and Johnathan left the room as Will finally slumped back into his chair.

Sigh

He sighed out loud as he felt a back pain incoming. He was standing throughout the meeting while the others had the leisure to sit. Not only that….

Will looked towards the cup of tea and two blocks of sugar placed beside his laptop.

"Man, what a waste."

He got so engrossed in the work that he forgot about the tea.

For some reason, he felt extra annoyed at the loss of good tea. It was to the point that even a box office failure would seem smaller to him than this loss of tea.

Will put a hand on his face as he lay backwards on his chair, falling asleep without realising.