"And you think people have the patience for this?"

"They'll attack it like Norse warlords, and KNC will reward them by beating them senseless over and over again. They will squeeze that water skin for the last drop of even the slightest taste of victory."

"What keeps them from getting frustrated?"

"Nothing. I hope they get frustrated. I hope they rage against every injustice in the game, because we will have an endless supply. That will motivate them to keep playing."

"They'll give up."

"If they give up, then for them, the game is over. Then they can run to the Internet and broadcast to the world how much of a loser they are."

"Mr. Wyland, forgive me for my ignorance. I'm not as familiar with gaming culture as you are." Eduardo Catalan was a senior representative from the Ponferrada Group. His Spanish accent was still rather thick, despite the fact he had been assigned to his hedge fund's North American offices for many years. "Isn't the business model here one of rewards for continued play?"

"Let me ask you a question, Mr. Catalan. What is the difference between a game that takes a subscription fee and rewards you with easy-to-obtain treasure and a vending machine?"

"I think the metaphor you would prefer would be a slot machine, Mr. Wyland," Catalan replied.

"That's even better. A slot machine is a mechanism that pits a casino against a player to see who runs out of money first."

"Then should we not be looking for ways to make our game a pleasant experience?"

"Absolutely. I think exhilaration is pleasant, and I think a lot of our players would agree. Wouldn't you?"

"I've never played video games much."

"Mr. Catalan, the most thrilling moment in Kings and Conquests will be when you and your fellow level two players barely make it back to town on a rainy, lightning-flashing night with the ass in your pants missing."

The room roared with laughter. Even Mr. Catalan's face broke into a smile as he shook his head.

"That's the experience I want to get across. I want players to be continuously aware the world in our game is unsafe. That will set KNC apart from the theme park simulators it will be competing against. I want the prospect of sundown in our game to scare people to the point where they don't want to visit the next room in their own in-game house. Meanwhile, there will be a rather lucrative achievement for the most spectacular in-game death."

"What's a theme park simulator?" one of the investors asked.

"That's a massively multiplayer game where every adventure location is set up like a theme park ride. You line up with four random people, and then you all sit in a little car that propels you through the attraction. Then you get a balloon at the end," Tyler replied.

"Exactly. That's fine the first two or three times you play, but there's no potential for exploration. No surprises. In fact, a lot of those games punish players who get out of their metaphorical automatic car! Not so with KNC. Every moment in our game should be a life-or-death balancing act between risk and reward. Every discovery should fill players with ruthless greed. Look! A treasure chest! This might be the gold haul that sets them up for the next ten levels. Or, it could be a trunk full of snakes. What it isn't going to be is a grind fest with an autoloot button."

"There's always some genius out there who will have it all figured out in a week," Janice said with a smirk.

"Good. Kings and Conquests will pose one and only one question to Captain Video Game and his team of finger-twitching geniuses: You think you can you beat the system? Because in this game, the system beats back."