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Game Changer Fifteen year old Ryan loved his gaming console. He’d had it for two years now and had all the latest games but they had drawn him in to such an extent that when at home he hardly ever interacted with his family. His four year old brother Noah had more or less been banned from entering his bedroom by his parents as the games Ryan played were not for the eyes of one so young. In truth, they were quite brutal and not suitable for a teenager either. However, Ryan loved to ‘shoot ‘em up’ and ‘blow ‘em to smithereens’ whether they be invading armies, aliens or covert operatives, he loved to take them on and prove his superiority. However, since he was a tot, Noah had, much to their mother’s annoyance, often wondered into his big brother’s bedroom, sat on his knee and watched him do battle; the colourful (if scary) graphics more appealing than the actual violence. One of the main problems with Ryan was just how much he immersed himself in the games to the extent of hardly communicating with anyone except those he was playing online. Once the screen was active, donned the headset and had the controller in hand, he was committed only to displaying his strategies and crushing whoever needed defeating. Meanwhile, the occasional intrusion of his little brother didn’t stop him from gaming supremacy. In recent weeks Ryan’s gaming had got a great deal more aggressive, which had led to later nights and less attention to anything else. His schoolwork was suffering because of this, and despite promises not to play past midnight, some sessions went on until the early hours. His parents didn’t want to be seen to ‘lay down the law’ but realised something had to be done. Rather than simply banning him from the equipment they wanted him to give up on his own accord. That way, they reasoned, he’d feel he was still in control. Alas, this strategy was proving ineffectual and his mother, Sarah, went online herself to see if there were alternative ways of treating her son’s possible addiction. ****** GAME CHANGER Do you know someone who needs help with their PC Games addiction? Someone who spends too much time in front of the screen? Who has cut themselves off from family and friends? Who only lives to play the next level? Then we have the answer. Game Changer is a new, exciting development from Alt/Feed Services that helps restore that ‘addict’ into the person they used to be by the practice of focused soundwaves, visual stimuli and algorithmic applications. Just plug in to any USB socket linked to the player’s device, or PC gaming apparatus and Game Changer will take it from there. ****** In amongst all the mum’s chat and helpful hints this particular advert ‘popped up’ and caught Sarah’s attention. Not because of the big bold lettering but because it appeared to be more forthright. It didn’t pretend that most gamers weren’t addicted to their screens it said it like it was and she appreciated such honesty. As she investigated the finer detail it became clear that by purchasing the advertised ‘magic’ memory stick, she could actually help her son. It claimed that no matter what game the player was involved in, Game Changer would supplant it and via music, images and sound waves help that person become less ‘aggressive’, more relaxed and restore much sought after Circadian rhythms. She liked the possibility he would unconsciously want to spend less time online and pay more attention to those about him and certainly (she hoped more than anything) to improve his rapidly deteriorating school work. Not to mention his lack of sociability or person hygiene. The more she read about this amazing ‘scientific’ breakthrough, the more encouraged she was by its claims, which appeared to be more direct than anything she’d found after scrutinizing wellness and self-improvement sites. Although much was just too ‘technical’ for her, it did appear to be the type of clever and innocuous way of turning her son around. It argued the system operated on certain ‘audio waves and visual stimuli – connecting the mental and visceral world to make a friendly environment, with less stress, for the user’ so she reasoned “What harm could it do to try?” Yes, to Sarah this sounded just the thing she wanted but hoped, once she’d paid the fee online, that it wasn’t a con and all she’d be getting was a memory stick full of whale songs. However, there were some positive endorsements but of course she wasn’t completely clueless and knew that often false claims were made. Nevertheless, for the introductory fee of £49.99 she took a chance and hoped Ryan would see the benefits from that nominal investment. # The blurb continued that once the ‘plug-in’ was achieved the programming would take over and introduce a new ‘game’ for the recipient to play. It would promise an exciting and different type of gaming experience for those ‘brave enough to accept the challenge’. The tech wizards at Game Changer knew that most gamers loved a challenge and even if the console suddenly started offering them something they knew shouldn’t be happening (i.e. a new game appearing on their closed platform) most would want to know where the challenge led. However, once that player pressed the ‘accept’ button the console or computer was no longer under the gamer’s control, Game Changer would do just what its name suggested. The new game ‘Phantom Interloper’ promised a predatory presence to be defeated or incorporated into their own army, plus an extra ‘Cerebral Phantom’ to be deciphered and conquered to complete the game. The excellent graphics and a powerful music score would lead the player into a world they hadn’t experienced before. Also, what they were unaware of was that with each movement of the controller, each visual reference, their voice commands and choices made were all collected and, thanks to Deepcode, used to unfold the program as it progressed. In the game there were ‘moments of reflection’, where the player, to move forward, had to recollect something from their past - to help defeat the ‘Cerebral Phantom’. Nothing that happened onscreen, in the thought process, or bodily movement went unnoticed. Everything was identified, stored and made part of future levels in the game. That Phantom enemy could be confused by personal memories and the further back and deep those memories were the better. It was implied that the menace was evil and those memories, especially happy memories, confused and derailed its scheming advance. Deepcode could emphasise music and messages, change and amplify visuals, whilst the graphics indicated just when a memory had hit its target. Cunningly the player was encouraged to dig deeper for even happier memories to thwart their Phantom foe. Deepcode trawled every action and reaction interpreting and devising new strategies within milliseconds, all to keep the player involved in the game. Paradoxically it appeared that substituting one game for another was to be a solution. It was the cleverness of the program that in those ‘moments of reflection’, which delved the deepest and uncovered instances and actions from childhood, produced the most usable information. Through these ‘moments’ it was easy to manipulate the player to open up and express fears, desires, hurt and happiness, all within the ‘moment’. This was where Deeptone was at its strongest, feeding on this input and moving the game forward. With more ‘moments of reflection’ to get the player relaxed and at ease with not playing the game but simply talking to the screen, expressing their feelings and experiences; thereby confusing the Phantom that only existed on hate and fear. Perhaps surprisingly, heart rates dropped, anxiety levels decreased considerably and the brain began producing chemicals that made each competitor feel good about themselves... thus more inclined to ‘open up’. Although the new game Phantom Interloper Game Changer produced was addictive to begin with it soon identified and produced algorithms and mental stimuli that would take control. Players may have thought they were skilfully navigating the game and defeating the Phantom but were in fact being led, step by step into another way of thinking. That was the unique development Deepcode by means of Phantom Interloper were intended to do. Deepcode was designed to embed itself deep in the psyche and control the player’s future direction. Once that program was in place Phantom Interloper would then no longer need its tech base as it was operating directly in the brain and could manoeuvre thoughts and actions as required. Deepcode was a unique deep mental package and, thanks to the masses of information it gleaned from each player, a course, a distinct and individual course, based on their own interpreted desires, could be mapped out. *** Although a department of Alt/Feed Services which make and develop their own successful gaming lines, Game Changer had been independently created as a side-line and to offset criticism the company received from worried parents. From the very start the designers and tech bods at the company saw this adaption as an aid for concerned parents to wean their offspring away from too much reliance on PC games and the easy addiction they often foster. They had to show they cared so Game Changer became their main project to defer the growing hostility to their huge and profitable presence in the market. It was a concession to the possibility of government interference and general public unease with the seemingly unregulated gaming industry and an entire youth culture dominated by PC games. It was the industries weapon they hoped would satisfy and contain any future discussion on the subject. So, it was rushed into production and instantly made available via selected trial outlets... but it had to work and work well. The In House tests had been hugely successful but this understated online release was basically just the pilot, with Deepcode feeding back information to the company so any tweaks or problems could be ironed out before mass release. *** Meanwhile, by means of the screen and sound waves, those new visuals and audio commands, were already fed direct into the brain. The program selected those moments when the subject was most happy to lead the way and guide them away from a dependency on the thrill of gaming and back to a more innocent time of learning and discovery. By the time Phantom Interloper finished its appointed path, which, depending on the keenness of the player, would have renewed, by way algorithms chosen from facts garnered during those ‘moments of reflection’, a new trajectory was attained for the player. The main algorithm identified and promoted innocence and happiness above anything else, as these virtues helped defeat the Phantom menace and introduced a thought process to a time before the player had an interest in PC games. Pursuit of further games would be exorcised and the concept was that they return, in some form, better able to interact with family and friends simply through averting their PC interests by making them remember earlier happier times. Well, that was the concept. # Friday afternoon and he’d just got in from school but Ryan quickly made his way up to his bedroom to continue his latest passion, Zombie Killers – A Deadfull Night! It was a game that several people could play at once and he had a few school mates and even more folk he didn’t know, all immersed in trying to kill the undead. What he didn’t know was that as soon as he turned his computer on, the hidden memory stick his mother had recently purchased pinged into life. Ryan had quickly changed out of his school clothes and slipped easily into a t-shirt and shorts and settled himself comfortably in front of the screen. With headphones and microphone in place, he identified to those already playing his arrival. Within minutes he was up to his neck in splattered zombies. So immersed in his game he didn’t hear his mother calling him down for tea so she brought it up to him on a tray, which he barely acknowledged with a nod of thanks. She shrugged and hoped that her little unwanted gift would do what it promised so exited his room without comment as he shouted his commands and more blood and guts splashed across the screen. “Die you bastards” was a constant refrain - the fact that his parents had both warned him off this particular game making it even more illicitly enjoyable. Suddenly there was a change of music and the images on screen were replaced by a new pop-up sign. ‘Phantom Interloper - Are you brave enough to accept the challenge?’ Ryan was annoyed that his obliterated zombie count was no longer prominent and the heartening thud as his sword shattered against the skulls of his adversaries had disappeared. Zombies are for wimps... dare you engage in a battle you will ultimately lose? Don’t go running to mummy when you fail... this is only for the elite. Phantom Interloper - The Game Changer. A flashing icon underneath allowed you to accept or deny access. Ryan pressed ‘deny’. ‘Thought as much,’ the graphics taunted rather pettily, ‘too scary for a little kid. Stick to the childish stuff, Phantom Interloper is too advanced for the likes of you’ The option to accept or deny appeared again and again Ryan, eager to get back to his zombies, pressed ‘deny’. Then, instead of just visual taunts he could hear laughter in his headphones, “What a little scaredy-cat.” The voice mocked more and more each time ramping up the level of derision and childishness. “What... don’t feel big enough?” “You little pussy.” The abuse continued and the ‘access’ sign got larger. “OK, last chance Ryan” The game knew his name. A ten second countdown started as the access button changed from a glowing pink and turned a deeper red with each passing second. “We were told you’d be good enough but I suppose all your friends were wrong” 6, 5, 4... Ryan had been shocked that he’d been called by name and wondered how this could be possible but that countdown was quickly passing and he only had two seconds to press... ‘ACCEPT’ on the final second Ryan pressed the unknown, and, unknown to him, Phantom Interloper took control of his computer. From that moment on his every move; the camera captured everything, every word; the mic, like the camera, was live all the time. Even the movement of his fingers on the controller were recorded and evaluated as Deepcode wrote and rewrote the program specifically as Ryan played. At the same time a link was established between Ryan’s console and head office where a stack of servers and techies would eventually get round to deciphering all the trawled info Deepcode produced. It was expected that algorithms would take care of most monotonous work, whilst techies would tweak any underlying snags... when they could get round to it. Meanwhile, Phantom Interloper the game began. The haunting signature tune led into the most glorious graphic universe and Ryan was sucked into a world he would never have thought possible. # Ryan could not believe what was on screen. The images hypnotised, whilst the music and its many layers of sound transported him through a colourful kingdom taking him to incredible highs and unbelievable saddening lows in just a matter of moments. It was a journey like he’d never experienced as he searched for that ‘Cerebral Phantom’. A pile of info filled the screen and he received new directions on how his controller could be used to gain credit and baffle the ‘Phantom’. In minutes he felt exhausted but desperate to attain the next level. The game let him advance; the sooner he reached Level 5 his mind would be so much easier to influence but... now here came that strange part of the program. Instructions by Phantom Interloper whispered in his ear led him to believe that the Phantom could read his thoughts and so, to defeat him this is what he had to do. He needed to pause and think about something completely different from the game. It was also inferred by ‘the voice’ that the Phantom grew stronger the more evil the thought. So to defeat him and win the game it was best to think ‘happy’ thoughts, like the times when the player was younger and more innocent... the Phantom couldn’t cope with innocence. The ‘moment of reflection’ was that opportunity to play the Phantom at its own game and by doing so corrupt its program and thereby finding a way to win the game. # Ryan had been on his computer since he arrived home from school. The meal his mother had brought up on the tray remained untouched and now, five hours later, and five hours of brilliant graphics and unbelievable sounds, thanks to the ‘moment’, he could take a break. At that moment Noah ventured into Ryan’s bedroom to say night-night. Dressed in his Spider-Man pyjama top and his Spider-Man pull-ups he came and sat on his brother’s knee to see what he was up to. Noah snuggled into his brother who would normally have simply told him to leave but on this occasion he felt relaxed (the deltas waves doing their job) and was pleased to greet his younger sibling. The soft padding of the pull-up felt gloriously comforting and as he snuggled in closer Ryan’s mind slipped to when he himself used to wear similar comfy pull-ups to bed. He’d been late getting a potty routine at night and even until he was six year old, still wore pull-ups or nappies at night... it seemed his little brother was having similar trouble. Strangely, he found himself talking about these memories to his brother and telling him how wonderful it was to have no worries because the possibilities of a wet bed were taken care of. On more than one occasion, when he’d been deep into a game and needed the toilet, wished he still had the opportunity to wear a nappy as it would have helped him stay in the battle. However, thinking about how the Phantom used evil thoughts to win, he decided that these thoughts, his thoughts, might just be the right way to go. By speaking about how wonderful being an innocent child was might give him a better chance to defeat his foe the screen colours and sounds changed and he felt more optimistic. It was a tactic he wasn’t to know would forge a template for his own future thoughts and ideas. The soundwaves varied and washed into his ears, through his brain and into his senses. Yes, these relaxing thoughts he knew were working because he could already feel the benefits of such thinking. Subconsciously he felt that the Phantom hated such thoughts so was happy to defeat it with ‘happy thoughts’. Hugging his little brother closer he spoke of the times he also wore pyjamas and nappies but Noah was puzzled at such an admission, this was so unlike Ryan. But having his older brother hugging, patting his padding and being positive and encouraging was something he rarely experienced. He gratefully cuddled his big brother back pleased he wasn’t calling him a big baby or something similar like he usually did. Although he didn’t know about Deepcode or what it could do, neither did the designers of Phantom Interloper. Deepcode and Phantom Interloper had been coded by two different departments, each with its own modus operandi. Unfortunately for Ryan, when those two codes amalgamated the newly formed algorithm took him on an unforeseen journey. Of course, this might have been, no, should have been predicted but wasn’t... the program had gone rogue. ### tbc ###