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Beta Test (2016)
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So if you're just joining us, I am here with Andrew Kincaid. Brainchild behind sentinel, the world's most rapidly growing video game company. And if I may say so, now, one of the most powerful men on the planet. You recently made headlines for your campaign against the preservation of the right to bear arms in this second amendment war that's been raging in Washington. Complete with catchy slogan, "keep guns in games." Well it's something that I'm very passionate about. We've lost touch with how lucky we are to be here. Uh, we piss on the planet. We piss on the animals, on nature, and on each other. And then we raise our fists in protests for our right to own a gun while people are being killed left and right. And then we delude ourselves into believing that gun that we own could ever match might with the 21st century American military. Gun ownership in this country is an obsolete tradition. It can't protect us anymore. In fact, it's clearly hurting us. Well, certainly a very traditionalist perspective to support gun ownership. And the number of failed bills reflects that. Traditions still stand strong in America. That makes me very sad. I mean, what is it gonna take to get that point across? And your solution would be to contain violence to video games? Well, we're never gonna contain it, but we can direct it. You wanna shoot something, you wanna shoot somebody? Play a game. Play one of my games. Flight's not delayed like we thought. Out the door in thirty, okay? Ors, we are not gonna be able to sort through all these things. And speaking of your games, what can you tell us about the rumors that your top security officer, Orson creed, has been pushing to move sentinel into military contracts. Come on. I dare you. Orson, we need to go. Yeah, hold on. I need to hear this. And how it can best be used to serve to public. Mr. creed and I fall on different sides of the aisle. And let's be clear about this. This is not the first time he's tried to extract an intellectual property. But I could promise you, it will be the last. So Orson creed would be the one saying... Under his direction, sentinel becomes a military tech developer. Are you hearing this? Do you expect anything less? Marrying ourselves to tradition has held us back. People are resistant to the future, but that doesn't stop it from coming. And if it's not me, it's gonna be the next guy who takes up the reigns. At the end of the day, it's your quarter. If any of you are unfamiliar with Mr. Kincaid's gaming ambitions, and from the numbers, there can't be too many. We've heard of where you think Mr. creed is going to take sentinel... Tell us what you're doing here, what you've done. I wanted to take the gaming world and I wanted to push it. I wanted to push the inner activity, the gameplay, the environment. Players wanna be in the game. And right now, we're closer to that than anyone's ever been before. Well, you know, some of your critics have been pretty vocal about their issues with that. Especially given your outspoken stance against guns. Yeah, I think you'd be surprised how many of those critics have secret gaming accounts of their own. Look, I have an issue with guns on the street and I think that that issue will be resolved. So... Take one more look around. I'll start the car. Hey. I love you for not being him. In America, we are in the business of making money. Come here. If I can do that while making my country a little safer? Buddy, I call that the American dream. People are literally controlled by their phones and their tablets and their social networks and the games that the play. Abbie! We live in a world dominated by technology. Let her go. You can call it sad, or you can call it whatever you want. But you can't argue one fact, it is now. Oh... Just you. Just me. Come on. Thought you might come outside for this one. Quit playing around. Come on. Give it to me. Man, when is Kincaid gonna stop with all the discs? Yeah, I guess it is kinda old school for a new school guy, huh? Really nice way to say someone's paranoid. Says the man who refuses to leave his house. Shut up, Bernard. This is a new adventure. Stay tuned. - See ya. - Mhm. Right on time, my Princess. Oh, gee. You know how I love it when you call me Princess. So your highness, how art thou on this majestic morning? I'm good! Another day at the office. Jerry brought me crepes for breakfast this morning. Jerry. That bastard. You tell that Jerry that you're mine. All mine. Uh huh. That would require you to get out of your house and take me out. Oh, Princess. How can you resist my sex appeal? Oh, nothing sexier than sitting on the other end of the phone while your coworker mods a game against protocol. You know, first of all, that only happened like three times. - Four times. - Whatever. And second, mods made the games better. Uh huh. Oh right. Let me give you your moment. So tell me about this game. Well, you won't be modding this game. I can tell you that. Okay. This is the one. The Kincaid prophecy. The dream game. The one where you get to be in the world. Really? This? Oh, hey! Keep talking. I'm listening. Just gotta grab my pizza. Well, you'll be testing the game frame mostly. Kincaid isn't ready to reveal the real tech just yet. So can you tell me about it then? Exactly how are you in this world? No comment. Can we get some comment? Any comment. Absolutely no comments. What about the rumors? He said no comment! Let's go, let's go. Hey, did you hear me? Hello? Sorry, no. Uh, let's get started. We have a lot to cover. Alright. Let's do this. From behind. Let's go. Guys, we are on the clock. Gotta go, gotta go. Almost got it. Done! Done. What? Pack up the gear. I'll get the girl. Come on, boys. Let's go, let's go, let's go. Enjoy the ride, old friend. Style is great. Realistic. Kincaid wanted a grounded universe. Meaning real human movement with a stylized aesthetic. To distract from the intense violence no doubt. You're so smart. You know. Can't say I've seen a game start like this before. No menu, no options, no loading. Total immersion. That's the goal. Man, that looks like Orson creed. So? Guess they designed it before the total fallen out of destruction thing. I guess so. Ah, it's amazing. Almost like I can see anger. Pretty good, huh? Damn good. I guess I'm supposed to grab that. Yup. Play me. Cute. Hey, ors! Good to see you're up and about. I bet you're wondering about now just what the hell did we do to you. But you should know, how can the artist forget his own artwork, right? We've got a series of tasks for you, ors. And I can't wait to see you make it through because I know you will, buddy. You'll have 90 minutes to complete each objective. If you fail, ors... I hope you're listening, buddy. If you fail to finish in the 90 minute window, you beautiful wife, Abbie, loses a body part per objective. K? Okay. Mission one. National bank is about to be robbed. Your mission is to get inside, undetected, during the robbery and retrieve the contents of safety deposit box 1121. Do you hear me? If you're compromised, it's all over. Think of Abbie, beautiful, Abbie. Okay, scout, you better get a move on. Your 90 minutes begin now. Heavy. Yet, still has a classic video game setup. How can we embrace the new without acknowledging the old? True that, true that. Inventory, inventory. Hit the Grey button. No inventory menu either? What, he just pulls out whatever he has on him? That's weird, but okay. Ladies and gentlemen, just in. We are getting unconfirmed reports of armed men from the Southtown branch of National bank. No details as of yet. I'm told one of our reporters is sending us text messages from the scene. From inside the bank. Please stand by. I'm gonna stay on the line today with you. Orders straight from the top. Yes, ma'am. Why don't you just beam me with excitement over your assignment? Max, I didn't mean it like that. I mean... Oh, come on, Princess. Say it with me... smitten! Who says that anymore? I say it. Oh shit. I wonder if I uh... Max, stay on the mission. We're on a time table remember? Yeah, totally. Max! I told you to stay on the mission! Well, I guess I don't want any stars or anything. Don't do that again. What? It's just a game. Relax. Just having a little fun, that's all. Um, yeah. Just remember the clock is running. Yeah, right. Oh shit. How the hell am I supposed to get in there undetected? - Let's move. - Dear god, please! - Please no! - Stay down! We see movement, we start shooting. Get it? Open the vault! Gotta be the manager. Hey! Get the bags ready. What are you doing? How do I talk to people? Hit the black button with the cursor over her. Hey, baby. Hey, baby. What? Yeah. I've never seen mpc's react like that before. Well it's probably because you're being a douche. Oh hey! Sweetie pie. Oh, you getting a little jealous on me or what? Uh, hardly. I kinda like it. I need to access safety deposit box 1121. Are you crazy? I need to access safety deposit box 1121. Wait, where do I know you from? I need the keys, ma'am. You're gonna get yourself killed. I need the keys right now. I don't have them. They're in my desk. It's over there. Well, I think this is two points for difficulty. Get down! Okay. Bingo. Oh! What is this? Is this thing on? Hey, you got a hot shot over here. Drop the gun or you're dead. 3, 2, 1. Okay, okay! - I got the bag. - Sweet! Tryna murk some mpc's. Stealth is key for this mission, Max. Thanks for the tip. And um, don't kill any hostages. You'll fail the mission. Um, someone's being a little drama queen. Relax. I can always reload and auto-save. Hey, you're all gonna die. Get him! Everybody, stay down! Stay down! Check right. Clear. What was that? I didn't copy. Come again. Smile for the cameras. I see him! Knock, knock. You're dead. Hey, I'm gonna take a quick break. Why won't this damn thing pause? Uh, I'll look into it. Well, I'm still taking a break. Man's gotta take a leak. We're here with bank manager, Lillian Brandt, who is one of the hostages in this crisis. Can you confirm that he killed all the suspects? No, he stopped them. And you're saying this man is Orson creed. What the hell? I didn't recognize him at first. It was a mess in there. The Orson creed who was recently fired following disputes with sentinel ceo, Andrew Kincaid? No. He saved my life. I just wish that I could thank him. It just seemed like he was gone as fast as he came. If you're out there, thank you. We're awaiting comment from sentinel and authorities tell us attempts to contact Orson creed - no, this is not right. - And his wife have failed. Ladies and gentlemen, you are as confused as we are. Stay with us. Ladies and gentlemen, these cellphone photos just came to us from our source inside. Uh, it looks pretty convincing. Orson creed, apparent hero, leaving the bank with two million dollars. As far as we know, the money has not been recovered and there is no sign of Orson creed. Is everything okay? I'm calling the police. What! Max, no! Max! 9-1-1 operator. Sit down and play the game. What's going on? I should be asking you that. I sit down and start playing this brand new game and all of a sudden my mission is on the goddamn news. - There's no way. - Calm down, Max. Calm down? Calm down. Just tell me. Did I just kill a bunch of people? You need to listen to me right now. You need to keep playing, Max. Trust me, just keep playing. You have to. Not until I figure out what's going on. The only thing I'm doing is turning this damn thing off. Max, no! Hello, Max. No, this is not happening. Shut up! And listen very, very carefully. Your life depends on it. Now let me be perfectly clear. If you, Max, try to call the authorities, turn off your console, or leave the house... Which shouldn't be a problem for you, right? We're going to kill your girl and then we're gonna tell the cops what you did. What? What are you talking about? I'd check your bank account. I can see it in the headlines now. Say it isn't so, Max. Shit. I think you get the point. Now finish the game. Max. Max. You have to finish the game. Ors! I knew you'd make it. Good job. Very exciting stuff. Your wife keeps her digits for now. Let's see how you do on round two, shall we? There's a private school a few miles north. There's about to be another shooting. Get there and wait for further instructions. Please try to stay in the game. I can't believe you're a part of all this. They didn't give me a choice. Save it. You're just a voice! Tech support. Okay, champ! Good god, this guy is annoying. There's a shooter in the building. The authorities are about to be contacted. Internal security will attempt to take him out. You are going to stop them. - What? - You heard it right, folks. Your mission is to protect the shooter. And if you refuse, I've been itching to spend some time with Abbie. Clock starts now. I'm not doing this. No. Max, you have to. No! I don't wanna die. I'm sorry. Oh god. Let me go! Let me go! They're gonna kill my mother! You! No, no, no, no! Max. Max! You have to get him out of there. Ladies and gentlemen, we go now to frank b. Cooper high school where a shooting has just taken place. Tragic day for our city. You look sad, Orsy. Why the blues? You should be so happy. Abbie's still in one piece. Nothing? No witty comeback? That hurts my feelings. Your next mission is a juicy... Max, what are you doing? Improvising. Can you hear me? This is your player. I need your help. Please eat. I missed our lunches, Abbie. You're as beautiful now as you ever were. Well... Let's not quibble over details. You were a snake then, and you're a snake now. Okay, well I'll take that as a compliment. A snake is an evolutionary masterpiece and incredibly misunderstood. And like the snake, I'm just doing what needs to be done. Though I don't seem to remember you putting up such a fuss back when I was paying your bills. No one could type a memo quite like you. You ever tell creed about us? There is no us, you piece of shit. Well... Not for a while, right? Churchill. I keep Winston up there to remind me to stay the course. He once said, you have enemies? Good. That means you stood up for something sometime in your life. You can't expect everyone to believe in your vision. But when they wake up one day in a better world, they will thank you for your contribution. Yes. That husband of yours is a stubborn man. You've underestimated him. He's a survivor. God, that's what I love about you. You're so dramatic. You're just... You're unpredictable. I hate to eat and run, but uh... Your husband is actually becoming a bit of a nuisance. And I need to go remind the dog who's master. I'll be back. To build maybe the slow and laborious tasks of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day. Churchill said that, too. Careful of your dreams, Andrew. Time to bring the pain. Yo, yo, incoming, incoming! We've got trees over here. Watch out! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Get some, get some! You don't want none of this, creed. You don't want none of this, huh! Get back here, creed! Shit. No, no, no! Never thought you'd betray us, creed. Yes! That's it. You know what, creed... Kincaid ordered not to shoot. But I'm gonna shoot you anyway! Yes! Oh! Wow. What's up? Right. You can't talk. Hey, you there? Me? You said I can't mod this game. Max. But you can. I can't. Unblock the speech frequency. Max, I... Do it. Or I'm done. And so are you. You okay? Who the hell is that? Tech support. No. Let them find the bugs. Let them think that they're ahead. It won't matter. I wanna see where he takes this. How do you my house is bugged, Mr. creed? I created every security protocol for sentinel including bugging. You bugged my house? Everything you received from sentinel is monitoring you. Show me. I need a beer. Come on, join me. Well drink up. Oops, my bad! We'll get that cleaned up no problem. So you're sentinel's secret weapon? Right here in the flesh. Just a gamer. So tell me... What is all this that you're doing, Mr. creed? My wife calls me Mr. Creed when she's upset. We just met kid. I develop a technology that connects you to me. It's called control x. Control x? Sounds like a bad Sci-Fi movie. It's the prototype. It was meant for surveillance, but I thought it better suited for military. Why military? I served a couple of tours. Lost a few too many friends. Control x is about making stronger soldiers with faster reflexes with two sets of eyes. And what's Kincaid got to do with all this? I'm not sure, but he has some master plan. Keeps guns in games. No, that's bullshit. I know Kincaid. He's a one percenter. He doesn't care how many lives it takes to keep his billions. I wanted control x to save people, he wants it to use them. So why'd you work for him? He paid me good money. Ah, yeah. What about that Zane guy? He's just a dog on a leash. Brought in for muscle. He's a glory seeker. Wants everything I got. Hang on a second. Authorities have now confirmed through surveillance footage, Orson creed has gone from bank hero to murderer. Strange and bizarre day for our city. An example of a man unhinged. Truly shocking. That's a load of shit. Come on. Just call me Oswald. I'm the distraction. From what? The future of gaming. What got you into it, kid? Well um, it's just a world that I fit in. People in the real world tend to let you down. You lose someone who's special in a game, it doesn't hurt as bad. Today actually marks two years since I left this house. Yeah. I was uh... I was coming from the gaming tournament that I won and being famous sometimes makes you unpopular. It was the middle of the day, I was out walking with my best friend... And they drove by, windows came down. Let's just say that they missed me. Here's a picture. Take a look. What? I loved that dog, okay? Best thing that ever happened to me before that day. It's not always easy losing someone you care about. You should know that, right? A signal. You gotta get this thing out of me, kid. What the hell? I don't know how to do that. I do. I'm gonna go flush out this beer. No. Stand down. I've got this. I think you've had enough fun. Why are you doing this? Where is he? Creed? I'm here. I'm disappointed in you, Max. I chose you because you're the best. You understand the game world and you understand rules. Well you've broken the rules so that means a penalty. Tell me something. How are you and your girl doing, huh? I'm sensing some trust issues there. I would kill it every time, my friend. I mean, what do we have if we can't trust each other? Princess, you okay? She could be, but that's up to you. Here are five feeds of five sentinel employees. Each equally disappointing to me. You're naughty girl is one of them. Come on, that's bullshit. You know I've seen her. Pay attention, Max. That's the point. You choose wisely, she lives. You choose poorly, they all die. Tell you what. I'm gonna make it easy on you. Do it. No. You should be thanking me, Max. Now you just got four choices. You got sixty seconds. Good luck. Shit! Max! Max, what the hell is going on? I don't know. I don't know! Shit. There. That's her. It's her! Feed 4. Feed 4! Come on, feed 4! It's her! Congratulations. Why are you doing this? What the hell do you want? You'll be getting a message with instructions. And little man, I suggest you follow them. Baby, I'm okay. They want you to go to the ground floor of the needle. Caleb Angelo will be leaving a dinner and they want you to kill him. I love you. I get it now. Well tell me. Caleb Angelo owns 51% of the world's largest server file. Kincaid only owns 40%. With Angelo out of the way, he can scoop up all of the shares. Complete control. He wants to play god. Let's do this. Alright, okay. Creed. Go get your wife back. I'm sorry about your loss. You know I'm coming after you. Give you a good show. Yeah, hi. Can I get some popcorn, soda? Thanks. - Max. - Hey! Are you okay? Shit. I almost killed this dude. - What! - No, nevermind. What happened? They told me I was reassigned, but I managed to sneak away. I'm here to help how I can. I'm so sorry that I got you into this. Yeah, don't worry about it. The important thing is your safe. What do you mean? If I live through all this, I'll tell you how I saved your life like for real. You can't tease a girl like that. Putting you on speaker. I'm feeling adventurous. Just remember, there's no rebooting here. If he dies, you're done. Go big or go home, right? I always wanted to do this. Do what? I'm just booting up my laptop. This. Yes! Max, are you hanging from a car? Why yes, your highness, I am. You stay away from my dad. Who the hell is this guy? I'm gonna gut you like a pig. Hey! Get him, boys! Do what the hell I pay you for! - Whoa! - Dad! Hey, look. I am rich! I'll pay you whatever they're paying you and I'll double it! I'm not a bad guy. I'll do anything for you. I have a daughter. She's beautiful, super hot. You can have her. I'll give her to you. Just let me go. Come on, guy, come on! Max, are you... Finishing the game. Who the hell are you? Hey! Fuck you! Yeah. What the hell is going on over there? Angelo should've recognized creed. Sir, he's here. Lock it down. Lock it down! Yes, sir. We're locked down, gentlemen. No one out. You know who's coming. And remember no shooting. So unstrap. Now. Kincaid wants him alive and wait for my command. Creed. What makes you think you can just walk back in here? Where's Abbie? Come to rescue your girl? I heard she had a lovely meal with her boss. They might even be getting ready to call it a night. I'm not leaving here without her. You hear that? He's not leaving without her. Fuck you. I've retired from violence. Guess we're gonna call this a cheat day. Tear that bitch's arms and legs off. Creed! All personal. Report to main entrance. Let's go! Come on, creed! - Get up! - You ain't nothing! Stop! - Come on, creed! - Get up! Dead man. Creed! Oh, no! Get up! This isn't over. I gave you a chance. What? I gave you a chance. We were like brothers. Abbie! Stop. Right there. She'll be dead before you can touch her. So... Where's Zane? He's dead. Congratulations. Well maybe you're next. Maybe. Is this what this all comes down to? Well, I hope you've rehearsed. That's cute. And for your information, yes, I have. I gotta say you were uh, fairly impressive, but I mean, what else would we expect from the great Orson creed? Am I right? Well I had some help, but you know all about that. Yes, you did. Which reminds me, where is Robin? Oh yeah. In my evil trap. So... Onto the monologue, yeah? What was it you wanted to know, my master plan? Well it's your game, maestro. Always a gentlemen. Even under duress. But why kids? Why would you kill children? They're causalities of war. You're delusional. I'm delusional? It's broken, creed. The whole damn show is broken. And you wanna take control x and you wanna give it to the puppeteers, the people who sell you, sell all of us on America, land of the free. You wanna do that and you call me delusional? I see the future. In the gamers lies our salvation. As events like today continue, the country will pass my bill willingly. To keep guns in games. An army of elite gamers. Born through with what we provide. An absolute controlled militia ready to strike. That, that is the revolution of today. And that's how we show the world the potential in our humanity. From time to time, the tree of Liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots. This is our wasteland and what we've made doesn't have to be like this. Sometimes to make things better you need to start by making them worse. And I will do that. I will tear it down. I will tear it all down. And then I will rebuild it brick by brick. So you'll lead this new order? And you could've been there, right at my side. That's bullshit. You don't have the right to control people from being assholes and you can't because we're gonna fuck up. That's what being human is. This was never about saving the wasteland. The wasteland is inevitable because of who we are and that's reality brother. So who's selling who? This is about you and no one else. This is about your greed, this is about your quest to be what only a god can be. Right now I am god. Well you can't control me. You sure as hell can't control her. At the end of it all, what is this really? It's about what you don't have, what you can't have... What I have. You don't know shit. You don't think I saw you coveting her? Well no matter what happens today, you'll always know that she chose me over you. Hey, what are you doing, huh? What are you doing? Hey! Drop the controller. Drop it. Drop it right now! Hey! Drop the controller now! No! Shit. Shit. Gotcha. Abbie! Come on! Come on! Come on! Shit! Max, what is it? What's going on? Max! When I come back, you'll buy me dinner to thank me. What? Max, wait! Max! This ends now. I'll remember you well. Kincaid! Remember why your friend is dead, Max. Because of what you're holding in your hand. Through me, that'll never happen again. Shoot him. I know you won't shoot me. Let's go home. You're going to our house. Let's not make a date of it. Come on, let's go. So if you're just joining us, I'm here with Max Troy. Champion gamer and former lead tester for sentinel. After a very bizarre chain of events that one might only find in a video game, the sentinel board unanimously voted in this young man and their new ceo. You've been fairly silent since this has all happened and we're all dying to know. Tell us a little bit about what happened and what you have planned. Well one thing we must acknowledge as a leader in this field is our responsibility to shape our society. If you look where we've come, or arguably where we've fallen to, you have to ask yourself what happened to our humanity and where did it go? In my new position, my focus is to return the spotlight to the gamers. I find that the single most important thing. And hopefully if we're smart enough, we can remind our consumers to engage in balance, to remember what makes them human in the first place. In between missions of course. Some of your critics have voiced concerns. Going as far as to fear you're gonna fall into the same track as your predecessor. And with such an unprecedented vote, some are wondering, I think, if you almost planned for this to happen. Any ambitious man would dream of reaching the top. To deny that would deny my own humanity I think. Andrew Kincaid was a god in his world and any god who is obsessed with his own power sets himself up for his own demise. And that power falls on his angels. Someone had to take up the reigns. All we can do is hope for a fresh perspective. Ultimately it's up to us to enter this world, to take up that controller, to make those decisions. Ultimately, it's your quarter. So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Straight from the man himself. Time will tell if sentinel takes us in a new direction. We will all be curiously watching. |
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