Need you, dream you
Find you, taste you
Use you, scar you
Fuck you, break you
Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral pumps through James’ headphones. The album may be a couple of years old now, but it remains his go-to choice when coding. If you need to be in the zone, accept no substitutes. Well, perhaps some substitutes. Depending on mood, The Smashing Pumpkins can deliver and DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing..... certainly has its place in the unfortunate event of a creative roadblock. When a deadline is breathing down your neck and ten hours of cold, hard work lie ahead, however, you can always rely on Trent Reznor to provide that extra little push. And caffeine. Lots of caffeine.
This particular CD has been whipped out so often that it’s now scratched to shit and occasionally skips in James’ trusty Discman. Part of his subconscious tries to tell him that perhaps it’s time to invest in a new CD, but the thought barely registers. Nothing external really does. Not when he’s doing his thing.
As the thumping symphony of Eraser pounds in his ears, James’ mind focuses on its own symphony of symbols. In this moment, there is no time, no space. Only lines, code, classes, headers, and comments. Fluidity between body and brain is seamlessly working in synergy with a meticulous knowledge of the project’s entire architecture, of what was built in the past and what will be built in the future. James has heard athletes, musicians, and artists describe this ‘flow state’, in which the subject is so entirely focused on a specific process that nothing else matters. The creative momentum is effortless. Although the senses are heightened, they respond only to the matter at hand. Minutes or hours could have passed since James started; he couldn’t tell you. It’s better than any high he’s ever experienced. The world of the System is one of interdependency, of connection - a perfect multimodality of worlds, function, images, and soundscapes. His entire persona hovers over an infinite digital landscape that weaves a complex tapestry of characters, stories, choices, and fates. In this flow state, the line between the real world and fantasy is close to non-existent. When everything is defined by layer upon layer of simulation emerging from your fingertips; when hundreds of hypotheses, attempts, errors, and successes exist simultaneously; when one man is in the process of creating something from nothing - the very concept of reality itself gets flipped on its head. If magic exists, this is it. In this space, James is a god. Anybody who interrupts him better have a good fucking reason.
“Hey, bud. Sorry to distract you.”
James blinks his eyes, shifts his focus away from his monitor and returns to the moment, whatever that moment may be. He finds Steve standing patiently next to his workstation. As a fellow coder, Steve knows the drill, and the apologetic tone of his voice speaks to the fact he fully comprehends the weight of this intrusion. James takes a moment to readjust and forces a smile.
“Don’t sweat it. I’ve made a few comments here and there. Who’s on the class replication? Bert?”
“Him and Peter. Why, what’s up?”
“We can still optimise on the network aspect. The QA report arrived yesterday,” James says. His rat-a-tat speech pattern suggests he’s still semi-plugged into the flow state. “We need to ensure we don’t drop the ball on multiplayer; it’s still lagging.”
Steve smiles at his friend and boss. “And … breathe.”
James chuckles and stretches. The clicking of his joints suggests that he’s been slouched in his chair for hours.
“I’ll make sure Bert and Pete are aware. Anything else?” Steve asks.
“Nothing major. I just did a couple of fixes around the portal’s loading time. Still unsure if we should have mounts at the launch.”
“Animation issues?” Steve asks, painfully aware that clipping has been causing monumental headaches.
“Yeah,” James answers. “Clipping on the motion capture material. Time isn’t our friend with sorting this out with the contractor. We can’t risk further delays.”
“So what do we do?” Not for the first time in recent weeks, Steve is relying fully on James to make a call.
“I’m meeting Hank later. His guys might have an improvised solution. If not, I’ll move it to the first patch.”
Steve grimaces.
“What?” James interrogates. Steve shrugs.
“Spit it out, Steve,” James insists.
“You sure about this, boss? It’s a big feature.”
“How many times have I told you not to call me boss, Steve?”
“You sure about this, my liege?”
James contemplates. In the initial period following his promotion, he found himself labouring over every decision. Now, he’s learned to trust his instincts and, frankly, he simply doesn’t have the time to carefully consider every viable avenue. Needs must.
“The expectations on this project are immeasurable. I simply won’t compromise on quality.”
“Then neither will we,” Steve reassures.
James stands and starts pacing, shaking off the intensity of the past few hours.
“Speaking of expectations,” Steve says, “Willis is talking to PC Gamer as we speak. Exclusive scoop.”
James groans.
“How much is she overhyping it?”
“Well …” Steve chuckles. “Put it this way. When the magazines are shipped, I’ve threatened Rachel not to let you see them under pain of death.”
“Fucking press,” James mutters. Steve gives him a playful slap on the shoulder.
“The hype machine is their bread and butter. Remember how we used to scour those mags back in college, shitting our britches in anticipation? That’s just how it works.”
“It’s not just the press,” James responds. “Virginia is turning this thing into a monster. They’ve licenced Jesper Kyd, for God’s sake. Talks have started with New Line over an Otherscape movie adaptation.”
“And this is bad news?” Steve exclaims. “It’s just that. Talk. LA people are all bark, no bite. You need to switch off for a couple of hours. You can’t keep eating at your desk. Lunch in the new canteen?”
James’ eyes find the nearest clock.
Christ. Lunchtime already.
“Sure. Where is it now? On fifteen?”
“Fall Water gained a whole new floor and you haven’t even visited it yet?” Steve asks, bewildered. He grabs James and pulls him away from his station and through the Pit, which has grown substantially over the past two months. James nods at a few faces, some recognisable and some unfamiliar.
“I don’t even know who some of these people are,” James remarks.
“You don’t need to. You’re the boss. Just call them grunt and tell them what to do.”
James nods, returning to his normal self.
“Will do. Thanks for the pep talk, grunt.”
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