Re: Life - Business & Technology

Chapter 20 - Settling In

The engineering department requested Vince procure a few high-precision industrial CNC machines to manufacture more complex components the AI drones couldn't create yet.

Vince gave them approval and funding for the purchase. However, it would take a few weeks until the machines arrived from Germany.

Hudson was able to recruit around fifty semiconductor specialists for the engineering department. 

[I don't know much in engineering, so I'll have to trust Hudson with his decision.] So Vince thought while familiarizing himself with the new employees.

He had the engineering department start designing the custom processors for the AI-driven drones as soon as they arrived.

Vince had to compromise and bought supercomputers from Japan and filled one of the basement floors, with ten units costing $20 million, including the installation.

These computers would serve the AI drones manufacturing Bitcash wallets, which sold out during pre-orders.

The Future Tech Headquarters slowly transformed into the most secure location in Austin, with newly manufactured flying security drones patrolling the area.

Price designed them to alert the central security system when the drone detected intruders in the building.

Vince focused on school work and learning from the Future Tech experts in different fields of study while managing the business from his penthouse office.

Vince had been involved in development less and less now that he had hundreds of employees.

[My true advantage is knowledge of the future, and not my skills and talents. I can do much more now with plenty of available capital. A far cry from when I just reincarnated.] Vince pondered while looking out his office window.

Vince took the elevator down one floor and greeted a pretty receptionist.

Future Tech provided the floor to David and his legal staff as their offices. "Good day, Mr. Dalton. May I know how I can help?" the receptionist asked.

"Good day, Stacy. You don't have to call me Mr. Dalton. Vince is fine. Is David in his office right now?" he asked.

"David just arrived an hour ago. I can show you to his office if you'd like, Vince," Stacy replied. 

"Thanks but no need. I know that way." Vince declared before heading deeper into the law offices.

He walked into David's office to talk about some expansion ideas and strategies Vince knew worked from his knowledge of the future.

"I want Future Studios to be more involved with War Online and Arena Pro League. Policing our user agreement is a top priority. I don't want to see any cheating, match-fixing, or other violations. The game is doing well and is a huge cash cow for us. These issues can potentially destroy our game, and I'll hold your team responsible for this." Vince stated seriously.

"I understand, Vince. The team has already assigned a few community ambassadors heavily involved with the game on social media platforms like Reddit and YouTube. We'll deal with any problems within the community accordingly." David replied confidently.

"I trust in your decisions, David. However, I would suggest also forming a committee comprised of influential figures in the War Online community like someone from Daily Esports, for example." Vince instructed.

"Consider it done.", David replied positively.

Vince left the legal office floor and took the elevator another floor down towards the engineering offices.

Vince asked one of the engineers if they had settled in well and if their department still needed more equipment.

"We only need those CNC machines and plenty of materials, Vince. These AI drones are amazing. Once we get them upgraded, we'll be able to manufacture much more complex components." the lead engineer named Patel, an Indian-American AI specialist, replied.

"That's good to hear, Patel. But, don't be shy and ask Hudson or me for anything your department requires.", Vince declared.

Vince visited BitCash one floor below, speaking to Dollar for a few minutes before moving towards Future Studios another level down to check up on his friends.

Vince bought a cappuccino from a Starbucks that rented one of the ground-level spaces. He paid for the coffee with his Bitcash wallet, and the cashier took payment as she would typically do for other customers.

[It looks like people are getting used to seeing and using the new Bitcash wallets.] So Vince pondered while enjoying his espresso.

Vince then bought some food from Chipotle next to the Starbucks and returned to his penthouse office.

[I can afford a chef, but fast food is my jam. Force of habit, I suppose] Vince thought.

He spent some time reading and learning more about artificial intelligence while eating his tacos. In addition, he would watch the Arena Pro League during his downtime as a hobby.

More players had varying cosmetic armor and weapon skins because of the new loot boxes added to the game. Instead of buying items directly from the cash shop, players can purchase loot boxes that provide cosmetic items of different rarities.

Most were designs introduced by the community using the free modding tools released by Future Studios and Epic Games.

Loot boxes were cheaper for players who wanted a chance at a random item worth next to nothing or very expensive on the BitCash market, practically gambling.

Vince wanted to expand gameplay for casual players of War Online, thinking about adding features he loved in video games he loved.

[The game revolves around combat. War Online could be more appealing to a mass audience if more lifestyle gameplay options were available. For example, you could already build bases as a home for your main character, but what if you could design a house in-game to hang around with friends.] Vince thought.

He started writing down some suggestions for the new War Online update. Vince discussed it with the Future Studios staff after writing the initial draft.

"Vince, these ideas are amazing, but War Online's player base mainly enjoys combat gameplay. I suggest creating a new game instead of diluting War Online." Kyle stated.

Kyle was the junior executive at Future Studios, supported by Tim Sweeney and the rest of the game dev staff.

"You make a good point, Kyle. I feel like Future Studios should also appeal to casual players, though.", Vince replied,

Wingin' Chicken was a casual game, but it was too simple and had limited potential.

"Do we have enough developers to support War Online's development and create a new game from scratch?" Vince asked.

"Future Studios can halve its manpower and be able to start creating a new game but finishing it would be a different story.", Kyle replied.

"What if we update our War Online toolset with more functions to collaborate with users with art design for our new game?". Vince asked.

"That would help our design team, but the technical team will require more people eventually.", Kyle replied.

"I understand. Your team can start working on the new project. I'll talk to Hudson about adding more developers soon.", Vince instructed.

[It looks like stagnation will never be a problem for my business. I'm already fulfilling one of the promises I made before reincarnating.] Vince thought.

EDITED