Cuffing and Turkey Stuffing

A note on Esports and professional gaming: It is a job like any other, where most of the prize money comes from big tournaments, where prizes can be up to a million dollars (depending on a bunch of other factors). There are also leagues which gamers can be a part of and get a minimum yearly salary of $50,000 USD and can supplement their income with sponsorship opportunities. Other ways to make income are through livestreaming while playing on different platforms as well. I’ve always been interested in this topic, so I decided to make a character who decided that playing video games could be her full-time job, especially with how good she is at it. In this fictional world, there are quarterly tournaments (depending on the sponsor/host) where gamers log in and the tournament is televised/available for streaming-on-demand (as opposed to gamers travelling and competing in-person, depending on the tournament). Being a professional requires a 60-plus hour work week to stay competitive with other players and other teams. There’s strategy to learn (depending on the game you’re playing), and different players at challenger levels to scrimmage against and hone your skills and maintain the sharpness of your reflexes. It’s training like any other, but you end up staring at a computer screen for long periods of the day instead of, say, practicing a particular swimmer’s stroke. Not many players can maintain this professional training regimen for very long periods of time, and it takes its toll—as any sport training regimen that is taken to the extreme. This is the point where Vick is at, so her gaming itself will not be the focus of this book, but rather, how Vick copes with the aftermath of the health issues that have occurred due to her lifestyle, and the burnout that ensues. Vick is extremely good at the multiplayer game (Raid on Sky Castle), where the objective is to beat demons and supernatural baddies on different planes (like something out of the Norse nine realms), and ascend to the Sky Castle, where the final treasure is to be had. Players have to compete against one another to get to the Sky Castle and retrieve the treasure, thus winning the game. I don’t go too much into the detail of professional esports, or the way the tournaments work, or anything like that. This is really a snapshot into Vick’s life (taking a break from her job) from October to January. I hope you enjoy reading it either way. Thank you, and happy reading! Sincerely, C.M. Kars