Kid really needs to learn to watch where he's going [Open like an open thing]

[hack-rat.livejournal.com]

 "You've gotta be kiddin me!" Alex shouted, shaking this video screen he was holding. "My own AI! Stop that!"

Apparently he was having trouble getting through one of the levels of his own game. 

Sure it was using basic text for it's graphics, but he was a programmer, not a graphic's artist. Besides, since he just had different symbols for different units and different colours for different armies and some symbols set aside for use with terrain, there was no need for fancy graphics.

So distracted by his strategy game he nearly walked into one of Stacy's fleshy walls as he wandered down the hallway, stretching his legs. He had spent his time from when he got on the ship until now programming this thing and convincing people from the engineering department to made the equipment he needed. He was damn well going to enjoy this game, even if strategy wasn't his thing. In fact, the only reason why he had made a strategy game at all was because he had an idea earlier for a new algorithm that would more efficiently analyse enemy movements and know how to react better. This was of course, best suited for a.)a fighting game- which would require a graphics artist for it to be really playable- or b.) a strategy game.

So here he was, forty battles in, fighting an AI who seemed to know what moves he would make before he did.

"Come on! Get out of my friggin head you pile of bytes!"

Yup, he was far too into this game to notice much of anything around him. Even the walls sometimes got in his way. He didn't much care- usually you were left alone if you appeared very busy, and this game was getting to be such a pain now, he had to focus on it. For all he knew, he was about to walk straight into someone. Given the sheer number of people on the ship, this was bound to happen.

Comments

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

If Jamie had been a lesser person, or just a more manipulative one, he might've tried to use the boy's submissive nature and obvious dismay to his own advantage - it would be awfully nice to see what it felt like to be the one throwing his weight around and lording it over someone else for once. As it was, however, he was somewhat appalled with himself at the appeal the idea had, however slight.

"...I'm sure. Just - be a little more careful. 's probably people around here that'd be a lot nastier if you ran into 'em like that." His tone and expression weren't precisely comforting, but they were far from threatening - even a little uneasy.

(That first thread with Mao happens last, chronologically)

[hack-rat.livejournal.com]

Alex had always been weak to manipulative people, but fortunately he had not met a many who would do such things to him yet.

Laughing nervously, Alex said, "Ah, y-yeah, I w-was just th-thinkin' 'bout goin' t-ta the obs d-deck an' sitting or s-something. I g-guess I'm lucky, h-havn't met a-any n-nasty ch-characters y-yet."

Gotcha

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Jamie nodded, still marveling somewhat at the other boy's supreme nervousness. "Most of the nasty ones seem to keep themselves in check pretty well. Either that or Stacy does it for 'em," he conceded - albeit somewhat cautiously, as though he was afraid of jinxing himself and inadvertently summoning someone who wasn't afraid of doing unpleasant things to people for the hell of it.

"Obs deck is probably a better place for that kinda thing than wandering around the hallways, anyway." He paused, then added, the slightest hint of curiosity coloring his tone, "What is it you're working on?"

[hack-rat.livejournal.com]

Alex held out the system for the kid to see, "I-it's jus' a s-strategy AI, l-learns y-your methods a-an' tactics an' c-counters it as effectively a-as possible. T-training it, s-so that i-it's a ch-challenge f-for a-anyone e-else's p-play-through."