Chapter 98 – The Game and the Show

Some time had passed since the incident with Allatou, and for Daimon, that meant returning to Missouri and resuming his ordinary life, or, at least, what passed for an ordinary life for Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan.

During the day, he was once again Professor Hellstrom at St. Louis College, teaching parapsychology and occult studies to students who had absolutely no idea that their professor had spent the previous weeks fighting a demon alongside a vampire private investigator, the legendary Daywalker, and a teenage game designer.

He still kept in contact with Alexander, Blade, and Hannibal, however, and every now and then, Hannibal would call him about a particularly troublesome case. Daimon would complain, then he would inevitably help, and Blade and Hannibal did the same for him.

For Alexander, meanwhile, life had largely returned to normal.

Most mornings began with him picking Ginny up from her house before heading to school. Lunch was usually spent with Ginny and Chuck, accompanied by the usual banter. After school, Alexander had begun spending more time participating in the budding Duel Monsters Club but refraining from helping too much, as it would be unfair to the other clubs preparing for the Inter-School Championship.

It was still a small club, but that was changing, and with it the others' view of the game itself was changing, and so was the amount of time Alexander had to spend managing it.

After school, he would usually leave the campus with Ginny and Chuck. Chuck would eventually separate from them to pick up Julia and spend the afternoon with his girlfriend, leaving Alexander to drive Ginny home, enjoying the quiet time he spent with her discussing just about anything.

From there, Alexander usually headed toward Industrial Illusions. Roland would bring him up to date on the company's day-to-day operations, discuss whatever decisions required Alexander's attention, and then send him on his way.

Alexander would then continue his usual undercover farming sessions, visiting hobby stores, parks and other locations where he could safely accumulate Duel Energy without attracting unnecessary attention.

By the time he returned to the Jones Mansion, the evening was usually well underway. An hour or so of training. A shower. Dinner, sometimes accompanied by his father on one of the rare occasions he returned early, then several more hours in his study.

Sometimes he worked on business documents. Sometimes he quickly worked on his homework before actually studying subjects outside the school curriculum but that are crucial for the future of his company. And sometimes he simply sat at his desk surrounded by raw material and tools, working on the next prototype card before engaging in another round of negotiations with the Duel Spirit connected to it.

His weekends were considerably more enjoyable as Ginny, Chuck, and Julia usually made sure of that, and for the most part, Alexander's life had settled into a comfortable routine.

There was, however, one increasingly important exception. The second Duel Monsters Grand Prix was approaching, and unlike the first one, this wasn't going to be a small tournament, but was going to be enormous, the likes this world has never seen until now, at least regarding a card game.

~~~▽~~~

Alexander sat at the head of the conference table inside Industrial Illusions' offices.

Roland was seated beside him, and around the table were several of the company's department heads.

Thomas Merriweather, Head of Manufacturing. Phineas Mason, Head of R&D. Elizabeth Cooper, Roland's niece and the person responsible for handling Industrial Illusions' legal affairs. And lastly, the Heads from Finance, Marketing, Public Relations, and Tournament Operations departments completed the group.

Alexander looked around the room before he said, "All right. Let's start with the numbers."

The Head of Tournament Operations Department, Naomi Park, opened her folder and said, "We're expecting exactly 400 qualified competitors."

Alexander nodded and observed, "The Top 8 from every state Duel Monsters Cup."

"Correct."

"Which gives us 400."

"Correct."

At this point, the Head of the Marketing Department, Damon Whitaker, asked, "And the previous Grand Prix semi-finalists?"

Alexander leaned back and replied, "They're automatically qualified for the event and will receive a bye to the appropriate later stage."

"All four of them?"

Roland nodded and replied, "All four."

Alexander chuckled and added, "Except the winner of the previous Grand Prix, Victor von Doom."

The room became slightly quieter as Roland glanced at Alexander and added, "Victor von Doom has informed us that he won't be participating."

Alexander wasn't particularly surprised when Victor informed him that he won't take part, as he had already somewhat expected something like that to happen.

A faint smile formed on Alexander's face as he thought, 'Of course Victor isn't participating. Victor had graduated from State University after spending only one year there. A rather absurd achievement by itself, but one expected from Doom. Then he returned to Latveria shortly after to take care of what he had described as "personal business."'

Alexander couldn't help his smile from turning into a wry one as he thought, 'Personal business... Sure. Knowing Victor, there is a very good chance that the next news we hear from Latveria will involve a revolution, a coup, or Victor somehow declaring himself ruler as people cheer his name.'

While Alexander thought that, Naomi Park concluded, "That leaves us with 403 competitors in total."

Alexander nodded and said, "Still not bad."

Not bad was something of an understatement, as Duel Monsters had barely existed for a year and they were preparing to host a tournament with more than four hundred competitors. That alone was enough to demonstrate how quickly the game was growing.

At this point, Roland leaned forward and said, "Which brings us to the venue."

A folder was pushed toward Alexander as he continued, "We've narrowed it down to three possible candidates within the parameters you gave us."

Alexander opened it and read the first name, "The Los Angeles Convention Center. The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. And the Great Western Forum..."

Roland nodded and said, "Indeed. Those are the three best options."

Alexander looked through the information, and the Convention Center immediately stood out among them, to the point that he instantly declared, "It should be the Convention Center."

Head of Public Relations, Tessa Ramirez, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Even though the expansion isn't finished?"

"Precisely because it isn't finished." Alexander looked around the table and explained, "Los Angeles is expanding it because the city has been losing major conventions to other cities. They want more convention space."

He tapped the document and added, "And we're offering them one of the largest events they've ever had in years."

Roland immediately understood Alexander's aim, so he smiled and commented, "You want to use that as leverage."

"Exactly." Alexander leaned back again and said, "We're not just looking for a building. We're looking for a partner."

The city wanted major conventions, and Industrial Illusions wanted a venue to hold one. That gave them negotiating power.

"If we position the Grand Prix as exactly the sort of event they're trying to attract, we should be able to negotiate better rates."

Julian Mercer, Head of the Finance Department, nodded slowly and said as he realised, "And potentially better treatment from the city. Permits, transportation, security coordination... Whatever we can get."

Alexander smiled as they understood his tactic, while Thomas nodded approvingly and commented, "That makes sense. But we also shouldn't push them too much. We want them happy to help us, not making them feel like we're exploiting their moment of weakness."

Hearing that, several department heads nodded in agreement, and even Alexander and Roland smiled in approval.

Then Alexander closed the folder and declared, "Okay, Convention Center it is."

In response to that, Naomi Park quickly made a note.

After that, Alexander's attention immediately sharpened as he said, "Now, let's talk about broadcasting."

He turned his head toward Phineas Mason and asked, "How's the R&D project coming along?"

Phineas smiled and said, "Better than expected."

He opened another folder and reported, "We've made considerable progress with optical recognition."

Alexander leaned forward and said, "Show me."

Phineas pulled out several documents as he explained, "Our cameras can now identify the cards being played and transmit that information to the tournament computer."

Alexander smiled, already having a clear idea of what that meant, but still asked to allow the other to listen, "Which means?"

"We can display the information digitally." He pointed toward one of the diagrams and added, "Something like this."

The document showed a simulated match.

PLAYER A - 4000 LP

DARK MAGICIAN - ATK 2500 / DEF 2000

VS.

PLAYER B - 3200 LP

SUMMONED SKULL - ATK 2500 / DEF 1200

Alexander nodded, "Exactly."

Phineas then continued, "And we can integrate that information into the broadcast."

Alexander took a sip from a nearby bottle of water while thinking, 'That is the important part. A normal card game has an enormous problem when it comes to television and broadcast. The viewer simply can't necessarily see what is happening; even if the camera shows the table clearly, the cards are still just cards. A professional player or a fan might immediately understand the significance of a particular play, but the average viewer won't.'

Alexander had understood that from the beginning.

Duel Monsters couldn't simply be a good game; it had to be watchable.

"Give them the information," Alexander said.

Phineas nodded and started to explain as he turned to another diagram, "That's what we're doing. We can create a broadcast overlay."

Alexander looked at it.

At the top was:

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND - TABLE 1

Below it were the players, Life Points, monsters, and their statistics.

Additional information could appear underneath.

DECK TYPE

CARDS REMAINING

MATCH SCORE

ROUND

Alexander smiled and commented, "Now we're talking."

Roland looked impressed as he asked, "You really think people will watch this, Master Alexander?"

"Absolutely." Alexander looked around the table before he continued, "Think about what happens when you watch football."

Nobody interrupted his explanation but listened with full attention.

"You don't need to personally understand every formation or strategy. The broadcast tells you who's winning, who has possession, how much time is left, and what's happening."

He pointed toward the projected display, "We do the same thing here."

Phineas nodded and guessed, "And likely also add commentators."

"Definitely." Alexander leaned back on his chair and said, "The commentators explain the plays."

He looked toward Damon Whitaker, the Head of the Marketing Department, as he continued, "This way even someone watching for the first time should be able to understand why a move matters."

Damon then made a note, "That means we need commentators who actually understand the game very well."

"Yes." Alexander smiled, "And preferably people who can explain it without sounding like they're reading the rulebook."

A few people around the table chuckled.

Phineas continued listing the other developments his department had been working on.

The optical card recognition was only one part of it.

High-resolution projection systems. Compact digital video equipment. Computer networking. Computerised tournament pairings. Digital scoreboards. Improved telecommunications. Portable computers. Electronic scoring systems. Experimental flat-panel displays, although those remained limited. Advanced video switching. Automated statistics generation.

Alexander listened carefully.

Some of these technologies had been developed specifically for Duel Monsters, more specifically for the development of the Battle Box; others were useful because of the infrastructure surrounding it, but all of them had something in common.

They made the event easier to operate and easier to watch.

Alexander folded his hands and said, "This is where I think we need to change the way we think about the Grand Prix."

Roland looked toward him and asked, "How?"

"We shouldn't think of it as one event." Alexander paused for a moment to let that sink in before he added, "We should think of it as two."

The room became quiet as he raised one finger, "The tournament..."

Then he raised a second and continued, "...And the show."

Alexander looked toward Naomi Park, Head of Tournament Organisation, and explained, "The tournament is four hundred players competing simultaneously, but we can't expect a spectator to watch four hundred matches."

She nodded as he continued, "Most of those matches will simply be part of the tournament."

He tapped the table, "But some matches will naturally be more interesting than others."

Damon Whitaker seemed to understand where he was going, "The feature matches you proposed before..."

"Exactly." Alexander stood and walked toward the display as he explained, "We monitor the tournament."

Then he began listing possibilities, "Undefeated players. Famous players. Dramatic rivalries. Unusual decks. High-level strategic play. Local favorites. Previous finalists."

Alexander smiled and concluded, "And particularly young players."

Tessa Ramirez nodded as she understood, "Storylines."

"Exactly." Alexander pointed toward the display and added, "Those matches get moved to the Feature Table."

He paused for a moment before he actually explained what the Feature Table is, "Which is a raised platform placed in the most visible location. One or two specially selected tables. With camera setups and everything else needed."

The audience wouldn't need to search through hundreds of games. The organisers would bring the interesting ones to them.

"We also put the big screens around it to allow the spectators to see it too."

Phineas nodded, "And those will make use of our inventions to project the cards and game state."

"Exactly."

Alexander looked around the room as he declared, "We have to make the Duelists the stars."

He could already imagine it.

Hundreds of people competing throughout the convention centre. Rows and rows of tables. And somewhere in the middle, surrounded by cameras and screens, one match receiving everyone's attention.

The Feature Table. A stage, not merely for the duelists but for the game itself.

"The important thing," Alexander continued, "Is that we're not pretending every match is equally entertaining to watch."

He smiled, "We're selecting the matches that tell the best story."

Roland nodded and muttered, "I see."

"That's the advantage we have." Alexander looked toward the prototype broadcast overlay and said, "We're not trying to make people watch a card game. We're trying to make them watch an engaging competition."

Nobody spoke for a moment, then Thomas smiled as he commented, "That's quite a difference."

Alexander nodded, "And that's what television understands."

He looked around the room and explained, "If we do this properly, someone who has never played Duel Monsters should be able to turn on the television, look at the screen, and immediately understand who's winning."

He pointed toward the simulated display, "Life Points."

Then the monsters, "The cards on the field."

Then the statistics, "The match score."

Finally, the commentators, "And someone explaining why the player just made the move they did."

Alexander smiled and declared, "That's how we turn 400 people playing cards into something thousands, or potentially millions, of people can watch and enjoy."

For several seconds, the room remained silent.

Then Roland leaned back in his chair and observed, "I think we may have just found our broadcast strategy."

Alexander smiled and said, "No."

He glanced toward the screens and corrected him, "We found our sports strategy."

And for Alexander, that distinction was everything, as that was the next step to make Duel Monsters matter more than a mere card game.