Versatile Superstar: Rise In Hollywood

'What do I want to do?'

That was the question in Aiden's mind when he had first started discussing a game with Cory. Being a very experienced game creator, Cory had a lot of ideas that he had shared with Aiden. 

After all, in this age, games were extremely flexible and anything was possible. Cory could go for an open world action game in a fantasy setting or a fps in a futuristic world. Even something like space exploration or survival. 

But he wanted it to be unique. 

Talking to Aiden, he had realised that he was a very creative person who had different ideas for different things. He was someone who understood stories well and had a different way to look at them. 

That's why he had asked Aiden one day. 

'What type of game do you want to do?'

Aiden had taken his time with this question and in the end, he had come up with the idea of an unique game with different mythologies. 

It was an interesting story on how he had gotten an idea to do something like this. It was just because he had seen a movie in which humans would be chosen as avatars of gods and it felt interesting to think about how two gods from different mythologies would talk to each other. 

Though, it felt too big. 

That's why, he had toned it down into a personal story of a journey amidst such a world with gods bringing the end of human dominance.

When he had told his ideas to Cory, he was very impressed and after a few more discussions, he had asked Aiden to collaborate as a writer. Aiden was interested but as he felt like he should ask for more to have a better control, he had decided to invest in Cory's new indie studio. 

He had enough money from his endorsements and movie deals, especially because he had never used a lot of money in maintaining a lifestyle unlike other celebrities. 

So, he invested 3 million dollars in Cory's studio which was named 'Silver games'. 

At the same time, he also came on board to write up the story for the first game of the indie studio. 

"So, the basic story. It mainly focuses on just one main character and is a more linear style experience."

A woman raised her hand and asked. Aiden looked at her and smiled. Currently, he was in a conference room in a place that they had rented for Silver games office. 

It had already been a week since the shooting for [Agnas] had ended and Aiden had moved on to having long discussions on the game. It felt like a natural shift for him as he was very passionate about this, maybe more than even making a movie. 

"Yeah, some parts of the game would be free to explore. Especially the parts where one could encounter gods and take part in side quests to fulfil prophecies. The linear focus is more because it would be less time consuming and would make for a stronger narrative."

Cory replied, looking at the woman. She was someone who he had worked with in past games. Someone from his old team. 

When he was starting his own studio, a lot of his team members came on board. The small group of people gathered inside the conference room have all worked with him in the past. 

"You said the story is more of a coming of age title, right? And the main character is a human? How is he going to fight with gods?"

A man asked. He was a lead developer of combat mechanics. Cory didn't answer and just looked at Aiden who stood up. 

"The story is more or less a journey of self discovery." Aiden said and all the eyes gathered on him. "The main character will go on an adventure and in the first 30 minutes of the game, he would run into a fallen god who would bestow his powers to him, thus giving him the strength to fight other gods. At the same time, it would be a tale of how he handles this power and interacts with the world that has gone through a drastic change."

Aiden explained and from time to time, a question would come up. He answered them all with patience. As the one developing the game's story, Aiden had a lot of ideas that they could incorporate into the game. Though, not every idea fits into the world. 

"We are going to finish the discussions in a few days and start making character sketches and demos. At the same time, the script written by Aiden would be sent to everyone."

Cory said and ended the meeting there. 

Everyone dispersed leaving Aiden and Cory alone in the room. He let out a deep sigh before looking at Aiden. 

"I have not been the director for a project like this in very long. So, I feel a bit pressured handling the team but I can't say I don't enjoy it."

"The team will increase in the future, so you need to get used to it. You have done it before."

"Yeah but a few months would go just like that. We will make a few demos and stuff. We need to get more investors too. The budget isn't going to be low if we want to really execute this type of game."

Both of them have talked about this before too but a good action adventure game needed a huge budget to properly execute the vision. 

They would need at least 20 million dollars of investment from here and there to properly do the same. Even then, there's no saying if it won't take more. 

Thankfully, Cory had a reputation in the industry and knew a lot of people. 

"I'm going to hold a meeting with some investors in a week. A few console owners are already interested but I don't know how it would go with them. Most of them would want exclusivity and even then, they want a lot of control."

Cory expressed his views and Aiden pondered on it before patting his shoulder. 

"I will leave it to you. You know the industry better than anyone else. Anyway, I have an appointment today. Need to leave."

As Aiden said that, Cory looked at him with a weird expression. It was a familiar expression to Aiden as he would see Tom and Wade having it often. 

"An appointment? Haven't you just finished shooting a week ago? I was already worried I'm overworking you."

"Well, it's a script narration. I already said yes to this movie at the start of the year. Moreover, it's a very special movie."

Aiden smiled and Cory couldn't help but tilt his head. 

"A special movie?"

"Yeah, a very special one. That's why I'm excited."

***

"It's been a long time. You have been looking a bit weak. Did you lose weight?"

"A bit. [Agnas] had scenes that made him look very weak. We shot all those at the end, so I was on a diet. I will look better in a week or so." Aiden said. "What about you? How have you been?"

Aiden looked at Zavier in front of him. His look was clearly changed from the last time he had seen him. He looked a bit more rugged and had longer, messy hair. 

The dark circles under his eyes were particularly noticeable. They were currently meeting in his home. 

Wade wasn't available as he wasn't required in the script narration. 

"Ah, I have been good. It's a bit lonely here but I realised one thing while being alone."

"What is that?" 

"When you are alone, you don't have anyone else to talk to, so you think about yourself. A lot. Mistakes you made, your actions, their consequences — It helps in the end."

Aiden nodded, knowing how much Zavier had gone through in the last few months. His perspective on life had surely changed. 

"What were you even doing being alone? Even the last time I called you, you were doing something."

"I was writing the script for [Black Saints 2]. All alone but with focus." Zavier said, then picked up a script and passed it to Aiden. "Check it for yourself."

There was a certain gleam in Zavier's eyes that told Aiden that the script was something he was very confident in. He opened up the first page and noticed a title. 

"[The Black Saint]."

"Yeah, [Black Saints] wasn't suited as the theme of the movie was several gang leaders posing as a saint to the city. This would only follow Kai. Thus, the title. Though, I wanted to name it [The Prince of Darkness] almost but that felt too long and medieval."

Zavier explained and Aiden nodded. He felt like the name was good enough as it gave a nod to the first movie while maintaining an identity of his own. 

"Anyway, read it. It won't be as effective if I narrate you the story. So read."

Zavier gestured to Aiden and he started reading with an excited heart. 

Each page he turned, his eyes would widen or have various emotions ranging from confusion to shock. In the end, when he completed it, he only had one thought in his mind. 

'This is too dark for me…'