That's Why Youngsters Can't Cut It
"This is why you can't rely on the young ones. 'Aaaah... that was fun!' I stretched with a massive yawn and shut down Raider. My reflection naturally showed up on cam and got broadcast live. Part of me wanted to just end the stream right there... but since I'd jumped straight into Raider the moment I went live today, calling it quits now would be way too early."
Luckily, I wasn't totally out of prepared content. The anime-watching segment I'd been doing as Part 1 for the last three days was waiting eagerly for me. All I had to do was watch episodes 10, 11, and 12—the absolute highlight reels you could call the climax of any anime. A rhythm game disguised as a song stream could work too... but doing the same content for three days straight? Nah, that's pushing it. ...Alright. I'll ramble a bit, then slide into anime watching.
"Anyway, that's Raider wrapped up for now! Catch you again on official release!" With that, I fired up Notepad and started jotting down my schedule.
"So, now I gotta find games to play until Raider drops officially... Tomorrow's my regular off-day, and the day after, I'm planning to knock out weird food mukbang and a horror game if time allows?"
These people should just innocently enjoy it without adding weird crap. "Probably starting the day after next, I'll hunt for games I can casually play until Raider's official release? Plus, there's this one game I've been itching to revisit after a long time."
"I planned to, but this one just hit me outta nowhere. ...Wonder if it's still alive though? Lemme check real quick." I fired up the app player. The game I wanted to revisit was mobile, and the easiest way to play mobile on PC is an emulator, duh.
"Holy crap, it's still there. And downloadable too." I could feel my face lighting up big time. "Looks like they're still servicing it since I can download."
Seeing the app icon brought a rush of nostalgia. Memories from the past flashed through my head. Of course, viewers with no history with this game weren't thrilled.
"When'd this drop? Lemme check... Oh, 2015." I was surprisingly shocked. Way more recent than I thought—I figured it was ancient.
Viewers thought differently, though.
"This is why young folks can't cut it. Huh? Pull out anything a bit old and it's all 'Boomer game, why?'" I clicked my tongue lightly, and chat exploded.
...Half of it's a concept anyway, so chat didn't faze me at all. Decided to double down on the shameless boomer vibe.
"Anyway, Aria of Iron Chains is on the candidate list."
"Since I'm on a nostalgia trip, lemme dig up more school-day games." I started searching one by one.
"...All shut down."
All naturally dead, of course. Aria of Iron Chains surviving was the outlier.
Chat was going nuts, but it wasn't registering. ...Yeah. All games shut down eventually. Games running 10, 20 years are the rare ones. So maybe the answer is to play games that seem like they'll last that long? But Raider is the first game in forever that's really clicked. One I wanna stick with long-term. ...Not just 'cause it gave me that perfect gacha pull glory. ......But can Raider really survive 10, 20 years?
"———Reeeed alert!!!"
"Not the time for this!!!" I hurriedly reopened Raider. This was the critical moment. Whether Raider becomes a 10-20 year survivor or a flash-in-the-pan that fades into history—it's all deciding now! And paving the way for that 30-year legend wasn't just on the devs. Fans who love the game had a role too.
I scoured menus, notices, everywhere, and finally found it.
"Why the hell did they bury the survey so deep...!!"
Conviction? Some unspoken belief? Keep convictions in moderation or they lose meaning—this is overkill!
I blasted through the survey. Fast, but sincerely. Then came the classic "anything else to add?" box. Took a deep breath in and out.
"Everyone. I need your help."
Crazy? Nah, I had an enlightenment. I shook my head vigorously to deny it, then opened my mouth with a resolute expression.
"I've realized it. All games shut down someday. But there are exceptions. Long-runners surviving 10, 20, 30 years! And with this survey, Raider—which we helped—can join that elite rank!! 'Cause it's still pre-launch CBT! The one and only chance to listen to users and tweak that first impression on the world!!"
"No more side-stream chat! Time to talk history? We gotta brainstorm how to make Raider a 30-year game!" I wiped my Notepad clean. "Alright! Everyone spit out what makes a 30-year game essential! We'll combo 'em into the survey!"
Of course, no free labor. "Best ideas via donation get a chicken gift card! Get hyped and participate!"
# Dropped 20 chicken gift cards. Filtered the good stuff, condensed the rest. About 5,700 characters of pure heart. ...Hope this doesn't possess me into Raider or some trend like that.
"Screw it!!" Submitted it. Felt like a huge weight lifted—kinda weird vibe.
"...Alright. Time for Part 2?"
"What? Sit down! We're going to episode 12 today!"
The second I killed the stream, I flopped into bed. Way more wiped than usual.
"Uwaaaah! Lived hard today!" Got that perfect gacha medal for satisfaction, anime was fun too. Wonder when season 2 drops. Hope it's soon. Thought that and impulse-bought the full original manga. Worth it.
Grinning satisfied, I pulled up the perfect gacha glory pic on my phone again.
"Heehee. Ehehehe."
Laughter bubbled up naturally. No stream, no expression control—didn't hold back. This is legit legal drugs, right? Now I get the perfect gacha hype.
Set phone aside, stretched limbs out.
"Regular off-day tomorrow—gonna crash hard!"
And 30 minutes later.
"...But what do I do?"
First ever scheduled off-day. No clue.