Bullies mocked me for joining their game club. They didn’t know my dad designed it.
The Gatekeeper of Eternal Kingdoms
The video game club president tore up my strategy notebook and called me a faker who’d never understand their favorite game. They had no idea my dad was the lead designer.
The video game club president tore up my strategy notebook and called me a faker who’d never understand their favorite game. They had no idea my dad was the lead designer.
School bullies made fun of me when I wanted to join their video game club. They didn’t know my dad designed the game.
I stood outside the computer lab clutching my worn notebook full of fan theories and character builds for this game. Let’s call it Eternal Kingdoms, that I’ve been playing since I was 8.
The video game club was meeting after school and I’d finally worked up the courage to join. I just wanted to talk to other people who loved the game as much as I did.
My dad always encouraged me to make friends who shared my interests. But I never mentioned that he was the lead designer because that felt like cheating somehow.
The club president, a kid named Grayson with an Eternal Kingdoms hoodie with one of my dad’s drawings on it, looked up when I walked in and said. “This is a closed club meeting.” Even though the poster said new members were welcome.
When I explained I wanted to join because I loved Eternal Kingdoms, he laughed and turned to the others. “Right, another faker who thinks pretending to like our game will make him cool.” “You probably just watched some YouTube videos and think you know everything.”
My face burned, but I opened my notebook to show them my character builds. It contained hundreds of pages of strategies I’d developed over the years.
Grayson grabbed it from my hands and started reading my notes in a mocking voice to the whole club. “Listen to this, he thinks the Shadow Knight can be optimized with intelligent stats.” “That’s literally the stupidest build I’ve ever heard.”
The other kids laughed even though I discovered that build myself and it actually worked perfectly. When I tried to explain the strategy, a kid named Greg cut me off.
“Dude, you’re trying way too hard.” “We get it, you have no friends and you’re desperate to fit in somewhere, but lying about understanding advanced mechanics is just sad.”
“He probably plays on easy mode and thinks he’s good.” Another kid, Adam, added. “My little sister could beat him.”
Cruelty in the Computer Lab
Grayson decided to test my knowledge with rapidfire questions about obscure lore. But when I answered them all correctly, he got angrier instead of impressed.
“You just memorize the wiki; anyone can do that.” He said. “Real players actually understand the game, not just regurgitate facts like some kind of autistic robot.”
Greg laughed and added. “Look at how he won’t make eye contact.”
The personal attacks escalated when Adam pointed at my stomach. “No wonder you play video games all day; you’re too fat to do anything else.” “When’s the last time you went outside?”
Grayson joined in. “He probably sits in his mom’s basement eating chips and pretending he has friends online.”
I quietly said. “I just wanted to talk about the game with other fans.”
Grayson mimicked me in a high-pitched voice. “I just want friends; please like me.”
He turned to the others and said. “This is what happens when socially rehearded kids think they can hang with normal people.”
Greg pretended to be me trying to talk to a girl, acting out an exaggerated awkward conversation. “Want to see my Eternal Kingdoms collection?” It ended with.
Grayson grabbed my backpack and dumped it out. My inhaler clattered across the floor.
“Of course he has an inhaler; can’t even breathe properly.” He kicked it across the room while I tried to retrieve it, making me crawl after it while they laughed.
Adam found my lunch money and pocketed it. “This is a membership fee for wasting our time, fatty.” He said.
When I finally grabbed my inhaler and stood to leave, Greg blocked the door. Grayson grabbed my notebook with all my game notes and started ripping pages out one by one.
“Each page is worth a dollar.” He said. “How much you got?”
When I tried to save my notebook, Adam pushed me hard into a desk. My ribs hit the corner painfully.
“Stay down reddard; no one wants you here.” He said.
Grayson pulled up the club’s group chat on the projector and started typing a message about me. “Warning: weird fat kid trying to infiltrate our club.” “Probably a pedo or something; do not interact.”
He took a photo of me on the ground and added it to the message. “There, now everyone knows to avoid you.” “You’re banned from anything related to Eternal Kingdoms at this school.”
“My brother works at the game company; I could get you IP banned from the game entirely.” He added.
The Lead Designer Arrives
At night, I told my dad everything, showing him my torn notebook and the bruise on my ribs. His face went dark in a way I’d never seen before.
“We’re going to take care of this.” He said quietly.
The next day, I watched from the hallway as my dad walked into the computer lab carrying a metal briefcase. Grayson’s eyes went wide when he recognized him from gaming conventions.
“Holy shit, that’s David Vulner, the lead designer of Eternal Kingdoms.” He said.
My dad smiled and opened the briefcase, revealing the only physical copy of Eternal Kingdoms 2 in existence. “I heard you guys have the best EK club in the state.” “Thought your club might want to be the first to play this.”
The room exploded. Grayson was practically crying, begging my dad to sign his hoodie.
Greg was taking selfies. Adam kept saying this was the best day of his life.
“Before we start,” My dad said. “You guys know my son, right? He should be here for this.”
He turned to the door where I was standing. “Come on in, buddy.”
Grayson’s hand froze mid-signature as I walked in. Greg’s phone clattered to the floor.
Adam’s mouth hung open as my dad put his arm around my shoulders. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t permanently ban all of you from the game.” He said.
