Matter of Time

They say the greatest commodity

in the universe is time.

Kind of surprising at first, right?

That it isn't... I don't know, money or land.

We've all got the time we're given, I suppose,

but I just lost 30 days.

The whole month of my life gone in the blink of an eye.

I'm honestly not sure

how it's gonna turn out just yet.

But I do know exactly how it began.

Christmas 1998.

Unreal Tournament!

No way!

Video game! Video game!

- I love you! - I love you, too.

Nintendo video games.

Definitely the hottest thing this Christmas.

I was eleven going on 12

when I knew I was meant to do this...

video games.

Not just play them, make them.

The moment I saw those pixels explode in a blaze of victory--

man, I was hooked.

I think you're hooked.

No.

I love video games so much.

I had to create a game of my own.

-A game engine is a software framework...

- Some kids play sports on Saturdays.

Me?

I taught myself the world's first commercially available

video game design software.

And by the summer of sixth grade...

I had already met my number one fan.

You made that?

Yep, sure did.

Mom, look.

Wow. That looks great.

You know what? I got an idea.

But it has to wait till tomorrow.

And it's a surprise.

Mom...

Go ahead.

No, sir.

This is where your game belongs.

Now, this is you today.

Page one.

- Charlie, your mom has about 30 more minutes,

-okay? -Okay.

Bree, your dad's almost done.

-Final page, that is when you get your first real game

on those shelves.

What are you reading?

Oh. Uh...

I'm reading a book about video game programming.

What book are you reading?

-And then all the pages in between...

That's how you get there.

Whoa. That's pretty cool.

Welcome to day one

of The Collective video diaries.

A little aftershock with the gun

-Yeah, yeah. I get that.

Having fun.

Thanks, Mom.

Okay, so watch out for those.

I win.

We're here for you, Charlie.

-Oh, wait. Right there.

Mom used to say

we were gonna change the world.

But life has a way of throwing curveballs.

The one constant about time...

- Double kill. - Shotgun.

It doesn't slow down.

So I grew up. We all did.

And we're still waiting on our big break.

Turns out creating a video game with your friends

isn't that simple or easy.

Whaddya think, Mary Jane?

I should still have time, right?

Hey, Gibbs.

Mornin'.

Hey, issue five come in yet?

-No, not yet. Maybe later today.

Look, will you come help me out in the warehouse for a second?

Warehouse?

-Yeah. It's a big building with aisles and boxes.

-Yeah. I know what a warehouse is, Gibbs.

-No, boxes. -Yep.

- Great. You can just set them down over there.

-I didn't know this place had a warehouse, Gibbs.

What is all this stuff?

- It's just my grandfather's old stuff.

Whew. I gotta get my table up for the Elven Tribe Gathering.

The next chapter of our campaign drops tomorrow:

The Black Tower of Shenthiel!

-Wow. Sounds amazing. -Yeah.

-Hey. I don't suppose you need an extra cleric.

-You're not ready. -Whoa, hold up. Hold up.

I am a cleric, okay?

I've been playing D&D since I was 10.

That's great.

So?

-Well, our room is about more than just a game.

-This is interesting. Hey, Gibbs, what is this?

That is an energy amplifier.

My grandfather was attempting

to harvest subatomic energy or something.

Okay. How about this one?

- That is a perpetual motion machine, I believe.

-Doesn't that kind of violate science or something?

I dunno.

Huh.

- Gibbs, what is this? - Don't touch it.

Whoa! What just happened?

I told you not to touch it!

Get out of there.

The metal on the inside causes time displacement.

-Time displacement? -Yeah, time displacement.

You're not ready for that either.

Just help me with the dragon.

Okay.

Oh, hold on. Just one sec.

I've got a text.

Oh. It's my boss, Barbara.

Yeah. I gotta go, man.

Off to another day to watch other people make video games

and not my own. Alright. Later, Gibbs.

Alright.

Well, you have fun with that.

- By day, I'm the world's fastest burger

delivering extraordinaire.

Uh, soy sauce?

I did ask the restaurant

three times for--

I'm perfecting the art of delivering happiness.

Please leave a review.

Review?

One greasy bag at a time.

It's all good?

By night I'm an aspiring game designer.

Cut!

Cut!

Cut! Cut! Cut!

Hey, Barbara.

You might lose some of the weight and size of the boss.

Plus, if you have them go that fast

players won't be able to react and well,

they'll think the game is unfair.

Shh.

Who's still aspiring.

And after all that I come home to my real job.

Dad...

Dad. Wake up.

Wakey-wakey. Dad.

-You forgot to take your medicine.

-Oh, I'm sorry. Must have slipped my mind.

-It's okay. -Charlie...

if it weren't for you...

when I leave the house

I'd probably forget to put my head on.

-I really need you to remember this, okay?

Day and night you gotta take your medicine.

-Yeah, yeah. I was just too focused on the novel.

-Right. Also Maria is coming by in the morning.

Okay. Sounds good.

Who's Maria?

-Assisted care. She gets the groceries for us.

I'll introduce you to her.

- Oh, okay. - Again.

Hi, there. Here is your Timely Eats order.

Please leave a review.

Or not.

- So you told me you never thought about it?

-No, we've been friends since we were 12, okay?

-Ah. So, I can ask her out then? -No, no. Don't.

That would make it weird.

Meet Lucas.

My best friend and a self-pronounced theatre geek,

who's also one of the best level designers I know.

We've been pals since we were 12.

Oh, and this is Brian.

Think Silent Bob but with coding skills.

He's got a lot to say but doesn't say a lot.

Close friend and the quiet genius of our trio.

-Someone's gonna ask her out eventually.

- Hey, guys. Room for one more?

- Ah! - Bree, hey.

Hallo, Lady Bree.

- Hello. - Striking pant suit.

How's the Qube?

Is that Australian, Lucas?

And here's Bree.

Part of our crew but never quite one of the guys.

She was always there for me though,

even in the tough times.

Now she's all grown up and stuck at Sugar Qube,

a kind of corporate sellout mobile game studio.

She works for Miles as an assistant.