13 A Single Word 1

The more Ci-ci spoke, the more the team began to see his vision. They had completely forgotten about the domineering and heartless Ci-ci they had seen just moments ago – all of their thoughts of him were replaced by his current amiable, light-hearted and friendly self. Ci-ci had a way of speaking that made people feel comfortable, but, at the same time, he knew when it was time to be a realist and give people a dose of harsh that they needed.

"The plan you all had for last quarter was good. In fact, it's a testament to our leader that it was so well planned out. The only issue was time, of course." Ci-ci praised Milana, not only because he was biased, but also because it was true.

The original plan called for cheap quality. This was the best way to step into a market you had little influence in. You had to provide a service that was close enough to the best, but also affordable to the extent that the few deficiencies that would without a doubt be there, could be ignored by consumers.

That, of course, was easier said than done. There was a reason why higher quality products often times were marked up in price – the effort, materials and planning necessary to reach that level all required money. But, this was where Ci-ci's praise for Milana truly came in.

VR, even on West Continent's relatively technologically advanced setting, was still very simple. The idea was trick the senses into believing you had stepped into a new world by replacing your sight and hearing to match a completely new world. VR in its infancy was even able to be replicated by use of your phone and some decently designed lenses.

In current society, VR had been trending toward taking up more than just two senses. The top of the line products allowed for feeling, with the addition of VR body suits, and even smell and taste with specially designed VR helmets.

The highest end VR products, however, were even further beyond this. They allowed for immersion in dream lands, thus doing away with the need for things like body suits and play-environments, which were essentially designated areas that allowed a play a full range of movement.

That said, such highest end VR equipment were still in beta testing and were only truly available as concept art. Knowing this, Milana had formed an action plan to target the current market and efficiency and cost-effectively, create VR for the five senses.

Milana understood that this couldn't be a product for the rich. When it came to gamers, especially when they had the money to spend, they were all about their specs. Things like how much RAM could they support, what their graphics cards allowed, how many frames per second could they sustain and at what resolution it could be sustained at – these were all things they often competed against each other about. Meaning, no matter how quality their cheap version was, it would never satisfy those fanatics. As such, their product would have to open up with the lower end market.

That said, MIlana also grasped how this wasn't just about making a cheaper product.

It was necessary to also take into account the usual barriers of entry the poorer population would have. For one play-environments. While a richer family may have large spaces allocated to enjoy VR gaming, a poorer family would definitely not have that kind of space. This meant that the equipment not only had to be cheap, it had to allow for a modified play-environment all while also making sure that the equipment itself didn't take up too much space.

Then, there was the barrier of maintenance. VR, even more so than other technology, and especially gaming technology, required much more hands-on maintenance. Whether that meant calibration with your play-environment, cleaning out the sensors, or just updating hardware and software in general could be a hassle.

From what Ci-ci could see, Milana had put in place realistic plans for dealing with all of these problems. They were clever, innovative, and Ci-ci was quite impressed. The only issue was that they hadn't had the time to follow through on much of it. But, now with Ci-ci here, not only would he make the time, he'd even improve on these already well-made designs – after all, Milana couldn't deviate too far from standard VR technology because she didn't have the leeway allowed for by an inventors' license. Ci-ci, however, could.

"First things first. I'm sure you guys have realized by now," Ci-ci continued, "But, the reason we have to start with VR hardware instead of software is because for us to move forward, we have to take advantage of my inventor's license. However, the problem is of course that those who have the choice, would likely not buy products attached to me name… Unless –"

"Unless they're poor enough to not care at all," Milana finished.

Ci-ci smiled. "Exactly. Once we've broken into the market and have established a baseline, it will be easier to move forward."

"But, if we're relying on something like that to sell products with your name attached to it, how then could we ever reach the newer heights you speak of?" Nicholas spoke out, still a bit angered by Ci-ci's previous words.

"Easy. Once we've established a baseline, we have a foundation to build upon. I can promise you that the worst things we'll have to deal with will involve the sabotage of other companies as opposed to public outrage.

Then, we do something no one has done before and plant a firm flag."

"Something no one has ever done before?" Everyone looked at Ci-ci questioningly.

Ci-ci grinned. "All we really want to do with this cheap product of ours is to earn a place at the Gaming Expo in a year."

Shock colored the faces of the Petrov Technologies employees. The Gaming Expo? This was nothing short of the grandest event in the gaming industry.

Impossible.