5...
My index finger twitches over the left mouse button. On the screen, my character responds, beating the air with a blocky fist.
4...
My stomach's twisted into a tight knot. It always gets like this before big games, and this is the biggest game of my life. I'm pretty sure I'll be shitting diamonds afterwards, judging by the pressure I'm feeling in my gut.
3...
Yellow low-res letters flash across the chat box in the bottom left of the screen, displaying messages from my fellow players to one another. I ignore the taunting intended to infuriate the recipient; only an amateur would be thrown off their game by the juvenile insults and most of the players here are trolling out of habit. Instead, I focus on the countdown.
2...
I breathe in deeply before exhaling. The tension flows out of my body, leaving only calm resolve. I've done this over a thousand times. Who I'm playing against, the stakes of this match, they don't matter. Right now, I'm ready to play the game.
1...
START
The glass blocks around my avatar fall away as a piston pushes me upward. On either side of me, I can see my fellow players emerging from their holding cells as well. There are twenty four of us arranged in a large circle around a collection of chests holding weapons and food. I catch a quick glimpse of several players exchanging glances with one another; clearly they've made alliances before the game even began.
In one smooth motion, I stab the S key with my left middle finger while sweeping the mouse to the side with my right hand. Onscreen, my character turns one-hundred eighty degrees. A double tap of the W key and I'm off, sprinting away from the circle. I quickly cycle through from first person to second, then third person point of view, making sure that I'm not being followed. I didn't have to be worried though; most of my competitors ran into the circle for the loot.
I make a beeline for the forest surrounding the circle, weaving through the trees with practiced ease. Hopefully I can get away before-
Aquaboymech was slain by Quakespeare
Damn, someone's been killed already? These guys are good. A brief thrill of fear flashes through me, threatening to overtake me, but I quash it ruthlessly. I need to stay calm. Aquaboymech isn't a name I recognize, so he's probably not one of the pros. More likely than not he's one of the four amateur rookies who were invited to compete in this after winning the preliminary tournaments.
MoneyHaxKid was slain by Flintstoner
CaffeineJunkie93 was slain by Starstorm
The next two death messages follow one after another. As I suspected, it seems that the more experienced pro gamers are going after the rookies. I have to roll my eyes at the name "CaffeineJunkie93". Gamertags with numbers in them are almost always the sign of a n00b.
Galactica was slain by Quakespeare
Well, that's the first pro to be killed. Right at the two minute mark, too. What a shame, I used to be a fan of Galactica back in the day, but she's clearly past her prime if she's been offed by a minor FPS twitcher like Quakespeare. Then again, maybe Quakespeare managed to get ahold of a bow and arrows. It's unlikely to happen this early in the game, but it's possible the chests in the center had them.
I notice that my hunger meter is only half full now, so I slow down to a walk. I should be far away enough from the spawn that I'll be safe for a few minutes. I select a small tree and begin pounding on the trunk with my bare fist. In real life this would probably result in bruised and bloody knuckles, but within a few seconds a section of the tree disappears, spawning a small log of wood that is quickly sucked into my inventory, appearing in one of the nine slots in my hotbar.
Flintstoner was slain by ShatterPoindexter
Punkinhead was slain by Pwnstar
DrZeus was slain by Quakespeare
The tree only yields two more blocks of wood before only leaves are left. I let the leaves decay on their own, there's more of a chance that fruit will drop that way. I tap the I key, opening up my inventory. There's a two by two crafting grid next to a image of my character, and I drop the three blocks of wood into it, which gives me twelve wooden planks. Four wooden planks filling up the two by two grid provides me with a crafting bench, which will be the most useful item for the time being.
A few quick movements of my mouse later, and I've got a wooden pickaxe and a bunch of sticks. I scan the area around me, and sure enough, there's a small cave opening. I hurry over and mine out three blocks of stone to make a stone pickaxe. Sadly, there's no iron, tin, or copper in the cave, but I mine out enough stone to make a stone axe and a furnace, as well as several lumps of coal.
ShatterPoindexter was slain by Starstorm
The deaths are coming in too infrequently for my comfort. Normally the bloodbath at spawn results in about half of the players dead, but these guys are pros after all. They've probably begun moving out from the circle now, which means I've got to get moving. The leaves from the tree I cut down earlier have all decayed, leaving behind two apples on the ground. I've stayed in one place for too long. It takes only a few seconds to collect my crafting bench and the fruit, and I'm off again.
A few minutes of walking soon brings me to the edge of a small lake, more of a pond really. In the center is a tiny island with a chest. It takes me less than a minute to craft a wooden boat, thanks to my stone axe, and I make my way to the island. Granted, I could have swam, but that would have taken longer, and the boat will come in handy if I have to cross water again.
To my delight, the chest contains a steel sword and chain-mail armor. Those'll come in handy. I indulge in a quick moment to organize my inventory. Some might consider it to be a waste of valuable time, but keeping my tools in specific slots can be the difference between losing or winning the game in my experience.
Pwnstar was slain by KiSwan
That's the ninth death so far. I look up at the darkening sky. It'll be nightfall soon, and then the hostile mobs will begin spawning. I'll need to get out of the woods and to open ground.
