Chapter 12.
"Laaaaaaaadies and gentlemen, the time is nigh! Please put your hands together for everyone's favourite Dynamic Duo, the Gurus of the Games – Malmedy and Primo!"
The odd couple strolled out on stage to a dazzling display of lights before a rapt audience's applause, Malmedy looking flamboyant as ever whilst Primo was his usual reserved self. They bowed with a wink to the cameras before taking their seats on the velvet lounge. A coffee table lay before them with a few sheets of notes and two glasses of water on it.
"Thank you!" said Malmedy finally, silence falling over the crowd like a blanket. "My my my, lovely reception as usual, you lot always know how to make a pair of goofy old Game buffs feel welcome."
"Oh, it's warm and fuzzy, isn't it just?" chuckled Primo. "But yes, to you here in the audience, at home, or watching from afar from humble Districts, welcome to Game Face, our yearly Hunger Games pre-show. Now the 68th Annual Hunger Games will take place in just under two hours, and the tributes are already en route to the arena as we speak. Malmedy, am I right in sensing a certain… something about this years Games? I'm not terribly sure what it is to be frank; a buzz, a zing, it's just got the right vibes you know?"
"I know exactly what you mean old friend. What we have this year, if scoring is anything to go by, is the most competitive field of tributes in a whopping twenty-five years. Last night we got to know the tributes a little better with the ravishing Ms. Whittaker, and everyone's clearly got a different mindset and a different approach about how to tackle the challenges they will surely face today. Lovely as it has been to get to know them however, there can only be one winner. Who will it be? Let's find out!"
"Now we have a jam-packed schedule this morning," Primo carried on once the applause died down again, "we have guest interviews, giveaways, competitions, form guides and so much more, so let's get this started right away, hmm?"
"Agreed Primo, now our first guest needs no introduction; you know him, you love him, our fiery-haired facilitator of festivities – Ambrose LaFleur!"
The Head Gamemaker in his usual pea coat joined Malmedy and Primo on stage, shaking their hands before taking his own seat.
"Ambrose, thank you for joining us once again, lovely to have you here," said Primo.
"Well I have to keep my attendance streak going somehow," Ambrose grinned. "Haven't missed Game Face once since I became Head Gamemaker and I don't plan on starting now!"
"Well quite right," mused Malmedy, "speaking of which, this would be your fifth year as Head Gamemaker I believe, so that's five appearances on Game Face obviously. Five years is a big milestone, how would you assess your time as Head Gamemaker? We know that when you were given the position, you mentioned having a lot of ideas on how to shake things up."
"I'm pretty satisfied all things considered. And apparently so is the big man; I'm pleased to confirm the rumours that President Bishop has indeed opted to renew my contract for at least another three years, which is a great vote of confidence."
Applause and congratulations from both the audience as well as Malmedy and Primo broke out.
"Thank you," he carried on. "And you're right, I did have a multitude of ideas on how to refresh the Hunger Games when I first came into this position, and we've managed to carry out the majority of them quite handily, even if they don't necessarily get done overnight."
"So, elaborate then if you wouldn't mind, what were your goals to 'refresh the Hunger Games'?"
"Well, our first priority was to take the Games back to basics. I've been watching the Games for as long as I can remember, and I have very… purist and artistic views on making them, if I do say so myself. But over the last twenty years or so, the Games have gotten crazier with the traps and the arenas. Not only is that not very cost-effective but it also takes away a lot of the skill component from the tributes. So much so did this influence things that as you may well remember there was a lot of criticism and suggestion that perhaps certain tributes were being targeted, or that their victories were just down to luck. So, I wanted to return to a simpler Games, and let the skill and adaptability of the tributes shine through.
"Yes… memories of the 61st Games still ring true unfortunately when you mention that," nodded Malmedy gravely. "I think we can all say that your philosophy has been a welcome return to form in that respect."
"Absolutely," elaborated Primo, "We've seen some incredible strategies and climactic endings these last few years, tributes interacting with the arena in interesting ways as well."
"Oh, I know where you're going with this Primo," laughed Ambrose, "You do it every year – no I can't give you any hints about this year's arena. You can wait two hours, mate."
"It was worth a shot."
"On that note though, that was another thing we wanted to achieve; make the arena interesting, but without necessarily overloading it with hazards, so we've put in little secrets and easter eggs in to reward exploration. Some years tributes find them and others they don't. Sometimes it helps them, other times not really. If you remember last years Dark Forest arena, there was a cemetery at the eastern edge with coffins and gravestones of the fallen tributes, and if you remember Cassandra Oakley from the 40th Hunger Games who famously dug a tunnel underneath the Cornucopia to steal supplies…"
"Don't tell me," started Malmedy.
"Most of the coffins were empty but hers had an underground tunnel that connected safely to the Cornucopia. Admittedly, nobody found it, but I thought it was a fun little secret nonetheless."
"Well how about that, you learn something every day," chuckled Malmedy, "I daresay we'll all be keeping an eagle eye out for where such other potential treasures lie in this year's arena."
"Indeed. Now there's another big area in which you've wanted to revamp isn't there? One that might perhaps be seeing its introduction in this year's Games?" said Primo with a wink.
"Ahh you've got me," said Ambrose, feigning a grimace. "So, part of my new philosophy on the Games in reintroducing the skill aspect involves getting the tributes to take risks on their own merit, but the question has always been how? It's a conundrum we really tried to get to the root of for some time and we realised that we need to offer incentives for taking such risks. Originally, we thought maybe to offer a free sponsorship gift for defeating another tribute but implementing that practically and balancing it well was a logistical nightmare. Meanwhile, we were also re-evaluating the premise of muttations and the notion came up that as long as you avoid them, you're fine. Even if a tribute manages to kill it somehow, they likely won't come out of such an encounter in good shape, which would leave a bitter taste in the mouth for such an impressive feat. Eventually we looked at both these issues and realised we could hit two birds with one stone."
"Incentives for defeating mutts?" asked Malmedy quizzically.
"You're catching on. It's taken years of development, but we've successfully started engineering mutts that have certain… properties. So, for hypothetical example let's imagine a Grabgrub – a classic mutt that's been used many times. Difficult to kill since they come out of the ground suddenly beneath your feet to attack, but imagine if, once they were dead, you could use them as say, a very effective bait? Would you then go out of your way to try and hunt them down? Would it be some reward for overcoming an unfortunate encounter?"
"That is… quite the undertaking. So that's what you're introducing this year?"
"Well not the Grabgrub necessarily," laughed Ambrose, "but something along those lines, yes. We haven't mentioned this to the tributes as we want to see if they can discover it for themselves this first year. Or their sponsor gifts can inform them about it, in which case we have no qualms with that either."
"I can't wait to see it in action," grinned Primo. "I already got a sneak peek at this year's mutt, but I'm sworn to secrecy until the Games start I'm afraid."
"Yeah, you weren't supposed to see it you bloody…" muttered Ambrose, causing everyone to laugh.
"Now, the last thing I want to talk to you about is this year's tributes, if I may," continued Malmedy, "As we mentioned earlier, based on scoring, this looks to be an incredibly competitive field this year. What are your impressions of them?"
"Well I mean, we are the ones who gave those scores, so I think it's pretty clear what we think of them. Bad jokes aside though, I'll admit I was impressed. I don't pick favourites obviously – I'm not allowed to – but what was really interesting is that it wasn't just the skills they were showing us, but the way they showed them. Applying them in a practical sense, as if they were actually in the Games. To me, the level of engagement and initiative shows that the Districts are really embracing preparedness when it comes to these Games, which is great to see. Just remember though, scoring doesn't always give the full picture – if it did, there wouldn't be any need for the actual Games!"
"Wise words indeed. Well you have an incredibly busy schedule ahead of you, so we'll let you take your leave. Thank you so much for joining us, deliciously insightful as always. Any last words for our humble audience?
"May the odds be ever in your favour," Ambrose said simply.
"Well put. Thank you once again, we have much to look forward to, particularly for three more years at that. Alright, we're going to take a commercial break, but coming up we have our annual Hunger Hamper Giveaway and the lovely Florence Whittaker heads down to the Tigerseye VIP Suite to get the latest scoop from sponsors and esteemed guests. All this and more only here on Game Face, don't go anywhere!"
Wow. It has been some time since I've added a new chapter. Don't fret, I hadn't forgotten or abandoned it, just extremely busy with uni. But now I have some time off, so expect more chapters soon! And more good news, the Games will begin next chapter, so I hope you look forward to that! Interesting chapter to write, what did you think of Mr. LaFleur and his philosophy on simplifying for a more purist Games?
