I wouldn’t say stumbled upon so much as lured me here with my one weakness: sports fiction
But as far as the Lasertag criticism goes I really can’t fault it too harshly, You definitely encapsulated the vibe really well - Lots of running, lots of shouting and while we have rules against physical contact… Incidental impacts are pretty common.
For the most part it’s definitely been written with far more of a competitive lense then the running around aimlessly/birthday party style that most media portrays the sport as
Not sure if I mentioned it previously but our format for the Trios event this year was pretty similar to this - In a nutshell it was 3v3 on a roller rink filled with paintball inflatables with the object being to get down the other end without getting tagged and shoot a base station for a goal/point. (I’d love to share some video but I think Twitch ate our streams)
It’s definitely understandable to have not understood how it works on the first few viewings, I had a girl from work tell me the same thing when I got back. For us it’s just getting eyeballs on the game and growing the audience so for me it’s really cool on my end to come across someone who may have seen me play before I’ve brought it up. (Depends on which tournament you watched though)
I’ve pretty regularly been able to beat #4 with a End/Str combo as a Baseliner so just need to find how to parley that build into Lasertag glory.
But enough about me this is your story, I’ll just be here gently encouraging you to put out the next update because like I’ve said before I’m extremely keen for more Sam/Quiddich content.
Ooh before I forget, I’m not overly fussed about a fully fleshed out backstory I’m happy to mentally fill in my own blanks. You’ve got Emerson as Aussie representation so that’s always a win, I can pretend to be American easy enough.
Oh same here! It’s so cool to see people playing the game for different reasons/enjoying different bits (and bothering to increase their intelligence/charisma stats heh).
I see… That makes a lot more sense than you having 37 intelligence
@TheBread “running around aimlessly” HAHAH! And wow, you must be pretty good/profesh then! I’d love to watch some of the tournaments! Any recommendations for cool vids to watch on YouTube (sorry Twitch lost your streams though that’s too bad)
Thanks for the encouragement, too! P.S. oof, I think I didn’t test for ‘endurance’ at all for the laser tag match but I suppose now that you mention, a 3v3 laser tag match sounds exhausting…
Got it! Good to know. I don’t think it’ll figure heavily in the story, but I thought it’d be nice to give the whole IF a more rounded feel.
Also hm, just to clarify:
Emerson’s rank might’ve gotten a little confusing (maybe I made an error somewhere) but essentially the first (and only so far) challenge match you play should have been against what will be the #5 seed for the season.
Once the next update is pushed out, the rankings’ll look something like:
Rayyan
Tobin
Deepal
Jacks/Possibly MC (if they beat Emerson and Jacks)
Emerson/Possibly MC (if they beat Emerson and lose to Jacks)
@burninglights I think we will see more int/cha focused chars as the story progresses and those attributes start becoming vital. Right now there is a min/max urge to go str/agi/sta because those matter so much early on.
I didn’t really see too much problem in terms of stat balancing. I mean my main MC runs a Finesse/Tactics/Intelligence build and so far I’ve been destroying everyone. The only time I felt my character had flaws was when Rayyan called me a weak baby boy and Coach said I need to work on strength. There was also an Endurance run but I had enough points in that stat to not look too bad during it.
Just found this WIP and I’ve already played it a couple of times haha
Really immersive and well-written, especially the matches! Found some errors with pronouns (he and she for the same person, sometimes in the same line or paragraph, mainly with Rayyan and Guillaume) and capitalisation (capital He/Hims in a few places).
Right now it’s definitely worse for my mc, which is why I said my mc would need quite a bit of coaxing and probably a mentor figure who is very different from their mom to give it a serious go even if it is the one area where he is almost as naturally talented as tennis.
Must be playing it wrong then because that is exactly what my mc is. Always choose tactics as first strong point with strength as a backup. Enjoyed the captain America esque moment with the crate by the way.
Ah you’re too kind, I do alright (Luckily my team can’t find me here and chew me out for being too modest haha)
So that 3v3 format is probably the most “running insensive” format we play, I actually played that day with myself and a teammate being pretty ill and we just ran out of steam just outside of the medal games (I did find some 3v3 moments that got clipped on the channel though so atleast I can show it off a little)
Okay I’ll drop some links in here, I’ll make it known though if progress slows on the update because the author falls down the “Comp Lasertag Rabbit Hole” then I take full responsibility
On the extra stuff, I’m the most easy-going guy out so long as I get more tennis and more Sam in the updates I’m 100% chill.
I really enjoyed this game, which I didn’t expect to, as tennis is not a sport I know anything about (had to read a wiki how article about how the scores work), but the choice to start the game already with a competitive edge was really cool and it was what kept me at first, so far its been very fun, I focused on finesse and agility with a lil bit of tactics, but being bad at everything else and so far won everything, which was a surprise lmao. I really like the characters, they are very different from each other tho my favorites are the teammates (cof Rayyan cof) and I like how diverse your cast is, which makes me put aside that we have to play as a American like that one comment said.
Absolutely. Classes and clubs might change that a little. I can’t wait to write in gently entertaining ‘fail’ states for tennis freaks who don’t do any readings and are essentially brainless hunks of muscle.
HAHAH!! Nice. Gotta love a character who plays smart, not hard, with big brains and noodle arms.
Yay! So happy you liked the game I’ll be (slowly) correcting the pronoun errors - suspect it’s particularly bad with G, as you mentioned, and Sam.
Oh yes, that was a little bit of silly-ness. Glad you enjoyed
OOHH that was entertaining! Kinda funny watching people dash in and out of the camera. It’s so fast-paced, reminds me of fencing - everything happens in split-second bouts/flurries of activity. (Wonder which one you are, did you appear on-camera? )
HAHAH! Oh dear. I take no responsibility for this career choice
Hahahaha making people watch Wimbledon/US open, diverting them to wiki-how articles… that’s my jam. So glad you liked the early match with Rayyan- I thought it’d be a good hook to start the game on.
Also, happy that you love the characters - especially the diversity! Sorry you have to play a boring American though I think I’ve decided to add in some choice of ethnicity at some point in the game.
P.S. Great job on winning everything!! Looks like that wiki-how article did its job.
I had something odd happen so I saved on the choices to either go to the bridge or not and well I pick not because I didn’t want to die lol but then I tried to load the save again to see what the other choices were like and they had changed to this and also when I pick one to see what would happen even the text after was different.
Omg, I really wish we got to see the reaction or like a response to the flirty text because I picked Rayyan and I’m dying to know what see what he thought about it.
Fencing ey? I’ve never actually made the connection but I can see what you mean about the game kind of being broken up into kind of micro-skirmishes. It can be very overwhelming when you first start making the jump up the various levels.
Now what kind of athlete would I be if I didn’t link to a game I was playing in? I definitely show up and get talked about a fair bit in that one.
Finally got around to playing the new update. Really loving the interactions with G at the moment (I chose Genevieve). Looking forward to more of Tobin though. And of course locker room/shower shenanigans.
Also enjoying the banter between Daniela and Genevieve, especially since being roommates Daniella seems to assume I’ll back her, but Genevieve is cute so I take her side. No idea what I’ll do when the ROs start to lock, since at the moment I really can’t decide between Tobin, Sam or Genevieve.
@TheBread - Ahhh yes I think a lot of sports are so interesting precisely because so much of winning/losing is determined by these short but crucial moments. And ooh, dang, clearly I should rewatch and keep my eyes peeled
@Alley_Cat - HAHAH! Traitor! And hurhur, I hope that decision only gets harder. You still have some time though.
@versanius HAHAHA!!! Genuinely snorted at the pic. You and me both, bruh! I think there’ll be G-action sooner than Sam-action though.
Hello! I’m here to tell you that sometimes the game refers to Sam and Guillaume as female even though I selected both to be male Otherwise, the game is very entertaining and I’m excited for more!
Ya know, I was sorta skeptical about this one. Wasn’t much of a sports gal or anything, but I was very pleasantly surprised.
The characters are cute, the feel of the game can be both very relaxing and intense and I did enjoy playing through it. Even if Rayyan and Tobin would sometimes be referred to as “he” in different option selections despite being female.
Also going in blind and playing as a stoic and intense yet genuine mc made me snicker when I realised I accidentally made her practically another Rayyan and that the two get along really well.
I like that at the end of the day, Rayyan might be intensely competitive on the court, she’s still a teammate. It’s not personal for her, and she doesn’t particularly laud over everyone how much better she is.
Like the scene in the locker room when she offers you a lock.
Makes me want to beat her on the court, not stab her in the face. And those that have seen me in other threads may know I’m particularly fond of stabbing enemies in the face.
EDIT:
Meanwhile, did I quick little render of my MC:
Oh my goodness, which enemies have you been stabbing in the face?! but yes, I like to think of Rayyan as extremely stubborn and intense, with an unquenchable thirst to win, but a softie at heart.
@SomeGal13 HAHA! Two Rayyans - poor teammates. Also, glad you’ve had the chance to play the game in both a chill/wholesome way and also in a more hardcore way. Sounds exactly like what I’m going for!
@Flinx Thanks for playing! Will try to catch some pronoun errors in the upcoming update!
I see… That makes a lot more sense than you having 37 intelligence 
that’s too bad)
)
like that one comment said.
I’ll be (slowly) correcting the pronoun errors - suspect it’s particularly bad with G, as you mentioned, and Sam.
Looks like that wiki-how article did its job.
Otherwise, the game is very entertaining and I’m excited for more!