A few weeks ago, I decided to go on eBay, out of boredom, and look for anything interesting on there for a good price. I had some money to spend and I felt like buying myself something cool. I searched through useless things like thumb erasers and items I couldn't afford such as cars. I couldn't find anything that met my interests, so I decided to search 'Video Game' to see if I could find something more interesting.
After scrolling through a few boring looking games and console accessories, I found a rather unique item called a 'Video Game Suit'. I clicked on it and saw pictures of what looked like a plastic or metal frame inside a thin fabric suit, with a helmet too.
The description of the suit read "Get the next gen Video Game Suit in its development stages and verse your friends in 'Clang', an intense one on one battle of knight's with extraordinary graphics! Advanced technology allows full body scan to put YOU in the game as your character! Console included! ('Clang' is currently the only available game for the suit)".
It kind of sucked that it only had one game, but hey, it was only $10, something I could easily afford and even though I had never heard of the suit, $10 isn't exactly much to waste anyway. So I figured "why not" and proceeded to purchase the suit.
The next day I had to go out with family friends all day, and the whole day I was eager to get home to try out the suit. I ordered Express Post, so it only needed one day for delivery. Finally, after dinner with my family friends we headed home.
I arrived home and found a box addressed to me on the door step. I scooped up the box and ran it to my room in shear excitement. I ripped it open to find the black suit and small white console inside. I took out the suit, which had a metal frame inside, which I assumed was covering wires. The helmet had a screen inside where the visor was (kind of like the Oculus Rift) and a mic attached too.
I set everything up as quickly as I could, eager to start playing and put the suit on. The game screen popped up on the helmet's screen with the title 'Clang' and only two options, 'Play' and 'Quit'. I selected 'Play' and it began searching for another player. I couldn't wait to play!
I remember sitting there for at least 10 minutes with no luck in finding someone, I was quite disappointed and decided to take off the helmet and do other things while waiting. I watched videos, browsed eBay, checked my Facebook and I was still having no luck finding a game, but I kept waiting.
After at least an hour of waiting, I finally heard "MATCH FOUND" through the helmet.
"FINALLY" I thought as I put the helmet back on and began to play. It seemed the description was right about the body scan, because my opponent looked incredibly realistic. I noticed him holding a long sword, and then I noticed I was too. His armor had a rather similar style to the Video Game Suit which I found kind of weird, but kind of cool at the same time.
I walked forward and so did my character in the game. "This is great!" I thought as I slowly approached the enemy. I could hear him talking through his microphone as I approached him. His characters mouth was moving as he spoke, and it was incredibly synchronized to what he was saying and when he was saying it.
I heard him say something like "How do I play this? Uhh..." and I remember thinking about how much of a noob he must be as I continued to approach him. When I was mere inches from him, I lifted my sword and swung straight for his neck. I heard him groan a little before his head fell off and his body hit the floor.
There was blood EVERYWHERE and it looked incredibly realistic. So much so, it made me feel quite sick. I heard the familiar voice shout "YOU WIN!" before I was returned to the main menu. I realized that it was late, and it would probably take me another hour to find another game, so I decided to get off for the night.
I messaged my best friend and told him to buy one of the suits from eBay so I would have someone to play with and not have to wait hours to find a game.
The next day was a school day, and my best friend and I talked about the suit all day. He was really excited to get home and try his out, he had also put his order on Express Post, so it was likely he would have his that night as well. I told him about all the amazing graphics and realism which got him really pumped as he loved having the best graphics in his games.
When I got home, I immediately messaged my friend, asking if he was ready to play. It was clear he was just as excited because he replied almost instantly.
Ready to kick his ass, I set everything up and selected 'Play'. I took off my helmet to message my friend that I was ready to play, but right when I did, I heard "MATCH FOUND" so I immediately put it back on and readied up.
Surprisingly, his character looked exactly like him, with his school clothes still on.
"Hey man!" I said into my mic, in which he replied "Get ready to die!". We both had a laugh about it and then began to approach each other. Being more experienced I approached him faster than I did in my first game. As I got close, he swung his sword prematurely, causing him to just narrowly hit me.
"Ow!" I shouted. "Haha, did I actually hit you?" I heard him reply with excitedly. The weird thing was, I actually felt a sharp pain on my arm.
I dismissed this, thinking the realism was confusing my brain, or maybe I got scratched by the metal suit or something. I regained my focus and noticed I had a clear shot at his head, but I decided to tease him a little and go for his leg first.
I swung at his leg; cutting it clean off before I watched his body thump to the ground. I heard him scream so loudly and convincingly in my ears that I couldn't help but cringe.
"What a drama queen" I thought to myself as I looked down at his bloody body rolling around on the floor. I had a perfect shot at his neck. "Good game!" I yelled into the mic as my blade sliced through his neck. His screaming suddenly stopped and his head rolled around on the floor.
The creepiest part of the game was the lack of music. The eerie silence sent a chill down my spine after hearing his loud screaming in my ears for what felt like forever. All I could hear now was the sounds of blood pouring from his neck and his head rolling on the ground.
I was startled to finally hear "YOU WIN!" play through my helmet. I couldn't look at the mess any longer, so I quickly quit the game and took off my suit.
I messaged him saying "You got smashed! Sorry, but I won't be playing anymore, I kinda feel like doing something else now, if that's okay?"
I went for a walk but the whole time all I could think about was the graphic image of my best friend's bloody body lying lifeless on the floor.
As I began to work up a sweat, I felt an itch on my arm where I had previously felt the sharp pain. I rolled my sleeve back to reveal a rather deep scratch. I had no idea how it got there, but then I remembered the first time I felt the pain, when I was playing the game. But the strange thing was, the scratch looked too deep to have been from the metal in the suit.
When I got home, I checked my computer. "That's weird... He still hasn't messaged back." I began to think absurd things about why he isn't answering. Maybe something happened to him, something bad. I then decided not to work myself up and to think more realistically about it, "He's probably so butt-hurt from me beating him."
The next day at school, he didn't show up. This began to worry me, but I again decided to think realistically, "He must be at home trying to get good at the game so he has a chance against me."
The day went agonizingly slow, but when I finally arrived home and set my bag down near the table, I couldn't help but notice a newspaper on the table with my best friend's picture on the front page. A chill went down my spine that caused me to literally shake. As I picked up the paper, my teeth began to chatter. I read the title, "School Boy Murdered by Violent Video Game Suit".