Chapter 22: Pixels of the Future
The soft hum of Cal's PC filled the room like background music in a forgotten indie game menu. Morning had barely begun—early rays of sunlight filtering through slitted curtains, specks of dust suspended in mid-air as if time itself had paused to watch him work.
He hadn't slept much. Again.
After last night's stream, he'd spent hours reviewing the Echo Vision data—each dot, each ripple, each unforeseen reaction to the music showcase. The influence wasn't just spreading; it was blooming. The timeline was adapting faster than he expected.
Yet Cal wasn't done.
The next phase of his streaming evolution had arrived: gaming.
Not retro titles from 2010. No, the future of gaming. Games that hadn't yet reached development in this timeline. Titles people couldn't even imagine in 2010's ecosystem.
He cracked his knuckles, opened the system's Game Archive window, and scrolled.
[Recommended Titles Based on Viewer Trend Projections:]
– Minecraft (Official Release 2011, Beta Ready)
– PUBG (2017)
– Among Us (2018)
– Clash of Clans (2012)
– Apex Legends (2019)
– League of Legends – Future Patch Showcase
– Genshin Impact (2020)
– Elden Ring (2022)
The list scrolled endlessly.
Cal rubbed his jaw.
"I'll start small."
He clicked on Minecraft.
[SYSTEM CONFIG: GAME STREAM MODE – Minecraft v1.19 – 4K + Ray Tracing ON]
[Adjusting for Timeline Compatibility…]
[Streaming Mode: Solo Campaign – Survival Start]
[Pre-load Chat Commentary Integration: ON]
The system did all the heavy lifting. Video encoding, timeline stabilization, and stream optimization were fully automated now.
His goal today wasn't just to showcase gameplay. It was to quietly redefine what "gaming" could look like to viewers who were used to basic textures, clunky controls, and offline cartridges.
He hit [Start Stream].
Title: "A Sandbox from the Future | GhostFrame's First Game Stream [4K Gameplay | Minecraft 1.19]"
Tags: #Gaming, #FutureGame, #Minecraft, #SurvivalSeries, #GhostFrame, #Worldbuilding
The screen opened on a quiet forest—lush, procedurally generated trees stretching skyward under a dynamic skybox. Birds chirped. The wind rustled pixelated leaves. And the ray tracing worked magic: light filtered through branches, casting warm, dappled shadows on the grass. The water shimmered like liquid glass.
"What game is this?!"
"Why does this look better than real life??"
"IS THIS MODDED MINECRAFT?!"
"Minecraft? That sounds like some bootleg Dig Dug."
Cal silently walked forward, punching a tree to collect his first block.
"Wait… is this real-time??"
"Why is it so chill to watch?"
"The music… it's like meditation."
He let the viewers soak it in. Block by block, he crafted a basic workbench, then slowly built a rudimentary wooden house near a small lake. There was no commentary from him—just ambient music and the occasional system-driven text prompt on screen.
["This is a sandbox world. You can do anything you want."]
["No rules. No time limits. No missions."]
["Only your imagination."]
That simple philosophy—so radical for 2010 gaming—hit home. Hard.
1 Hour Later
Viewer count: 7,824
Replay queue: 23,500+
Live chat: exploding
"The way the sun sets through the window… damn."
"He made a whole cabin. Is this real gameplay??"
"I've NEVER seen a game like this. Where's the combat?"
"Doesn't need one. The vibe is the game."
"I feel like I'm watching the birth of something new."
Even small game dev studios tuned in—many unaware they were seeing a title still in future beta.
[New Viewer Tag: "Indie Developer – Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Singapore, Montreal, Berlin"]
[System Note: You Have Inspired 2 Future Sandbox Concepts]
Cal could almost feel the ripple spreading. He built a tiny farm next. Wheat, sugarcane, and a chicken coop. Then added a basement with a lava-lit mining shaft.
That's when the real shock hit the chat.
"DID THE LIGHT SOURCE DYNAMICALLY REACT??"
"Wait wait wait… real-time lighting??"
"Games today can't even do this!"
It was as if Minecraft had skipped a decade of development and arrived in its full-glory version overnight.
And it was just the beginning.
Same Day – Somewhere in Kyoto, 2010
A young programmer, barely 22, watched the stream on a secondary monitor while debugging code for his 2D platformer.
He hadn't moved for 30 minutes. His tea had gone cold. His code untouched.
He stared at the quiet, pixelated house GhostFrame had built on-screen.
"…Is this how far we could go?"
He closed his editor, opened Unity, and began a new project.
Title: "Kōjō: World of Dreams"
Back in Cal's Room – Stream Complete
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[Game Stream Complete]
[Total Live Viewers: 12,015]
[New Followers: +3,412]
[Points Earned: +5,800]
[Echo Level: Gaming Tier – Advanced Prototype]
[You Have Created 4 Echoes in Game Development Timelines]
Cal rubbed his eyes and leaned back, stretching.
He'd streamed for two hours straight—no edits, no rewinds. Just pure gameplay. And somehow, the silence had been more powerful than any monologue.
He checked his latest messages.
[Anonymous Viewer]: "This game… saved my morning. Thank you."
[Tag: 16yo student, Seoul]
[Anonymous Viewer]: "I thought I was done with games. But this? This is art."
[Tag: 35yo ex-dev, San Diego]
One message stood out.
[ID: Hidden | Location: Finland]
"We're watching you. Whoever you are… keep going."
That night, Cal didn't sleep. Instead, he created a schedule:
Tomorrow: Clash of Clans and PUBG, future mobile and battle royale sensations.
Day after: Among Us double feature, paired with real-time chat participation.
He wasn't just streaming anymore.
He was setting the new global foundation for gaming.
And the world was following.
End of Chapter 22