He made a Covid-Zapping video game.Then he fought for real Covid

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Before Pentinen was admitted to the hospital, the Xbox team rejected the certificate he submitted Gun Tech 2 For publishing on the platform. In order to pass, he had to fix a small problem: the game didn’t show a progress bar on the loading screen, which could lead the player to think the game would crash or stop while loading a level. But in his feverish state, Pentinen feared the worst. He said he has a clear memory of what did not happen.

“Somehow, I made up these enemies in my head, and that’s why it was rejected,” Pentinen said. In his feverish dreams, friends rebelled against him, telling Microsoft not to release his games. “The person who texted me wished me all the best. But I couldn’t really read or respond. I just saw a name on the screen and it became part of this nightmare.”

Trapped in the hospital, Pentinen couldn’t fix the issues that were holding back his game’s release. He feared that failing to fix a small problem would keep his work from being published forever.

“Even if I die, my family will at least get some income. But if I’m completely out, it’s such a waste. You spent a year creating this game, and it’s never even going to come out.”

Eight days later, Pentinen was able to go home. Sun picked him up and they went home. For the next two weeks, Pentinen was confined to his room. A friend brought the oxygen tank after Pentinen’s insurance couldn’t cover the cost of the tank. Wen Sun brought him meals and took care of the children. They spent Christmas like this, in the same family, but still separated.

When he recovered, Penttinen knew he still had to submit the game to the Xbox approval process. While he was working, he went back and played the game again. This time, blasting the virus to smithereens isn’t as cathartic as it used to be.

“Maybe because what I was going through was so real, I didn’t really feel ‘Oh, I’m going to show you,'” Penttinen said. “I kind of wish it would feel that way, but I feel a little too serious to really get into that revenge feeling.”

Penttinen resubmitted the game and got it approved, and on January 13th Gun Tech 2 start selling Xbox Series S/X and Xbox One are just $20. The developer said he plans to develop versions for other gaming platforms next.

These days, Penttinen says he still can’t do much more than just take a walk without feeling exhausted and out of breath. But now that his game has been released, he is somewhat relieved that “people around the world will be able to catch the virus en masse.”


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