MoopleDoople

The End of the World was a wonderful read, your stumbling narrative style was really immersive, as with all your work I felt like a true observer, watching beautiful events unfold that I cannot quite comprehend.

What are your biggest influences? Especially in terms of writing structure and artistry.

My first job was at GameStop, one of the biggest pushes from the top was selling pre-orders and subscriptions to GameInformer. Our staff was ranked on how well we sold that stuff, and we lost privileges if we didn't perform to their standards (which was difficult, as we were located in a mall and the hardcore gamers who actually cared about that stuff would go to the standalone store down the street). We'd be pressured to sell pre-orders to anyone, including the little old ladies hoping that Pokemon Diamond was already out for their grandkids.

One of our privileges was to borrow any game in the store for a few days, so we could be more aware of what we'd be selling. This was a little unethical, as we could take out new games and put them back on the shelf later still marked as 'new'.

Does GameStop still rank employees on, and push for, sales for pre-orders and magazine subscriptions? Can the employees still 'rent' out any game in the store?