Chapter 15: 100 Beta Testers and a Breakdown
Delhi — February 28, 2009 — 5:45 AM
Shiva was wide awake before his alarm buzzed.
Today was the deadline he had set for himself:
Get Rickshaw Rush to 100 beta testers.
100 people.
100 opinions.
100 risks of failure.
And somewhere, hidden among them — the first seeds of success.
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6:30 AM – Numbers Don't Lie
After brushing and a hurried breakfast, Shiva sat down with his battered notebook.
He checked the latest counts:
Facebook page likes: 74
Beta sign-ups through SMS: 52
Direct DMs asking for the APK: 21
YouTube gameplay video views: 386
Not bad.
Not great either.
But momentum was building — a little faster each day.
It's like pushing a huge boulder uphill, Shiva thought. Painfully slow at first. But one day…
It would roll downhill on its own.
---
7:00 AM – Outreach Blitz
He crafted a simple message:
> "Hey! Thanks for your interest in Rickshaw Rush! Beta Version 1.1 is ready. Here's the APK link. Play, crash, and send feedback! (And share if you love it!)"
He customized it slightly for each person — used their names when possible.
Personal touches mattered.
People didn't support apps.
They supported people.
---
8:30 AM – Beta Launch Begins
Messages fired off.
Downloads started trickling in.
By the time he reached school, Shiva's inbox was buzzing.
One beta tester had already reported a hilarious bug:
> "My rickshaw flew into the sky after hitting a cow LMAO. 10/10 would crash again."
Another wrote:
> "Love the chaos! You should add potholes and crazy buses!!"
Feedback — real, raw, messy — was pouring in.
Exactly what Shiva needed.
---
12:00 PM – Crisis Hits
It happened while he was sneaking glances at his phone under the desk during math class.
A message popped up:
> "Bro, game crashing after level 2 on my phone. Fix pls."
Then another:
> "Bug: Game freezes after hitting walls too many times."
Then three more.
Panic gripped his chest.
Had he rushed too fast?
Was Rickshaw Rush broken?
Would people uninstall and forget it before he even launched properly?
---
1:30 PM – Emergency Meeting
During lunch, Shiva and Rohit skipped food and huddled behind the school canteen.
Shiva explained the crash issue breathlessly.
Rohit, chewing a samosa, stayed surprisingly calm.
"Okay, listen. Don't freak," he said. "All betas have bugs. That's the point."
"But—"
"BUT," Rohit emphasized, "we need a hotfix. Fast."
Shiva nodded.
Right.
This wasn't the end.
This was the test.
Great founders didn't crumble under pressure.
They solved under pressure.
---
3:00 PM – Hotfix Hustle
The moment school ended, Shiva sprinted home.
Sweat pouring, hands shaking, he plugged in his laptop.
He spent the next four hours:
Digging through spaghetti code
Testing crash points
Rewriting collision physics
Optimizing memory leaks
His eyes blurred.
His back screamed.
He forgot to eat.
Only one thought mattered:
Fix it before anyone quits.
---
7:30 PM – New Beta Build
Version 1.2 was ready:
Fixed sky-crash bug.
Improved wall collision.
Reduced memory usage by 25%.
It wasn't perfect.
But it was playable.
Survival first. Perfection later.
He uploaded the new APK and messaged every beta tester individually:
> "Hey heroes! New patch (v1.2) is out — fixes bugs! Thank you so much for helping build Rickshaw Rush. You're part of this dream!"
He meant it.
Every single one of them mattered.
---
9:00 PM – Redemption
By nightfall:
87 beta testers updated to Version 1.2.
73 of them sent thumbs-up emojis or quick messages:
> "Working fine now!"
"Way smoother! Love it!"
Some even offered fresh ideas:
Power-ups (like "turbo rickshaw boost")
Crazy traffic jams mini-events
Unlockable funny horns (like "Cow Moo" sound)
Shiva's exhaustion turned into euphoria.
Not only had he survived his first tech disaster —
he had come out stronger.
---
10:30 PM – 100 Achieved
Before sleeping, Shiva checked his final numbers.
101 beta testers active.
He closed his eyes and whispered:
"First 100... done."
But he knew — it was just the first hill.
Tomorrow would bring bigger battles.
Bigger dreams.
And Shiva was ready.
---
Mini Epilogue — February 28, 2009, Midnight
Somewhere in Delhi,
A college student laughed hysterically as his rickshaw crashed into a roadside cow in Rickshaw Rush.
A schoolgirl showed her friend the funny auto horns.
A young man uploaded a short screen recording of the game onto Orkut, captioning it:
> "Indian GTA: Rickshaw Edition. Must play!"
Unseen, unnoticed by Shiva,
the first tiny ripples of a coming tsunami began.
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[End of Chapter 15]