Chapter 20: Shadows in the Marketplace
Delhi — March 8, 2009 — 6:00 AM
The first golden rays of morning light filtered into Shiva's cramped room, illuminating the chaotic battlefield of:
Crumpled notebooks
Pen drives
Scratched CDs labeled "RR Backup"
Half-eaten packets of Parle-G biscuits
He barely noticed the mess anymore.
Today was special.
Today, Rickshaw Rush Beta 1.5 would go live.
And with it —
new hopes,
new features,
new chaos.
But hidden in the corners of the internet...
something darker was brewing.
---
7:00 AM – Final Touches
Shiva hunched over his laptop, fine-tuning the final details.
Beta 1.5 Changelog:
New Map: Mumbai Madness — with monsoon rains and potholes
Power-ups Added:
Turbo Boost (double speed for 5 seconds)
Bumper Shield (one free crash immunity)
Championship Mode Tweaks:
Score multipliers for close-call drifts
Random "surprise cows" crossing roads (pure chaos)
Everything felt smoother.
Sharper.
Funnier.
Rickshaw Rush was no longer just a funny little side-scroller.
It was a movement.
---
8:30 AM – Countdown to Launch
He messaged Kunal:
> "All systems ready. Launch at 10 AM. Spread the word!"
Kunal replied instantly:
> "Bro, got 20 hostel kids ready to download the second it drops. LET'S GO!"
Excitement built like static electricity.
Shiva couldn't sit still.
He refreshed the pre-registration page obsessively:
> 2,870 players signed up.
Almost three thousand.
Three. Thousand.
For a silly rickshaw game made by a teenager with no money.
It was crazy.
---
9:30 AM – A Terrifying Message
Just half an hour before launch, Shiva's inbox pinged.
A friend from Orkut, Ajay, sent a panicked message:
> "Bro, urgent — someone uploaded a fake Rickshaw Rush on GetJar!
It's called 'Rickshaw Mania 2009'."
Shiva's heart stopped.
Fake?
Already?
He clicked the link.
There it was:
Same style.
Same rickshaw.
Same crashing sounds.
But the controls were worse.
The graphics, lazier.
And the title screen read:
> "RICKSHAW MANIA 2009 — BY DELTA STUDIOS"
Delta Studios?
He had never heard of them.
But they were stealing his idea — right at the moment of his biggest triumph.
---
10:00 AM – Launch... and Sabotage
He forced himself to focus.
At exactly 10:00 AM, Shiva pushed the button:
> "Rickshaw Rush Beta 1.5 Now Live!
Download Link Updated. Championship Countdown Begins!"
The Facebook page exploded immediately:
"Downloading now!!"
"OMG new map looks insane!"
"Bro, the cows are killing me! LOL"
But under the excitement, worrying comments started appearing:
"Dude, I saw another rickshaw game somewhere. Yours?"
"Is 'Rickshaw Mania' yours too, bro?"
"Confused. Two games same day?"
The fake app was confusing players.
And worse —
if people played the wrong game,
they couldn't even enter Shiva's tournament.
---
11:30 AM – Emergency Strategy
Shiva gathered his tiny army:
Kunal (marketing)
Abhishek/ZeroDay (technical)
Ajay (community manager by accident)
In a frantic three-way call, they built a battle plan.
Abhishek said bluntly, "We can't take them down today. GetJar's slow with complaints."
Kunal suggested, "What if we flood our link everywhere, drown theirs out?"
Ajay added, "And tell players: ONLY official Rickshaw Rush has 'Championship Mode' on main menu."
Shiva nodded grimly.
It wasn't a perfect plan.
But it was war.
---
1:00 PM – Flood the Internet
For the next four hours, Shiva and his team:
Posted memes mocking "Rickshaw Mania" ("Fake Rickshaws Crash Faster!")
Made banners: "Official Game = Rickshaw Rush ONLY"
Replied to every confused comment with clarification and download links.
Tagged influencers who had played the real Rickshaw Rush.
Kunal even pulled a genius move:
Created a side-by-side YouTube comparison video:
> "Rickshaw Rush vs. Rickshaw Mania — Spot the FAKE!"
It went semi-viral, getting 7,000 views in one afternoon.
Momentum swung back.
The community fought for the real king.
---
5:00 PM – Damage Report
By evening, Shiva checked the numbers:
7,400+ official downloads of Rickshaw Rush Beta 1.5
Less than 500 downloads for the fake "Rickshaw Mania"
90+% players confirmed sticking with Shiva's version
He exhaled, finally letting himself smile.
The clone had failed to steal the throne.
But it was a wake-up call:
Success breeds imitation.
Imitation breeds war.
And Shiva, a lone teenager in Delhi,
was now fighting in the brutal, chaotic battleground of the internet.
No teachers.
No textbooks.
Just pure hustle and instinct.
---
7:00 PM – A Moment of Reflection
Sitting by his dusty window, Shiva whispered to himself:
> "I need to move faster.
Bigger.
Smarter.
Protect what I build.
Or someone else will take it."
He knew Rickshaw Rush was just the beginning.
If he wanted to survive this new world —
he would have to evolve.
Not just as a developer.
But as a warrior.
A king cannot defend his kingdom with hope alone.
He needs an army.
He needs alliances.
He needs strategy.
And above all...
he needs vision.
---
[End of Chapter 20]