Game Development: Starting by Healing the Players
Chapter 42: An Exceptionally High Rating
Amid all the discussions and debates among players and media outlets online, at three in the afternoon, the Ministry of Games' website, its official game-related Weibo account, WeChat public account, and other official channels simultaneously released the latest competition results.
To the Moon had successfully won first prize in the competition, while Galaxy Heroes took second place.
Chen Xu, who was at the Nebula Games experience store, also received a phone call from the Ministry of Games.
The purpose of the call was to invite him to attend the upcoming award ceremony at the Ministry of Games.
At the same time, the official game store also featured an announcement on its homepage stating that To the Moon had won the award.
The homepage also featured an official review praising To the Moon and explaining why it had been selected as the first-place winner.
"Imagine that you are sitting on your deathbed, recalling all the happiness in your life, all your regrets, and especially those regrets."
"You always tell yourself that if you could go back to the past, you would do this, or accomplish that dream. Yet there always seems to be something that causes you to stray from the path toward realizing those dreams: family obligations, work, spending time with friends."
"But now, as your life draws to an end, you have no time left. What if, at the moment of your death, you could alter your memories and thereby fulfill that dream within your dying mind?"
"This is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to To the Moon. This is by no means a large-scale production. It doesn't have sophisticated graphics, nor does it have complicated gameplay. But what I want to say is that, just like producer Chen Xu's previous game, Undertale, To the Moon has taught a lesson to every designer working on video game narratives. It has raised the bar for this type of game to an astonishingly high level."
"It's difficult to discuss the entire game in a review without spoilers, but we can only say this: if you are a player who cares about games that tell stories, then this is a game you absolutely must play."
"This opinion may be influenced by the passage of time, but at least for now, this is unquestionably a perfect game."
"The dialogue is perfect. During the partnership between Dr. Eva and Dr. Neil, there are numerous witty exchanges and jokes that provide humor to break up what is otherwise a predominantly dark story."
"The story is perfect. The story of Johnny and his wife, River, contains many twists and turns. Some are bittersweet, while others are profoundly tragic. But this isn't simply a mixture of humor and sadness."
"The music is perfect. It is filled with beautiful piano melodies, with each track shining in its own way and recurring throughout different thematic moments and pivotal choices, just as you would expect from the best films."
"To the Moon is about a life: the people, places, hardships, and joys that make us human."
"The entire story begins as a chaotic jumble, but as the years are gradually unraveled in reverse, everything crystallizes into something deeply satisfying."
"Without a doubt, this is absolutely a game worthy of being called perfect."
This review from the Ministry of Games could be said to have given To the Moon an extraordinarily high evaluation. It was a complete endorsement of the game's standing and quality.
......
Inside the Nebula Games office.
Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue were also among the first to see the Ministry of Games' announcement, and both of them immediately cheered.
"Chen Xu, look! To the Moon has already been featured in the recommended section of the official gaming platform!" Yang Xin exclaimed excitedly.
This was the official gaming platform!
And on top of that, the game had actually taken first place in the competition.
This was something Yang Xin would never even have dared to imagine in the past.
For someone who was determined to make a name for herself in the gaming industry, the achievement was so exciting that she could barely contain herself.
Her entire face had turned bright red from excitement.
Ruan Ningxue beside her was in much the same state, her face filled with excitement.
The new employees who had joined Nebula Games during the period when To the Moon was released were equally excited.
Although the game had absolutely nothing to do with them personally, this kind of achievement completely demonstrated that Nebula Games had a promising future.
And they were about to work at a company with such enormous potential, so naturally, they were delighted.
"By the way, aren't you going to attend the award ceremony next?" Yang Xin suddenly remembered and asked Chen Xu.
"Yeah. The officials from the Ministry of Games just informed me," Chen Xu said, nodding.
"An award ceremony! Will it be on television?" Ruan Ningxue asked curiously.
"You're getting ahead of yourself. It's not a commercial awards ceremony or anything like that. Basically, I'll just show my face, receive a certificate, and that's it," Chen Xu said, shaking his head.
"Ah, I see!" Ruan Ningxue suddenly understood.
"Anyway, let's put that aside for now. Let's talk about the company. I'll give everyone a bit of an idea of what's coming. Once the National Day holiday is over, we'll be starting development on a new project. And this time, we're going to make a much bigger move."
"Also, the platform needs to be up and running before the end of October. Anything that's time-consuming, labor-intensive, and non-core can be outsourced directly."
Chen Xu looked at everyone as he spoke.
Mirror, Undertale, and To the Moon had all been very small-scale projects in terms of development cost and scope.
But in terms of sales, all three could absolutely be considered successful.
The funds generated by the three games still weren't enough for Chen Xu to develop a large-scale AAA title. His budget was simply too tight for that.
However, he could now definitely afford to venture into games that were more polished and somewhat larger in scale.
Hearing Chen Xu's words, everyone's expressions became serious, though they were even more filled with anticipation.
After all, who in the game industry didn't dream of participating in a major project?
Whether from the perspective of personal ambitions or one's professional résumé, there was no reason not to want that opportunity.
After chatting with the team for a while, Chen Xu returned to his office. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the UI interface that only he could see.
It had to be said that To the Moon had given him a tremendous boost in points.
It had provided him with enough points for three full ten-pulls, and when combined with the points generated by Undertale and Mirror...
His current total had risen to 4.5 million points.
That was enough for a total of forty-five draws.
However, looking at all those points, Chen Xu didn't immediately spend them.
He still planned to save them up for a while.
He hadn't decided what his next project would be yet. After all, even if he was going to develop another game, it wouldn't begin until after the National Day holiday.
During this period, Chen Xu estimated that, judging from his current rate of accumulation, he would probably have enough for another ten-pull by then.
After all, To the Moon, which had just won first prize, had now been featured on the official platform's recommendation page. It was bound to attract a huge number of players.
And those players meant a steady stream of points for him.
Saving up enough for another ten-pull first would, from the perspective of gaming luck and superstition, probably give him a better chance of getting something good.