Game Development: Starting by Healing the Players
Chapter 47: Heated Discussions Among Players and the Industry
In the early hours of October 31, Chen Xu uploaded the prerecorded video to his official account right on schedule.
At the same time, he posted a message:
"Guess what the new game is?"
Although it was the middle of the night, there were still quite a few night owls among the players following Chen Xu's official account.
Not long after the post went up, it caught the attention of some players.
"What's going on? Look what I just found! Chen Xu has a new game?!"
"Holy crap, he posted this in the middle of the night. Isn't that a little too..."
"My god, what kind of video is this?! He posted this in the middle of the night, so I thought it was going to be something good!"
"Wait, what the hell is this video?! A horror game?"
"Holy shit, this DV footage is creepy as hell!"
"So Chen Xu's next game is going to be a horror game?"
"I don't really care about the fact that it's a horror game. The key issue is the time he posted this! Isn't this way too damn creepy?!"
"So is the next game related to a DV?"
A lot of players were completely stunned.
Chen Xu's intentions could hardly have been clearer. This downright sinister video was practically an announcement that his next game would be a horror game.
But what players discussed even more was the timing of the announcement.
The following day, Chen Xu's post was reposted and reported on by numerous media outlets.
After all, there was still some residual attention from Chen Xu winning first prize in the Sci-Fi Game Design Competition with To the Moon.
On top of that, November was just around the corner, and there weren't any major releases on the market that were particularly noteworthy at the moment.
Players also began discussing Chen Xu's video and analyzing what kind of horror game his new project might be.
After all, even horror games could be divided into different subgenres.
"There was a DV, and it seemed to be inside an office. It looks like a modern-day setting."
"Someone is walking around with a handheld DV filming something, but the entire video is completely silent. And if we take into account how messy the room is, we can make a bold guess: could it be that the ghosts can only be seen through the DV?"
"A person walks through dark corridors and rooms holding a DV. Then, suddenly, a ghost face appears on the DV screen, before dragging the person filming into the abyss of darkness!"
"God, you guys are way too imaginative. There's literally nothing in the video, and you're already making all these wild theories? I watched it in broad daylight and still got chills all over!"
"You're way too cowardly. You can't even handle this? I'd advise you to wear a diaper when you play or watch it later."
"It was seriously creepy. I came across it around midnight yesterday. It didn't reveal anything at all, but I ended up scaring myself into thinking there was someone under my bed. I was freaked out for half the night."
Players online continued discussing it enthusiastically, but most of their theories were pure speculation.
After all, Chen Xu's video was merely hinting that his next project would be a horror game.
What kind of horror game it would actually be had not yet been revealed.
And it wasn't just the players.
The announcement also sparked heated discussions among industry designers and media outlets.
"Did you hear? Chen Xu's new game is actually a horror game!"
"That's a little unexpected. I didn't think Chen Xu would choose to tackle horror."
"It's not that surprising, though. For small teams and indie game designers, horror games are actually a relatively accessible genre to enter."
"Small team? Chen Xu doesn't exactly have a small team. Haven't you seen Nebula Games' profile? Chen Xu's team isn't that small anymore."
"That's normal. Undertale and To the Moon both sold pretty well."
"Still, horror games are relatively niche. Forget the domestic market—even overseas, it seems like there haven't been many outstanding horror games lately, have there?"
"Yeah. Although VR and horror games seem like a natural combination, the market and development costs are still major problems."
"I think Chen Xu's horror game might just be a case of bait-and-switch."
"What do you mean?"
"Look at To the Moon and Undertale. It's obvious that Chen Xu is a designer who's particularly good at storytelling. So is it possible that this so-called horror game is just wearing a horror-themed shell while actually telling a heartwarming story?"
"Now that you put it that way, it doesn't seem impossible. After all, didn't Chen Xu previously say that he was a Warrior of Love?"
"That makes sense!"
Game industry designers discussed Chen Xu and the news surrounding his upcoming title.
But for the various gaming self-media outlets chasing traffic, things were considerably more chaotic.
"Mysterious Video Released Late at Night—What Is Chen Xu Planning?"
"From Heartwarming to Horror? Designer Chen Xu Switches to Horror Games!"
"Abandoning His Strengths to Try a Niche Horror Game—Confidence or Blindness?"
...
Article after article flooded websites and forums.
Some of the larger media outlets were still able to maintain a degree of neutrality.
But for certain clickbait accounts and second- and third-tier gaming media outlets, it was all about stirring up controversy and driving the narrative.
The main reason was the genre Chen Xu had chosen.
After all, the industry had gone many years without producing an outstanding horror game.
The horror game industry couldn't exactly be described as completely stagnant, but it certainly wasn't very lively either.
The horror games that sold reasonably well on the market were mostly part of established IP franchises, and even their annual sales had been steadily declining.
The genres and themes of horror games were also incredibly diverse.
Domestically, there were zombie and ghost themes.
Overseas, there were serial killers and demons.
Realistic settings, supernatural settings.
Pretty much every type imaginable could be found.
Yet none of them had managed to become major commercial hits.
The main problem was that these horror games had never really broken out of the same mold.
They still relied on the same tightly paced formula of scares, gunplay, and progressing through the story.
It wasn't that this formula was bad.
The problem was that making it truly compelling was simply too difficult.
Looking at all the games in Chen Xu's previous life that combined gunfights with horror, how many had actually managed to leave a lasting mark?
There was Resident Evil and Dead Space, for the most part.
And of those two IPs, only the former could still be considered a major first-tier franchise.
The latter had practically died off, only to be dragged back out and reheated years later when EA had run out of old leftovers to serve.
However, for Chen Xu and the entire Nebula Games team, all the discussions online had little impact.
The game's development progress was visibly advancing day by day.
Although the game wasn't complete yet, players could already experience some of the earlier sections.
And after playing through them, Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, and everyone else on the team were left with only one thought.
Namely...
There was absolutely no way they were playing this thing at night!
There was nothing they could do about it.
It was simply too damn scary.
Even though everyone on the team had participated in developing the game, and every single element had been created through their collective efforts, that didn't mean they weren't still scared of it!