Game Development: Starting by Healing the Players
Chapter 50: The Bizarre Mount Massive Asylum
'LMAO, Sun bro seems to be having a little trouble breathing.'
'Hahaha, guys, stop. Sun bro's got his difficulties.'
'"Horror Games Are As Easy As Breathing to Me"'
'Hahaha, someone get the boss his ventilator! The boss is having trouble breathing!'
'Don't panic, boss. If you're having difficulties, we can stop the stream. We understand.'
'What do you guys know? Big bro is just doing it for the livestream effect!'
Even though he was streaming a horror game, and even though only a few minutes had passed since the game began, the chatroom's barrage of comments was already as lively as if it were New Year's.
Looking at the comments, Sun Yixie couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
This game was completely different from the horror games he had imagined!
The atmosphere, the visuals, and the sense of immersion they created were simply overwhelming.
In fact, the immersion was almost no weaker than that of a VR game.
This was mainly because of the inherent characteristics of horror games.
From a psychological perspective, when players remain highly focused on a game, they can achieve an extremely high level of immersion.
Other types of games generally rely on the story, music, and other elements to gradually draw players into the experience.
Horror games, however, were different.
Players knew very well that they were bound to be frightened at some point while playing such a game, but they had no idea where that scare would come from.
Combined with the music and the atmosphere of the surroundings, this naturally kept players constantly focused on the game.
The same principle applied to FPS games.
This was also why playing these kinds of games continuously could make players feel exhausted.
After all, they all required the player to maintain an extremely high level of concentration.
Sun Yixie glanced at the game screen, then at the comments on the secondary monitor.
He slowly pushed his chair farther back, then pulled the mouse and keyboard away from the desk, placing them on his lap and on a small stool beside him.
He was trying to create some distance between himself and the screen, hoping that this would help him relax.
Naturally, the only result was that the livestream chat became even more sarcastic.
It also made the game somewhat inconvenient to play.
More importantly, Sun Yixie soon discovered that putting some distance between himself and the screen hadn't changed anything at all.
If anything, the increased distance created the illusion that there was someone beside him or standing behind him.
He squeezed through a gap in the wall and crawled into a ventilation duct. He glanced at the comments on the secondary monitor again.
Since playing like this was genuinely uncomfortable, Sun Yixie subconsciously glanced around the room.
His voice also became louder as he tried to work up his courage.
"Fuck! What's there to be afraid of?!"
"Seriously! Why the hell am I panicking?!"
"Does panicking even help?"
"Fuck, don't I still have to walk over there step by step?"
"What's the point of panicking?"
"I'm not scared at all!"
After crawling out of the ventilation duct, Sun Yixie looked at the bloodstained walls around him and discreetly swallowed.
By then, he had guided the character in the game to a half-open door.
Completely unaware of what was waiting on the other side, he pushed the door open.
The next moment, the game's music suddenly became sharp and frantic.
At the same time, a hanging corpse behind the door suddenly swung toward the protagonist.
It instantly filled the entire game screen.
The protagonist in the game and Sun Yixie outside the game both let out piercing screams.
"AAAAAAAH!"
Caught completely off guard, Sun Yixie once again covered his face, repeating his earlier reaction.
Breathing heavily, Sun Yixie could clearly feel his heart pounding.
Thump. Thump.
Strong and powerful.
It had all been caused by the scare just now.
"Fuck, fuck! I can scream if I want, but why the hell are you screaming too?!" Sun Yixie said, trying to change the subject after hearing the protagonist's panting through his headphones.
The reason he had screamed just now wasn't entirely because of the sudden jump scare when he opened the door.
The main reason was that the protagonist in the game had screamed first.
After being startled, Sun Yixie heard the protagonist cry out, and he instinctively followed suit.
His lower leg, hidden from the camera beneath the desk, was trembling slightly.
Sun Yixie could only feel the cold sweat from the scare soaking through the clothes on his back.
Placing one hand over his chest, Sun Yixie slowly took two deep breaths.
He stared at the game screen.
After hesitating for a moment, he stood up in front of the camera and lowered the air conditioner temperature slightly.
Then he took a hooded down jacket from the cabinet nearby.
"Brothers, the air conditioner is set too low. It's a little cold, so I'm going to put on a jacket."
As he spoke, Sun Yixie put on the down jacket, pulled the hood over his head, and then put his headphones on over the hood.
Seeing what Sun Yixie was doing, the viewers in the livestream chat naturally began spamming comments in unison.
'????????????????'
'Sun bro is amazing. Sun bro is only wearing a hood because his head is cold. It definitely isn't because he's scared.'
'Exactly. Horror games are as easy as breathing for Sun bro. Would Sun bro be scared?'
'Don't panic, Sun bro. We know you're not scared.'
Seeing the chatroom's comments turn increasingly sarcastic, Sun Yixie was furious, but he couldn't find a single argument to refute them.
Fully armed for the occasion, Sun Yixie replaced the battery in the camera, which had already run out of power, and continued exploring.
Upon entering the room, he was greeted by furniture that had been completely destroyed and smashed to pieces. Blood covered the floor and walls, while unidentified corpses could be seen lying on the floor and inside cabinets.
And every single one of those corpses was missing its head.
Under night vision mode, the entire scene was cast in a ghastly green hue, making the already horrifying and eerie atmosphere of the game even more disturbing.
At the very least, Sun Yixie didn't even dare look directly at the corpses and severed limbs scattered across the floor.
"Quick!"
Just as Sun Yixie reached the middle of the room, one of the "corpses" suddenly spoke.
On camera, Sun Yixie's entire body visibly jolted in fright. His normally squinted eyes opened wide.
This time, however, he managed not to scream.
"Fuck! Scaring people like that can literally scare them to death!"
Following the voice, he saw that the speaker was a man impaled on a length of rebar, like meat on a skewer.
"Quick… quick… run!"
"Those people killed us… all of us… Before they realize you're here… hurry…"
"Run out of… this…"
After saying those words, the dying man fell silent.
Obviously, in the game, he was nothing more than a mouthpiece for delivering exposition. Once he had finished his lines, there was no reason for him to stay alive.
But at this point, Sun Yixie had absolutely no interest in uncovering the secrets of the Mount Massive Asylum.
He had only one thought.
Run!
Because the scene and atmosphere were simply too oppressive.
Everything was filled with an eerie sense of unease and dread.
Why did he have to play this game?
Why did he have to explore this damned mental hospital?!
"Fuck, let me out! Let me out!"
Using the camera's night-vision function, Sun Yixie finally escaped the oppressive little room and entered a corridor that was relatively well lit.
What he failed to notice, however, was that just as he reached the corridor, a shadow flashed past inside the doorway beside him.