Game Development: Starting by Healing the Players
Chapter 54: The Players' Reactions
As for Nebula Games—or rather, Chen Xu's new game—there were actually quite a lot of people paying attention to it.
These people weren't just players. There were also some game designers from the industry, as well as gaming media outlets.
After all, Chen Xu still carried a certain label: he was the first-prize winner of the Sci-Fi Game Design Competition.
On top of that, To the Moon had genuinely moved countless players.
Therefore, there was no shortage of people who were curious about Chen Xu's new game, Outlast.
This was especially true among players who followed horror games. Within those circles, Outlast had already begun generating considerable buzz.
On a certain horror-game discussion forum, quite a few players were making posts discussing Outlast.
"Holy shit! I just discovered a newly released horror game that scared the piss out of me! At first, I thought it was just another run-of-the-mill, third-rate horror game! But damn, I was completely wrong. I played for half an hour and got so scared I couldn't keep playing!"
"I know, Outlast, right? It's made by the designer who previously developed To the Moon. This game is seriously fucking scary. At first, I wasn't impressed by those few jump scares when opening doors, but once I got to the basement, I realized I was fucking wrong!"
"Same here. I bought it too, and it really is scary. Especially when you're hiding inside a locker. I was terrified that the fat guy would discover me."
"The jump scares when opening doors aren't that bad, in my opinion. You get used to those. But that creepy-ass night vision mode on the camera combined with all those dark environments? I seriously can't handle it!"
Many players who had already played the game began discussing various aspects of Outlast in their communities.
At the same time, these conversations also attracted quite a few players who had no idea what Outlast was about.
After all, although plenty of players were paying attention to Chen Xu, the majority of ordinary players simply didn't follow this sort of thing.
When it came to To the Moon, quite a few people knew what game that was.
After all, To the Moon and Undertale were both fairly well-known within the indie-game community.
But when it came to Chen Xu and his new game Outlast, unless someone specifically followed him, most players were completely clueless about the situation.
This was also why those top-tier game companies were willing to spend enormous amounts of money promoting their AAA titles.
Most players were very passive when it came to discovering games. Some had even played outstanding games without knowing who the designer or developer behind them was.
In the various posts discussing Outlast, the topic attracted quite a few players who didn't normally pay attention to Chen Xu.
"Outlast? A newly released horror game?"
"Is it really as exaggerated as you guys make it sound? It's just a horror game."
"If you don't believe us, go try it yourself. You can buy it on the official game platform or the Nebula Games platform. It's five yuan cheaper on Nebula Games, though."
"OK, I'm in. Take me to the challenge!"
"I'll give it a try too. You cowards!"
"Looking forward to your impressions afterward!"
"Enough talk. Just wait for us to come back with news of our victory! Heh. What's there to fear from a little horror game?"
They were all full of bravado beforehand.
However, an hour or two later, the players who had previously announced that they were going to challenge the game returned to the forum.
Compared to their earlier confident and dismissive attitudes, this time, you could practically feel their psychological trauma just by reading their posts.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! I almost got scared to death! That mentally ill guy in the wheelchair scared the shit out of me!"
"I can't do it anymore. I'm actually feeling a little dizzy. The part in the basement where I had to start the generators completely broke me. It was pitch-black, my camera batteries were running low, and on top of that, there was some guy with a nail-covered wooden plank chasing me."
"Same here. That shit scared me so badly I almost pissed myself. Luckily, I managed to hold it in at the critical moment."
"I'm seriously wondering what the hell this game's designer has been through."
"I dare say this is definitely the best horror game of the year. No, forget that—the best horror game of the past several years!"
"+1! I feel the same way!"
"So, this game is so much fun. Anyone have any ideas?"
"For example, should we recommend it to more players? Good stuff should be shared, right?"
"Great minds think alike! Let's go post about Outlast on other gaming communities and forums too!"
"Hehe, I've already posted one. Go bump my thread!"
"Holy shit, that's not fair! You went ahead without us!"
After the first batch of horror-game enthusiasts experienced Outlast and nearly pissed themselves from fear, many players who hadn't dared to continue playing also began heading to gaming communities and forums, preparing to make posts recommending Outlast to other players.
Of course, most of these players weren't thinking This horror game is so excellent that everyone absolutely has to play it.
Their thoughts were much simpler:
If I got scared this badly, shouldn't I make sure more people get scared just as badly as I did?
Naturally, Chen Xu had also already arranged for promotional accounts to guide the discussion and generate buzz.
Otherwise, it would have been difficult for the game to gain widespread attention so quickly.
Of course, all of this depended on the game actually having the ability to live up to the hype in the first place.
And did Outlast have that ability?
The answer was obvious.
So, on gaming community forums and in various gaming groups, these first-wave players began recommending Outlast to their friends, as well as to complete strangers online.
How could such a great game be allowed to scare only themselves half to death?
They absolutely had to let other players experience the "love" this game had to offer as well!
On gaming communities, some players noticed that, all of a sudden, a large number of similar posts had begun appearing around the same time.
Almost all of them were discussing a horror game called Outlast.
"Highly recommend this horror game, Outlast. I bought it for my roommate who's preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam. It's extremely effective. My roommate has already been scared to death, and I've successfully gotten into graduate school through recommendation."
"Bought this game for my kid. The kid is having a wonderful time playing in the afterlife now!"
"Other games cost you money to play. This one is something else—it costs you your heart!"
"The game was bought in the morning, played in the afternoon, and the player died of fright that night."
"If you're a coward, don't buy this horror game. Otherwise, you'll definitely regret it!"
"A horror game that only truly courageous people dare to play alone!"
"Outlast, the best horror game of the year! Cowards, stay away from this game!"
Gaming forums and communities were filled with posts like these.
There were essentially two schools of thought.
One consisted of players making jokes and trying to trick other people into buying the game so they could suffer together.
The other was clearly more straightforward: players genuinely telling others just how terrifying this horror game really was.
The joke posts were actually quite easy to identify.
But they nevertheless made a lot of people curious.
Was this horror game called Outlast really that frightening?
How could it have scared so many people—and even inspired so many players to make jokes specifically designed to lure others into the game so they could be subjected to the same fate?