With Undertale achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success, the keyword "META" had captured the attention of countless game designers across the gaming industry.
If judged solely on story, Undertale was indeed outstandingâbut certainly not enough to warrant the overwhelming praise and results it was receiving now.
Yet once combined with the META element, everyone who played it shared one singular feeling:éćźâawe and shock.
It wasn't just indie game developers paying attention; even mid-to-senior-level game designers, and those specializing in VR games, were closely observing this title.
After all, from a certain perspective, Undertale had delivered a masterclass to the entire industry.
It demonstrated to everyone exactly what a META element was, and how such an element could be seamlessly woven into gameplay.
But while numerous designers in the gaming industry were analyzing its brilliance,
Chen Xu, at this moment, was completely relaxed.
The success of Undertale was truly a double victory.
Fame and profit, both achieved.
In his office, Chen Xu held a bottle of Wangzi Milk, staring at the system UI interface only he could see.
âNot impressive enough! Although it provides more points than Mirror (Game) did, Iâve only managed to save up for two ten-pulls.â
After rounding down, Chen Xu had accumulated exactly 2.1 million pointsâenough for 21 pulls.
Compared to Mirror (Game), Undertale did offer significantly more points, but still not overwhelmingly so.
Chen Xu had analyzed the reason thoroughly.
Only emotions experienced by players who actually purchased and played the game counted.
Simply put: you had to spend money and feel intense emotional fluctuations for it to contribute to his points.
Passive viewing, no matter how emotionally impactful, didnât count.
What shocked players the most in Undertale, aside from their first encounter with the META element, mostly stemmed from the Genocide Route.
Yet very few players actually chose to play itâespecially after various video walkthroughs surfaced, leading most to watch passively rather than experience it firsthand.
Therefore, the bulk of the accumulated points came primarily from playersâ initial shock upon first playthrough.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, he began pulling.
With only 2.1 million points, Chen Xu decided against ten-pulls.
There was no guaranteed SSR from a ten-pull, nor any discount for consecutive pulls.
He went for single pulls insteadâafter all, "single pull, miracle strike!" Plus, single pulls carried a certain ritualistic satisfaction.
Though one thing did bother himâcould the golden light design change?
Staring at the flashing golden light before him, Chen Xu felt utterly unmoved.
As the light faded, a common plot +1 skill book appeared.
The most dazzling golden light, yielding the most ordinary result. Really, now!
Sighing with emotion, Chen Xu used them all at once.
Twenty-one consecutive single pulls. This time, Chen Xu suspected he hadnât washed his hands before pulling.
Aside from two Memory Capsules, every other result was a common skill bookâno rares, not a single one.
As for types: Art, Music, story, levels, and Numerical Designânone were spared.
He took a sip of milk, sighed, "Unlucky King," used up all the skill books, and then shut down the system.
Opening the official game engineâs backend on his computer, he logged into the Modu Game Departmentâs partition and checked his permissions.
Compared to the previous 1024, his available resources had now been increased to 2048âalmost doubled.
Clearly, although no formal notification about a job title upgrade had arrived, the Game Department had taken notice of his development of Undertale and upgraded his Game Designer rank accordingly.
"Next, I need to think about what game to develop afterward." Leaning back in his chair, Chen Xu fell into deep thought.
A AAA-tier game?
Immediately dismissed.
Too unrealistic.
Whether it was resources, manpower, funding, or Chen Xuâs current capabilities, developing a AAA-tier game would be extremely difficult.
After all, small-scale, low-cost games thrived on creative gameplay and narrative expression, while AAA games tested comprehensive execution across all aspects.
Thus, Chen Xu decided his next direction would still focus on small-scale, low-cost games.
In the meantime, heâd build up his team foundation and get Nebula Games fully operational as soon as possible.
After all, the entire company currently had only three people handling game development: Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, and himself.
Now that they had money, hiring was naturally the next step.
Additionally, heâd continue accumulating points to further enhance his abilities.
As for pay-to-win games? Chen Xu currently had no interest.
They could severely damage both his reputation and Nebula Gamesâ.
Moreover, the massive success of Undertale proved one thing: the market in this Parallel World was completely different from his previous life.
Buy-to-play games could still be profitable. Under these circumstances, Chen Xu naturally intended to pursue the high-quality route.
âŚâŚâŚâŚâŚâŚ
In the meeting room, Chen Xu gave a brief overview of the results brought by Undertale and the Mirror (Game) DLC to the team.
He confirmed the companyâs primary development direction going forward, discussed expanding departments, and established relevant policies.
As the boss, Chen Xu inevitably served up a couple of motivational speeches.
Honestly speaking, delivering grand promises and motivational speeches felt entirely different from being on the receiving end.
In that moment, Chen Xu finally understood why so many people in his previous life loved making grand promises and giving motivational speeches.
It really did feel satisfying.
After wrapping up administrative and HR matters, Chen Xu remained in the meeting room with Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue to discuss game development.
"So, are we going to release a Sequel to Undertale next?" Yang Xin asked, her eyes filled with anticipation for the future.
This was the gaming industry she had always dreamed of!
Beside her, Ruan Ningxue was equally excited.
Initially, sheâd joined partly due to her relationship with Chen Xu and Yang Xin, and partly because making games felt enjoyable and offered some potential.
But now?
It wasnât just potentialâit was tremendous potential!
Especially after seeing fan-made stories and artwork for Undertale and Mirror (Game) on various websites, she felt an indescribable sense of pride.
After all, these were projects she had helped create. In the past, she was always the one drawing othersâ worksânow, others were drawing hers.
Hearing Yang Xinâs question, Chen Xu smiled and nodded: "There will definitely be a new project, but it wonât be a Sequel to Undertale, nor will it be another META-style game."
Not a Sequel to Undertale? Not even a META game?
Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue stared, stunned.
(End of Chapter)<