Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue wore expressions of complete confusion.
"We're not developing a sequel to Undertale, and we're not making META games anymore?" Yang Xin couldn't quite grasp the reasoning.
Ruan Ningxue felt the same way.
After all, gaming media outlets were uniformly publishing various reviews and analyses of Undertale.
On forums frequented by industry designers, professional game developers were actively discussing the characteristics of Undertale's unique gameplay mode.
After all, such a fresh element truly felt like it could become a new trendsetter.
Even some game developers and designers had publicly announced they had greenlit projects incorporating META elements.
Yet now Chen Xu was saying they wouldn't do it?
Releasing such news would undoubtedly surprise countless people.
After all, the concept of META had been completely ignored before Undertale.
Under normal circumstances, with Undertale's current popularity, the logical move would be to strike while the iron was hot and quickly release a sequel—just like Mirror (Game) had done with its DLC.
At the very least, they could develop a completely new META game!
In fact, Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin had privately discussed this before.
They even believed their next project might be a prequel to Undertale.
After all, in the game, the stories of Asriel and Chara were merely summarized, never fully fleshed out.
Yet now, Chen Xu told them they wouldn't make a Undertale sequel, or even any META games at all?
"It's not very suitable. The scale of META elements is inherently limited. Undertale did deliver a powerful impact to players, but the main reason for that was players had no prior expectations and lacked any concept of META elements."
"If we continue releasing META games now, the subsequent reception definitely won't match Undertale's. In fact, due to players' first impressions, they might even perceive the quality as declining."
Chen Xu explained to the two of them.
Others might not understand the genre of meta games, but Chen Xu did.
In his previous life, meta games were nothing particularly novel.
Games like ICEY, The Stanley Parable, Pony Island, and the Undertale he had chosen to develop were all outstanding examples.
Yet the highest sales belonged to Undertale and ICEY. The Stanley Parable, which truly brought META into the mainstream player consciousness in his previous life, actually sold less than these two newer titles.
As for Pony Island, many players had never even heard of it.
The primary reason was that META elements weren't suitable as the main selling point.
Careful analysis reveals that ICEY incorporated action elements.
Undertale, while subverting traditional RPG settings, was fundamentally a fusion of RPG and bullet-hell gameplay.
Both games used META elements as a supporting feature, whereas Pony Island and The Stanley Parable placed META elements at the forefront, with other elements playing a secondary role.
META elements could indeed create a shocking experience for players.
But they weren't suited to be the core focus. They worked better as a catalyst, creating a chemical reaction with the game's inherent content.
Even many large-scale games from his previous life adopted similar designs.
For instance, Psycho Mantis, the boss in the Metal Gear series who could read the player's controller inputs.
Or the ending of Nier: Automata, which used the player's saves to save others.
These were all examples of META elements in use, but they served more as supplementary features.
The success of Undertale was absolutely not solely due to its META elements.
After hearing Chen Xu's explanation, Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin still felt somewhat bewildered.
They understood, yet not completely.
But one thing they did grasp clearly was this:
Continuing to release META games might not generate much profit, and the reputation might not be good either.
Combined with a flood of game developers incorporating META elements, players could easily develop aesthetic fatigue.
"Then what kind of project should we pursue next?" Yang Xin asked Chen Xu.
"For now, let's make a small-budget transitional game. Also, we need to expand the team," Chen Xu said.
"As for the genre… take a look at this."
With that, Chen Xu opened the nearby laptop, logged into a website: the Game Department Official Website.
Then, under the slightly bewildering gazes of Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin, he opened an announcement:
【Science is the source of human progress; scientific advancement and innovation are transforming our lives in unprecedented ways. This time, the Game Department hosts the Sci-Fi Game Design Competition under the theme "Technology Changes Life."】
One: Participants: National Game Designers.
Two: Requirements: Platform unrestricted, theme must be healthy and positive.
Three: Organization: This event is hosted by the National Game Department, utilizing a dual selection mode of expert review and player voting to ensure fairness and impartiality.
Four: Awards and Recognition: Based on the total number of submissions, one first prize, three second prizes, six third prizes, and several excellence awards will be granted.
Outstanding works will be promoted and recommended on the official platform's homepage after the event.
Winning designers will be awarded the title of "Outstanding Designer" as encouragement.
(Registration period: September 1st to September 5th. Event concludes by the end of September.)
"Are we going to participate?" Yang Xin asked, visibly surprised.
She was actually aware of this event.
Although it appeared to invite game designers nationwide, in reality, the participants were mostly independent game designers or small to medium-sized game companies.
The benefits were clear. After all, the organizer was the Game Department, which oversaw game censorship, job title evaluations for designers, game engine tech development, and related gaming policies.
Appearing before the official authorities was certainly beneficial.
Moreover, being promoted on the official platform's homepage was a tangible benefit.
After all, the Official Game Platform was one of the largest domestic channels.
As for why major studios didn't participate, it was mainly because such competitions were like a chicken rib (an idiom for something that has little value but is difficult to discard; a mixed blessing, or something not worth the effort) to them.
Big-budget, high-production games simply didn't lack exposure.
Furthermore, high-cost productions were naturally driven by commercial interests.
Commercially driven games inevitably included special elements designed to attract players.
Even without mentioning violence or fanservice, elements like multiple female protagonists with a harem would look extremely inappropriate in an official event like this.
Thus, naturally, no big-budget productions participated.
Instead, mostly independent designers, small and medium game developers, and sometimes studios acquired by large companies, would take part.
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