Chapter 31: First Experience with To the Moon

Days passed, and the deadline for the Game Design Competition drew near.

Game producers and game companies alike uploaded their contest entries to the Official Game Platform.

Among them were mobile games and PC games—mostly single-player games, though some online games were included as well.

Clearly, some aimed to win awards, while others just wanted to join the fun.

After all, some had existing projects that could just as easily enter the competition.

Who knows? They might even win something.

After these works were uploaded, the next step was preliminary censorship.

This process would filter out works with problematic content or those that were crude and shoddy.

Of course, this segment was not open to the public. Still, even the removed games would eventually be launched on the game platform.

Though such a rule existed, very few games were actually eliminated each year.

After all, only qualified Game Designers could participate—most of them had at least some skill.

This year, however, drew intense attention from both the industry and players alike.

Would Chen Xu’s game, developed in just over ten days, be eliminated?

‘Here it is, here it is! Scanned the full list—no games were removed at all!’

‘Damn it! Does that mean the Game Department认可 Chen Xu’s game for eligibility?’

‘So at least it’s playable, right?’

‘Found it, found it! Chen Xu’s new work is called To the Moon!’

‘The name sounds pretty serious—space-related, maybe?’

‘The price is super cheap! Only 15 yuan?’

‘Looks like it’s on dual platforms, two different versions.’

‘What? Two versions? Even Undertale didn’t get that treatment!’

‘I’m gonna see exactly what kind of game Chen Xu made in just over ten days!’

As the contest entries were released, countless interested players quickly downloaded and began experiencing their favorite games.

Naturally, Chen Xu’s To the Moon was one of the first to draw attention.

………………

On Shark TV’s live streaming platforms, in the gaming section.

Many streamers launched livestreams to test out the games from this Game Design Competition.

This was part of Shark TV’s official promotional campaign. After all, the Game Design Competition was hosted by the Game Department—carrying a certain official weight—even if Shark TV hadn’t been formally invited.

But when it came to showing respect, platforms like Shark TV never hesitated to use their tongues.

Just because they weren’t invited didn’t mean they couldn’t show initiative.

Dong Zhen, a streamer on Shark TV, was well aware of this platform event.

So early in the morning, he started his live stream, with the room title: Experiencing Game Design Competition Entries.

‘Morning, folks!’

‘What’s up, little bro? Streaming this early?’

‘Holy crap, which zoo monkey escaped today?’

‘Little Dong’s here so early?’

The moment Dong Zhen started his stream, the screen filled with teasing bullet comments.

Seeing the barrage of comments, Dong Zhen chuckled.

“Ahem!!!”

“Alright, alright, good morning everyone! Today, we’re diving into some of the entries from this Game Design Competition. Big task ahead!”

As he adjusted his streaming equipment, Dong Zhen logged into the Official Game Platform with his account.

“For the first game, let’s try the new one from the creator of Undertale.”

“To be honest, I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.”

“Why? Well, what the heck—didn’t Undertale blow everyone away? It was genuinely amazing.”

“But now, this one called To the Moon? Heard it was made in just over ten days—and wasn’t cut by the Game Department. What the heck, I’m seriously curious what kind of game this is!”

As he spoke, Dong Zhen opened the Official Game Platform and searched for To the Moon.

‘Altering memories… an old man’s dying wish is to go to the moon? Wow, this is bold!’

“Today, I, a proud man standing at 192 cm, shall uncover this game’s secrets!”

The game wasn’t large, and his broadband quickly downloaded it.

Ignoring the screen full of question-mark bullet comments, Dong Zhen decisively clicked to launch the game.

One meter sixty? Impossible. He’d always been a towering 192 cm!

The installation completed quickly.

The game’s icon was simple: two children sitting on a log, gazing at the distant moon.

Launching the game, the Nebula Games company Logo flashed and disappeared.

A full moon, lighthouses appeared on screen. Stars dotted the sky, and a few dark clouds drifted slowly.

Etched onto the moon’s surface was the game’s title: To the Moon.

Meanwhile, the camera slowly panned downward.

A warm piano concerto began playing as the BGM.

As serene as moonlight.

Lighthouses, grasslands, and a large mansion perched on the edge of a cliff.

The camera slowly moved into the house, where a girl sat at a piano playing, with a young boy beside her.

At this moment, the background music shifted. A simple piano melody began, and closing your eyes, it felt as if you were standing in a forest, a gentle stream flowing before you.

‘Forget everything else, this music is amazing!’

‘Right! Without saying much about Chen Xu’s other work, the music is absolutely top-tier!’

‘Yeah, both piano pieces are really beautiful.’

‘And Undertale—the music added so many points!’

‘Not just Undertale, the music in Mirror (Game) was also excellent!’

‘Caught a gentleman red-handed!’

Reading the live stream room’s bullet comments, Dong Zhen nodded quietly.

The game hadn’t even started yet—whether it was fun remained to be seen—but the music was truly outstanding.

As everyone immersed themselves in the beautiful piano melody, suddenly, the sound of a car engine broke through, followed by a crashing noise.

Accompanying the impact, the game screen slightly shook.

The camera shifted outside the house—a black sedan had crashed into a tree.

Two people in white coats, resembling doctors, stepped out from the car.

‘Where were you looking while driving, Neil?’

‘Hmm, sorry. I was heroically avoiding that squirrel that suddenly jumped out.’

‘…But you still ran over it—and then crashed into a tree.’

‘Look, no need to worry. It’s a company car.’

‘Are you kidding? The boss will kill us!’

‘Hmm… let’s just say I saved a puppy. He likes dogs, right?’

‘He prefers cats.’

‘Why does the world have to be so complicated? Whatever he likes, the crisis is over!’

Thank you to ‘Qianqiu VV’ for a 100 yuan donation.

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