The online discussion surrounding Outlast was still ongoing.
How long this wave of popularity for Outlast would last primarily depended on how long it could remain trending on live streaming platforms.
Relying solely on the gameâs inherent horror quality to keep Outlast popular was unrealistic.
Meanwhile, some game developers and designers online had reportedly begun developing their own horror games, clearly aiming to ride the wave of horror fever sparked by Outlast.
As for the genre, it didnât even need thinkingâmost would undoubtedly be uniformly escape-based gameplay without combat systems.
Chen Xu didnât pay much attention to this.
After all, developing Outlast hadnât originally been part of Chen Xuâs plan.
If it hadnât been for that lucky draw of an item that converted points, he wouldnât have developed this game at all.
"Time-wise, two months is a bit too rushed," Chen Xu mused, checking the date.
Truly large-scale games, as well as VR games, were still temporarily off the table, just like before.
Capital was still lacking.
Additionally, with the Lunar New Year approaching, even if he wanted to develop a medium-sized game, it wouldnât be able to launch until after the holiday.
During this period, Chen Xu also planned to hire, through a headhunter, some talent capable of handling areas beyond game development.
Aside from that, there was also Nebula Games Platform.
From a functional standpoint, the Nebula Games Store already had a fairly comprehensive suite of features.
Shop, inventory, community, friends, comments, and even the Workshop (modding platform)âall features present on the Steam Platform from his previous lifeâwere fully implemented.
Of course, some interface UI elements related to recommendations hadnât been developed yet, since there were only three games on the platform at the moment.
Outlast, To the Moon, and Undertale.
The platform itself was already mature; the key issue was the lack of a player user base.
So far, the Nebula Games Platform had sold only 15,000 copies of games in total.
As for daily active users, it was less than 1,000.
Although the numbers were dismal, Chen Xu still held high hopes for the platform.
"Funds arenât tight for now. Itâs about time to start focusing on the platform," Chen Xu thought.
To accumulate users for the platform as quickly as possible, an exclusive strategy was clearly the most effective.
Major game developers and channels, both domestic and international, all employed similar exclusive strategies.
However, this approach clearly didnât belong to Nebula Games at this stage.
They had some money, but the capital gap compared to major game developers was still enormous.
To truly implement an exclusive strategy, theyâd need to release a game attractive enough.
But the key issue was, releasing this type of game now would only be making profits for others.
After all, gameplay couldnât be protected, and many multiplayer online games from his previous life that were centered on innovative gameplay were Chen Xuâs trump cards.
Using them now wouldnât blow up othersâit would blow up himself.
âMulti-channel, buy-to-play, discounted pricing, pass bundling, online multiplayer.â
Sitting in front of his computer, Chen Xu pondered deeply, then picked up a pen and wrote down several keywords on his notepad.
This was the definition he set for the next new game to be developed.
Multi-channel didnât need much explanationâNebula Games wasnât suited for exclusivity at this stage.
The buy-to-play model was intended to work with discounted pricing, better attracting players to spend on the Nebula Games Platform.
As for pass bundling, players who bought the upcoming new game on other platforms would have to register a Nebula Games pass account for authentication.
This might indeed lose a batch of players who found it troublesome, and some channels even prohibited this type of account linking.
But for Nebula Gamesâ early user accumulation, it was still crucial.
Regardless of whether they spent money or not, and even if players only registered without downloading the platform,
At the very least, trick them into registering a pass account first.
Online multiplayer would better ensure this model, allowing players to cross-platform play together.
As for project selection, this game also wouldnât be too large in scale.
After all, it was a test game.
Added to that, this yearâs Spring Festival came laterâChinese New Yearâs Eve was on February 11.
Two months was enough time to develop a low-budget game.
âŚâŚâŚâŚâŚâŚ
Sitting at his computer, Chen Xu had set a general development direction for the near future.
He stepped out of his office to get some fresh air and, at the same time, consider which game to choose for the next new project.
After all, the range of options was still relatively broad.
It was already past work hours. Some employees who hadnât gone home for lunch greeted Chen Xu as they saw him.
Chen Xu nodded in response to each one. Looking at the office space, he also considered whether it was time to expand.
When there were fewer people, he hadnât felt it, but now with the R&D department and other departments sharing the space, the workplace was a bit crampedâworkstations separated only by simple partitions.
However, just as this thought arose, before he could dwell on it, Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue approached and interrupted him.
"Mr. Chen, youâve been turned into a meme!" Ruan Ningxue said with a smile.
"No, itâs not just youâour Mr. Chenâs words have become a meme," Yang Xin said, holding up her phone.
Chen Xu glanced at it and was slightly speechless.
On Yang Xinâs phone was a photoshopped screenshot.
The image showed the protagonist from Outlast doing abdominal exercises for the Scissors Doctor who cut fingers, with a caption beside it: "I am a Warrior of Love!"
Yang Xin swiped the screen, and a new meme appearedâa screenshot of the Fat Security Guard Uncleâs decapitation.
Of course, the image was censored with a mosaic, but it still had a line of text beside it: "I am also a Warrior of Love!"
"This meme hasnât died down yet?" Chen Xu was both speechless and slightly amused.
"Of course not! In the Outlast player community, anyone who doesnât know this meme is truly unworthy of their scare experience!" Ruan Ningxue said cheerfully.
"Exactly!" Yang Xin agreed.
"Who could blame Mr. Chen? Your explanation back then was just too perfect!" Ruan Ningxue pulled up the post Chen Xu had made on the official Weibo account.
The like count had already surpassed 500,000, with over 70,000 comments.
"Players always misunderstand me!" He said it jokingly, but a smile still played on his face, and an idea flashed through his mind.
"Hmm, Iâve decided! I need to prove my âWarrior of Loveâ label. The next game will definitely be a wholesome one," Chen Xu said with a smile.
Ruan Ningxue looked surprised: "Mr. Chen, youâve already decided on a new project this quickly? What kind of game is it!?"
"A wholesome game? Mr. Chen, youâre not pulling the same stunt as with Outlast, are you?" Yang Xin expressed doubt.
"Donât rush me. Iâll think it over for a couple of days. Once Iâve confirmed the gameâs content, Iâll tell you. But the scale wonât be large. This year, Spring Festival and Valentineâs Day fall togetherâperfect timing to present players with a very fitting game," Chen Xu said with a smile.
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