Chapter 76: Two New Games

Seeing the bewildered staff members, Chen Xu smiled without offering any explanation.

Naturally, Chen Xu had his reasons for such a request.

And this was directly related to one of the two new games he was about to develop.

After confirming some basic details with the staff, Chen Xu planned to head to the exhibition’s dining area to grab a quick meal before driving back to the company.

At that moment, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind: "Chen Xu, Nebula Games is participating in this year’s gameplay Expo too!"

Chen Xu turned and saw Meng Zuo, whom he had briefly met at last year’s Sci-Fi Game Design Competition.

When NetDragon had considered acquiring Nebula Games, it was Meng Zuo who had reached out to Chen Xu.

"Yes, we were invited," Chen Xu replied with a friendly nod.

"Overcooked has been performing exceptionally well, especially the Workshop (modding platform) feature added in the recent update—it’s nothing short of a stroke of genius," Meng Zuo said with a smile, launching into immediate business-style flattery.

Hearing Meng Zuo’s words, Chen Xu was momentarily taken aback, unsure why the other man was being so enthusiastic.

Instinctively, Chen Xu wanted to return the compliment.

After all, if someone praised you, you should reciprocate, right?

But just as this thought formed, Chen Xu realized an awkward truth—he had no idea what games Meng Zuo had worked on since the Sci-Fi Game Design Competition.

"Well… Teacher Meng, you’ve done great too! The third chapter’s levels in Galaxy Heroes were truly outstanding!" Chen Xu said after a two- or three-second pause, forcing a compliment with a smile.

That phrase sounded oddly familiar. Meng Zuo paused, then suddenly realized.

Wait! Wasn’t that the exact same line Chen Xu had used to flatter him during last year’s Sci-Fi Game Design Competition?

Half a year later, and that’s still your only impression of me!?

Over the past few months, after losing the competition to To the Moon, Meng Zuo had been determined to avenge that defeat.

Even when NetDragon’s investment department approached him, asking him to contact Nebula Games about a potential acquisition, he had felt a pang of discomfort.

After all, by then, he had already leveraged his second-place finish in the Sci-Fi Game Design Competition to lead a Big Project under NetDragon.

But if Nebula Games were acquired, they’d become colleagues.

And more importantly, once Nebula Games became a subsidiary of NetDragon, Chen Xu would have greater status and more resources at his disposal than Meng Zuo himself.

Fortunately, the acquisition deal had ultimately fallen through due to irreconcilable differences.

In his mind, Meng Zuo had replayed their reunion countless times—how he’d speak, what topics to bring up, even his tone of voice.

Yet the most painful realization was that he had treated Chen Xu as a formidable rival, while Chen Xu hadn’t even given him a second thought.

"Today you ignore me, tomorrow I’ll leave you speechless!"

Mentally encouraging himself, Meng Zuo glanced toward the exhibition area.

"This is Mr. Chen’s company’s booth? Impressive! Isn’t this the largest one in the independent game section?" Meng Zuo asked, feigning surprise.

"Not really," Chen Xu replied politely with a nod.

"By the way, may I ask—will Nebula Games be unveiling any new projects at this exhibition?" Meng Zuo inquired.

"Judging by our progress, we’ll have two games available for players to try during the event," Chen Xu answered casually. These weren’t secrets anyway—just two months remained until the exhibition, and everything would be public then.

"I see. Then I’ll definitely be among the first to try your new games, Mr. Chen," Meng Zuo said with an eager smile.

"You’re very welcome. And Teacher Meng, do you have a new work to present as well?" Chen Xu asked.

Meng Zuo appeared calm and composed, smiling. "Yes, I’ve been leading a Big Project under NetDragon. This exhibition is mainly for that project."

The two chatted for about ten minutes before parting ways.

Outside the venue, Chen Xu glanced back at Meng Zuo, who was still waving with a smile. He felt a flicker of curiosity.

This guy’s being overly enthusiastic.

Could he actually be a genuine fan?

Meanwhile, inside the exhibition hall, Meng Zuo sighed with emotion.

"Sigh… Though I’d love to compete head-on with Chen Xu, this time it’s completely unfair. The spotlight of this exhibition will undoubtedly be on NetDragon."

"Two new games, huh? They’re likely headed for a rocky launch," Meng Zuo mused with a touch of pity.

Over the past few months, he’d imagined countless times how he’d confront Chen Xu and redeem the pain of losing the top prize in the competition.

But now, he actually felt a bit sorry for Chen Xu.

This was Chen Xu’s first time participating in a major exhibition. He’d poured his heart and soul into two new titles, hoping to make a splash.

But fate was unkind—NetDragon was aggressively targeting this event, and TengHua was also preparing a major move.

Caught in the crossfire of two industry giants.

Such is life and destiny!

………………

Completely unaware of someone else’s mental visualization.

After leaving the exhibition, Chen Xu ate a simple lunch and drove back to Nebula Games in the afternoon, where he resumed drafting design concept drafts for the upcoming two games.

The two games Chen Xu was preparing to develop were:

A strategy-based card board game set in the Three Kingdoms era, and a variety show obstacle course type game.

Sanguosha and Fall Guys.

Of the two, Sanguosha was, from a development standpoint, by far the simplest.

The game’s core lay in its Gameplay and numerical design. Chen Xu didn’t even need a Memory Capsule to recall every single value—it was all clear in his mind from his previous life.

As for Fall Guys, many players in his previous life had dubbed it a Battle Royale game.

In reality, aside from having only one winner at the end, the game had nothing in common with Battle Royale elements.

And if any game with a single winner were classified as Battle Royale, the category would be far too broad.

Strictly speaking, it was a family-friendly variety show obstacle course type game.

In this Parallel World, many provincial TV stations aired similar obstacle course programs, giving Fall Guys a natural advantage.

Chen Xu had carefully considered his choices.

After the success of Overcooked, the most direct and effective way to stabilize Nebula Games Platform’s user base was to continue releasing multiplayer games on the platform.

Sanguosha and Fall Guys both perfectly matched this need.

Sanguosha, in his previous life, had existed for 13 years since the launch of online Sanguosha. Despite Youka’s many questionable decisions, it maintained a solid market presence and occasionally broke into the top ten of the App Store’s gross revenue leaderboard—proof of its enduring vitality.

As for Fall Guys, like Overcooked, it was a fast-paced hit game that thrived on short-term appeal.

This wasn’t a negative label—after all, not every game could become a viral sensation.

Moreover, it was perfectly suited for Nebula Games Platform at this stage.

In terms of commercial performance, this very game had sold over ten million copies on Steam alone in its first month. Sure, timing played a role—the outdoor-like nature of the gameplay, combined with the global pandemic, certainly helped.

But the fundamental reason was its distinct characteristics and the lack of similar competitors in the market—making it truly one-of-a-kind.

There was another important reason for choosing this game.

Chen Xu felt it was time to reshape his image in players’ minds.

With Outlast and Overcooked, both massive hits, his reputation had taken a slight hit.

Harvesting players’ emotional points couldn’t rely solely on frustration.

You couldn’t uproot the entire field of lettuce!

It was time to deliver a genuinely fun and joyful game.

<>