Chapter 80: If You're Gonna Play, Play Something Different

Chapter 80: If You're Gonna Play, Play Something Different

As time passed, progress on both projects advanced at an incredible pace.

The new employees who had joined later finally understood why people like Qin Yi, Yang Xin, and Ruan Ningxue held Chen Xu in such high regard.

Their workdays were smooth as silk—everything was perfectly set up, without the slightest friction or obstruction.

It was as if their path forward had been generously coated with lubricant; all they needed to do was run ahead, take a swift glide, and they'd reach the blissful finish line.

Within the team, there were creative discussions, but never arguments.

This was because the core of the game had already been firmly established.

Everyone simply needed to experiment toward that shared goal.

Under such circumstances, even overtime work felt fulfilling.

After all, the overtime pay Chen Xu offered at Nebula Games was genuinely generous, and the various employee benefits were top-tier.

Regarding Sanguosha, the improvements compared to the original were mostly focused on player experience rather than rule changes.

Of course, aside from the rules, Sanguosha already had many outstanding elements.

Among them, the characters' lines and Voice acting stood out the most.

These aspects significantly enhanced the game, placing it among the very best.

Many of the classic lines remained deeply etched in players' memories.

Even those who had never played Sanguosha might not know their origin, but they had likely heard them before.

For example, Zhao Yun's "To advance and retreat is truly a divine weapon," Zhuge Liang's "Knowing heaven is easy, defying it is difficult," and Guan Yu's "I see you marking yourself for death."

As for gameplay mode, the initial plan was a standard 5-player match—specifically, one Lord, two Rebels, one Loyalist, and one Spy.

Other modes, such as Nation War, would be saved for subsequent updates.

After all, it wasn’t ideal for a game to launch with an overwhelming amount of content.

Players needed time to get accustomed and overcome the learning curve.

Even the legendary Zelda series, hailed as the greatest of all time in the previous life, progressed step by step—from the first 3D entry, Ocarina of Time, to Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess, and finally to the wildly popular Breath of the Wild.

Each installment was rich in content, yet they gradually introduced players to various systems and settings.

Therefore, for a game, trying to cover every aspect or throwing a massive amount of content at players right from the start could backfire.

Instead of feeling impressed by the game's depth, players might feel discouraged—because it’s just too damn complicated. Why does playing a game feel like preparing for graduate school exams, studying countless system mechanics?

As for the other game, Fall Guys, it followed a similar path to the earlier Overcooked.

Beyond improving player experience, the key factor was continuous content updates.

It would also support adaptation to the Workshop (modding platform), allowing players to create custom maps.

In the previous life, Fall Guys skyrocketed to fame before quickly fading into obscurity. Many players blamed cheating for its downfall.

Indeed, that was a contributing factor—but certainly not the main one.

If cheating alone had caused the game’s decline, there would have been a clear, gradual pattern:

Normal gameplay → Encountering cheaters → Shift in player mindset → Quitting the game.

This is the typical journey of a player leaving due to cheating.

But such a process wouldn’t cause a game to collapse overnight.

The true core reason behind Fall Guys’ rapid downfall was the loss of game content.

As a light casual game based on variety show obstacle courses, what defined its content was the fun derived from each unique level.

Once players had mastered all the levels and grown tired of them, the game lost most of its appeal.

And what did the Fall Guys developers do after their game achieved massive success?

They did keep creating new levels—there was no doubt about that.

But what they focused on the most was releasing new skins and creating crossovers.

By the time they realized that failing to release new maps would doom the game, it was already too late.

Therefore, for Chen Xu, his goal was clear: maximize the duration of players’ passion and engagement.

Moreover, he wanted Fall Guys to achieve long-term vitality through the Workshop (modding platform).

As for turning it into a timeless multiplayer game—that wasn’t realistic.

Because the game attribute of Fall Guys was more akin to that of an internet celebrity.

It could be popular for a while, but sustaining that popularity indefinitely was impossible.

It wasn’t a matter of game quality, but rather a limitation in content depth.

………………

As the exhibition date drew closer, the atmosphere within Nebula Games remained relaxed.

Both games were progressing remarkably well. On the Sanguosha side, testing for the online Sanguosha version had already begun.

The only remaining tasks were voice recordings for a few generals.

Similarly, for Fall Guys, all action levels were complete.

The primary remaining work involved sound effects.

Within the company, employees from various departments served as the first batch of testers, trying out the games.

Currently, most of them leaned toward preferring Sanguosha.

The main reason was that Fall Guys lacked players, making it impossible to experience the chaotic, hilarious vibe Chen Xu had described.

In contrast, after a brief familiarity with the basics, Sanguosha was already incredibly fun to play.

"We were originally ruler and minister—why must we wage war against each other?" Yang Xin sighed bitterly.

"The Emperor is incompetent and without principle. I act in accordance with heaven's will!" Ruan Ningxue happily discarded two Southern Barbarian Invasion cards from her hand, dealing the final two damage points to Liu Bei, the Lord.

"No way—I demand a rematch! I refuse to accept this! Why does Xiaoxue always draw so many Stratagem cards, while I’m always left holding just one Attack card when I play Zhuge Liang?!" Yang Xin protested.

"Xin sister, just admit your African (bad luck) attribute already," Ruan Ningxue said with a bright smile.

"By the way, I wonder what exactly Mr. Chen meant by that 'Big Project' he mentioned earlier," Qin Yi chimed in, breaking his silence.

Besides developing Sanguosha and Fall Guys, they had also been working on the 'Big Project' Chen Xu had previously mentioned.

However, each of them worked separately, so none knew the full details.

"A rather dark Western mythological story, somewhat resembling Ragnarök," Yang Xin, who handled the story, pondered and summarized.

"Pretty much," Ruan Ningxue nodded in agreement.

"Myths? The combat system I'm working on feels more like a knightly duel from the Medieval era," Qin Yi scratched his head.

"Brother Qin, why overthink it? We’ll find out when Mr. Chen officially announces the project," an employee beside him said.

"Exactly. I’m more curious about which cosers we’ll have at this exhibition—Toriel, Undyne!" another employee said excitedly.

"It’s a shame Mirror (Game) can’t be exhibited. Otherwise—" Qin Yi sighed with regret.

"Pfft! Typical man!" Yang Xin pretended to be disgusted.

"That’s right! So vulgar!" Ruan Ningxue seconded the previous comment.

"Exactly! Old Qin, your awareness needs improvement. Besides, female cosers are all repetitive and unoriginal these days—how can we compete with other developers that way? We need to do something different. Look at this!" At that moment, Chen Xu walked in with his assistant Lin Rou, carrying a large box.

(PS: Daily request for recommendation votes and Monthly Pass—mwah, mwah!)

(End of Chapter) <>