After watching Chen Xu enter the game and create a new 'Deprived' character, Qin Yi and the others standing beside him exchanged glances and revealed a tacit understanding.
Everyone widened their eyes, staring intently at the game graphics on the monitor in front of Chen Xu, seemingly anticipating something spectacular to appear.
Meanwhile, Chen Xu, immersed in the gameplay experience, naturally noticed the subtle movements of Qin Yi and the others beside him.
However, Chen Xu said nothing, only smiling faintly as he continued testing the game's content.
The UI interface had no significant issues. The game's Character Customization System was even more refined compared to the previous life.
After a brief trial, Chen Xu entered the game using a preset default appearance.
The first thing that caught his eye was the graphics.
In the previous life, Dark Souls, or indeed the entire Souls series, never emphasized graphics.
Players didn't praise the graphics; instead, they lauded the game's art design. For example, Irithyll of the Boreal Valley in Dark Souls 3, with its fairytale-like world, stunned countless players upon their first encounter with the scene.
Similarly, the Fountainhead Palace from Sekiro and the Cathedral Ward from Bloodborne left an indelible impression on countless players.
But in this Parallel World, the technological level was higher, and mainstream specifications were superior.
Chen Xu couldn't possibly insist on maintaining the same graphics as the previous life when better visuals were achievable.
After all, excellent game graphics could also enhance the player experience.
The current impression the game gave him was extremely satisfying.
The entire画面 presented a cold gray color tone, the scene was exceptionally desolate, the ground littered with bones and ash.
Faint, almost imperceptible mist drifted through the air, adding a slightly chilling atmosphere.
It essentially established the game's Atmosphere.
For the game's intro animation, Chen Xu still used the promotional video intro previously released at the exhibition.
He had only trimmed some of the gaps that were added for dramatic effect at the exhibition, making the intro story more compact.
After all, the CGI had cost a significant amount of money; it was only right to make full use of it.
Entering the game, Chen Xu controlled a character wearing only a pair of shorts, holding a broken wooden shield and a Small Club, beginning to test some simple actions.
Just like in the previous life, the ground contained system prompts and in-game messages specifically prepared for players, alongside Hollows placed nearby as practice targets.
However, for Chen Xu, these were clearly unnecessary.
After all, he was intimately familiar with every aspect of the game's system settings.
Running, locking on, regular attacks, heavy attacks, releasing weapon arts, and rolling.
Chen Xu tested each action one by one.
Then, Chen Xu opened the in-game console and entered a line of code to summon a shield capable of Perfect Guard.
The broken wooden shield the Deprived started with could only perform冲击 and not Perfect Guard, so to practice Perfect Guard, a different shield with the blocking skill was required.
As for this code, it was merely for convenient testing in the development version and would certainly be removed in the official version.
After equipping the shield summoned via code, Chen Xu approached the first Hollow Soldier mob.
He didn't rush to attack immediately. Instead, he circled around it to awaken its Aggro, causing it to rise from the ground.
The Hollow let out a loud bellow from its mouth and charged forward, swinging its broken sword.
Under the bewildered gaze of Qin Yi and the others, a dull 'thud' echoed from the monitor's built-in speakers.
Qin Yi and the others, who had been deeply involved in the development of the Combat System, understood perfectly—this was the sound indicating a successful Perfect Guard in the game.
The character in the game faced the Hollow, which was half-kneeling on the ground and in a state of flinch/stun. The wooden club, resembling a large chicken leg, slammed hard onto the Hollow's head, completely depleting its long health bar.
The execution animation in the game was more detailed compared to the previous life.
In the previous life's Dark Souls, different weapons did have execution animations, but aside from broad weapon categories like Great Sword, axe, long sword, unarmed, and claws, the same animation was often reused across three or four weapon types.
Chen Xu had optimized this aspect considerably.
Regarding the game's existing content, adding or not adding execution animations didn't have a significant impact.
However, for the player experience, it did have a direct effect.
Because these execution animations actually served as a form of game reward.
Just like in Fighting Games, when a player saves up energy to unleash an ultimate ability and successfully hits the opponent, a series of flashy actions follow.
This is a reward mechanism.
Similarly, the executions in Dark Souls function the same way.
Successfully performing a Perfect Guard on a monster that can be countered and then executing it serves as a visual reward for the player.
Furthermore, there was another benefit: when every weapon had its own unique execution animation, wouldn't players naturally become curious about what the execution effect of each weapon looked like?
What? You're saying whips have execution animations? And this weapon too?
Watching Chen Xu perform the Perfect Guard effortlessly and fluidly, Qin Yi and the others stood frozen in place.
This Perfect Guard operation—why are you so skilled, Mr. Chen?
Isn't the correct procedure to just rush in and slash the Hollow twice to finish it off?
Why are you starting with a Perfect Guard?
Although the entire game's Combat System and action system were designed and planned by you, Mr. Chen.
But material output and game testing were handled by them first. So why are you so proficient now?
In the game, Chen Xu smoothly used positioning to reach the first bonfire point and ignited it, then ran and jumped onto another coffin staircase to pick up an item glowing with white light.
Chen Xu, who hadn't lost a single drop of blood, now stood before the first boss, 'Ash Judgment Gundyr'.
Qin Yi and the others, who had originally hoped to see something spectacular, were completely dumbfounded.
This was completely different from the scene they had imagined!
Nevertheless, Qin Yi and the group still harbored a sliver of anticipation.
After all, mobs and bosses were different. Even though Chen Xu was the producer, hadn't they been involved in the entire game development process?
Knowing something intellectually was one thing, but experiencing it firsthand was another.
It was just like high-level guides and advanced techniques; even if texts and videos were available, could you really master them just by watching?
Not only would you fail, but you'd probably send a bullet comment: "This UP host actually thinks I can learn this."
Everyone stared intently at Chen Xu's next move.
Especially Qin Yi, who had previously suffered miserably at the hands of this boss.
Most bosses in Dark Souls shared a characteristic: immense size.
This naturally gave players a strong Sense of Oppression.
Moreover, the weapons bosses wielded were usually astonishingly long, allowing them to attack the player from a great distance, and often had sweeping attacks with an enormous range.
The 'Ash Judgment Gundyr' before them, although the first boss, truly looked terrifying.
Its attacks were also exceptionally powerful. Even if you raised your shield to block, a large chunk of your stamina would be drained instantly.
The most frustrating part was that most bosses in Dark Souls had a second phase, and 'Ash Judgment Gundyr' was no exception.
The second phase's Black Giant Serpent-Man Pus Form had previously stumped Qin Yi for quite a while.
Under the still-expectant gaze of Qin Yi and the others, the Chen Xu in the game prepared to engage the boss.
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