Chapter 174: Has There Been No Love Left? (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)

Regarding Chen Xu's so-called game confession posted on the official Weibo account,

players collectively declared that not a single word in it could be trusted!

Although quite a few media editors reposted it,

players weren't that naive. Even if a few players occasionally claimed to believe it and entered the game,

within minutes—or even tens of minutes—accompanied by a perfectly fitting BGM and the elegant pose of falling from a great height, they would quickly realize what the game’s core truly was.

Life is suffering? Nonsense! Do you really believe that?

Although this game featuring The one with the big hammer shattered Nebula Games Platform's record for the lowest score, even earning a failing grade of 5.1,

the game’s download numbers rose steadily every day, and discussions among players about this game were far from few.

The main reason was that the game spread like wildfire across live streaming platforms and video platforms.

Because after being tormented by the game, many players discovered that playing it themselves was exceptionally painful.

But watching others play it? That experience was a complete reversal.

Two words to describe it: Joyful!

Especially when watching streamers reach some crucial points, only to be magically teleported back to the very beginning after wandering around,

it became even more delightful.

In live stream rooms broadcasting this game, you’d often see bullet comments like:

‘Welcome home!’

‘Just starting over again!’

‘Always play games with a smile.’

‘The place where dreams begin.’

Countless streamers and video creators were simultaneously enjoying and suffering while experiencing this game.

The enjoyment came from realizing that streaming this game

produced excellent streaming effect. Viewer counts and bullet comments were significantly higher than usual, and the atmosphere was much more harmonious.

When playing other games, mistakes often led to hostile comments in the live stream room,

such as ‘The streamer is damn terrible,’ ‘How can you die from that?’ or ‘Scatter some rice on the keyboard and let a chicken peck at it—it'd be better than you!’ These types of comments were extremely common.

But when playing this game, if a mistake occurred, the bullet comments in the stream room became remarkably unified:

all were gleeful ‘hahaha’ messages.

After all, everyone came to watch you fail. If you didn’t fall, they’d actually be disappointed!

The only truly tough part was that playing this game easily caused high blood pressure.

One’s heart simply couldn’t take it!

Blood pressure medication had become a household staple.

On various video websites, one after another video surfaced showing streamers’ mental breakdowns during gameplay.

The expressions of various streamers returning to the same starting point at different locations proved just how tragic the blow they’d suffered in this game truly was.

Fueled by this spread through channels, many new players, having heard of the game’s notorious reputation, decided out of curiosity to give it a try.

After experiencing it, they inevitably joined the ranks of those leaving self-deprecating comments in the comment section, such as ‘I’m an idiot.’

Even some dedicated streamers, inspired by the fishbowl sofa and hammer Nebula Games displayed at the exhibition, went on to cosplay the Pot Man character, using motion control to play the game.

It seemed as though they were finding joy in suffering, truly enjoying the game.

Of course, many players and viewers simply thought another mad player had appeared.

But not all players were completely insane. Online, some speedrun videos also emerged.

In the fastest video, a player cleared the game in just over two minutes,

earning the awe and worship of countless viewers.

How skilled the hammer swinging must be!

How many times must this person have fallen from the garbage mountain to become this proficient?

And the game’s length was actually this short?

Well, for most regular players, just watching was enough.

…………………………

While ‘Hammer Swing Ascension’ was gaining popularity among players, many game designers in the gaming industry expressed bafflement.

“Has anyone actually followed Chen Xu’s game? It’s seriously unreasonable!”

“Yes! There’s nothing special about this game. The overall quality is quite rough. So how did it become popular?”

“Exactly. Chen Xu’s previous games either had excellent story, excellent levels, or innovative gameplay. But this one? Everything feels lackluster. The only redeeming quality might be that the BGM during falls sounds pretty good?”

“Yes, I still don’t get it. Its popularity even rivals that of the previous hit, It Takes Two.”

“This cursed game, what’s going on with it?”

“I played for ten minutes and got completely discouraged. I have no idea what’s fun about this game!”

“You’re missing the point. The actual gameplay rate of this game is actually quite low. Most players are just trying it out, and the popularity is mainly driven by streams and videos. But for a low-budget game, whether it’s low-price buy-to-play or ad-supported free, achieving even half—or a third—of this game’s popularity would be considered a success.”

Many game designers discussed this on forums, but a few of them saw the insights behind it.

Games like The one with the big hammer could be considered a standard example of a streaming-focused game.

A streaming-focused game is one that’s extremely entertaining to watch.

From a certain perspective, games like It Takes Two, Dark Souls, and Outlast also fall into this category.

But the difference is that these games each have a fundamental gameplay core.

Their watchability is merely an added bonus.

The content within the games themselves is enough to captivate players.

But The one with the big hammer is different. The game was created from the start with the sole purpose of letting its creator watch players suffer, thereby deriving joy from their torment.

Suffering is the core of this game.

This is why watching others play it is far more entertaining than playing it yourself.

After all, it’s not you who’s suffering.

Because of this, its popularity on live streaming platforms kept climbing.

After all, players themselves couldn’t possibly persevere.

But streamers are different. Viewers enjoy watching, so even though streamers themselves suffer to the point of mental fog and rising blood pressure, they’ll still play it to create entertaining content.

With these two factors combined, this seemingly simple game instantly became a viral hit.

And as more people watched, naturally, some wanted to try it themselves. Of course, these players’ fates were already sealed.

Inside Nebula Games’ office, Chen Xu was explaining the unique characteristics of this game to Qin Yi, Ruan Ningxue, and others.

“So Mr. Chen, the things you said on the official Weibo account earlier were definitely lies!” Ruan Ningxue’s focus wasn’t on the game at all.

“Exactly! Mr. Chen, you really just wanted to watch players suffer!” Yang Xin also stared wide-eyed at Chen Xu.

“Mr. Chen, does that mean the Warrior of Love has no love left?” Qin Yi couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

“Alright, everyone back to work! We need to speed up progress on Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame! Our beloved players are waiting for us!” Chen Xu coughed twice, quickly shifting the topic.

Watching everyone return to their posts, Chen Xu stretched lazily.

Whether he was a Warrior of Love or not no longer mattered. After all, players’ misunderstandings and prejudices had grown deeper and deeper!

They didn’t believe anything he said anymore. It really hurt!

Shaking his head and sighing with emotion, Chen Xu then confirmed with Target Software the overseas version plans for Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame.

With two months left until launch, progress was completely on track.

However, translation within the game and early negotiations regarding promotional channels still needed to be finalized with Target Software.

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