Chapter 193: Arrangements for the New Direction (6th Update, Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)
Chapter 193: Arrangements for the New Direction (6th Update, Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)
Leaving the office, Chen Xu arrived at the rest area.
Many people were playing the Death Mode in Dark Souls.
However, judging from their screens, each of them had died quite brutally.
"Still playing? But you two haven't even beaten the first phase yet!" Chen Xu came over to Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin, opened a can of coke, and said with a smile.
"Mr. Chen, this is way too hard! Why don't you come and demonstrate an all-in push for us?" Ruan Ningxue handed over the controller, gesturing.
"I could play, but it's unnecessary. There's a leaderboard function after allāif I, the game designer, played, wouldn't players suspect behind-the-scenes manipulation? To maintain my good reputation, I can't do something like that." Chen Xu declined righteously indignant.
"Mr. Chen, you're overthinking it. To players, your reputation is literally scary enough to make babies cry at night!" Yang Xin grumbled inwardly.
"By the way, Mr. Chen, will our next game apply the latest AI technology?" Yang Xin continued.
"No. Judging from the performance of the 'Death Mode,' it's still far from the imagined level. The reason players find it difficult is mainly due to combat rhythm and related data. The boss is indeed stronger than the original version, but the portion of that strength actually caused purely by AI is extremely limited. We still need more time for research, optimizations, before it can truly be applied to games," Chen Xu said gently shaking his head.
After chatting for a while with Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and Qin Yi, who had come over upon hearing the voices,
Chen Xu returned to his office, lounging on his chair, slowly spinning a ballpoint pen in his hand.
Currently, he wasn't immediately starting on a new game.
Because there were still two ongoing tasks.
One was the subsequent DLC content for Dark Souls.
The DLC content originally from Dark Souls: Age of Fire had already been directly integrated into the main game by Chen Xu.
As for the previous installmentāoriginal Dark Souls 3āconsidering the story, progress, and related difficulty,
he hadn't directly given players The Ringed City and Painted World.
Now, these could be used for future updates, fully completing all content of Dark Souls.
As for the retcon accusations many players made in his previous life regarding The Ringed City,
in reality, whether Dark Souls 1 or the final installment Dark Souls 3, the entire 'linking the fire' narrative had always been ambiguous.
Conspiracies, Gwyn's selflessness, or what the Abyss and Dark Soul truly wereānone of these had an official clear explanation.
Moreover, even in his previous life, Dark Souls 1 was an IP that had evolved over ten years. Many things weren't explicitly stated in the game at first, but through extensive discussions by Souls scholars and the growing alignment of players, these interpretations gradually became accepted as 'truth' by the community.
But in truth, they were still just player speculation, never officially confirmed.
These two DLCs didn't need to be rushed into development. Taken slowly, they could later be half-sold, half-gifted to players.
After all, their sole purpose was to complete the overall worldview of the Dark Souls series.
As for the story, players could keep speculating on their own, just as they did now.
The other matter concerned Galaxy Smart Tech's AI technology.
The current Death Mode applied the latest AI tech, having thoroughly tormented players worldwide.
Yet in actual performance, it was still far from Chen Xu's expectations.
Moreover, there was a noticeable gap compared to what he'd seen earlierāapparently, a simple demonstration differed greatly from actual in-game implementation.
The AI still required continuous optimization and development. However, considering the golden item drawn last year, whose loading time hadn't fully finished shrinking, Chen Xu guessed it was probably still in aåµå state.
No matter what, the current performance of AI in games was absolutely insufficient to become a core selling point.
Lying back in his chair, Chen Xu closed his eyes, deep in thought.
What remained now was arranging the next new work.
Looking back at the past two years, the blockbusters released included the Dark Souls duology. As for It Takes Two, it could barely count as one if considered solely within the Nebula Games Platform.
Combined with various promotional events in between, and the accumulated popularity from earlier titles like Sanguosha and Fall Guys, the current user count on Nebula Games Platform was definitely not low.
As for active users, it still relied heavily on Sanguosha and Fall Guys to sustain engagement.
It couldn't compare to major platforms, but among independent platforms, it had already reached top-tier status.
Moreover, the two Dark Souls titles had successfully established Nebula Games' reputation.
Therefore, for the remainder of the year, Chen Xu didn't plan to focus on releasing more blockbusters.
One reason was the tight schedule; the other was that having just released Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame, there was no need to launch another blockbuster with a Seamless Combo.
At the same time, Chen Xu already had a clear direction in mind for future developed games.
That direction was to focus on maintaining and expanding the player base of the Nebula Games Platform.
From nothing to something, the foundation of Nebula Games was now solid enough.
Next came the phase of laying the foundation, then cautiously testing expansion.
As for game types, Chen Xu already had a draft in mind.
ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦
Monday, inside the Nebula Games meeting room.
"Now, let me briefly share the upcoming direction. First, Lin Tao will lead a dedicated team to develop the subsequent Dark Souls DLC content. I'll provide the corresponding design concept drafts, and development time will be ampleāno rush. If necessary, we can even wait until next year's National Day to launch, since it'll coincide with the third anniversary of Dark Souls," Chen Xu joked.
"Then, our next moves will mainly revolve around the Nebula Games Platform, focusing on smaller-scale games," Chen Xu announced.
"Smaller-scale?" Hearing Chen Xu's words, Qin Yi and others were taken aback, with a hint of dejection.
"Don't underestimate small-scale games. While big titles have their advantages, smaller games have their own unique characteristics."
"Don't forget Fall Guysāin terms of sales, how many so-called blockbusters can actually surpass it?" Chen Xu smiled at everyone.
After hearing Chen Xu's explanation, the expressions of the group turned serious.
Meanwhile, those who thought further ahead already understood the implication behind his words.
Clearly, the upcoming games were primarily intended to drive the development of the Nebula Games Platform.
They also clearly understood one thingāthat the success of the Nebula Games Store would carry immense significance.
"Alright, now let's take a look at the new work we're about to develop," Chen Xu said with a smile, then connected his laptop.
On the large screen in the meeting room appeared a design concept draft document.
At the top was written the game's title: Don't Starve.
<