Chapter 382: First Game of the Year Award (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

On the day of the Annual Game Awards, many invited designers entered one after another. When Chen Xu arrived, the venue was already packed.

Compared to previous years, this year's awards ceremony was even livelier.

Not only industry designers, but Chen Xu even saw quite a few players.

This was also a notable difference from previous years.

In the past, although players were also invited to participate,

the attendees were still exclusively industry game designers.

This year, however, there were also players who had been randomly selected to attend.

Major video live streaming platforms were also broadcasting simultaneously.

Many players who followed the gaming industry were watching live from the venue.

On the bullet comments, many viewers were also discussing.

“Where's the footage! Where's the footage! Damn it, open the door!”

“It's open, it's open! That's Chen Xu, right!?”

“What's going on? Chen Xu is signing autographs for players!? Didn't someone say before that if you saw Chen Xu at the venue, you absolutely had to boo him and resist this 'Warrior of Love' who 'stabs our innocent hearts'? How come everyone's grinning like sunflowers and asking for photos and autographs?”

“Don't even mention it, it's only because I'm not there, otherwise!”

“Otherwise, you'd give Chen Xu a hard time?”

“No, I'd definitely ask for two photos and autographs!”

The Annual Awards ceremony hadn't officially started yet, but many lucky players who were selected sought out their favorite designers, asking for photos and autographs.

Of course, this was only possible because there weren't many participating players, roughly only fifty or so.

Otherwise, this segment wouldn't have happened.

Chen Xu and some designers from Nebula Games entered. During this time, many industry designers also greeted Chen Xu.

They were all very friendly, as it could be said that game designers in China all owed Nebula Games a favor.

Otherwise, the domestic market would still be dominated by channels.

After greeting everyone with a smile, Chen Xu also took his seat.

However, to Chen Xu's surprise, he was sitting with an old acquaintance again this year.

“Teacher Meng, what a coincidence!” Chen Xu greeted Meng Zuo.

“It really is quite a coincidence.” Meng Zuo was also a bit speechless, having sat together for several consecutive sessions, unsure if it was intentional by the Game Department.

“This year, Mr. Chen probably won't need me to hold the trophy again, right?” Looking at the Nebula Games designer next to him, Meng Zuo joked.

“Ahem... Teacher Meng, you're joking. It's not certain yet this year.” Chen Xu coughed twice.

“Alright, come on. Which designer here doesn't know that today we're all just going through the motions?” Meng Zuo rolled his eyes.

Chen Xu didn't respond, as it was indeed a difficult comment to reply to.

“But Mr. Chen, the Warzone mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Red Dead Redemption really had a significant impact on the industry,” Meng Zuo said with emotion.

“Teacher Meng, you're overstating it. The actual impact wasn't that significant,” Chen Xu said, shaking his head.

The reason he said this was mainly because he had checked his system points after developing Red Dead Redemption.

They hadn't grown as much as he'd imagined.

Chen Xu also summarized the situation.

It boiled down to one point: the current points gained required influence on the industry. Between these, Chen Xu developed two games, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Red Dead Redemption.

In reality, the actual influence of these two games was far less than their popularity.

However, the Battle Royale mode in 'Warzone' showed the gaming industry a new direction.

But Battle Royale isn't something every game developer can pull off. In his previous life, Battle Royale games had existed for nearly six years, and the successful ones could almost be counted on one hand.

Even Red Dead Redemption, while pioneering the concept of open-world design, was, simply put, an industrialized open-world design concept.

To put it bluntly, besides requiring a design direction for plot and pacing, it also needed two words: money.

This was also the core reason why, in his previous life, Red Dead Redemption lost to God of War in the Game of the Year awards.

Meng Zuo, unaware of Chen Xu's thoughts, simply took his words as modesty.

Sitting in their chairs, Meng Zuo and Chen Xu chatted idly.

Soon, the awards ceremony officially began. As in previous years, the host took the stage, followed by Yang Chen, the leader of the Game Department, who delivered a speech.

Announcing the list of senior job titles for designers selected this year, and then issuing qualification certificates, all followed a set procedure.

After that, it was time for a series of award selections.

However, Chen Xu remained the most anticipated figure.

Because, up to this point, Chen Xu had won almost every award he was remotely connected to.

For example, the Best Music Award was directly given to 'That's the Way It Is' from Red Dead Redemption.

It also secured the first award of the day.

This seemed to set the precedent, starting with some minor awards.

For instance, Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, Player's Voice, Best Audio Design, Best Performance, and the more significant Best Design, Best Action-Adventure, and Best VR were all uniformly divided among Red Dead Redemption, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Rainbow Six Siege.

His consecutive appearances on stage drew envious glances from the designers below.

“This year, he's just going against the heavens! How many awards has he won already?”

“The key is he's got both minor and major awards!”

“Actually, it's not surprising. The past two years, Chen Xu just hadn't developed any VR games. Otherwise, I feel Warcraft could have contended for Game of the Year back then.”

“Indeed, the two games Chen Xu released this year are highly representative and hold special significance. Both Red Dead Redemption and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare are flagship titles escorting Huanyu VR.”

“But it feels like these game themes are a bit too Westernized! Wouldn't the Game Department consider that?”

“Have you played them? The games heavily criticize the West; with unstable international situations, China's domestic scene looks exceptionally good. This is positive energy, alright.”

“No, I don't like what you're saying. What do you mean 'criticize' the West? Chen Xu is just telling it like it is.”

“Actually, these are minor points. The main thing is that Huanyu VR's overseas market is now almost directly competing with Zeus. That's the truly crucial aspect. If they can squeeze out Zeus from the market and directly set the future standards for VR devices, that would be the most critical achievement.”

Industry designers were discussing.

As for players online, they weren't thinking as much.

On the live streaming platforms, players were flooding the screen with bullet comments.

“Haha, this scene reminds me of Chen Xu at the Annual Game Awards a few years ago, he seemed to win quite a few awards then too.”

“233333, hasn't anyone noticed? The designer next to Chen Xu seems to be the same one from a few years ago!”

“Unknown Designer: Are you being polite?”

Whether it was polite or not, Meng Zuo certainly held a bit of resentment at the moment.

He had originally thought that with a Nebula Games designer next to Chen Xu, he wouldn't have to help carry the trophies, but in the end, he couldn't escape it.

“Teacher Meng, I'm troubling you again.” Chen Xu said apologetically.

Meng Zuo didn't speak, just rolled his eyes, his heart full of resentment. “Please don't emphasize the 'again' part, alright?”

Meanwhile, as the host took the stage, the final winner of the Game of the Year award was announced.

In reality, however, everyone knew there was absolutely no suspense for the Game of the Year award.

Even the host on stage didn't try to build suspense like before.

The announcement was made directly and straightforwardly.

There wasn't a shred of doubt, just as everyone had predicted beforehand.

Red Dead Redemption won Game of the Year.

And it was an utterly undisputed victory.

Because not only domestically, but even before the domestic Annual Game Awards ceremony,

Red Dead Redemption had already won countless awards internationally.

As one of the most classic scenes from Red Dead Redemption played on the stage—a sick Arthur riding his horse back to camp against the background music, completing his final path to redemption—Chen Xu stepped onto the stage to receive the award and give his thanks.

As Chen Xu waved the Game of the Year trophy in his hand, this edition of the Annual Game Awards ceremony concluded perfectly.

Amidst enthusiastic applause and the cheers of dozens of players in the audience, the designers in the venue departed under the guidance of the staff.

Chen Xu, meanwhile, handed the trophy to the staff at the ceremony, entrusting them to ship it back to Nebula Games later.

He then found a restaurant with Meng Zuo, taking the opportunity to catch up and chat properly.

“You're not working at NetDragon anymore?” Chen Xu clinked glasses with Meng Zuo, a little surprised.

“Actually, NetDragon wasn't bad to me, but mostly I just lost that passion for game development; it felt like something was missing,” Meng Zuo said, nodding.

“It's like having dinner with you, Mr. Chen. Don't even mention liquor; at least get some beer. Does it make sense for two grown men to eat barbecue skewers and drink herbal tea?” Meng Zuo rolled his eyes, pouring himself a full glass and watching the floating bubbles with a speechless expression.

“Drinking is bad for your health. Herbal tea is much better,” Chen Xu replied casually. “But Teacher Meng, if you haven't decided on your next employer, how about considering Nebula Games?”

“Let me think about it a bit more.” Meng Zuo was somewhat tempted but didn't give an immediate answer.

“By the way, Teacher Meng, what are your thoughts on handheld consoles?” Chen Xu suddenly asked.

“Why suddenly bring up handheld devices?” Meng Zuo was a bit puzzled, but still replied, “As for my thoughts, I personally believe handheld consoles are a fairly promising market. And unlike PCs, VR, and mobile phones, handhelds represent a more balanced point among the three.”

“But this is just my personal opinion. I have a lot of nostalgia for handheld consoles, and honestly, with mobile phone specs getting higher and higher now, handhelds don't have much competitiveness left.” Meng Zuo thought for a moment before expressing his views.

This was also a relatively mainstream view in the gaming industry. Seeing some classic handheld consoles, both domestic and international, decline, Meng Zuo felt quite regretful.

Because these devices represented the youth of people his age. As a child, he couldn't play on the computer, nor were there VR devices. As for mobile phones, back then their specs weren't very high, and his parents were strict; he only had phone cards but no data.

The only way to enjoy games was through a small handheld console.

“Mr. Chen, do you want to make a handheld console?” Meng Zuo asked curiously.

“I can't tell you that, after all, Teacher Meng, you're not one of us right now.” Chen Xu laughed, not directly answering.

“Fine, don't tell me.” Meng Zuo rolled his eyes and didn't press further.

Seeing Meng Zuo's expression, Chen Xu smiled.

Regarding handheld consoles, Chen Xu wasn't acting on a whim; he genuinely had thoughts and considerations in that area.

(End of Chapter) <>