Chapter 593: We're Absolutely Crushing It (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Inside the conference room, everyone was seated in their respective positions.

On the large screen, the project name was displayed: The Last of Us.

Regarding this project, everyone was quite familiar with it.

Their nearly month-long trip to Boston prior, they had already gained some understanding of the game.

“I won't go into detail about the theme and content, but although it's a zombie and virus theme, neither of those are the core elements of the game,” Chen Xu said, looking at everyone.

“Interaction? Is it an open world?” Qin Yi showed a hint of surprise.

The word ‘interaction,’ or rather, this concept, was not unfamiliar to them.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Red Dead Redemption, and other games—everyone meticulously focused on the details precisely for the sake of interaction.

“No, this will be a linear narrative, similar to Uncharted,” Chen Xu said, shaking his head.

“The interaction in this game is different from the open-world interaction in games like Red Dead Redemption. It's emotional interaction,” Chen Xu continued.

Why did The Last of Us in his previous life receive such high praise?

For its brilliant story?

That was only one aspect. More importantly, it was the game's interpretation of interaction, or rather, the emotional interaction between the video game and the player.

In his previous life, if games were named as pioneering founders—Ocarina of Time defined 3D games, Metal Gear defined cinematic narrative games—then The Last of Us defined how interactive games should be presented.

As the industry's evaluation of the game stated: ‘Its emergence redefined the upper limit of game presentation.’

Every scene and every plot point in the game was designed to allow players to immerse themselves in the characters and build emotional connections with them.

When these emotions were elevated to a new height, no matter how incredible the actions seemed at first glance, everything became logical and natural.

Interaction permeated the entire game from beginning to end. Every action in the game required players to personally take action, and every segment of the story required players to personally experience it.

“Interactive feedback between characters.” Listening to Chen Xu's detailed explanation, everyone quickly understood what he was trying to convey.

“That's right. And in The Last of Us, we also need to exercise more restraint,” Chen Xu continued.

To exaggerate a little, if one were to mention a must-play game on the PS3 in his previous life, The Last of Us would undoubtedly be at the forefront. This was true not only on the PS3 but also in the era of the PS4.

If viewed solely from its gameplay, theme, or even story, The Last of Us was not particularly outstanding.

There were games with better visual presentation, games with more novel gameplay, and games with more shocking plot twists. As for the zombie theme, which was almost overused, there was even less to say.

The most crucial aspect of this game was its ability to allow players to personally experience through interaction how the characters' emotions and bonds were truly formed.

Its greatest charm stemmed from the game's inherent interactivity. Unease and uncertainty were continuously imposed upon players throughout their journey in the game, culminating in an explosion at the end.

It wasn't that grand scenes couldn't be created, but rather a form of restraint.

After finishing the broad concept draft for The Last of Us, Chen Xu also proceeded to plan the details with the team.

As a game launched on Huanyu VR, there were obviously many aspects that needed adjustment.

For example, the atmosphere. In the original game, when facing mutated infected like Runners, most scenes were relatively dark, and the atmosphere was quite oppressive.

And within the game, stealth was one of the primary core gameplay mechanics.

These elements might have been fine when displayed on a screen, but under VR presentation, there would be significant issues.

After all, the core focus of The Last of Us was not on horror.

The oppressive and tense atmosphere, the scarce resources in the early stages, and cautious stealth—these were merely to allow players to better immerse themselves in the game's setting.

Not to instill fear in players.

Even the game's background, to some extent, weakened the sense of fear. For example, the world after the disaster was not filled with gore, but rather with widespread fungal infection.

Humans transformed into terrifying monsters, but the entire world was overrun by rampant green vegetation.

Although humans became monsters, the cities forged from steel and concrete also transformed into a more expansive wilderness.

The change in environment led to the proliferation of animals.

Completely different from a lifeless post-disaster world.

In fact, if one disregarded the mutated humans, this post-disaster world had a unique beauty.

………………

News about Chen Xu's new game still generated high online buzz.

However, it had also begun to cool down.

Initially, players were indeed excited when they saw Chen Xu's official Weibo account.

But this excitement had a shelf life. Days and then a week passed, but no follow-up news arrived.

Recalling Nebula Games' previous performance, many players understood what was happening.

This was another bottomless pit, a grand promise whose taste was yet unknown!

However, even though Chen Xu's ‘grand promise’ seemed to not even have its dough mixed yet.

But FOW, on the other hand, dropped a massive bombshell.

That was, the sequel to Wasteland 1978, Wasteland 1981, was already in development.

Earlier, when Chen Xu and Alex didn't participate in various award events, some players had already begun speculating. And when Chen Xu later announced that he was developing a new project, this indirectly confirmed those suspicions.

Many players naturally associated this with Alex.

However, there had been no response until now, and now, it was clearly officially confirmed!

Inside FOW's office, Alex and Grayson were seated.

Aside from Alex, Grayson, who previously developed Lost Curse, was also involved.

Of course, he was Alex's deputy. He was in charge of the game's core storyline and gameplay framework.

As Wasteland 1981 would be an open world this time, Grayson would be responsible for world-building, including various exploration elements.

It could be said to be a powerful collaboration, as Grayson had already proven his capability to participate in this project with his previous work on Lost Curse.

“Alex, you don't need to worry so much. Although Nebula Games is also developing a new project, we have a significant advantage,” Grayson said, smiling at Alex beside him.

Participating in this massive project, Wasteland 1981, was very exciting for Grayson, and he himself was a huge fan of the game.

“Nebula Games cannot be underestimated,” Alex said, rubbing his shiny, bald forehead, shaking his head with a very serious expression.

Initially, he indeed felt no pressure, but when he learned that Nebula Games was also working on a new project, he became very serious.

That game, The Witcher: Wild Hunt, had left too deep an impression on him.

“Of course, no one can underestimate Nebula Games, but in games, we still have to follow market rules. It's quite clear that Nebula Games' next title will be a horror game with a zombie apocalypse theme. Even though Resident Evil Village could be said to have redefined the direction blockbuster horror games should take, the core of horror will ultimately deter a large number of mainstream players,” Grayson analyzed rationally.

He even pulled out a data sheet, which clearly recorded relevant data, data he had specifically asked FOW's marketing department to track previously.

“Besides that, there's another crucial factor: we're almost two months ahead in development progress. Nebula Games previously went to Boston for location scouting, and next, they have their traditional national holiday,” Grayson said with a smile.

Although their game was an open-world title, it was unclear whether Nebula Games' title would be linear or also open-world.

But ultimately, their development progress was still a step ahead.

“And in terms of promotion, we also seized the initiative, and actually took over Nebula Games' previous buzz,” Grayson chuckled.

Comparing FOW's current situation with Nebula Games, Grayson felt it could only be described with one sentence: They were absolutely crushing it.

Alex, who had initially been very serious, listened to Grayson's words, and his tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

It certainly sounded like their advantage was indeed very significant.

(End of Chapter) <>

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