Chapter 683: Mr. Chen's Full Malice (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

The two BioShock games brought an artistic sky-city and an underwater city.

They also inspired many independent game designers.

A series of games with tragic character storylines could be said to have tormented many players significantly.

In this situation, Nebula Games, naturally attracting attention due to its prominence, became the primary target.

Many players online were discussing it.

'Damn, who started this trend of tragic-themed games? I played through three games in a row: one with a dead female protagonist, one with a dead male protagonist, and another where both protagonists died!'

'+1. It seems like there have been a lot more of these heart-wrenching games lately! And damn it, some of them are quite well-made, so you get immersed, and in the end, it hurts even more.'

'Heh heh, who started this trend? Just think about the tragic storylines in World of Warcraft, and the recently launched BioShock. Who do you think started it?'

'Honestly, I don't think Mr. Chen should take the blame for this one. After all, he's a repeat offender; he "stabs" us emotionally twice every year. This wave won't lead to a death sentence, at most life imprisonment.'

'Completely unconvincing! This trend emerged right after BioShock. Whose fault do you say it is?'

'But these are mostly small and medium-sized game developers and independent game designers. Logically, their development cycles shouldn't align, right?'

'Oh, what are you arguing about? Mr. Chen is the "Stabbing Master," no doubt about it! Just blame Mr. Chen; you can't go wrong!'

'Exactly!'

Many players chuckled and teased, inadvertently pushing Nebula Games and Chen Xu's names back onto the trending searches.

………………

Inside Nebula Games, Chen Xu simply smiled faintly as he watched the online discussions among players.

In the past, he might have sighed with emotion, but now, his mood was completely unaffected.

Well... not entirely unaffected.

He was even a little happy.

After all, if players were full of resentment, it meant the games offered a stronger sense of immersion.

And now, what he could do was make Sekiro even better.

For example, through the subtle guidance in its level design.

Looking at Chen Xu's level designs, everyone in the team shivered.

They all understood the sheer malice contained within; it was designed to kill players without recompense!

Compared to Bloodborne and Dark Souls, Sekiro could truly be said to have the most effective guidance.

As long as you didn't skip all the dialogue, you could gather a lot of useful information.

For example, after defeating the second elite enemy, General of the Samurai Kawarada, players could talk to a senile old woman and obtain a bell to enter the memory of three years prior.

Also, from the petty merchant near the Chained Ogre, players could purchase information about the Chained Ogre's weakness to fire.

While some "cheese" methods in Dark Souls and Bloodborne required players to figure them out and explore on their own.

In Sekiro, these "cheese" methods were explicitly hinted at to the players through in-game guidance.

But this was the trickiest part.

It was just like in Monster Hunter: World; the initial quests were incredibly simple, with the first few monsters like Great Jagras and Coronated Dragon being incredibly weak.

However, the difficulty gradually ramped up later, and by the mid-game, monsters like Rathalos and Diablos started deterring players.

As for the cool Elder Dragons in the late game, such as Nergigante, Kushala Daora, and Teostra, they would school players in a matter of minutes.

And Sekiro was no different. You happily "cheesed" your way through the early game, didn't you?

Just wait until you meet Lady Butterfly, and you'll understand why the sun is so bright. Oh, you "cheesed" Lady Butterfly with formulaic dodging too?

Forget about Genichiro in Ashina Castle; the Iai Swordsman on the second floor can give you a lesson or two for an hour or two.

Especially after the first DEMO version was released, Chen Xu personally played it and then issued an order: increase the difficulty.

This secretly made many people determined that no matter how good the game turned out, they, as the core development team, would not play it.

Because it was completely different from Dark Souls and Bloodborne.

Even if you knew the monster's moves, if your reaction wasn't fast enough, you still couldn't execute it.

It was very easy to find yourself in a situation where your mind understood, but your hands couldn't follow.

Therefore, compared to other games on the market, this time Sekiro was particularly special: after testing, brainwave input control was canceled, and it reverted to ordinary controllers.

As for why?

Because pure brainwave control had input lag, which made it even more difficult for some players.

Relying purely on muscle memory was actually easier.

However, despite this, as a Souls-like game,

perhaps many players would still cheer with joy.

After all, after undergoing the dual trials of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, players who had awakened their masochistic tendencies were not few in number.

………………

Sekiro's development progress was rapid, as the main workload was focused on the diverse monsters.

As for the overall scene construction, on one hand, there were many corresponding resources in the art asset library, making development much faster.

On the other hand, Sekiro's map resources were not extensive, and many could be reused.

Furthermore, in terms of combat actions, players only used a single Kusabimaru from beginning to end.

Other various martial arts techniques didn't require specialized action adaptation like in Bloodborne and Dark Souls.

These weren't particularly technical challenges; the difficult part was how to create that Jidaigeki film style of clashing blades.

Although the physics engine's performance was already excellent, there were still some detailed aspects that required fine-tuning.

On another note, Sekiro's promotional materials were also being prepared simultaneously.

These promotional materials would also highlight the game's greatest feature: its weapon clashing combat.

………………

At the beginning of the month, many players were still "condemning" Chen Xu online.

But on this day, many players discovered that Chen Xu had uncharacteristically surfaced to post on the official Weibo account.

'To make up for everyone's feelings, this time I've brought you an exhilarating action game, and I believe the new game's ending will truly satisfy players.'

Upon seeing Chen Xu's Weibo post, players' resentment immediately boiled over even more fiercely.

'Oh, so you do know how deeply BioShock hurt us?'

'A new game ending that satisfies players? Does that mean another protagonist in a Nebula Games title is about to meet their demise?'

'Holy crap, I'd be a ghost if I believed you!'

Countless players complained one after another.

Of course, complaints aside, many players' little hands still instinctively clicked on the video attachment beneath the Weibo post.

(End of Chapter) <>