Chapter 827: Now THAT'S a Veteran Souls Player!

Both players and gaming industry media were dumbfounded after hearing Chen Xu's voice in the live stream room, only reacting after a long moment.

New... new IP?

A myriad of black question marks arose in countless minds.

Especially players who loved The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim clutched their chests at that moment.

Such extreme emotional swings came too quickly; they couldn't handle such excitement!

Just mentioning the genre immediately made them think of Nebula Games' classic titles.

Moreover, combining it with Chen Xu's mention of an open world, ARPG, rich equipment system, and featuring some puzzle-solving alongside epic fantasy plot, countless players' first impression was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a hugely influential open-world game.

Although the moniker Maiden Scrolls made people feel the game was a bit improper.

Yet, the customs and local conditions of Skyrim itself, and the story of the Dovahkiin, kept players utterly engrossed.

But now, after building up such anticipation, they were told it was a new IP?

'Holy cow, does anyone want to beat Mr. Chen to death!?'

'+1, with each tag being revealed, I thought it would be a sequel to a big IP, but it's a completely new blockbuster!'

'Damn! Mr. Chen used to at least pretend, but this time it's clearly intentional, damn it!?'

Countless players expressed their speechlessness. The new IP itself wasn't what surprised them so much.

Because compared to other game developers in the industry, Nebula Games rarely develops sequels; they mostly complete a game's subsequent story with DLC content.

However, this time Chen Xu's actions were a bit unusual. Announcing a new project so quickly, holding a rare online press conference to personally introduce it, and being so tantalizing when listing the tags, immediately led players to misunderstand.

But after venting their frustration in the bullet comments, players' curiosity was quickly piqued.

Because from these content points, it very likely could be an ARPG similar to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim!

And the name also sounds similar.

'Elden Ring, it should be like The Elder Scrolls, right? Is it an important item in the game?'

'Speaking of the English name, I think 'Elder' would be better! 'Old Man's Ring' sounds so much nicer!'

'But I feel the translation isn't very accurate.'

'You guys are toxic, why are you always discussing translations? The main thing is whether the game is fun or not!'

'Is the game good or not? Damn it, Mr. Chen only announced a name, how would I know if it's fun?'

'Stop talking, Mr. Chen seems to be announcing more news!'

The bullet comments were flooding the screen, completely unstoppable.

Chen Xu, during his introduction, also paused for a moment to give players some time to process.

After a moment, Chen Xu continued.

"Compared to previous open-world games, in Elden Ring, players will embark on adventures across vast landscapes with diverse themes: volcanoes, corrupted scarlet lands, mysterious underground ruins, swampy lakes, snowfields, and grasslands."

"Players will also have various free-form gameplay options, whether it's challenging difficult BOSSes right after character creation or exploring the unknown world to grow stronger."

As Chen Xu's words fell, the live stream room appropriately displayed concept art of the corresponding locations.

The magnificent starry sky of the Eternal City, snow-covered mountains, the grand and radiant Erdtree, the floating sky-city ruined and suspended by mysterious power, the desolate and corrupted Caelid...

The concept art for the Erdtree and the Eternal City, in particular, excited countless players.

Just as Chen Xu said, it's an epic fantasy theme, and you can feel it just by looking!

However, just as players' expectations were at their peak, Chen Xu's voice in the live stream room in the next second left countless players dumbfounded.

"Finally, thank you all for tuning into today's online press conference. Please stay tuned for more news on Elden Ring."

As the words concluded, an icon LOGO appeared on the screen.

Several golden rings intertwined, connected by a golden pillar of light, looking like a towering tree from afar.

Alongside it was the game's title, Elden Ring.

Fin... Finished?

Watching the live stream room go black, all the players were stunned.

'Holy cow! Holy cow! Is that seriously it!?'

'No! Where's the promotional trailer? What about character introductions?'

'Just a few concept art pieces and a LOGO, and that's damn it? Did they just create the folder!?'

'That's it? Just this? Mr. Chen, couldn't you just post this on the official Weibo account, damn it? Did you really need to hold an online press conference for this?!'

All the players were in an uproar, their expectations high, anticipating even bigger news.

And now they're told there's nothing more?

Mr. Chen, where's your conscience?

This damn project must have just created its folder, right!?

Following the online press conference, Elden Ring didn't exactly become a massive hit; instead, the topic 'Beat Mr. Chen to Death' became popular again.

Players' resentment was truly too strong!

…………………………

"These players are still too young! What do you mean 'just created the folder'? It's clearly not even properly created yet!"

In Nebula Games' office, Yang Xin couldn't help but sigh with emotion as she watched the agitated players online.

Didn't they, the core team members, know better?

They had just started reassigning personnel from various teams, and the few game concept art drafts shown in the live broadcast were hastily put together.

Moreover, if players looked closely, they would notice a particular characteristic.

That is, these concept art pieces were clearly focused on environmental style.

Simply put, apart from thematic scenes like snow mountains, starry skies, grasslands, and volcanoes, you couldn't see anything more detailed.

Why?

Isn't it because time was limited?

Detailed elements, such as scene composition and architecture, require meticulous crafting, don't they?

But for large-scale scenes, it's much simpler; it's more about conveying the general direction of the theme. After all, it's not a fine art painting; just conveying the thematic style is enough.

"Don't talk nonsense, didn't we have a meeting about this earlier?"

Chen Xu lightly coughed and said.

Player outrage?

He wasn't the same as he used to be.

Back then, seeing players behave like this would make him depressed and worried; he'd even want to change their impression.

But now?

He could even happily snack while observing these player reactions.

"Although it's a Souls game, this time it's different from the development of previous Dark Souls or Bloodborne titles."

"Because it's presented as an open world, in terms of difficulty, this will be both the easiest and the most difficult installment," Chen Xu said, looking at the group.

Hearing Chen Xu talk about the serious business of the game, everyone put away their smiles and became serious.

Souls games have always left players with the impression of hardcore, high difficulty.

Fragmented narratives, grand settings, ingenious map design—these are indeed hallmarks of Souls games.

But in reality, these have never been the primary core elements of a Souls game.

The true core is how players derive joy after challenging high difficulty.

And this was Hidetaka Miyazaki's core philosophy in his previous life.

Allowing as many players as possible to experience the joy of overcoming challenges—that is the most important core of the Souls series.

Death in Souls games is no longer a mark of failure; instead, it is imbued with meaning.

Dying in a funny or bizarre way, or a death that creates a shareable story, gaining more experience from death, trying various methods to defeat seemingly insurmountable enemies—this cycle is the joy that Souls games bring.

In his previous life, Elden Ring led many players to complain about too many 'cheese' methods in the game. Yet, precisely because of this, Hidetaka Miyazaki in his previous life called Elden Ring a magnum opus.

Whether it was honing their skills to become masters and defeat challenging BOSSes, learning to use spirit summons and powerful weapon arts to overcome enemies, or becoming 'Shi Li Po Sword God' and turning into a blood tank to two-shot kill BOSSes in the end.

These were all ways players found to defeat enemies; the methods just differed.

As for many so-called veteran Souls players who believe that playing as a Mage, summoning spirit companions, or using 'cheese' tactics makes Souls games lose their meaning and not 'Souls-like,' insisting that a true Souls player is one who starts as a Deprived, takes a big chicken leg stick, and takes down all BOSSes—this notion is utterly absurd, even laughable.

Because Souls games were never intended to be difficult merely for the sake of difficulty, or to make players suffer, but rather to teach players how to overcome enemies through setbacks, and then to feel the joy that comes from conquering those challenges.

What defines a veteran Souls player?

Mastering despicable environmental kills by trapping enemies on gravestones, and shameless poison arrows combined with throwing knives—that's what defines a veteran Souls player, damn it!

(End of Chapter) <>