Game Making: Start By Healing the Player

Capital City Games Department.

Unlike the previous world, the various divisions of entertainment industries are not governed under one entity in this parallel universe.

Instead, each industry has their own governing body acting as liaison between the national government and the industry as a whole.

The Games Department is, of course, in charge of the gaming industry.

Domestic agents are assigned within the department to review games from both domestic and overseas developers before they hit the shelves.

Sometimes there is also a need to review games that are already on sale domestically but are in the process of shipping out to overseas markets.

And again, unlike the one-size-fits-all approach of the previous world, this parallel world employs a detailed grading system.

This is mainly due to the higher tech level of the parallel world, allowing for the creation of extreme variances. However, the actual barriers to entry and review parameters are not as vigorous as those of the previous world.

And it’s all thanks to the system of having national identity numbers being tied to online accounts. So if you’re underaged, don’t even think about meeting your new favorite porn stars, you won’t be able to find them.

Unfortunately, this also means games with more erotic aspects will have more hoops to jump through as well .

Just like Chen Xu’s first game, ‘Mirror’. Which had to be exported and sold domestically as an overseas game. It exists in a gray zone, not exactly supported, but not a target for elimination either.

Another, much more appreciated service provided by the Games Department, is their proprietary game engine, much like the Unreal Engine of the previous world. It’s just that one is a commercial product and the other is state-owned and funded, so the level of technology on display is absolutely night and day.

At this time, the managers and appointed judges of the Capital City Games Department, who were in charge of this year’s science fiction game design contest, were in a meeting to discuss the situation.

Unlike the average player, these appointed judges are obliged to experience every single submission. Their internal scoring system will be based on a combination of a list of fixed criteria and their own personal judgements regarding the contents of the game.

After all, it would be unrealistic to judge every single submitted game within the timeframe if they had to complete them from start to finish.

Besides, the burden of this event was relatively lighter compared to previous events due to the new public voting program, where the votes and reviews of normal players would be taken into account for the final scoring.

After all, the main reason these events were held by the Games Department was to better manage the domestic gaming market.

As for the gaming market itself? It lived and died by the decisions of the players.

Even if the Games Department selects a list of games that adhere to their own values, if the players end up not liking them, how can the market be guided?

“Alright people, good to have you all here today. Let’s get straight to the point and start the tally for first place. Each person present has to present their vote and explain their reasoning.” The head judge, who was hosting the meeting, made the announcement. He gestured towards one of the other judges to begin.

“I nominate ‘Galactic Heroes’, designed by Meng Zuo, under the banner of Net Dragon. The level design stands out in particular, but the game falls short on plot and balance issues.” the first judge spoke up.

“I nominate ‘To the Moon’ by Chen Xu of Nebula Games. The actual gameplay is nothing noteworthy, but the pacing is excellent. The game makes effective use of flashback-like sequences.”

“I agree. Although this game does not carry the amazing shock value of ‘Undertale’, its storyline is still of stellar quality.”

“Yes, while ‘Galactic Heroes’ was indeed an impressive piece of work, the budget and assets involved in its creation is something most ordinary designers won’t have access to. While ‘To the Moon’ is a shining example of what can be done with relatively basic resources. So I’m personally more inclined towards it.”

“Errm… The game is indeed excellent, but I must ask if ‘To the Moon’ can truly be considered a science fiction game. Because the main focal point seems to be more about love and romance, correct?”

“Strictly speaking, I guess you’re right. But by those standards, about 40% of the entries we received wouldn’t count either.”

“Well, I still have my doubts, so I’m more optimistic about ‘Galactic Heroes’.”

………………

The judges and reviewers were having increasingly heated debates over the game choices. And online, countless players had already experienced various entries for themselves, and were beginning to form their own opinions.

In terms of promotion, many of the participating games had received the spotlight, but the one that stood out the most was still Chen Xu.

After all, the heat generated by ‘Undertale’ was still lingering, with several pockets of fandoms still actively posting and creating content. Then Zhong Mei, who pretended to be dead for a long time, popped up on the radar again, only to be instantly buried by Chen Xu.

So in terms of popularity, one could say that Chen Xu somehow had it all figured out.

This led many players to give ‘To the Moon’ a chance.

And subsequently causing a flood of intense, pyramid scheme-esque posts on numerous forums.

• [ I urge everybody to play ‘To the Moon’ Chen Xu’s latest work as an entry to this contest. I was moved to tears! ]

• [ My brother upstairs, I am still in tears. Also, didn’t Chen Xu make this game in like ten days? ]

• [ So what if the game was made in ten days? If it works, it works! And the story was really touching. When you play it, you’ll understand what it means to make a macho man cry. ]

• [ Dude fuck you for bringing it up! I feel like crying again! ]

• [ Are you guys being serious or is this just some meme I’m too old to understand? ]

• [ You’ll know when you play it my dude. The game made me realize that I have a very low tolerance for sadness. ]

• [ Alright I’ll take your word for it this time. ]

• [ So who are you guys planning to vote for? I’ll probably go ‘To the Moon’ since I literally can’t think of any other game right now ]

• [ Yep, ‘To the Moon’ for me too. ]

• [ Idk guys, I was very moved, and I know it left the deepest impression in my heart, but I don’t really think it’s a real sci fi game? Does that make sense? Anyone else feel the same way? ]

• [ I literally don’t care bro I’m voting for it. ]

These players, who were deeply mired in the emotional turmoil caused by the game, voted for it without regard or hesitation.

As for it not being strictly a sci fi game?

Sure, sure. But after that roller coaster of an experience, not many people cared anymore.

And why should they? If they think the game is great, if the game manages to impress them, then the vote is decided, end of story.

Whether the game qualifies, that’s just semantics in the end.

…………..

Soon, the three day sales figures for the participating games were revealed on the official platform.

‘To the Moon’ took the lead with 193,000 units sold, followed by ‘Galactic Heroes’ with 87,000 units sold.

Now, this is already a highly alarming figure, but there are two perfectly reasonable explanations for it.

Number one, ‘To the Moon’ is actually released for both PC and mobile, so it would naturally have a much wider player base.

Number two, the price of ‘To the Moon’ is only 15 yuan. It’s actually related to the content and length of the game. After all, it takes only around 4 hours to finish the whole thing, and there is no real incentive to replay the game other than catching little details you missed in the first run.

But the lower pricing still makes a huge impact on sales count.

‘Galactic Heroes’ costs 65 yuan.