To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Chapter 294: Chapter 189 This Game is Not So Good (Second Update)_2

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Sitting crossed-legged in front of the television, Eric held the controller and stared at the screen for a while before nodding and saying, “The opening scene is great, a simple dynamic screen sets the tone of the game right away. It’s a horror game, but the only one that ever scared me was ‘Ominous Sign’, and that was when I was seven. Alright, enough talk, let’s get into the game.”

Choosing to start the game, Eric found that as the mist cleared, the protagonist woke up on a bed.

When Eric saw the scene in front of him, he was dumbfounded for a good long while, staring at the screen intently.

To get a better gaming experience, he used a 100-inch ultra-clear, high-refresh-rate, widescreen TV. Most games at this distance looked all pixelated, but good games could be seen much more clearly.

He thought that if ‘Heavenly Demon’ was free of pixels, that would be a success, but now that he saw the actual graphics, Eric felt he might have underestimated Fang Cheng Studio.

He already knew that people from the East were hardworking, but he had not expected them to go to such lengths.

Every now and then, some Black Tech would pop up from the region, but he never imagined that today he would witness such a qualitative leap.

“The mysterious East…”

On the screen, the 3D modeling was lifelike, the game’s ray tracing was as dazzling as real life, and the micro-expressions of the surrounding NPCs seemed as though they could be discerned through the screen.

Although he knew that graphics aren’t the same as gameplay, just by looking at the graphics, Eric felt that his fifty Euros were well spent.

And when he actually started moving, he thought about Fang Cheng Studio’s background again, but still came up empty.

That shouldn’t be right…

The character’s movement felt outstanding. The graphics, motion details, and control feedback all worked together to give the character on Eric’s screen a strong sense of immersion.

This was not the effect of technology accumulation alone, but should be the result of years of experience in the action field.

He shouldn’t have never heard of a company with such technology before.

However, Eric quickly cast his confusion aside.

Because the game was just too thrilling.

Usually, during the recording of his show, he would talk a lot to spark viewers’ interest, so they would want to watch his ads, making the audience happy and the publishers satisfied.

But today, he didn’t want to say a word.

Although it was a game with an Eastern theme, and he had no concept of “Cultivation” before, not understanding the concepts of refining essence into Qi, Qi into spirit, spirit returning to the void, and merging the void with the Dao, it didn’t prevent him from finding it enjoyable.

Authentic translations made it easy for him to accept the related settings, and the exotic Eastern culture filled him with a sense of novelty.

Especially when he discovered that people could obtain extraordinary powers without the help of Gods, without mutations, lineage, or technology, he became intensely curious about the so-called methods of cultivation and began to travel in the world of ‘Heavenly Demon’.

His character was not a hero from the start; his journey was not a Hollywood-style hero’s journey. The protagonist was clear from the beginning about what they wanted to do and set out resolutely to follow their own heart.

Playing up to this point, Eric stopped, then said to the camera, “A very curious protagonist. Many of our games are about role-playing, striving to get us into the game. But ‘Heavenly Demon’ is different; it has created an almost perfect protagonist and makes us imagine that we are him. I’m not saying who is better or worse, but I want to say, I appreciate this innovation.”

After that, he continued playing.

Eric didn’t play fast; he spent most of his time attempting interactions with the environment, and the possibilities of interaction astonished him.

The whole game had its complete physical system. Some methods of interaction seemed bizarre, but they formed their own coherent system.

Although it was a bit baffling at first, like why that pigeon was so huge, and why the people around were indifferent to it.

A mysterious energy, Spiritual Energy, governed the cycle of the whole world, and everything circulated with Spiritual Energy, encapsulating the Eastern philosophy of harmony between heaven and humanity.

However, Spiritual Energy would concentrate in some places. The huge pigeons were a manifestation of this concentration of Spiritual Energy, but they were clever and wise. Therefore, they were accepted into the village.

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Understanding this, Eric became even more curious about the game’s setting.

The game opened with the message that the world was sick, the Spiritual Energy was still there, but in some places, it had been polluted and terrifying Demons could be born at any moment.

Even though the Sect was leaving, they thoughtfully left behind magical weapons and other items to help the protagonist learn and improve before they left.

The childhood friend next door also knew some methods of utilizing Spiritual Energy. Whenever the protagonist got hurt after subduing Demons, the childhood friend would come over to heal him without charging a fee.

The villagers in the village were kind and friendly. When they found out the protagonist needed some weapons for protection, the blacksmith at the village entrance immediately crafted a long sword for him, making Eric feel somewhat embarrassed.

The game also had a currency system, but within this community, there wasn’t much need to spend money. It seemed that everyone sincerely treated the protagonist as one of their own and provided support to the best of their abilities.

At this point, Eric stopped playing again.

“Collectivism, huh… Although many people don’t have a good impression of collectivism, after some recent events, we have to admit that it’s the best system to resist natural disasters. We’ve always felt that we were too arrogant, to the point that we fail to see a lot of the right things… Sorry, I digressed again. Let’s continue the game.”

It didn’t take long for Eric to get the hang of the game. He knew all the settings by heart and, even though he wasn’t playing fast, he hadn’t enjoyed a game this much in a long time.

The game wasn’t frightening. On the contrary, it was quite leisurely. The only terrifying aspect seemed to be the polluted creatures in the wilderness—some monsters were covered with eyes, and others were simply made of arms, which could make anyone’s sanity plummet just by looking at them.

However, compared to them, Eric felt that the protagonist seemed more like a monster.

The protagonist was incredibly powerful, able to ascend to the heavens and burrow into the ground. The monsters in front of him were no match, not scary except perhaps a bit ugly.

Besides combat, he could go fishing or blacksmithing. Various interesting minigames were woven throughout, making him feel that the game shouldn’t be called “Heavenly Demon” but rather “Cultivation Simulator.”

Just as he was about to make a set of clothes for his childhood friend, the alarm clock rang.

“Two hours already? This game really… takes a lot of time.”

With reluctance, Eric put down the controller and picked up his camera to check the materials for his live stream.

This time, the footage he recorded wasn’t up to standard.

Usually, he would continuously talk about related content so that even if viewers weren’t watching the video, they could listen to what was being said and could enjoy his program while driving.

But today, he had been completely immersed in “Heavenly Demon” and hardly said a few words, making his gaming video seem somewhat dull.

Having no choice, he edited and did voiceovers repeatedly, each time almost deciding to stop and go back to playing for a while, but ultimately he held back.

He was busy until midnight before he finally uploaded the completed show, announcing he would make this game into a series until he finished it.

Not long after the video was released, he saw a message from one of his loyal fans.

[Eric, are you playing “Heavenly Demon” too?]

[Yeah, I think it’s a great game, very comfortable to play. I took a commercial order, but I feel this game is worth playing. Top ten of the year, no problem.]

[Have you watched other people’s gameplay videos or guides?]

[No, you know my habit. After I take a commercial order, I won’t watch other people’s games or guides.]

[I respect your habit, so I won’t say much, but with “Heavenly Demon,” just stop playing when you reach a certain point. Especially when you notice something is not right, stop immediately!]

[…Why?]

[Don’t ask, just play for another hour at your pace, but don’t go any further, okay? I have to go, I’m running out of time, and I have to play the game—I need to find a possibility. Goodbye.]

Watching the concerned fan go, Eric felt a chill run up his spine, giving him a sense of fear as if the game was encroaching upon reality.