Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 603 Explosive Popularity
Most of the audience members, both at the venue and watching on their phones, expressed dissatisfaction with Wang Hao's abrupt end to the game.

In their view, Wang Hao's actions were tantamount to saying, "I've already taken my pants off, and this is what you show me?"

Don't want to introduce it? If you don't want to introduce it, why release this gameplay demo video? Isn't this just pure enticement?
Fortunately, Wang Hao provided some information, such as the name of the game, "Black Myth: Wukong".

After calming down the somewhat agitated movie fans and gamers, Wang Hao finally revealed the last key point of the press conference.

"Just now, we announced the movies, TV series, and games derived from the third phase of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe."

However, in the upcoming third phase of the cinematic universe, another major event is unfolding: the expansion of our cinematic universe – [Star Trek]!

As Wang Hao's voice faded, a huge electric door on one side of the exhibition hall, which had been converted from a giant photography studio, creaked open.

Bright sunlight streamed in, revealing a wide avenue in the park and a large construction site at the end of the avenue that was mostly completed and already taking shape.

In front of the construction site, there is a huge advertising display board, which shows the final rendering of the entire [Galaxy Park].

Roller coasters, drop towers, Ferris wheels...

These are the kinds of entertainment that ordinary amusement parks have.

In addition, various entertainment facilities and buildings built based on the IPs owned by Galaxy Group have also attracted a lot of attention.

For example, there's the aerospace-themed area with its giant Tiangong space station, the dream space-themed area shaped like a Rubik's Cube, and the perilous mutant beast-themed area...

Such a peculiar scene has attracted many passersby to stop and watch.

"Currently, our [Galaxy Paradise] has entered the final stage of construction, and the construction period is six months ahead of schedule."

It is expected that the park will begin renovations after the Chinese New Year, with staff training and internal trial operations scheduled for June next year, and the official opening in September.

As soon as Wang Hao finished speaking, the audience burst into applause.

Most of the people present were fans of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe], and they were understandably excited upon hearing the news.

On the one hand, it's because the opening date of [Galaxy Park] was six months earlier than the April 2019 opening date previously announced by Galaxy Group.

On the other hand, it's because the Galaxy Cinematic Universe is about to have its own theme park.

This signifies a further enhancement of the value of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe IP. While it still can't match the number of Universal Studios and Disney parks, it's a significant step forward. The entire cinematic universe's ecosystem is being further improved, filling veteran movie fans who have followed the Galaxy Cinematic Universe with a strong sense of pride and accomplishment.

The feeling is like watching your own child gradually crawl from the ground, to take their first steps, then to run with small steps, and finally to sprint, participate in competitions, and win countless honors and achievements.

"Alright, this concludes the third phase of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] press conference. We hope you will enjoy our [Dark Forest] chapter in the future."

Wang Hao's voice drew everyone's attention from the distant construction site of the "Star River Paradise" to the stage in the center of the exhibition hall.

As he spoke, representatives from the creative teams of various projects also came up on stage, filling the already small stage to capacity.

Although there were many people, everyone consciously chose their standing order according to their status and height. Everyone surrounded Wang Hao like stars around the moon, expressing their gratitude to the patrons in the audience.

"Please leave in an orderly manner. With your ticket, you can receive a free souvenir at the entrance. Also..."

As a result, while the female employee in charge of the event was maintaining order on stage, Wang Hao had already left the press conference surrounded by a group of key project members.

There was another dinner party that evening. It was a rare occasion for the core actors and project team of the third phase of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] to get together, and as the big leader and chief planner and director, he had to say something.

Everyone had a great time that night. If Wang Hao's wife, Jing Tian, ​​hadn't been there, they probably would have gotten him completely drunk.

Even though he had toned it down a bit, so many people still came forward to toast him that Wang Hao ended up walking unsteadily.

Just as the core members of the third phase of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe were enjoying drinks at the Galaxy Hotel, the aftershocks of the daytime press conference were only beginning to spread online.

However, the first thing to trend on social media wasn't the film project of the third phase of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, nor the Galaxy Park which is set to open next year, but rather a game trailer that only released a few clips.

After the 13-minute gameplay demo video of "Black Myth: Wukong" was uploaded to various platforms by Xingyou Entertainment following the press conference.

In just two hours, the game's trailer video soared to the top of the trending charts on Bilibili and Zhihu.

Three hours later, the trailer firmly secured the top spot on the daily viewership charts of Bilibili, Douyin, and Starry Sky Video Network.

The trailer that Wang Hao shared on Douyin quickly garnered over 20 reposts, 50 likes, and 10 comments.

Not to mention the low-quality videos uploaded and shared by other audience members at the scene, which also garnered a lot of attention and traffic.

On major online platforms, the number of likes, comments, and shares for the trailer of "Black Myth: Wukong" skyrocketed like a rocket.

The power and momentum it generated have attracted the attention of many people both inside and outside the industry.

It's important to understand that the domestic gaming industry, particularly in the area of ​​single-player games, has been stagnant for many years due to various issues, such as stricter game license requirements, increased regulation, parental complaints and boycotts, and rampant piracy.

A large number of young players have long been fed up with trashy games.

Those reskinned web games, pay-to-win browser and mobile games, and foreign single-player games with big IPs that often collectively court disaster, constantly challenge players' bottom line, and always put on an attitude of "this is how we do it, take it or leave it," all leave players utterly disappointed.

This accumulated resentment, coupled with the lingering anticipation for domestically produced AAA single-player games, ignited the entire gaming community with the release of *Black Myth: Wukong*. At the end of the trailer, as the melody of "Cloud Palace Melody" played, eight large characters appeared on the screen: "After the White Bones, Retrace the Journey to the West."

All of this is telling game enthusiasts that the game development team that created the pinnacle of domestic online games, "Dou Zhan Shen," the group of people who most wanted to make a Journey to the West game, has returned!

Some resourceful netizens even used business information platforms like Qichacha, various industry connections, and insider information to quickly find out about the development team of "Black Myth: Wukong".

Hangzhou Youke Interactive Technology Co., Ltd., Feng Ji, Yang Qi...

As the final subtitle "After the White Bones, Retrace the Journey to the West" appeared, the team members of Game Science and "Black Myth: Wukong" became an instant hit.

Many of these people's past experiences have been unearthed, and some have even revealed more information about the company and the "Black Myth: Wukong" project online.

With its grand scale, exquisite visuals, captivating content, and the perfect timing, the first trailer for "Black Myth: Wukong" became the biggest beneficiary of the third phase of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, achieving a success that few could have imagined.

Even Wang Hao was somewhat surprised when he woke up from his drunken stupor the next day.

Although he knew how popular Black Myth: Wukong was in its previous form, it was still released alongside the third phase of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, and this game clip actually overshadowed the popularity of the cinematic universe.

It can only be said that after so many years of success, the Galaxy Cinematic Universe has become so popular that people have taken it for granted and feel that no matter how excellent these projects are, they are expected and not surprising.

Black Myth: Wukong is unique in the domestic single-player game circle, naturally standing out from the crowd and attracting more attention than the third phase of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe.

In light of this, before conducting the live interview with Feng Ji and the Game Science team the following afternoon, Douyin specially dispatched more technical personnel to the site to maintain bandwidth and ensure the smooth running of the live stream.

Even though they had prepared themselves mentally, the Douyin live stream still froze for more than ten seconds at the start of the broadcast, and it was only after the technicians worked tirelessly and sweated profusely that it finally returned to normal.

Then I saw the number of online viewers in the upper right corner of the room, which had already exceeded 600,000, and this number was still rising rapidly, not far from the million online viewers.

It's worth noting that Douyin has only been developing for two years, and its live streaming business has only been online for half a year. The fact that it has millions of online viewers is enough to show just how popular this interview is and how attractive "Black Myth: Wukong" is.

In subsequent interviews, Feng Ji and the Game Science team's responses further demonstrated to countless viewers their dedication to the work and Game Science's ambition to deconstruct and recreate the traditional Journey to the West story, creating a unique AAA masterpiece for China.

During the interview, Feng Ji also revealed more information about this single-player game.

For example, what stage is the development of "Black Myth: Wukong" at? How are the problems and difficulties being solved? What new technologies, methods, and gameplay are being used in the game? And what are the hardware requirements? Can my computer run it?

Upon learning that the game has been in development for four years since 2013 with the strong support of Galaxy Group, and will be released on several major gaming platforms next year, 2018, many young game enthusiasts were overjoyed.

According to Feng Ji, they only need to wait another 10 months to play this top-tier domestic 3A game based on the Journey to the West theme. How could they not be happy?

So happy!
They couldn't wait to play it, and all they wanted to do was lock Feng Ji and his team in a dark room and make them finish the game as soon as possible.

Some people have even taken action, leaving comments on Wang Hao's Douyin account, the big boss of Xinghe Group, saying that they are willing to do anything to play the game as soon as possible.

Some of his friends even threatened him, saying they would not watch any of Galaxy Group's works until Black Myth: Wukong was released online.

This was just a joke, of course, but it's enough to prove everyone's love and anticipation for "Black Myth: Wukong".

As related news further fermented and spread, "Black Myth: Wukong" not only attracted a huge amount of attention in the gaming community, but also further triggered a huge response and heated discussion across the entire internet.

One netizen commented:

"It's hard to imagine that a demo trailer for a single-player game would cause such a sensation. It's unbelievable. Is this still China, where games are viewed as a scourge?"

Some netizens also commented:

"I can spend 400 yuan on foreign single-player games. If Black Myth: Wukong can maintain more than 75% of the quality shown in the demo, I would definitely not hesitate to spend 500 yuan!"

Gamers spread the news far and wide, and Chinese game developers cheered loudly:

The dream of everyone is finally about to be realized, and the spring of domestic AAA games is coming soon.

That 13-minute gameplay demo video gave everyone hope for domestically produced AAA games.

According to data statistics from Galaxy Group, the trailer for "Black Myth: Wukong" garnered over 3000 million views across the internet in just one day.

The Game Science team and StarGames initially had the most optimistic estimate that the trailer would only generate a small buzz with the release of the third phase of the StarCraft cinematic universe, garnering positive reviews within the gaming community and thus boosting the game's later release.

But surprises always come unexpectedly. "Black Myth: Wukong" broke out of its niche within a day, and its popularity quickly spread across major social media platforms and long and short video platforms in China.

On Bilibili, Douyin, Weibo, Baidu, and Zhihu's trending lists, data related to the trailer for "Black Myth: Wukong" is rising rapidly.

Even on TikTok's own channels, the trailer for "Black Myth: Wukong" is gaining popularity on the overseas version of TikTok.

Although it's a game with strong Chinese cultural characteristics, many aspects of entertainment are interconnected.

Just as Japanese games sell very well in the United States, Chinese players also highly appreciate excellent games from Europe and America. As long as a work is excellent, it can definitely transcend national borders and cultural barriers.

At least when those foreigners saw the gameplay footage of "Black Myth: Wukong", they all showed shocked expressions and expressed their anticipation for this single-player game from China.

Just as "Black Myth: Wukong" was creating a huge sensation online, not only were the phones of Feng Ji and other members of the game development team ringing off the hook, but even Wang Hao, the big boss of Xinghe Group, received a lot of messages and calls.

(End of this chapter)