My game, you have no right to award

Chapter 181 Niche Beauty

The black cat reluctantly left its seat, its mind still preoccupied with the game.

Seeing the next tester's face full of excitement and anticipation as he plopped down in the spot he had just been in, Black Cat covered his head in frustration.

He wasn't upset because he couldn't continue playing the game, but because he had spent a full thirty minutes trying to make the call.

After failing, you are returned to the homepage, where there is only a button to restart the game.

There are no options to upgrade yourself outside of the game, i.e., no off-game progression system.

Therefore, if he uses the right strategy, he should be able to clear the first level within thirty minutes.

Since he can't level up outside of the game, it means he currently has the complete gaming experience.

pity……

Just as he was feeling frustrated, a staff member came over and whispered something to him.

"Hello teacher, could you help us fill out this questionnaire? We just need to write down your honest impressions of the game."

"These are all questions about the game, they shouldn't be difficult to answer."

"Your opinion is very important to us."

Hearing the staff being so polite, the black cat was flattered and quickly waved her hand to indicate that she didn't need to be so polite.

Then he quickly took the questionnaire and pen from the staff member and sat down on the sofa to fill it out.

Black Cat quickly scanned the questionnaire in his hand. The questions were all very standardized, including players' opinions on the game's difficulty, graphics, music, and other aspects.

The questioning method is the most common Likert scale, with five levels to choose from, ranging from strongly agreeing to strongly disagreeing.

Black Cat nodded. It seemed that Kuangshi Games wanted to see player feedback, which was why they sent KOLs as representatives to the company for the closed beta test.

There were no unusual questions on the questionnaire.

These questions were not difficult, and he quickly filled them out according to his true feelings.

After he finished filling out the questionnaire and handed it to the staff, I asked him a question.

"Are we just going to wait here now?"

The players who were in the first wave to try out "Joker" were either filling out a test or had already finished and were watching the others play.

However, the staff offered a third option.

"Teacher, if you don't want to wait any longer, you can go to our lounge, where there is a snack and drink bar."

"Oh...it's okay, I'll stay here."

"Ok."

With no one around going to the lounge, how could I possibly be the first to leave?
Moreover, opportunities to visit Megvii Games are not available every day, and as a loyal fan of Megvii Games and Light Swallow Studio, Black Cat is even less willing to leave.

……

……

……

The day passed quickly, and in the afternoon, Black Cat met Feng Qi, the producer of "The Netherworld Mountains and Seas," and excitedly took a photo with him.

The main creators of "The Netherworld Mountains and Seas" only chatted with them for a short while before going back to work.

Everyone can understand this, since development is definitely a higher priority than chatting with them.

Compared to playing the game made by the other party as soon as possible, the opportunity to communicate with the creators is not so important.

However, the owner of Megvii Games later came back and chatted with them for an hour.

The two sides had a cordial and friendly exchange of views and concluded the meeting in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Both sides expressed their respect and gratitude to each other.

During that hour or so, Zhou Kuang gave Black Cat the impression of being completely unpretentious and lacking any of the arrogance often associated with "superiors."

This kind of arrogance will inevitably show if someone is flattered too much.

Zhou Kuang didn't show it because he never forgot that he was a player.

I haven't forgotten which parts were completed with the help of others.

No matter what the KOLs asked, Zhou Kuang answered them very seriously.

Throughout the exchange, everyone was relaxed.

However, due to time constraints, basically each person can only ask one question.

Everyone has different concerns, so when their questions are combined, the scope is quite broad.

When it was Black Cat's turn to ask a question, he asked the question he had prepared long ago, under everyone's gaze.

What are Kuangshi Games' plans after this? Are they preparing to develop DLC for "The Lost Tomb" or developing a new game?

Upon hearing this question, everyone immediately turned their attention to Zhou Kuang.

This is a question that everyone present is very concerned about and curious about.

The reason why the question was only brought up when it came to the black cat is partly because everyone thought someone else would ask it, and partly because they felt the question was a bit too direct, so they were embarrassed to bring it up.

Zhou Kuang was also pondering how to answer the question.

The KOLs on the other side are unaware of the work they are currently doing.

First, Kuangshi Games is currently focused on the porting and development of "Youming Shanhai", and has reached the final stage of the development process.

Once approved by Starwheel, the GS4 platform, including media controlled by Starwheel Group, will vigorously promote the ported version of "Youming Shanhai".

After all, this is an exclusive game, one that Blue Window Technology doesn't have!
And it's a game that has consistently broken records in both critical acclaim and sales!
This game has come to our GS4 platform as an exclusive title!

Shouldn't we give this a good publicity boost? It's the VX4 console used to suppress BlueWindow.

Zhou Kuang was very certain that the GS port of "Youming Shan Hai" would pass Xinglun's technical review.

So in a way, even if we tell these KOLs now, it's not a big problem.

But this is only from his own perspective.

Zhou Kuang was unaware of Xinglun's plans for the game's promotion or other aspects. He wondered if revealing the game's potential release date in advance would affect their plans.
This was something he had carefully considered in his mind.

On the other hand, Black Cat mentioned the DLC for "The Lost Mountains and Seas".

There are actually many different opinions on this point, even within the company itself.

The original team members who worked on the main game "Youming Shanhai" are eager to continue developing expanded content for "Youming Shanhai", or even to start a sequel to "Youming Shanhai" - "Youming Shanhai 2".

Because they were the first AAA game development team in China, and "The Mysterious Mountains and Seas" was also the first domestically produced AAA game, it was natural that they couldn't be completely satisfied with everything during the game development process.

The final results were, for the employees themselves, barely passable.

Given so many regrets, and the numerous feedback they received from players after the game's release, they naturally wanted to incorporate those experiences into the game.

Moreover, the veteran employees had worked on "Youming Shan Hai" for over two years and had developed an attachment to the project. Asking them to work on other projects would likely make them somewhat resistant.

Zhou Kuang knew all this, but still did not choose to continue making sequels and DLCs for "The Netherworld Mountains and Seas".

The reason is that he hopes Megvii Games' product line can be more mainstream and diversified.

"The Mysterious Mountains and Seas" is an excellent choice as the company's first AAA game.

Many people believe that the first AAA game should be a more mainstream genre, rather than a Souls-like game.

This is because they are worried that the player base for Souls-like games is too small, and that ordinary players have a low acceptance of high difficulty levels.

However, Zhou Kuang chose to create Souls-like games precisely because he was aware of these shortcomings.

When a company has no fans or well-known works, creating its own unique style is far more important than acquiring a wider player base.

When no one understands you, trying to please everyone is tantamount to offending everyone.

Nobody cares whether a game is fun or of high quality because they don't know you. Souls-like games are the opposite; their unique gameplay allowed Megvii Games to initially target a specific player base and build upon that foundation to further increase the game's popularity.

The term "niche" is not necessarily a bad thing at a certain point in time.

Now, Kuangshi Games has gained a large number of fans and supporters with "Youming Shanhai", and has the confidence to challenge any genre in terms of both funding and manpower.

Zhou Kuang wasn't fixated on Souls-like games; rather, he was more interested in the novelty and enthusiasm of creating other types of games.

So after careful consideration, Zhou Kuang spoke up.

"We are currently focused on optimizing and developing 'The Netherworld Mountains and Seas,' and we are still discussing and planning our future projects with Kuangshi Games."

Zhou Kuang's answer was somewhat ambiguous, but he didn't lie.

The porting work is certainly included in the subsequent development of "Youming Shanhai". As for the subsequent projects, although the theme of the game has been determined as a martial arts open-world role-playing game, the projects have not yet entered the formal development stage, so they are still in the planning stage.

As you can see, quite a few game projects have been cancelled after preliminary research due to the gap between reality and expectations.

It's not uncommon for games to be abandoned in the later stages of development, or even after development is complete.

Black Cat was slightly disappointed by the answer, but he didn't expect the other party to give a definite answer.

Kuangshi Games must still be busy optimizing "Youming Shan Hai"!
……

……

……

That evening, the black cat took a car back home.

Since the office of Megvii Games is less than an hour's drive from his home, his commute home is relatively quick.

Black Cat ordered takeout and started a live stream while eating spicy hot pot.

Before going to Qingyan Studio to participate in the closed beta test of "Joker Cards", he had already posted an announcement about it.

And Black Cat wasn't the only one doing this.

In fact, almost all the game bloggers who participated in the closed beta test posted updates or related videos in advance, letting their fans know the news.

In a way, this can be considered as advance publicity for "Joker".

"Good evening"

Good evening, big black dog.

"came back?"

“Ciallo”

"Full fruit ready to use"

"Is the game fun?"

Within a minute of opening the live stream, the number of comments in the Black Cat comment section increased from a few scattered comments to dozens.

His fans are extremely loyal.

The number of viewers in the live stream instantly soared to three digits and continues to climb.

Once there were more people around, Black Cat swallowed the last bite of food, took a sip of water, and then turned on his microphone.

"Good evening"

Good evening, black dog.

"Kongbangwa"

"Holy crap, Liu Lu!"

Black Cat smiled gently as he saw the friendly interactions from his fans in the live stream.

"Today I went to Light Swallow Studio, the developer of Vampire Survivor and Potato Bros. Those who follow my updates should know that."

"I only found out later that Light Swallow Studio and Megvii Games actually share the same office space!"

The screen was instantly flooded with question marks.

Very few players knew the name of Qingyan Studio.

Even players who have played those two survivor games rarely pay attention to the name of the studio that developed them.

Kuangshi Games is a name most people are familiar with; they're the company that developed "The Lost Tomb: The Mysterious Sea"! They have a very high reputation!

However, Black Cat actually said that the two companies share an office space?
"Qingyan Studio is a subsidiary of Megvii Games."

The black cat said something else.

Upon hearing this explanation, the viewers in the live chat understood.

"No wonder Potato Brothers is so fun, it turns out it was made by a subsidiary of Megvii Games."

"I originally thought that besides Megvii Games, the company that made Vampire Survivors could also support the backbone of domestic games, but it turns out they're all from the same company."

"Whose general is this?"

"If Heaven had not created such a masterpiece, the history of Chinese games would have remained shrouded in darkness forever."

"It really is"

"Antarctic entertainment leans towards business, while unparalleled gaming leans towards sports."

"Not business, not sports"

Some viewers in the live chat were also interested in how the new game was going, since the Riddler trailer, which included clown elements, had been keeping them in suspense for days.

"How about that clown game?"

"It's so much fun."

The black cat said without hesitation.

"I can reveal some information."

Black Cat pondered how to allow as many fans as possible to get a sneak peek at the game's true nature while adhering to confidentiality agreements.

"First of all, the game genre is a very common theme, but the medium is something I never expected, although I guess many people have played it."

Black Cat had never played Texas Hold'em before, but after trying it out, he gradually came to understand its fun.

"As for the game itself, it's not easy; it really tests the player's brain." He paused, then continued, "I tried it for thirty minutes and couldn't get past the first level."

He made no attempt to hide his "failure".

"what?"

Is it that difficult?

"Oh no, I hate using my brain!"

"I'm just brainless."

Black Cat thought that "The Joker" was designed as a series of levels, but that was actually a misunderstanding. The first time you beat it, it wasn't that easy.

"Later I met Feng Qi, the producer of Youming Mountain and Sea, but he was very busy, so we chatted for a few minutes and then just took a photo together."

He revealed a sly smile, and sure enough, the comments section was filled with sarcasm upon hearing this.

Did they only take a photo together?

I'll show off one more time, and from now on I can only continue calling you Big Black Dog!

Black Cat happily shared his day's experiences with his fans before ending the broadcast and going to sleep.

Less than a week later, Qingyan Studio officially announced it on its official account!
The next installment, "The Clown Card," is coming soon!
(End of this chapter)