My game is depressing worldwide.

Chapter 115 Interview Project with the Genius Producer

night.

Lincheng.

In her bedroom filled with dolls and figurines, Wang Yuhan held her breath and stared intently at the screen.

The bloody battle underground continues.

At this moment, Wang Yuhan's health was only half, and she had already drunk all the elemental potions.

The BOSS on the other side, this Lord of Cinder who loves street dancing, isn't in much better shape, with only about 10% of his health remaining.

Both were within the kill line, their lives hanging by a thread.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as she calmly watched the BOSS's every move and executed dodge maneuvers.

It's now!

The BOSS swung its flaming blade down, and Wang Yuhan dodged with a roll. She was about to retaliate and finish him off when, unfortunately, it was a swift double attack.

The blade struck, and the immortal screamed in agony before his soul returned to the campfire.

YOUDIED

Familiar words appeared on the screen.

"Ah!!" Wang Yuhan slammed her hand on the mouse, unable to hold back her scream, "What is this?! I'm speechless!! Who taught you to do this?!"

Is this how you make games?

Then came the sound of the neighbor angrily banging on the wall.

According to Huaguo Games, this gaming media account is quite well-known among players who love domestically produced games.

As its name suggests, it is a gaming media outlet that only reports on the Chinese gaming industry.

Behind it, or rather its largest shareholder, is the Lincheng Tourism Committee, which is considered a subordinate organization.

Therefore, its mission is, to some extent, the same as that of the China Game Industry Association, dedicated to the development of the domestic game industry.

Therefore, it not only publishes strategy guides and makes videos like many game media outlets, but also frequently reports industry news and conducts interviews.

among them.

With her excellent eloquence, outstanding demeanor, and status as a gamer, Wang Yuhan became one of the reporters for the media outlet "China Game Report".

She took a day off today specifically to play games.

She was also very curious about this first AAA game from Asylum Studios.

only...

They were indeed severely abused.

"You like street dance, huh? I'll break your legs!" Wang Yuhan fiercely controlled her undead to set off from the campfire, wanting to fight again, but then her phone rang.

"Who's calling at 11 pm... uh."

I was thinking of hanging up the phone and continuing to play the game, but after seeing the caller's name...

Wang Yuhan quickly took off her headphones and answered the phone: "Hello? Editor-in-Chief, what can I do for you?"

On the other end of the phone, the editor-in-chief's emotionless voice came through: "I heard you were sick and took the day off today. How are you recovering?"

""

"I'm much better! If nothing unexpected happens, I can go back to work the day after tomorrow!" She said this while pretending to be weak.

Ok.

Of course, whether I can go to work the day after tomorrow depends on how long the Dark Souls process takes.

"Is that so? Has Ice Dog finished?"

"By... uh."

"Ha, I knew it. Taking time off to play games, what a shame you'd even do!" The editor-in-chief sneered. "Don't bother taking time off tomorrow, you'll be working overtime."

"oh..

""

"Go and interview the mental hospital's workshop, and publish an exclusive interview."

"Okay... huh?!" Wang Yuhan jumped, "An exclusive interview? What's going on?"

"You just need to do the task assigned by Director Cui of the Tourism Committee." The editor-in-chief's voice sounded somewhat helpless on the phone. "This was originally supposed to be done by Lao Wang, but he got terribly beaten in Dark Souls and his blood pressure spiked to 160, so I have to let you do it."

Wang Yuhan:

"Director, my blood pressure is also a bit high."

"Alright, it's settled then. Don't mess up the things Director Cui assigned you."

The call was immediately disconnected.

Wang Yuhan stared into thought as she looked at Dark Souls on the screen.

As a reporter for the media outlet "China Game Report," she naturally knows more information than most players.

Chen Xuan, the producer widely regarded as a genius, has a good relationship with the Games Committee.

It is said that Director Cui Jing of the Lincheng Tourism Committee's Industrial Development Office was able to avoid trouble and remove the word "Deputy" thanks to him.

Director Cui Jing's daughter, Cui Manzhou, a tutor at Lincheng University, also greatly admires Chen Xuan.

Based on past experience.

Some highly anticipated domestically produced games receive completely neutral reporting before their release, which is almost entirely a reprint of information in an official tone.

Interviews will only be conducted after the game is released and the reviews are not too bad.

This serves as an additional promotional channel for games with a decent reputation.

but.

Wang Yuhan glanced at the reviews of Dark Souls.

This isn't good either.

This situation had never occurred before.

Considering the relationship between Director Cui and Chen Xuan, the reason behind it is not hard to see.

This is an attempt to repay a favor and lend a helping hand by praising Dark Souls from a different angle, hoping to salvage the game and reverse its reputation.

Therefore, to do this job well, we need to find the point that players are most dissatisfied with.

Wang Yuhan pondered, scrolling back and forth through the comments in the game community and game store.

She identified several key points of dissatisfaction among players.

First, the development team knew that the BOSS's stats were too high, but they didn't change them.

Hmm, if this question were asked during an interview, how would Chen Xuan answer?

I imagine they'll explain it in an official tone, for example, that most bosses in the game have fatal weaknesses, and although their stats may seem overpowered, they're actually quite easy to defeat if you use the right methods.

For example, humanoid bosses can be executed by simply flanking them from behind, such as the Farron Undead Legion and the troublesome Lothric Knights.

In this way, as a reporter, I can give both the production team and the players a way out.

It's not that the boss is difficult, but rather that the guidance is weak, causing players to not discover more efficient ways to play the game.

Second, the map is riddled with malicious designs.

This is a difficult question to answer, so Wang Yuhan decided to ask it in a joking tone. Is such a malicious design meant to disgust players?

A normal person would definitely say no!

Then apologize and explain the reasons for these designs—whether it's to fit the world view, to pay homage to certain game designs, or to play a little joke on the players, etc.

In short, we need to express our apologies to the players.

Third, the plot is completely incomprehensible.

This question will be addressed by Chen Xuan through narration.

For example, why write the game story in this way, what were the considerations, and are you trying an alternative way of expression?

This leads to a discussion about narrative patterns, cleverly shifting the issue from "players not understanding the plot" to "the narrative method being too bold."

You can't just design it in a way that players can't understand, can you?

Fourth, strategy!

Many players are still complaining about one issue: they don't complain about the game's difficulty, nor do they mind the malicious attacks.

What they resented was that Chen Xuan had banned Dark Souls game videos for a full ten days.

Looking for a guide?

Nowadays, video websites are becoming increasingly vertical, with only short video platforms besides the main website.

Due to the parental complaint, the games from the "Asylum Studio" were actually seeing reduced traffic on short video platforms.

Some content is hard to find even if you want to.

With a "conscientious" company like Baidu, all you can find in text and image guides is junk information.

If asked about "banning videos of their own games," the answer would likely be—to protect the player experience and allow players to discover the surprises in the game themselves without being spoiled.

In this way, the bad thing can be whitewashed as "sacrificing reputation and sales to protect the player experience".

Yes, perfect.

Finally, the strategy is to first suppress and then elevate.

He praised the Fire Keeper, who is very popular among players, and lauded her as a ray of light in this dark world, allowing producer Chen Xuan to take this opportunity to extol the game's AI system.

And then there's more.

Even the most critical person has to admit the game's excellent sandbox design.

This serves as the conclusion, fully discussing the design philosophy behind map levels and elevating the theme to the progress of domestically produced games.

Yes, perfect.

With an interview like this, completing the task shouldn't be a problem.

It addressed both the players' pain points and provided explanations.

They also completed the task assigned by their superiors, which helped to improve the reputation of Dark Souls to some extent.

It can also attract a lot of attention.

perfect!

Chen Xuan is a genius producer; he must understand these things.

This interview assignment should be a piece of cake, right?

We can also chat about other things, such as weakening bosses, removing malicious content, and asking about the next game genre, etc.

After the preparations are completed.

He glanced at the undead who were still quietly sitting by the campfire.

Wang Yuhan gritted her teeth.

An interview is an interview, and work is work.

As a player, she genuinely suspected that Chen Xuan was truly a disgusting person!

The next day.

Inside the mental hospital's workroom at the Research and Development Building.

"What? A media interview? To help me turn around the game's reputation?" Chen Xuan was stunned for a moment upon hearing the voice on the phone. "Teacher, you contacted them for me?"

Over the phone, Cui Manzhou said, "No, your studio is now a key focus of the Lincheng Tourism Committee, so some assistance is normal. Besides, you helped my father back then, so there's no need to thank me."

Chen Xuan hesitated for two seconds before saying, "Teacher, actually... it's fine as long as we don't try to reverse this reputation. It's normal for players to have grievances, and I believe that time will prove the quality of my product."

"Humor is always a pleasing quality, especially for an entrepreneur like you who achieved fame at a young age." Cui Manzhou chuckled. "Alright, get ready, the press conference will be here in two hours."

Then the call was disconnected.

Chen Xuan gave a wry smile and touched his nose.

"But I wasn't trying to be funny, I really didn't need to!"

If the reputation really turns around, wouldn't that prove that players are starting to enjoy the malice and high difficulty of Dark Souls?

This is not a good thing.

How else can I collect armor penetration value?

Penetration value is only awarded when the defense is broken.

They're all enjoying themselves here, what's the point of collecting anything?

The media outlets under the Tourism Commission are quite capable.

Even if he doesn't turn black into white, he at least has a good reputation, and the players trust him a lot.

If we let them find a good angle to brag about it, it might actually affect the collection of defense penetration value.

"No, I have to think of something." Chen Xuan stroked his chin, thinking carefully.

If I were a journalist, I would definitely point out the issues that players care about.

Then try to prove this point from a positive angle to achieve the effect of turning around public opinion.

Therefore, we can simply use it in reverse.

Why not just admit all the flaws and be shameless about it?

That way, the interview can bring back some more defense points.

I'm a genius.

Chen Xuan nodded in satisfaction, then picked up his phone and began arranging for Yu Xiaoming to prepare for the next interview.