Game Making: Start By Healing the Player

Three O’clock sharp, the Game Department’s website and official social media accounts simultaneously uploaded their announcements regarding the latest developments of the contest.

《 ‘To the Moon’, First Place, Congratulations 》

《 ‘Galactic Heroes’, Second Place, Congratulations 》

And so on.

Chen Xu also received a phone call from the Games Department, offering their congratulations and inviting him to the awards ceremony.

Soon the homepage of the Games Department was updated with a huge banner, with artwork depicting the victory, as well as a tribute to the game.

Imagine laying there on your deathbed, pondering the joys of your life, and your regrets, especially the regrets.

You always tell yourself that if you could go back in time you would do this differently, achieve that finally, change this definitely, but something always stops you from fulfilling your dreams: could be family, commitments, work, or friendships.

And now that you are about to leave this world, there is no time left. What if, upon your deathbed, you could change your memories, and make it so that your dreams really did come true?

This is just the tip of the iceberg of ‘To the Moon’. It is not a big budget title. It does not have exquisite graphics or complex gameplay loops. But I must say, that just like Chen Xu’s last game, ‘Undertale’, that ‘To the Moon’ is a lesson and a reminder to all designers who value narrative and storytelling that the bar can be raised, and raised very, very high.

To give a full review of this game, it will be difficult to avoid spoilers, so all we can say is that if you are a gamer who cares about the story in a game, this one is a must-play.

Perhaps this take may change with time, perhaps something better will come along in the future to shake up our perspectives, but at least for now, for what it is and what it seeks to be, this is an absolutely brilliant experience.

The dialogue is immersive and gut-wrenching, with a touch of humor sprinkled in alongside the witty banter of Dr Neil and Dr Eva, breaking up the often dark storyline.

The story touches the soul, depicting the twists and turns of Johnny and his wife, River. Sometimes happy, sometimes absolutely soul-crushing, a perfect blend of bittersweet goodness.

The music is absolutely beautiful, making use of piano melodies and having each track taking center stage during the different thematic moments. Something you would expect from the best feature films.

‘To the Moon’ is about life: the people, places, hardships and joys that make life worth living.

The first impressions of the game was a hodgepodge of strange decisions made by the designer, but ended up crystalizing into something truly magnificent.

There is no doubt that this is one for the books.

<cite>– Head Judge of the official Science Fiction Game Design Competition</cite>

It can be said that this article of appreciation issued by the Games Department to the game ‘To the Moon’ implies a very high rating and fully confirmed its status.

…………………………

Inside the office of Nebula Games.

Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue were running around the different departments, cheering and celebrating with any poor (lucky) soul they could get their paws on.

That, of course, included Chen Xu.

“Chen Xu! Chen Xu! Look! ‘To the Moon’ has been recommended by the national game platform! The officials! The Bigwigs!” Yang Xin was excitedly jamming her phone into Chen Xu’s face so he could see.

This was the official gaming platform! Used by a vast majority of the domestic playerbase, essentially the largest and most active digital storefront for gaming in the country.

And now it had placed their little game front and center, promoting it towards that huge market.

This was something she had never once dared to hope for, yet here it was, happening before her very eyes.

As someone who had always dreamt of making it big in the gaming industry, it was difficult to put into words how much this meant to her.

She was literally shaking, her normally white face was now a shade of red from the strong emotions.

Beside her, Ruan Ningxue wasn’t faring much better. In fact, she might be hyperventilating a little bit, but it could just be the excitement so Chen Xu decided to observe for now.

A whirlwind of energy surrounded the offices of Nebula Games, the air was alive with the sounds of laughter and enthusiastic debates.

The new employees who recently joined the company were brimming with excitement too, the company was in an upward trend and the future looked bright. Perhaps one day it will be their works that receive such widespread fanfare.

“There’s going to be an award ceremony too! Are you going to attend?” Yang Xin asked Chen Xu, finally remembering further details about the contest.

“Yes, the head of the Games Department contacted me about this earlier.”

“Ooo. Will it be on TV?” Ruan Ningxue wondered.

“Don’t overthink it. It’s not going to be some massive red carpet event. I just have to show my face at their building and grab whatever they give me. Could be a certificate, could be an actual trophy.” Chen Xu shook his head.

“Aw…I guess that makes sense.” Ruan Ningxue calmed down a little.

“Alright, gather ‘round, let’s discuss something more important. After the awards we’ll be having a national day vacation, and after that, we’re going to be taking a big step forward.”

With that, the office fell silent as people filed in, eager to hear what their promising young leader had in store for them.

Seeing as he had their attention, Chen Xu began, “First, our platform. It has to be up and running before the end of October. Any non-core components that are time-consuming or labor-intensive can be outsourced.”

Chen Xu began counting off his fingers.

“‘Mirror’, ‘Undertale’, ‘To the Moon’, these were all small games. They didn’t cost much to make at all. But in terms of sales? In terms of branding? They were absolutely successful.”

He looked up, eyes scanning the faces of his expanded team.

“However, the earnings we’ve collected from these three are still not enough to fund the creation of a true triple A title. But that’s okay, because larger and more challenging games are still within reach.”

At those words, the faces of those gathered grew tense, their eyes sparkling with anticipation. It was as if they were on the precipice of some life-changing event.

And it was no wonder, too. Because most people in the gaming industry have the longing to at least try their hand at a large project, something with the potential to cause great impact on the landscape.

For those with passion, it would be an important personal goal. For those who are career focused, it would look amazing on their resume.

Chen Xu did not share more on the details of his next planned project, instead telling his team to focus on the tasks at hand for now. They would be given the details as soon as the time was right.

After that, he returned to his office, leaning back into his chair as he began browsing the interface of his status screen.

He couldn’t hold back a smile as he admired the points earned from ‘To the Moon’, it was a significant amount.

His current emo points were at 4.5 million, allowing him to draw 45 times from the magic gacha, if he wanted to.

And boy did he want to. But not yet though, he would be patient and stock up a little longer.

He has not decided on his next project, and even if he did, development could only begin after the national day vacation.

With the hype surrounding the contest, and the official website promoting his game, he knows that many players will soon flock in to make their purchase.

And in Chen Xu’s eyes, those players were walking sacks of money and emo points, ready to be harvested.

From a metaphysical point of view, if you draw ten times ten in a row, you’re more likely to get the good shit. Allegedly.

So hopefully things will turn out better than before, where 21 draws didn’t even grant him a single rare skill book.

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