"Come in."
After hearing his reply, the office door opened. Lin Rou, the assistant they had recently hired, walked in holding a document.
"Boss Lucas, we just got an invitation to the Gameplay Expo. They're asking if we'd like to take part this year. This is the venue layout for the gameplay section." Lisa handed Lucas a map of the venue.
Lucas took the map and had a quick look.
It was a simple layout of the venue.
According to the data, the convention covered a total of 50,000 square meters and was split into seven zones.
Nebula Games had been invited to Zone 6, which was for indie games.
Their booth space was about 500 square meters.
That was already a pretty big size—at least in the indie area, they were among the top exhibitors.
To be honest, Lucas hadn't really paid much attention to game conventions in this parallel world.
He didn't respond to Lisa right away and instead looked it up online.
After a bit of searching, he had a general idea of what it was about.
Just like in his previous life, there were all kinds of conventions in this world too.
But Gameplay was a bit different from the usual ones.
This one wasn't just about business.
Aside from big-name sponsors like NetDragon and SkyNova, there was also a special organization backing it—Game Division.
In short, this convention had a bit of an official feel to it. Its slogan and goal were about "promoting the healthy growth of the local gaming industry."
The location of the event changed every year, and this time it would be held in Magic City.
It was scheduled for early May.
There were still about two months to go.
The convention would run for five days.
As for why they didn't send out early notices — it's mainly because this event isn't commercial at all.
Simply put, they invited the first batch of game developers more than two months in advance.
If you want to take part, just sign up.
If you don't, there will be other studios ready to take your place.
As for whether you're bringing any big news, showing off a new game, or just using the event to get your face out there — that's all up to you.
The stage is set for you. What you do with it is your own business.
"I get the idea. Tell the organizers we're joining. Also, talk to Ethan and make a plan for this event," Lucas said to Lisa.
"Got it, Boss Lucas," Lisa nodded.
After sending Lisa to talk to Ethan, Lucas picked up the documents on his desk and skimmed through the info about the booth and layout. He already had a rough plan in mind.
The booth was quite large, giving them plenty of room to work with.
But there were two games Lucas didn't plan to bring this time.
Mirror, a very wholesome and well-received title — in fact, the highest-rated game under Lucas's name — still wasn't fit to be shown at the event.
Another one was Outlast, which Lucas also decided not to bring.
The theme and setting were just way too dark and creepy.
You couldn't exactly decorate the Outlast booth to look like a mental hospital, could you?
And more importantly, in broad daylight, with so many people around, the game wouldn't even scare anyone.
If it can't scare players, wouldn't that go against the whole point of a horror game?
Still, only showing Undertale, To the Moon, and Overcooked felt a bit too plain.
It just so happened that Lucas had been thinking about what kind of game to make next, and now he had a few ideas.
Two months wasn't enough time to finish a mid- or large-scale game.
But during that period, they could make two smaller-scale games.
And that would actually fit really well with Nebula Games' direction.
Time was tight, but the team had grown since before the holidays.
If they pushed, they could still make it.
Besides those two games, Lucas also planned to bring a surprise to the players at this event.
With the decision made, he got started on the design documents right away.
One of the games would be pretty simple — once the art assets and voice lines were done, it could be wrapped up.
The other one was a little more complex and would require more teamwork,
but still wasn't a huge project.
In the end, even though he wanted to give players a surprise at the event...
With the time they had, even making a demo would probably be pushing it.
But Lucas wasn't worried.
After all, there's a thing called a teaser trailer — just give the players a nice-looking "preview pie" first.
If anyone asked, just say, "It's almost ready."
.........
While Lucas was working on the concept drafts, the event organizers got in touch with him too.
Since booth design and layout had to come from Nebula Games, they needed to coordinate.
Also, if they wanted cosplayers or any kind of live performance, the organizers could help set that up.
Of course, they could also go through their own contacts and agencies if they preferred.
Since the event was being held in Magic City, Lucas made some time to visit the venue in person to get a better idea of the layout and make a final decision.
After all, if they were going to take part, they had to make it count.
Plus, the "gameplay" event was hugely popular in China — a great chance for exposure and promotion.
"Zone 5 and Zone 7 next to Zone 6—those belong to SkyNova and NetDragon?"
At the venue, lots of staff members were busy setting things up—
Putting up posters, installing equipment, all kinds of prep work.
"Not completely, but those two companies brought a lot of games, and they also have multiple studios under them," the staff member walking with Lucas explained with a smile.
Lucas nodded, showing he understood.
A company like SkyNova or NetDragon obviously wouldn't just have one studio under their name.
That includes studios they've bought. If they're attending the event, they're representing the parent company too.
"I've pretty much got the full picture now. I'll send you a detailed plan before Wednesday," Lucas said.
"Alright. By the way, Boss Lucas, do you need any cosplayers? Should we help you find some through the event organizers, or are you handling it yourselves with an agency?" the staff member asked.
"Let the event help us out. Makes things easier," Lucas replied after thinking for a moment.
"Got it. Then, do you have any specific requirements for the cosplayers?" the staff member continued.
After all, cosplayers needed to match the characters from the game.
Like, if the character's a little girl type, you can't have a mature lady cosplaying her.
"Hmm… no strict requirements. Any gender is fine, but there's one thing—they need to have a bit of stamina. Don't want someone who's too weak," Lucas said after some thought.
Hearing that, the enthusiastic staff member froze.
Wait… what?!
Did he hear that right?
Any gender… as long as they have good stamina?
Requests like "the girl should be fair-skinned," "bigger," or "longer legs"—those all make sense.
But stamina? What even is that?
Are you hiring cosplayers to appear at your booth, or asking them to help you move house?
(End of the Chapter)
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