Everyone looked curious as Lucas and Lisa brought in the cardboard box.
The box was pretty big—about half as tall as a person—and from the outside, there was no way to tell what was inside.
"Boss Lucas, what's in the box?" Rachel asked, intrigued.
"Could it be a custom-made statue for the expo? But didn't we already ship that over?" Hector said.
Clearly, everyone was really curious about the box.
And since Lucas and Lisa could carry it themselves, it probably wasn't too heavy either.
"Costumes for our showgirls," Lucas said with a smile.
Costumes for cosplayers!?
In that instant, Hector and the other male staff's eyes lit up.
They immediately thought of the character designs for Sun Shangxiang, Diao Chan, the Qiao sisters—all the female characters from Legends of the Three Kingdoms.
But as Lucas cut open the tape with a pair of scissors, everyone's expressions started to turn… strange.
Because what came out of the box wasn't what they were expecting.
It was a pile of colorful mascot costumes.
Yep... Fall Guys suits.
Fuzzy, bright, and clearly pretty heavy.
So this is what he meant by "doing something different," huh?
"This time at the expo, Fall Guys is going to be our secret weapon. As for Legends of the Three Kingdoms, its exposure actually doesn't spread as fast as Fall Guys."
"Also, when every other booth is filled with the same kind of female cosplayers, players are bound to get tired of seeing them. In that case, we'll totally stand out." Lucas chuckled.
This was something he'd planned from the moment they decided to develop Fall Guys two months ago.
Yes, female cosplayers are eye-catching, no doubt about that.
But relying only on that isn't enough to truly grab players' attention.
And with seven exhibition halls and who knows how many game companies…
Almost every booth is going to be using female cosplayers. That much of the same thing is bound to get boring for people.
But Fall Guys is different.
It's silly, funny, and chaotic—just like the game itself.
When it comes to catching people's eyes, Lucas was confident they wouldn't lose to anyone.
Of course, there was also one more key point.
And that was: Nebula Games honestly didn't have any characters that were really suitable for female cosplay.
Their strongest weapon, Mirror, couldn't be shown at the expo thanks to "content guidelines," so they had to go with a different strategy.
As they listened to Lucas and looked at all the various Fall Guys suits, the team had to admit—
These would definitely stand out at the event.
Especially since most of the Overcooked characters were also costume-based.
Just imagine: every other booth is showing off legs and skimpy outfits, and their booth looks like a kids' theme park—there's no way they won't draw attention.
Of course, all of this is just for show. In the end, it's still about the games.
Sure, Fall Guys can grab attention for a while, but it can't keep players interested forever.
As the saying goes, there are only two kinds of men: pervs and veteran pervs.
Mascot suits and sexy legs—people might glance at the mascot for the novelty, but their eyes will always return to the legs.
But games? Games are different.
Sexy legs?
What the hell is that? Don't bother me while I'm gaming!
So, for this upcoming expo, during the development phase—
whether it was Legends of the Three Kingdoms or Fall Guys—Lucas made sure to develop both PC and mobile versions.
He wanted to make sure players could really enjoy the full charm of the games.
............
Days passed, and the games entered the final testing phase.
On the Nebula Games side, Lucas also started coordinating with the expo organizers to prepare in advance.
And as the days went on,
players in the gaming community began talking about the upcoming Gameplay Expo.
"Feels like there hasn't been any big news about new games lately."
"Well, the Gameplay Expo's coming up soon. If it's anything like past years, most studios are probably saving their big reveals for the show."
"Anyone planning to attend this year?"
"Not sure if it'll be worth it. It'll probably just be another NetDragon and SkyNova two-man show again."
"Yeah, if you're looking for big-budget games, those two are your best bet. Even if other studios have something new, it's hard for them to get noticed during the expo."
"Stop always chasing big titles. Sure, they're fun, but it's the same few every year. I think people should pay more attention to indie games."
"Speaking of indie games, Lucas comes to mind. Probably last year's biggest surprise in the game scene, right?"
"Biggest shock, you mean. Let's separate the surprise from the pleasant part."
"Exactly. I still remember him calling himself the 'warrior of love'—never seen anyone so shameless in my life!"
"I saw Lucas posted on his official account that he'll be attending. Wonder if he's bringing something special this time?"
"Doubt it. Overcooked just came out two months ago. What could he have made since then?"
"Must be a new fan. Lucas makes games fast. Look at how To the Moon led into Outlast and then into Overcooked—none of those had long gaps. Plus, I heard his company expanded."
"Exactly. And it's not like a new game has to be fully launched. He could just bring a playable demo. That's what a lot of other studios do too."
"True. Hopefully, we'll get at least a few surprises."
"Please, no more surprises. Overcooked and Outlast gave me more than enough of that."
While the players were still chatting—
............
At the Gameplay Expo center in Magic City,
Lucas had already arrived with Rachel, Anna, and Hector to start setting up their booth.
They were located in Hall 6.
In terms of location, it was one of the better spots, right in the central area.
Lucas had planned to divide their booth into three main sections.
One would feature their already released games, like To the Moon, Undertale, and Overcooked.
The other two areas were for Legends of the Three Kingdoms and Fall Guys.
And Nebula Games was also rehearsing their stage presentation.
The team had both men and women in it.
But right now, everyone was staring at the huge boxes in the back, full of bizarre-looking costumes, all completely confused.
The female cosplayers especially looked lost.
Before accepting the job from Nebula Games, they might've thought the company was going for the usual strategy—showing some skin to attract attention. Why else would the pay be so much higher than other game companies?
But now?
Oh boy… they were clearly overthinking it.
The mascot suits made it hard to even tell who was who — no bare legs, no exposed eyes, nothing.
The custom-made mascot heads didn't even let your eyes show through.
"When the time comes, feel free to be funny and over-the-top with your movements, but make sure you stay safe,"
"And you can take turns at the booth, arrange it yourselves. There'll be cold water backstage too. If anyone feels unwell, speak up right away." Lucas was going over safety instructions with the staff working at their booth.
After all, safety was still the top priority. If something went wrong, it'd be a big problem.
After the quick briefing, Lucas found a stool and sat down to rest.
Meanwhile, the cosplayers and the marketing manager from Nebula Games were discussing ways to attract players to their booth.
(End of the chapter)
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