The trailer wasn't long.
Just a simple CG cutscene.
It didn't show a single bit about the actual gameplay or content.
But it still got all the players really excited.
First, it was the sudden surprise. Second, it was because the trailer looked absolutely amazing.
Just by watching it, everyone could tell that Nebula Games really went all out.
With a trailer like that, paired with what Lucas said about it being a major PC title, it was completely convincing.
Would they make such a high-quality trailer if it wasn't a big game?
As the trailer ended, the crowd broke into loud cheers and applause.
"That was insane! I didn't expect this year's expo to have such a big surprise!"
"I can't believe Lucas was waiting here all along—this must be his first major title!"
"That was intense! When that Eldritch God-Eater showed up, along with the Faran Undead Squad and Yhorm the Giant, and the music kicked in, I got goosebumps!"
"I'm gonna be thinking about this all year!"
"I seriously can't wait to play this game!"
"+1. Since they made the announcement and even showed a trailer, the game must be nearly done, right?"
"Definitely! It probably won't be long before it's out!"
"The Faran Undead Squad and Yhorm the Giant must be bosses in the game, right? Just thinking about going head-to-head with them for a hundred rounds sounds amazing."
The whole crowd was buzzing with excitement, and the noise started drawing in people from nearby booths too.
When those players found out Nebula Games had dropped a huge announcement like this, they got fired up too.
They started shouting from the crowd, asking Lucas to play the trailer again.
At the same time, Nebula Games' booth became completely packed, and the event staff could barely keep things under control.
Even Hector and some of the male staff from other companies jumped in to help keep order.
There was no other way. It was like a street performance—once a crowd forms, more and more people gather.
This kind of herd mentality is common at big events like this.
A bunch of players also started yelling questions at Lucas, who had just stepped off the stage.
"Lucas! When is Dark Souls coming out?"
"Can you tell us what kind of game it is?"
"Is the new game related to the Warrior of Love?"
The players were super excited, though of course, some took the chance to mess around.
It was fine to ask about the game, but why bring up the Warrior of Love?
Still, once one person mentioned it, others jumped on the bandwagon, and soon that question was being yelled out too.
Lucas couldn't just ignore them, so he started answering the questions one by one.
With a smile, he looked at the crowd and nodded slightly. "When will it come out? That depends on how fast our team can develop it. This is our first time making a big game at Nebula Games, and besides the technical stuff, we still have a lot of challenges to deal with."
"But what I can tell you is that the game is already in development."
"We want to make a perfect game for everyone, so I can't give you a set release date. After all, no one remembers the games that came out on time if they were trash."
The crowd smiled at that.
Behind the booth, Hector, Rachel, Anna, and the other team members quietly lowered their heads.
Yeah, the progress was actually going pretty well.
The game was already being worked on. When has your Lucas ever lied to you? The folder was made two months ago.
Back at the booth, Lucas kept answering questions.
"As for what kind of game Dark Souls is, in broad terms, it's an ARPG. But compared to the ARPGs currently on the market, it's totally different—it's a brand new kind of ARPG."
"And as for whether this game has anything to do with love—well, I've said this more than once. Every game I make is full of my love for the players. As for whether the game itself has that so-called 'love element,' I'd say it does. A lot of you probably felt that from the trailer."
"The world of Dark Souls is just like the name suggests—it's filled with a sense of despair. And in that despair, players will take on the role of the Firebearer, someone who brings fire to the world."
The crowd couldn't be more hyped.
But this time at the gameplay convention, the fun of Fall Guys and the highly playable Legends of the Three Kingdoms really made a strong impression.
At the same time, many players at the event were already mentally prepared.
They knew that Dark Souls might have a pretty harsh story.
After all, a world full of despair, with a flame carrying hope, plus the previous games like Outlast and Overcooked had already worn them out.
And while Legends of the Three Kingdoms and Fall Guys seemed to bring Lucas back to that warm and lovable "warrior of love" image…
It was clear just from the name that Dark Souls was not going to be a cheerful, happy story.
The bleak and worn-down style was already obvious in the trailer.
So many of Lucas's loyal fans were already prepared.
"So what if it's a bit tragic? No big deal."
They'd already been heartbroken playing To the Moon, after all.
..................
Just like in the first four days of the gameplay showcase, most players were drawn in by Fall Guys and Legends of the Three Kingdoms.
On this final day, though, all eyes were on Dark Souls by Nebula Games.
Everyone was talking about this game, and just two hours after the trailer was shown at the event, it was uploaded to both Lucas's and Nebula Games' official accounts, sparking a wave of discussion among players.
You could say the biggest winner of this year's gameplay event was Nebula Games.
Even though their booth wasn't the biggest, and their game wasn't the most ambitious in terms of scale, they still managed to steal all the attention.
Lucas didn't know how things went for the other developers and studios.
But at least for Nebula Games, this event was a total success.
The next day, inside the Nebula Games office—
The employees who had joined the event still hadn't calmed down. They were full of excitement, chatting about all the fun stuff from the convention.
"This year's showcase was really something!" Rachel said, still buzzing from it all.
Anna nodded. "Yeah, and just thinking about how both SkyNova and NetDragon showed off their VR games, but in the end we stole the spotlight—I can't help but laugh."
"But Boss Lucas, our game—hasn't even officially started development yet!" said Hector, scratching his head as he looked at Lucas.
He'd been thinking about that ever since they got back from the event.
Even though the trailer was out, it had mostly been handled by just a few of them, and the trailer itself was outsourced.
As for the game, they'd only put together some early concept art.
Hearing this, Rachel, Anna, and the other core team members all looked toward Lucas.
Online, players were buzzing with all kinds of speculation. Some overly optimistic fans even thought that Dark Souls might get actual gameplay footage in just over a month.
But the team knew better—it wasn't that simple. They knew the truth.
They had literally only created a folder for the game so far!
"No rush," Lucas said. "At the convention, I never gave a release date. I just said it was in development. If players ask how it's going, we'll just say we're working on it."
"And for a game like this, especially something this big—even if it's a PC game and not a VR one—the development cycle won't be short. Plus, we don't even have experience in this type of project yet. Once I finish the full concept and design plan, I'll go over it with all of you."
"For now, just follow the two directions I gave earlier. Start designing the art assets, and work on implementing the game's movement systems. Even though it's an ARPG, action elements are really important in this one."
"And on the business side, we also need to keep pushing Legends of the Three Kingdoms and Fall Guys. Those two games are still very important for the Nebula Games platform," Lucas reminded them.
(End of the Chapter)
---
Read +90 advanced chapters on my patre*n
patr eon.com/GustinaKamiya
Free Tier can read 3 advanced chapters
---