At the fifth hall of the gameplay exhibition in Magic City, many staff members were busy working.
Unlike last year, this year Nebula Games' booth was moved to the third hall.
After all, with Dark Souls and It Takes Two under their belt, Nebula Games' reputation and size no longer make them look like an indie studio.
As for SkyNova and NetDragon, they each still have their own hall like last year.
The third hall was mostly filled with mid-tier game studios.
The booth sizes were fairly balanced, and Nebula Games' booth space was about the same as last year.
"Looks like these other game companies around us are taking us pretty seriously!" Rachel said while setting up the booth.
As soon as she said that, Anna replied, "Yeah, I feel like they're watching us closely. Some designers even came over earlier to fish for information!"
"Mostly because Lucas stole the spotlight last year," Edward said with a grin.
"But it feels like this year we're just here to show our faces. The only thing we can really show off is a teaser trailer for the Dark Souls prequel." Rachel sounded a little disappointed.
"Can't be helped. The schedule's too tight. And Lucas already released Silent Hill PT early. If he had saved it for this event, just imagine how hyped the players would've been!" Anna said with a sigh.
Nearby, some cosplayers practicing for their stage show stumbled when they heard that.
Most of these cosplayers were gamers themselves, so of course they knew about the demo called the scariest in recent days—Silent Hill PT.
Some hadn't downloaded it themselves, but they had seen it through gaming news, videos, or livestreams.
If that had been brought to this event, the players would've gone wild.
While the team was still setting up, they saw Lucas and Hector coming from the entrance with a group of staff, pushing a small cart.
"Hey! Lucas, are these new cosplay props? They look so weird!"
"Yeah! What's up with this? Inflatable hammers, big water-tank sofas… what is this stuff?!"
Seeing the props Lucas and Hector brought in, Anna, Rachel, and the others were full of curiosity.
The props on the cart looked custom-made.
There were four big black sofa-like things shaped like water tanks, about 80 centimeters tall—roughly up to Hector's thigh.
Each sofa also had an inflatable sledgehammer like the ones used on construction sites.
Everyone stared at the strange sight, wondering what it was for.
"Took some time with Hector these past two days to make a little mini-game. We'll show it at the booth during the event. These props are for the game, to make it more immersive for the players," Lucas explained with a smile.
"Oh, I see!" Rachel and Anna suddenly understood.
But some people were curious about what kind of game Lucas had actually made.
When Rachel and Anna asked him, Lucas just shrugged and smiled without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Hector looked at the four big barrel-shaped seats and the four hammers in front of him, hesitating to speak.
After thinking for a moment, Hector quietly walked over to the event staff and asked, "Can we get some extra security for our booth tomorrow? Players might get a little too excited."
The security guard across from him, clearly a Dark Souls fan, looked at Hector's badge and immediately grinned. "No problem! I get it! The Dark Souls prequel demo, right? Of course players will be excited! It's been so long!"
Seeing the guard smiling with anticipation made Hector's expression even more complicated.
A demo? Do we even have that?
And what you think "players getting excited" means is nothing like what he's imagining!
.........
On the day of the event, just like last year, the Gameplay Expo was packed with people.
A lot of local players from Magic City came, along with others who traveled from different cities, hoping to try out some new games.
At the entrance, many players were chatting.
This year, NetDragon and SkyNova didn't have any major surprises. Aside from a few projects from third-party studios, there was nothing truly groundbreaking.
Still, they remained the top choice for most players, mainly because they had a lot of games.
As for Nebula Games, plenty of players headed straight for their booth too. After all, Lucas had already announced on the official blog that they would reveal new details about a sequel at the expo.
On top of that, the recent buzz around Silent Hill PT online had drawn even more attention to Nebula Games.
Of course, there were also some loyal fans.
"I wonder what Lucas is bringing this year!" Zack said with anticipation.
"Another game like Silent Hill PT!" Hannah chimed in.
"Anything's fine, just please don't make it a horror game," said Ben, a tall guy.
"By the way, where are Wells and Joey this year?" Hannah asked curiously.
"Joey broke his leg, so he couldn't make it. And Wells is on a business trip this month—couldn't get time off," Ben explained.
But as soon as Zack and the others reached Nebula Games' booth, they were stunned.
There were just way too many people.
The entire hall was packed. Even though security was keeping order and everyone queued up properly, the sheer number of people was overwhelming.
From a distance, the stage seemed empty except for some showgirls and cosplayers.
But Zack and the others quickly realized why.
Because right after the cosplayer performance ended, a familiar figure walked on stage.
"Hello, everyone!" Lucas grabbed the mic and greeted the crowd with a smile.
The players waved back and cheered.
"Finally, Lucas is here!"
"When are they going to announce the Dark Souls prequel?"
"Was Silent Hill PT just a demo?"
The audience was buzzing with chatter.
Lucas motioned for everyone to quiet down and continued, "I'm guessing most of you came here for this!"
As his words fell, the crowd erupted in cheers.
On the big screen behind him appeared a familiar icon:
The bonfire from Dark Souls with a spiral sword stuck in it!
An armored undead, half-kneeling before the bonfire, slowly came into view.
As the footage played, the noise in the hall gradually faded, leaving only the background music from the speakers.
But the video wasn't over yet—the fire kept burning.
As the flames burned hotter, the image started to twist and blur.
The undead kneeling on the ground slowly vanished.
Eventually, everything turned into a white mist.
The fire roared higher, and the mist spread across the entire screen.
Then, in the middle of the audience's uncontrollable cheers, an aged voice spoke:
(End of The Chapter)
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