Chapter 48: Horror Games Are as Easy as Breathing for Me
By mid-November, the Outlast project had completed almost 70% of its content. The remaining 30% focused on dubbing, scene creation, and performance. For Alex, the biggest advantage of Outlast's development was a deeper understanding of the editor's applications. Furthermore, with his 2048 MB of resource access, Outlast was more than enough for his monthly allocation.
In addition to game development, the Nebula gaming platform was also quietly launched. Alex promoted the launch on his official blog, but it didn't cause much of a stir. There were no reports of industry giants targeting the platform or media coverage. Simply, some media, running out of news, relegated the announcement to a subsection.
Unless you looked for it, you would never see it. Currently, the only games launched on the platform were To the Moon and Undertale. As for sales, both games sold a total of 172 copies. However, the total daily playtime was less than 50 hours. Clearly, those who bought the game were all fans of Alex, who simply acquired an extra copy on his platform to support their favorite game designer and company.
Alex was not discouraged; after all, platform development was not built overnight.
Time passed, and by early December, Outlast's development was complete. Promotions were also underway. That day, Alex suddenly published an official blog entry. The message was simple: a short paragraph and a game poster.
"Only by escaping can you survive!"
"Outlast begins December 15th!"
Below was the game poster. The poster's background looked like a hospital room, with medical equipment scattered on the floor and tables. Two large characters were scrawled on the wall: "Escape." In night vision mode, the color appeared black, evoking the image of blood. Meanwhile, under a bed in a corner, a figure with a frightened expression crouched, his right index finger over his mouth, a strange and unsettling sight.
Following Alex's official blog post, major media outlets also began reporting on Outlast. Additionally, the game Outlast was already launched on the official platform. Of course, it's still on pre-sale. Its price is $13, a reasonable price. After all, Outlast is not a very large game. At the same time, major gaming communities and forums have unleashed a wave of discussions about Outlast.
Of course, this is not spontaneous among players. Although Undertale has achieved some fame, To the Moon has won first place in sci-fi expeditions. But relying solely on the name can create a spotlight, and Alex's current fame is not yet enough. The reason for all this is, naturally, money.
As time passes, Outlast is finally online. In the gaming section of Twitch, a live stream named "Commentary Old Boy."
"Why only me? David went to the hospital for a check-up and probably won't be back until later."
"Stop talking about horror games. I told you, horror games completely relax me. It's like breathing."
"You want me to stream horror games because you think I'd be scared, but seeing my expressionless face is like breathing. You'll be very disappointed, right? Extremely disappointed."
"Well, let's do it later. Everyone knows I don't feel pressure playing horror games because I've played many before. Let's try it first. If it's not scary, wait until David comes back and we can play other games."
"Well, well, I'll turn on the cameras, but honestly, you'll be very disappointed. I won't show the expressions you expect."
"Because I'm a very calm person. Horror games relax me as much as breathing."
Tom, commenting on a recorded game, looked very calm and composed as he watched the comments on the live stream. He repeated it three times:
"As easy as breathing." He felt quite confident in his bravery. He opened the official game platform, ignoring the comments on the live stream about how "Big Brother can't even open the game alone."
After an effort, Tom installed the game, turned on his camera, and entered. A brief hum was heard, and then the game interface appeared. The entire screen was tinged with a cyan hue, reminiscent of old Hong Kong and horror movies.
The background was a hospital-like building, dimly lit by dynamic clouds that gave it a very spooky appearance.
"I feel a little, of course, but only a little. As I said before, horror games are as easy as breathing for me," Tom said, observing the comments.
At that moment, he still seemed quite confident.
"As for the difficulty, we're going to use Normal for the first time."
Upon entering the game, he was immediately greeted by darkness, a deep voice-over, unsettling background music, and the sound of a car radio with a hint of static.
"My name is Miles Upshur, an ordinary reporter. In the remote mountains of Colorado, a long-abandoned psychiatric hospital has reopened: Mount Massive Asylum."
"But one day, a mysterious person wrote me a letter telling me that a great secret is hidden deep within this asylum. To investigate, I came here."
The car radio narrated, briefly introducing the game's setting. Tom remained completely unfazed, as calm as he had described. This is how most horror games, or even horror movies, unfold.
After the narration, the game screen appeared, albeit uncontrollably. The protagonist drove towards Mount Massive Asylum. The dim background light and intermittent radio instantly set the mood. The car soon reached its destination, stopping at one of the entrances to Mount Massive Asylum.
The game instructions appeared, urging him to pick up the camera from the passenger seat and receive a letter. The content of this letter is the previous narration. The protagonist, a reporter, came to Mount Massive Asylum to find out what was happening, as he wanted to break a big story.
After picking up the letter, the game screen also displayed a task: Enter Mount Massive Asylum. From that moment on, the player can move freely in the game.
After getting out of the car, the darkness of the night, the sound of the wind, and the rustling of leaves, along with the psychiatric hospital, a place that didn't seem very welcoming, made Tom's heart suddenly race.
- - - -
Big News!
Thanks for reading! Your support this week on both Webnovel and Patreon has been incredible.
As a result, this week we'll have 4 daily chapters on Webnovel and 8 daily chapters for paid Patreon subscribers.
Also, if we can reach 20 paid subscribers a month, the base number of daily chapters will permanently increase to 3 on Webnovel and 6 on Patreon! Your support on Patreon is key to making this happen!