Chapter 55: Russian Doll-Style Spread
"Is it really that exaggerated? I want to see what magic this Outlast has!"
In a residential complex, a shirtless, bald, 1.75m tall, muscular, and tough guy was sitting in front of a computer. His name was Tom, and he was looking suspiciously at messages on a forum. Everyone was talking about how terrifying Outlast was. He had never been interested in horror games. Simply knowing that this horror game had been created by the designer of To the Moon piqued his curiosity. After all, despite his imposing appearance, there's a saying: "A tiger in the heart can smell a rose." He might seem like a pure male, but even males can cry.
He had already cried a lot playing To the Moon. So he became interested in Nebula Games and its designer, Alex.
Furthermore, the game Outlast seemed to be quite popular lately, so he decided to try it. Could a horror game really be that scary?
Curious, Tom bought it, installed it, and entered.
"Huh... are they just messing with me?" Tom exclaimed confidently in front of Mount Massive Asylum.
"Uh... that's it!"
Climbing along the ledge until the lights went out, Tom scoffed.
"Phew... just open the door and kill them! Nothing to fear."
The corpses opened the door and rushed towards him, and Tom felt a pang of fear. A patient in a wheelchair in the hallway asked for a hug, and Tom's face paled.
An hour later, Tom leaned back in his chair, panting heavily. He could clearly feel his heart pounding. A thump, a thump, a powerful beat, all due to the shock of the scene. Looking at the curtains beside him, he silently stood up and pulled them open, letting the sunlight into the room.
"The sun... how nice!"
Looking at the sunlight outside, then at the screen that had exited the game and was now frozen on the store screen, Tom slowly exhaled. He had to admit one thing: he had lost, and lost completely. Thinking about the gaming experience at that moment, Tom, who was leaning back in his chair and looking at the bright sun outside, still felt his legs a little weak at that moment.
But then, suddenly, Tom thought of something, and after recovering from the scare, he silently opened his phone, searched for his friend's account, and sent him a message:
"David, I found a very fun game. It's really exciting! It's hilarious, I recommend you play it too." "It's the new game Outlast from the designer of To the Moon. What kind? Parkour and puzzles! I have to say it's super exciting!"
After sending the message, Tom took a deep breath and stared at the scenery outside the window.
'Luckily, luckily, he played it in broad daylight!'
Leaning back in the chair in the room, half an hour passed. At that moment, his phone on the table rang. A person named David sent him a message. A simple sentence and three exclamation marks expressed his inner emotion: "F*** you!"
Hearing this, Tom, leaning back in his chair, burst out laughing. His previous fear had completely vanished. He had already imagined the other person's startled scene. After laughing, he saw that his monitor screen was still on and his gaming platform account was still locked on Outlast's login screen.
After a moment of silence, Tom quietly closed the platform.
There were many players like Tom. Initially, they learned about Outlast through the game To the Moon. But many more discovered it through gaming forums. Like Tom, these players, after seeing other players' comments, became curious and felt a sense of resistance to admitting defeat.
'How terrifying could a horror game be? That terrifying? Would it be a publicity stunt?'
With this in mind, they planned to play it themselves and then post screenshots of their completed playthroughs to show off. After all, many players, especially the truly brave ones, have a mysterious self-confidence, in addition to the truly skilled ones. However, once they entered the game, they quickly learned what it was like. Not to mention the later stages, the initial content alone scared many players.
Some entered with high expectations, only to be turned away at the entrance of Mount Massive Asylum. Others were turned away after their first encounter with the door and the encounter with the Fat Man. Of course, even more were turned away by the complete darkness of the basement, chased by a madman armed with nails and planks.
Of course, some players persevered. However, after repairing the generator, receiving an injection from the priest, and entering the prison phase, they realized that what they had experienced was only the beginning! Of course, they were turned away at different stages of the game.
However, after playing, they all shared a common denominator: posts appeared on game forums, recommending and advising other players. It was like Russian dolls, one inside the other. After all, he was scared, so he tried to trick everyone he could. He had to make others feel the same way he did!
After reading all the information, some later players were completely bewildered, completely confused about the essence of this horror game, Outlast. Some even took screenshots of less terrifying scenes to make their stories more convincing. But others went into detail, describing Outlast as incredibly terrifying. The growing number of stories attracted new players who discovered the game, and everyone jumped in.
It's like a relay race: the first one reaches the finish line and passes the baton to the next. But Outlast's player base is even wider. Since the player base is constantly growing, so does the spread of the news.
At first, Alex needed to subtly guide relevant topics and create memes for players. But as more and more players were scared to the point of wetting their pants in Mount Massive Asylum, Nebula Games' capital was no longer necessary. The spontaneous conversations among players were enough to create a buzz, which spread like wildfire and expanded its influence.
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