Chapter 74: Workshop and Multiplayer Update
Over the course of a week, Alex maintained various contacts with NetDragon and Aether Games. The results were, basically, mixed. They had expressed interest in acquiring Nebula Games. He met with their representative to discuss the acquisition.
Judging by their offer and the various conditions, Alex had a rough idea. They were interested, but not too seriously. After several conversations, they stopped contacting Alex, apparently giving up on the idea. Therefore, the acquisition was temporarily suspended.
Meanwhile, the new version of Overcooked was officially launched. This update arrived exactly two and a half weeks after the game's release. The main update was the opening of the Workshop, along with several new official maps, themes, and recipe combinations.
With the launch of the new version of Overcooked, players quickly noticed that the game had received an update and rushed to download it.
"Huh? Overcooked updated?"
"Free? New maps and levels, and this Workshop thing? Isn't it DLC? What a gift!"
"I saw the update description and it seems players can create their own levels!"
"Wow, how cool! Let's see!"
Many players immediately jumped into the update. The Overcooked community was also enthusiastic about the discussion. After all, this update was a bit unexpected. Normally, these types of updates are considered DLC, which means they are paid. But this time, Overcooked's updates were all free.
Furthermore, Overcooked has only been online for just over two weeks. Although the "breakup kitchen" and "friendship kitchen" memes were left behind a while ago, they are still quite popular. New players continue to arrive, as evidenced by sales and online activity. This game still has a lot of shelf life, and the update clearly surprised many players.
After the version update, some players interested in level design began to experiment with Overcooked's creative workshop. When designing the game, Alex specifically considered the possibility of players creating their own levels. Therefore, the entire creation process is very simple and easy to understand.
In fact, Alex could have easily integrated these features into the game, as in an earlier game called Block Builder. Technically, this would not have been a problem. However, Alex finally decided not to. His main goal was to build the Nebula Games community.
How can we keep players engaged outside the game? A strong community is crucial.
After the Overcooked update, players continued to join the community, and many have already published their own levels. However, these were still relatively basic, consisting essentially of simple terrain modifications. They were not particularly impressive and clearly lacked polish.
However, Alex was not too worried, as he believed that as more people created them, excellent maps would emerge. In fact, the workshop environment quickly sparked a wave of enthusiasm among the gaming community, and players' "breakup" methods also diversified.
For example, personally creating a truly "hellish" map and then giving it to someone to try.
In the Nebula Games Workshop community, countless players commented on the update.
"Amazing! This update!"
"Yes! I feel like there's so much more to experience after this update!"
"I don't know if you've noticed, but several authors have even created levels that can be played perfectly solo!"
"Yes, great! I can finally cook alone!"
"Overcooked, playing alone? I feel sorry for you, brother!"
"To be honest, I had a partner before I started playing alone!"
After the Overcooked Workshop update, Alex glanced at the online player reviews. They were all positive. However, apart from the players themselves, it didn't cause much of a stir. After all, it was just a version update.
But Alex knew that the Workshop setting would undoubtedly extend Overcooked's lifespan quite a bit. As for its duration, it depends on the market and the players, something he cannot influence.
During the next period, there won't be much to do. The main focus will be on the company's expansion. The entire upper floor has been negotiated with the relevant landlord. It's already rented, and only renovations are left. As for staff, he has received quite a few resumes.
Alex is about to start thinking about the next phase. Users and profitability are the two areas Alex is considering. But the main focus is on users. Overcooked has had a good start.
Currently, the Nebula gaming platform has approximately 500,000 daily active users, all driven by Overcooked. Thanks to the opening of the Creative Workshop, at least in the short term, this user base will not be renewed for a long time. However, if Nebula Games does not advance, it will inevitably stagnate.
Multiplayer games, but they are not suitable for multiplayer games with long development cycles. Furthermore, it's time to start working on truly successful titles. We cannot be completely inexperienced.
Sitting in front of his computer, Alex had a solid plan in mind for Nebula Games' future development. In the short term, a multiplayer game with a short development cycle will help the platform grow rapidly and accumulate users. Secondly, the entire team must also begin to accumulate experience for a true AAA title. After all, for the platform to thrive, it will need at least one worthy AAA title as its flagship.
Winning first prize in last year's competition and subsequently launching Outlast and Overcooked have significantly improved Alex's resume. While no official notification has been sent about the official game designer ratings, backend resources have been increased by half compared to before.
Developing a large-scale VR game presents a somewhat limited resource and funding challenge. However, PC development offers a more robust funding and resource package, and the risks involved are within acceptable limits. The main challenge at this stage is the team's technical prowess, an aspect that was already addressed in Outlast. The requirements for new employees are much stricter than before. In essence, at least four years of relevant industry experience are required. This ensures that, under his direction, qualified developers can use the official game engine to meet specific requirements.
Just as Alex was thinking about Nebula Games' next development path, someone knocked on the office door.
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