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Chapter 112: One Life Per Person, It'll Keep You Seated All Day!
As the launch date approaches, Nebula Games' advertising investment in this sector becomes increasingly evident. Video game websites feature various Dark Souls specials. Live streaming and video platforms also offer Dark Souls-related promotions.
The most direct benefit is the special promotion of the Nebula Games platform for Dark Souls. A coupon for $13.80 is only available to platform users. This type of real-money discount is incredibly effective at attracting users.
Since the promotion was announced, Nebula Games has added approximately 150,000 new users, and that number continues to grow.
Of course, the most significant benefit for even more players is that they can finally experience Dark Souls. The joy of players talking about Dark Souls in major gaming forums and communities is palpable. After a long wait, the game is finally here!
In a residential complex, Mike and Sarah were discussing their holiday plans.
"How about we go to Jiuhua Mountain?" Mike suggested.
"Why Jiuhua Mountain? People only go there to burn incense. Besides, can you even climb a mountain? Last year, I took the cable car to Huangshan, and even running up the remaining steps was exhausting." Sarah rolled her eyes.
They talked about several places, each pointing out some flaws. They were too tiring, too crowded, or they had heard they weren't fun.
Finally, they reached a consensus: "Why don't we play video games? I heard that Dark Souls from Nebula Games is out."
"Great idea!" As a gamer, Sarah agreed.
The main thing was travel; there weren't many good places to go. Especially considering all the major tourist attractions, coupled with a holiday like National Day, the crowds wouldn't be a trip at all; it would be torture. What about things now? Enjoying the air conditioning at home, eating ice cream, and experiencing the pure joy of gaming. This is life.
"Hey, what about the difficulty tag? This game seems pretty hard!" Despite their frugality, both chose the Nebula gaming platform. Upon entering the store, Sarah immediately noticed something unique.
Dark Souls was available on the Nebula gaming platform with four official tags: ARPG, Dark Fantasy, Exploration Adventure, and Difficult.
Hearing Sarah's words, Mike, who was scanning the QR code to pay, naturally retorted: "Who's a serious gamer who looks at tags? Don't worry, they're pure nonsense. And how difficult can it be? We both saw the online press conference before, and it's probably average."
"Well, I already bought it. Let's play!" Mike exclaimed.
"But this game seems a little complicated for two players," Sarah told Mike. Alex had also mentioned multiplayer at the online press conference.
"Let's play one save file on one computer. Whoever dies, we switch," Mike said after a moment of thought.
"Sure!" Sarah nodded.
Life needed a change of pace, and playing together was perfect.
The game was quite large, and after paying, they chatted about everything while waiting for it to download and install. Once it was installed, they entered.
Upon entering, an old woman's voice appeared on the screen. "Yes, I'm Lothric..."
Familiar lines, familiar scenes.
Seeing this scene, Mike and Sarah, sitting in front of their computers, blinked and grumbled.
"Isn't that just the promotional trailer from the previous exhibition?"
"Yeah, Nebula Games is so easy."
Despite their complaints, they didn't skip it and continued to watch it.
The entire digital graphics scene was really well done. It must have cost a fortune, otherwise Alex wouldn't have recycled it and included it in the game.
After the scene, the screen showed a character creation, which didn't surprise Mike or Sarah. After all, many ARPGs use this model, allowing players to create their own characters. The character names are simple and easy to remember, just 123. Then came the various settings for in-game face modeling.
Mike accepted this task without hesitation.
"Well, for age, choose old. After all, old redheads are still spicy. A beard without hair is unreliable, so add a little beard. For hair, choose two ponytails with silver highlights. Even if I have an old heart, I'm still young."
"Change the eyes to cross-eyed; after all, cross-eyed people are associated with monsters. And for the lips, add a scarlet touch to express the desire to kill."
After several attempts with the face modeling interface, a very strange-looking character appeared. Sarah, standing beside him, was silent for a moment. "I think you need a good beating!"
"Ahem, stop talking. I think we can choose equipment based on our class and origin. You decide," Mike coughed twice, changing the subject.
"Let's go with the Useless Person. Their stats seem normal. The cube-shaped three-dimensional should be very powerful. For the funeral item, choose the branch. The latter should be the strongest, right? And judging by the description, it should be a time-limited transformation card that gives the character exceptional power." Sarah summarized the details based on her gaming experience and chose the Useless Person with the tender white branch.
After confirming everything, the screen went black for an instant and then the game screen appeared.
The camera zoomed in from a distance, finally locking on a desolate cemetery. Inside the cemetery, a coffin vibrated. A hand extended from within, and then the Useless Person '123', previously created in the character class selection screen, slowly emerged. Simultaneously, the game interface showed the name of the current map: 'Cemetery of Ashes', in the center.
Mike examined the interface design. In the bottom left corner there was a small worn wooden shield, a broken wooden club, and something called an elemental flask, probably the game's inventory. In the top left corner was the status bar, which Mike, as a player, could easily identify.
The red bar was health, the blue one was mana, and the green one was stamina. This design was common in most RPG and action games, which was not surprising.
Additionally, it was something common among players. In short, no manufacturer would be so bored as to look unique and make changes, saying that they had only swapped the colors of the health bar and the blue bar.
From a third-person perspective, Mike slowly rotated the mouse and observed the scene around him. The desolate and ruined cemetery, the air filled with a white, ash-like fog. The dense clouds in the sky completely blocked the sun, and the grayish tones mixed with a little light gave people a very depressing feeling.
"Don't sigh, hurry up and see how it's operated. That red thing on the ground should be the healing talisman that Alex mentioned at the previous press conference. I hope you die soon so I can take your place," Sarah urged beside him.
"Tsk! You underestimate me too much. Maybe you'll sit next to me all day." Mike refused to admit defeat, but he still went to the talisman very honestly to interact.