Chapter 131: This Game Has Side Quests!?
As for the random items that follow enemies, both Dark Souls 1 and Dark Souls 3 had similar mods. They just had quite a few bugs. For example, terrain restrictions meant that certain bosses like High Lord Wolnir, who are restricted by terrain, rarely appeared in other locations.
In comparison, the random item setting is much easier to implement. Apart from certain quest items, ensuring that the player's main quest and story flow smoothly is key.
And the rest? Just leave it alone.
It can be said that this random mode is not balanced at all; it's a pure matter of luck. With luck, you could start with all kinds of artifacts. With bad luck, you could even get stuck in the Firelink Shrine.
However, Alex does not intend to make this unique mode the core gameplay of Dark Souls. It is more of a small gift, a little fun, to offer players new entertainment options.
Of course, it will not be officially released yet, at least not until a group of players has successfully completed the Dark Souls story.
Although he had an idea in mind, Alex did not immediately discuss it with Eric and the others. The main reason was that developing this new mode would not require much effort. After all, it was all based on the main content of Dark Souls. Additionally, the workload during this Dark Souls development period was quite high, requiring constant overtime to meet deadlines. Therefore, Alex also arranged some time off for the development team.
In Nebula Games' office, Alex met again with Stellar Software's director. Both parties sat down to discuss agency matters. An hour later, Alex smiled and shook the other party's director's hand.
"A pleasure working with you."
"A pleasure working with you, Alex."
Upon returning home, Stellar Software had reached a full consensus on the various requests Alex had made two days earlier.
Alex would remain in charge of game development, while they would only handle distribution. This included Alex's opinion on the final launch of a game abroad. The commission for the distribution agency remained unchanged.
However, Stellar Software also presented a new request: if the subsequent agency conditions were the same, Stellar Software would have priority to sign contracts for Nebula Games' next three major games.
Additionally, Stellar Software proposed distributing some of the indie games previously released by Nebula Games abroad. The terms would still be based on the Dark Souls agency distribution contract, and Alex accepted. After all, if Nebula Games were to handle everything, it would be quite complex.
During the last few days, Alex had been quite busy, mainly signing the agency contract with Stellar Software. Of course, the main focus was Dark Souls. This included foreign promotion and the translation of the game's content. Alex had also created a team to coordinate this work with Stellar Software.
Meanwhile, online over the past few days, the first wave of Dark Souls players, except for the clumsiest, had generally advanced to the later stages of the story.
Mike, sitting in front of his computer, had reached the final scene, the game's Kiln of the First Flame. His girlfriend, Sarah, was sitting watching him from the side. This save file became his exclusive property after the first day of playing. Mainly because the previous "one person, one death" rule was too cumbersome. He had barely gotten used to the chair, and he was already being replaced.
Reflecting on his adventure in Dark Souls, Mike felt a surge of emotion. It had been really difficult. From the initial death against Gundyr, to now, finally completing the great task of passing on the flame, he embarked on the stage map known as the Kiln of the First Flame. And there, he would face his final enemy.
In the distance, at the end of the empty abyss, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and a blood-red sunset, seemingly about to set, stained everything a crimson red. But the sun was almost shrouded in darkness, with only a remnant of its last rays still radiating.
Looking around, he saw the ruined royal city, twisted trees, and countless buildings that seemed to have transcended time and space. Various weapons lay scattered on the ground. And, of course, there were the bloodstains that covered it.
Mike had already gotten used to this. After all, in the game Dark Souls, if there was a map without the blood and tears left by players, it would be a very strange thing. Even within the seemingly safe Firelink Shrine, there are countless players who have left blood and tears after provoking the Desperate.
Slowly advancing, Mike finally spotted the final boss. His armor, almost charred, and the flaming coiled sword in his hand represented each Fire-bearer. There wasn't much to say; the battle began.
The skills of the Soul of Cinder were impressive. He was the very Fire-bearer, but he possessed skills from various classes. His weapons could transform into various weapons, such as a greatsword or a straight sword, depending on the situation.
Although Mike had not leveled up throughout the game, leveling up whenever he had souls, he still died several times against the final boss, the Soul of Cinder. However, after almost a hundred hours of playing Dark Souls, he had completely gotten used to it. Even now, he felt that something was wrong if he didn't die twice a day playing Dark Souls.
"Great! I finally passed the level!" After overcoming the final boss's health bar, even though many experienced and dedicated players had already completed the game online, Mike was still a little excited.
In the game, Mike's character stood next to the First Flame, lighting it and spreading it throughout his body. Then, he slowly sat down next to it. The camera slowly moved towards the distant sun, which seemed completely engulfed in darkness.
The next instant, the screen plunged into darkness, and the title Dark Souls appeared in the center.
Thus, the first round officially came to an end.
"This game is very frustrating at first, but it gets more and more exciting the more I play it!" Upon returning to the main interface, Mike, sitting in front of his computer, told Sarah, still unsatisfied.
It was not a farce; it was his true feelings.
When he first played Dark Souls, he never expected that such a perverted game existed. But upon dying, he suddenly realized that the game seemed quite interesting. And the more he played, the more he wanted to play. The various classes seemed similar, focusing on offense at the beginning.
But the different weapons had their own bonuses, opening up new playstyles that, in his opinion, had a lot of room for exploration. Especially the thrill and sense of accomplishment after defeating a boss, something he had only experienced in Dark Souls.
"The only thing I regret is not having properly understood the game's story, and I could only think about passing on the flame," Mike said, scratching his head.
The greatest feature of Dark Souls is its fragmented narrative. Alex prioritized the story of the third generation, despite leaving many gaps in the game and leaving behind many stories about the first. This allowed players to glimpse the glory of the Dark Souls world.
However, for most players who did not delve too deeply into the game and simply focused on slashing and slashing, and passing on the flame, or were even unaware of the conditions to trigger the other endings, they clearly still had many questions about the story.
For example, where did the First Flame come from? Who was the original Lord of Cinder, Gwyn? Who is the nameless king who rides the Ancient Dragon? What was the origin of Pontiff Sulyvahn? What was the heyday of the Age of Fire like?
Before completing the game for a week, players focused on slashing and slashing, but after completing it, they became a little interested in the story. However, most players were completely confused and only understood the surface. For example, why the Flame was passed on and why the Lord of Cinder did not want to pass it on.
But the story of the vast world of Dark Souls was completely unknown.
Sarah, looking at Mike, seemed bewildered and huffed: "Who told you to just kill bosses and kill, without paying attention to the plot?"
"Then, tell me the plot," Mike said.
"I haven't finished the game yet, have I? But there are rumors online that suggest there's an ending besides Passing the Flame, and there's also an ending where the Flame goes out, and there's a good chance that Dark Souls will have a sequel." Sarah coughed softly.
Most players are still a little confused by the story of Dark Souls. Whether it's the difficulty, the gameplay, or the story, Dark Souls is not a game that can be judged based on previous ARPG experiences.
The only thing players can be sure of is that, through the various items and accessories, as well as the remaining legends, they know that this is the end of an era.
'And what was the world like at the beginning of the era?'
'It was obvious that Alex hadn't even created a folder!'
"After all this time, you still don't understand and you're still blaming me!" Mike pursed his lips at Sarah's words. After all, he had finished the game!
"That's because the story and world of Dark Souls are so vast!" Sarah argued. "And all you do is hack and slash and complete the game. Do you know the ending of Brother Thief? Do you know the story of Brother Onion's side quest? And Brother Frustrated's and the Saint's side quests? I bet you haven't done any!"
Mike scratched his head at Sarah's words.
"What? This game has side quests?" Of course, it was just a joke. As one of the first players to try Dark Souls, Mike was not completely unaware of the existence of side quests. Although he knew about them, he never completed them during his time playing.
This is also the experience of most players. Because unlike other ARPGs that don't allow you to complete side quests before moving on to the main quest, Dark Souls has no clear instructions for all quests, including the main one.
Everything is left to the player to figure out on their own. If you don't understand the main quest, you can't continue. But if you miss the side quests, you miss them.
So much so that many players complete the game once and still have no idea what they are.
But when players discover the stories behind these side quests, they will have a completely new understanding of Dark Souls.
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