"In short, with current technology, it's impossible to develop a virtual reality game. This game called 'Pokémon World' is pure false advertising. It's probably just another slapdash pay-to-win online game."
Send!
After clicking send, Chen Yan stretched out his arms and casually gulped down a few gulps of his Happy Water.
He was a game creator on Blue Star Station C. While he wasn't anywhere near the top 100, he still had over a hundred thousand followers and earned enough to live comfortably.
With no major game releases recently, his accumulated resources had long since been depleted. Coupled with his fans' constant urging for more, Chen Yan had to find a way to make a splash—no, no! a video.
So, Chen Yan logged onto Steam to see what new games were available. He didn't expect any good ones. The last two months had been the gaming industry's off-season. Even though Steam was the largest gaming platform in China, the new games released in those two months were mostly rubbish.
But even the worst of the worst has its uses. If only I could find a truly awful game, play it for a while, then rant about it, and a whole video would be a hit.
As expected of me, I could even come up with such a shameless trick.
Chen Yan silently gave himself a thumbs-up.
But then again, these days, games are all either copied or borrowed from each other, all so uniformly bad that it's hard to even complain.
Until he discovered this game called "Pokémon World," thinking it was just another skin-swapping card game. But when he opened it, the page was completely clean.
No promotional CGs, no gameplay demos, not even a single game image. Just a pre-order download link, and a game description below.
[This game is exclusively developed by Arceus Studios. Using the latest virtual reality technology, players experience the same real-world sensations as in the real world, offering a completely immersive gaming experience that allows them to begin their own second life.] (The game is in beta, pre-orders are limited, first come, first served~)
Oh my god, this game description made Chen Yan laugh. He'd seen game developers make promises and exaggerate their marketing, but this kind of completely fabricated game description was the first time he'd seen one. He
glanced at the comments section. There were only three comments, two with question marks, and one questioning whether there was a bug in Steam's review process.
Chen Yan didn't think it was a bug. Steam's review standards were always lax. As long as it looked like a game, it was basically allowed to be listed. They didn't care what the game developers said. After all, you could get a refund within two hours after playing.
If you felt the game was falsely advertised, you could just get a refund. The game description was a bit outrageous, but the more outrageous, the better. He was just short of video material.
Thinking of this, Chen Yan started screen recording and started typing away, criticizing the game in the comments section. It was a bit of a show effect, and it would also help him keep up the running time.
"Burp~"
After taking a few more sips of happy water, Chen Yan clicked on the pre-order link.
[Current Number of Pre-registrations: 3]
[Pre-registered: Yes/No]
"The game description is all made up, but the number of pre-registrations is pretty real. Never mind. I hope your game is a little more uniquely bad, so I don't even bother to complain about it."
Chen Yan moved his mouse and clicked "Yes.
" "Knock knock!" There was a knock at the door.
"Come in." Ryan closed the screen and looked up at the person who had come in.
"Is this Uncle White? How's Scyther's injury?"
"It's better now after taking the secret medicine you gave me, but it's very depressed now and won't eat. I'm afraid it won't be able to handle it," White said worriedly.
"Okay, I understand. Let it rest for a while. I'll go see it this afternoon."
"You want to see it? But you're not a master..." White hesitated.
"You mean to say that I've been afraid of these monsters since I was a child, right? That was true before, but after what happened these days, I've figured it out. Only with the help of the monsters can we protect our territory. Besides, wasn't I just saved by a monster?"
"By the way, where's the little guy who saved me?" Ryan asked.
"Are you talking about that sweet bamboo? It's now..."
"Hmm!"
White was about to reply when a purple-red figure suddenly burst through the doorway. It glanced around frantically, its eyes lighting up when it spotted Ryan.
It bounded over to the table, then quickly twirled its calyx and flew behind Ryan, hiding.
Then, half its head peeped out, peering toward the door.
"Hmm~" |ω`)
"Uh, it's right here now," White said, somewhat embarrassed. "I told Beedrill to keep an eye on it."
"Hiss!" As soon as he mentioned Beedrill, it stormed toward the door.
Tian Zhuzhu saw it and immediately pulled her head back, covering her eyes with her calyx.
"Hmm~" (Can't see me, can't see me~)
But Beedrill had already caught its scent. If it hadn't seen it hiding behind Ryan, it would have rushed over and captured it.
"I was just about to go see this little guy, but it came here on its own," Ryan turned to look at Tian Zhuzhu.
"I wasn't careful enough to keep an eye on it. I didn't expect it to escape and startle you," White said, glaring at Beedrill.
"It's okay. I told you earlier that we'll need the power of the Magical Beasts in the future, starting with this Sweet Bamboo."
"Your courage and commitment are admirable. The territory will surely be restored and rebuilt under your leadership."
"This requires our joint efforts. Speaking of which, I'd like you to take stock of the damage to the houses in the territory. After all, the weather isn't warm yet, and I don't want my people freezing to death on the streets."
"Yes, I'll go now." White turned and left with Beedrill.
"Okay, Beedrill's gone. How long are you going to hide?" Ryan carried Sweet Bamboo onto the table in front of them.
Sweet Bamboo secretly opened one eye and, seeing that Beedrill was truly gone, jumped up with joy.
"Mengji~Meng~" (It ran fast!)
Ryan looked at the creature that looked like Mangosteen before him. This was the first time he had ever seen a Pokémon so close.
Two yellow eyes dotted its purple-red body. Its lower body was white, like exposed fruit flesh, from which two tiny feet emerged. Its head was crowned with three calyxes, a truly adorable sight.
Ryan reached out and touched the sweet bamboo's calyx, feeling a plant-like touch on his fingertips. It had a plant body, yet it moved with the energy of an animal—that was the magic of Pokémon.
"I never thought I'd touch a real Pokémon," Ryan's hand trembled slightly, but he persisted, touching it again and again.
"Hmm..." Sweet bamboo narrowed its eyes in relief.
"I don't know why I've traveled here, but it feels good to be able to touch Pokémon," Ryan said with a self-consoling smile.
He then focused on the back of his left hand, where a cross-shaped wheel pattern appeared, and a panel appeared before his eyes.
[Main Quest: Have at least three players pre-register to download the game (Quest Completed, Rewards Distributed)]
[Main Quest: Have at least one player officially log in to the game (Uncompleted)
Reward: 100kg of Pokémon Food, 3 lucky draw entries]
"Hopefully someone will log in tomorrow. Anyway, these past two days have been like a dream,"
Ryan muttered to himself, his mind racing with thoughts of the past two days.
(End of Chapter)