Chapitre 26: C26: Follow-up
With the double of both word-of-mouth and sales for "Undertale," the keyword META has caught the attention of countless game designers in the industry. Beside Gentleman games a trend of META games is about to start.
While the plot of "Undertale" is undoubtedly outstanding, it alone couldn't account for the achievements and praise the game has garnered today.
But after introducing this META element, everyone who plays the game experiences a few new things—shock, surprise, puzzlement, and regret.
It's not just the indie game designers who are paying attention. Middle and senior-level game designers, along with designers who specialize in VR games, are all interested in adapting or making something similar to "Undertale." especially in the VR department where Undertale will provide a more comprehensive User experience and indulgence.
After all, in a way, it becomes a lesson to every game designer and even to the small studious.
It reveals to everyone what the META element is and how it should be woven into a game.
However, compared to the buzz it's generating among industry designers, I, Chen Xu, am pretty relaxed.
The success of "Undertale" can be described as a double harvest for both fame and fortune.
Inside my office, I'm sipping from a bottle of Wa-Wa milk, glancing at the system UI that only I can see.
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" I remind myself.
Though "Undertale" provided more points than my previous game "Magic Mirror," it only amounted to two full rounds of ten consecutive draws.
After rounding off the fraction, I've accumulated 2.1 million points, just enough for 21 draws.
Sure, "Undertale" raked in a lot, but not excessively so.
And I think I know why.
The key lies in the emotions the player experiences. The stronger the emotions players feel while spending and playing in the game, the more points, I will earn.
Simply put, it's the combination of spending and emotional highs that count toward points.
If someone is observing, the impact doesn't quite register.
The most intense emotions in "Undertale" come from the first experience of META elements and, of course, the Massacre Route.
But, very few players are willing to actually play the Massacre Route.
They don't want to hang up in bed like those salted fish. After various video guides were released, many players couldn't bear to go through it themselves and instead chose to watch the gameplay and streams.
As a result, the points accumulated are largely from the initial shock players felt when first encountering the game.
While thinking about all of this, I decided to go ahead with a draw.
With 2.1 million points, I wasn't concerned about doing ten consecutive draws.
After all, this lottery doesn't guarantee an SSR draw because of some multiple draws, nor does it offer discounts for multiple draws.
Every draw is a single draw—just pure luck.
Can this single point of luck change my fate? I don't know. But without it, I am still changing my fate.
As the golden light flickers before me, I feel nothing.
The light fades, revealing an ordinary Plot +1 skill book.
The more brilliant the golden light, the more common rewards it brings. How fitting!
I sigh and go all in with my points.
After 21 consecutive draws, I feel like. I should've washed my hands before pulling the cards.
Aside from two memory capsules, everything else is just standard skill books—not a single rare item in sight.
After taking a sip of my canned milk and sighing with emotion, I used up all the skill books and then shut down the system.
I opened the official game engine on my computer, logged into the Magic City game department's tab, and checked my permissions.
Compared with the previous 1024, the resources I can now access have been raised to 2048, almost doubling. Clearly, even though there was no official notification of a title promotion, the Platform had noticed the success of "Undertale," which I developed through Big data, and raised my designer level automatically.
"Next, I need to think about the follow-up games," I thought, leaning back nearly lying flat on this chair, feeling torn between multiple choices.
AAA game?
I immediately ruled that out. It is not the time to rush.
It's just not realistic at this stage. Whether it's resources, manpower, funding, or my own current abilities, developing an AAA-level game would be a significant challenge.
Small-scale projects have allowed me to focus on creative gameplay and plot development. For AAA games, the bar is set much higher in terms of comprehensive performance.
Therefore, I decided that my next direction would be to concentrate on creating smaller-scale games.
In the meantime, I'd need to build a team to get Neon Games running smoothly.
After all, Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, and I are the only ones developing the game right now. With the financial success of "Undertale," it's time to recruit more people and expand.
This will also help me accumulate points and further improve my skills.
As for creating a pay-to-win game, I have no plans for that. I don't want to be known as Pay-to-win Picassos~ with all those skins selling.
Such a move could damage my reputation and Neon Games' credibility. The success of "Undertale" proved that, in this parallel world, relying on a buyout system could still generate substantial profits. With that in mind, I'm committed to creating high-quality products.
...
In the conference room, I sat down with the team and briefly discussed the success of "Undertale" and the DLC for "Magic Mirror." I also outlined our next steps and expectations, which would primarily involve expanding the team, being more agile, and avoiding being bloated.
I laid out some related policies and incentives, and as the boss, I couldn't resist offering some motivational words, a promise of stock incentives and bonuses, essentially "cooking two pots of chicken soup" for the team.
I have to admit, giving a pep talk and inspiring people felt a lot different from being on the receiving end of such soups. Now, I understood why so many leaders liked to motivate their teams with big visions—it was actually pretty fun and blood-pumping!
After wrapping up the discussion on admin and personnel matters, I stayed behind with Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue to talk about our next project.
"So, are we going to launch a sequel to 'Undertale' next?" Yang Xin asked, eyes full of hope and expectation.
This was her ideal in the game industry~ following the trend of serialization and IP development, and it was clear she was excited about the possibilities.
Ruan Ningxue, sitting next to her, was just as thrilled. She had initially joined because of her relationship with me and Xin. Along with the exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of comic adaptations for our games. Believing it would be a step toward a promising future.
But now?
It wasn't just a step toward a future—it was a giant leap toward something amazing! Seeing fan art, stories, and Fan Fic based on "Undertale" and "Magic Mirror" online, especially knowing she was part of the project, made her feel incredible~ she still remembers how she used to do the very same thing just a few months back.
In the past, she was the one drawing fan art for others' games. Now, people were drawing fan art for the games she had created. This was an incredible gesture for her.
"Are we really working on the 'Undertale' sequel next?" Yang Xin asked again, excitement buzzing in her voice.
I smiled and nodded. "Yes, there will definitely be a new project. But it's not going to be a sequel to 'Undertale,' nor will it be another META game."
Both Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue stared at me in surprise, clearly not expecting that response while equally confused.
Shouldn't you continue to work on what work? Who wants to go out and explore? What if it fails? Can't we have a little stability and peace of mind that the next creation will be a success? Do we have to be bold?... Xue and Xin had a multitude of questions and thoughts swirling in their minds.
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