章節 41: C41: The Final Word

As time passed, the sales of To The Moon gradually increased, hitting new peaks each day.

At the same time, many domestic media outlets that followed this event began publishing articles one after another.

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"Unforgettable Love, To the Moon: A Game That Will Make You Cry!" Lalan Top news

"Game Review: A Game That Hits Your Heart!" Lao Bai Reports

"Meng you Win the Championship: Can To the Moon even be considered a Sci-fi Game?" Space-time media

"A Game That Makes Countless Men Sob" Xiong Da reviews

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From the week since the tournament began, it became evident which games could compete for awards and which could not.

Some people seemed to be here purely for marketing and advertising their game, which didn't cause much of a stir. Since it's a normal occurrence.

As for those who were interested in contesting for winning awards, Many have a clear idea of the award.

The top prize was split between To the Moon by Neon Game and Galaxy Heroes by NetDragon's Thunder Studio.

Among, the player voting section, To The Moon had far more support than Galaxy Heroes from Thunder Studio.

But we knew this wasn't just about the player votes. The official review from the game department was equally important. Some old timers can make things hard for aspiring young upstarts, as they rigidly stick to the norms.

Although To The Moon had some advantages, it hadn't yet reached a point of sheer dominance.

So, everything still came down to the official score.

For these two games, players argued passionately for quite some time online.

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"The final winner must be the Galaxy Hero. To The Moon's plot is great, I admit, but it doesn't have any gameplay. Can it even be considered a sci-fi game?"

"One vote from me for Galaxy Hero — it deserves the award!"

Pull it down, what is gameplay? Why do you translate it for me? Isn't the plot a kind of gameplay? Isn't music a type of gameplay? Do you have to fight monsters and solve puzzles to consider its gameplay?

Yes, if To the Moon isn't a science fiction game, then a lot of tickets in the competition wouldn't count, so the game department should remove them all.

"Don't listen, don't listen, **** chanting, anyway, I'm voting for To The Moon."

"Hehe, victory will surely belong to Heroes of the Galaxy!" Iron Man replied

"Yes, Heroes of the Galaxy will always win in the end!" Bruce banner added

"Hmph, what even is Galaxy Heroes? Look at the game designer's name, 'Meng Zuo'—doesn't that mean 'dreaming'? If you think it's going to win first prize, you'll only get it in your dreams!" Jiang Ping mocked.

"Damn, bro, your interpretation and analysis are on point!" Cat empire forwarded

"Speaking of which, are you sure To The Moon and Galaxy Heroes are going to win? You're just ignoring Black Beast made by my Big Devil studious."

"Hehe, don't get too caught up in the hype of To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes—just because they have more player votes doesn't mean anything. I've got a feeling the real winner is going to be Widow maker's Ashaji."

"Come on, the two of you upstairs—it's not even evening yet! Stop daydreaming and chill, okay?" Cat Empire mocked again

"+1, both of you need to leave, like, quietly!"

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Everyone has their own favorites, and the real conclusion hasn't been made yet.

Naturally, in all the major online communities, people are trying to sway opinions and gain an advantage for their favorite game.

While some of them are real people, most of them look like the work of navies who excel in advertising and swaying public opinion over the internet.

But it's just the same: the public defending what they like, everyone insisting on their reasoning.

Amidst all the heated online debates, Chen Xu is just staying calm.

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Neon Gaming's office.

I sat at my desk. Then I took out my Ifruit 36XD and dialed to inform the candidate of their interview results with the Neon Game. We need a proper HR department for this thing. But I can still manage it. So why spend money on useless departments for now? Neon game is still growing.

I've found the right people for the art and music roles.

But for the level-design candidates? None of the interviewees impressed me.

"Chen Xu, why aren't you anxious at all?" Yang Xin, sitting next to me, asked after I finished the phone call and started pacing the office at a comfortable pace.

"Yeah, isn't the winner of the game competition being announced today?" Ruan Ningxue asked, clearly excited.

This would be the third game we had worked on together, and she is excited because she expects that, their game is one of the candidates for the winner. Her expectations aren't confounded. The reviews, ratings, and buzz surrounding the game are enormous.

At first, she doesn't even grasp the game industry. As for her plan to become a top fanfic creator and then transition toward a comic artist... Well, she forgot about that.

On the one hand, it's because she felt the joy her new creation brought. On the other hand, Neon Games is developing so well that she is still immersed in this world, rather than focusing on comics.

"It's useless to be in a hurry! I can't control, how they review our game! Secondly, I can't control the final result," Chen Xu said, feeling a bit exasperated when Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue brought it up. Of course, he wants to win the award, but ultimately, it's not something that's within his control, right?

"By the way, the mobile version of 'Undertale' will be released today after the winners are announced," Chen Xu added, suddenly remembering. "Judging by the current trend, we're looking good for the top two. Whether we win the first prize or not, there will be some buzz, and then we'll have our momentum."

During the game department competition, the main focus inside Neon Games was twofold.

One, we were porting Undertale to mobile. It didn't require much effort. We just held back till now to release it, to ride the wave of excitement.

Second, we focused on forming the Neon Games team. Beyond the R&D team, Chen Xu has been preparing to expand. Over the past few months, we've also built out operations and finance departments. Everything is set up now.

On top of that, we've got a platform development team. Although right now Neon Games seems like a small workshop in the eyes of most players and the game industry as a whole, from "Magic Mirror" to "Undertale" to "To the Moon," we haven't produced any massive blockbusters yet—just small-scale indie games.

We are like a flicker of flame, we are gathering the winds behind us and it will soon be our time to become a blaze. We don't want the rain and chains interrupting our advances. So we have started working on our platform. I know with my advantages, soon an ambition will be born and it was born quite early.

My ambitions don't stop there. Neon Games will extend its hand into a bigger world in the future. This independent platform we're building now is laying our foundation.

As for whether this will attract attention in the industry? Honestly, right now Neon Games is still a moth in this blazing industry. Even if "To the Moon" wins first place in this event, it'll create a bit of buzz in the indie game scene and help us get some recognition in the broader gaming world. But as for being seen as a threat by the industry giants? That's thinking too far ahead.

Self-operated platforms like ours are pretty common these days, after all. It's not like we're getting into full distribution yet. One needs a solid user base, networks, big pockets, and strong recognition for that.

For smaller companies like us, or those indie game developers with loyal fan bases—especially those with popular series—having our platform even if it is small is a good move. On third-party platforms, we'd have to pay others, but with our own platform, aside from taxes, it's all pure profit.

Meanwhile, as players kept discussing things online, the official notice from the game department confirmed the details of the expedition event.