Restart the Gaming Era

Hu Bin felt that he was a little convinced by Zhong Ming. Looking at the way Zhong Ming played, it seemed that it was indeed... not difficult enough.

Zhong Ming patted Hu Bin on the shoulder, said "Continue making" and left.

Hu Bin picked up the handle again and played again.

Well, it is indeed an illusion...

The difficulty is still the same as before!

Could it be that you are like this because you are not a hardcore stand-alone gamer?

Hu Bin was puzzled and planned to wait until the game was almost fully developed and then hire a dedicated tester to test the strength of the game to see if it was suitable.

…

"Boss, the IGP invitation has arrived!"

As soon as Zhong Ming returned to Shiguang Studio, Fu Xing'an had already happily come to report to him.

"Oh, I see."

Zhong Ming opened the electronic invitation on his bracelet and browsed it briefly.

There are really many game masterpieces from Shimmer Studio this year.

From "Resident Evil" at the beginning of the year, to "Xuanjia Project" and "Interstellar Fire" later, and then to the recent "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2", all of them have had a considerable impact around the world.

The IGP awards ceremony is scheduled for December 29th. "Sekiro" will probably be almost fully developed by then, with only the final finishing work left. Zhong Ming plans to show Sekiro's promotional video at the award ceremony to give the game a head start. Warm it up.

As for whether it will win the best game of the year this time, it’s hard to say. The invitation only said that it has been nominated for many awards, but the specific list of winners will be announced on the spot.

"Resident Evil" and "Ink Cloud 2" were nominated for Game of the Year;

"Resident Evil" and "Project Xuanjia" were nominated for best shooting game;

"Ink Clouds 2" was nominated for Best Action-Adventure Game and Most Creative Game;

Starfire is nominated for Strategy Game of the Year.

The list of awards alone is scary enough. Even if only half of them win awards, Shimmer Studio will become famous around the world.

In fact, after the successive launch of several masterpieces, especially the popularity of "Xuanjia Project" around the world, Shimmer Studio has gained a very high reputation. However, without the support of IGP's annual game award, there are still shortcomings. of.

Just as Zhong Ming was thinking about it, Miao Zhu also arrived.

"Well... the Xingyou.com Carnival has also sent an invitation letter, and the entire booth will be provided for us this year. Should we go?" Miao Zhu asked.

Zhong Ming nodded immediately: "Go, of course. When?"

"Next weekend. If you want to launch a stage, you have to prepare in advance." Miao Zhu said.

"Open. Go and talk to the staff of Xingyu.com. The booth will display all our new equipment as much as possible. By the way, the DLC of "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2" and the trial version of "Sekiro" will also be given out. Make arrangements."

Zhong Ming gave a few instructions, and Miao Zhu went to make arrangements.

The IGP awards ceremony is basically held in December, while the Xingyou.com Carnival is held in mid-October every year.

At last year's Xingyou.com Carnival, Zhong Ming was still doing promotional work for "Resident Evil", and at that time, it was the first time that the GAME OMNI emulator appeared in the players' field of vision.

In the blink of an eye, one year has passed. Yunuo Technology’s GS1 emulator has replaced GAME OMNI as the most popular emulator device now, and Zhong Ming has also started making "Sekiro".

"This is a good opportunity to arrange a trial for players."

Zhong Ming had almost forgotten about the Star Tour Carnival, but now that the organizer has sent an invitation, he must participate.

In this way, it is also a good time to warm up "Sekiro" among the Chinese player group and let the Chinese players take a hot bite.

Many Western manufacturers announce new games in Western media. When the news reaches the Chinese region, Chinese players can only take a second bite. Since Shimmer Studio is a Chinese game company, it is naturally a leader in this regard. We must take care of the feelings of Chinese players.

…

The scene of Xingyou.com Carnival.

The process this time was similar to the last carnival, and the location was the same, except this time the organizer had a large booth vacant for Shimmer Studio.

Judging from the current brand of Shimmer Studio, there is no problem in occupying the largest booth.

Zhong Ming arrived two days in advance and directed the staff to set up the scene.

This time is a game trial arranged for players, which is also an important publicity opportunity. Of course, the latest equipment must be displayed.

In addition to large traditional monitors, there are more than a dozen full-view monitors at the scene for players to experience. A dozen GS1 simulators have also been moved and placed in a separate area.

The consoles on site are all GS1 X, and the controllers are all elite controllers, bringing players the most perfect gaming experience.

It's all for trial play anyway, and players will only pay for it on the spot if they enjoy it.

The second is the on-site publicity.

This time, the official staff also prepared a lot of electronic posters and display boards. Not only in the exhibition area of ​​Weiguang Interactive Entertainment, but also in the entire Staryou.com Carnival, there were many large electronic poster slots reserved for Weiguang Games. Location. Zhong Ming prepared only two promotional posters this time, one is the DLC promotional poster for "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2", and the other is the promotional poster for "Sekiro".

The DLC of "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2" and the trial version of "Sekiro" were all installed on the hosts at the scene.

The DLC of "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2" is mainly experienced on a full-view monitor. About 70% of the development of this area has been completed. Several special vehicles and costumes have been completed. Only the final levels of some puzzle content are not yet available. It's all done, but it's enough for players to experience.

The demo version of "Sekiro" has added more content than before. In addition to the part about Hirata's mansion three years ago, it also adds additional content from the main game until the defeat of Genichiro Ashina.

This part of the content is enough for players to know how to write the word "death".

After everything was arranged, when I looked at the other booths, I suddenly felt uninteresting.

It is true that the booths of other game companies are not at the same level as the booth of Weiguang Interactive Entertainment in terms of the number of games or equipment.

Soon, the players entered the stage.

The number of players this time is the same as before, and because the venue is limited, tickets are also limited. The early batch of people who came in were basically related households, either internal personnel of some game companies, or some game media.

Weiguang Interactive Entertainment also received a batch of tickets, which were allocated by internal drawing.

Players entered the exhibition venue and first gathered at the floor plan of the venue to view the booth layout.

"Look at that big poster above, "Sekiro"?"

"The new work of Shimmer Studio?"

"There is also the DLC for "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2"!"

"There is a booth of Shimmer Studio this year, go and have a look!"

"No hurries."

"Nonsense, if you go late, there will definitely be no place. Let's go!"

The first batch of players who came in all went directly to the booth of Shimmer Studio. They all knew that they couldn't wait for this. If they hesitated a little and arrived late, they would definitely have to queue up.

Last year, the GAME OMNI version of "The Road to the Gunslinger" was very popular, and many people had to queue for an hour to play it.

Over at the main stage, the host is already warming up, and there will soon be a meet-and-greet with some hosts. But the players didn't pay attention at all. After entering, they directly crossed the main stage and ran towards the Shimmer Studio booth.

"Where's the bell ringer?"

"Get an autograph quickly!"

"Seems like you're not here?"

"I guess he's at the scene, arrest him quickly!"

Many players were looking forward to seeing the bell at the booth, but their hopes were dashed, as the bell was not here.

Zhong Ming knew very well that if he stayed here, he would probably be surrounded by a group of players asking for autographs, which would be very troublesome. What's more important is that a trial of "Sekiro" has been arranged on site. It's a little bit dangerous to stay here.

Hu Bin was on site, responsible for answering questions from players, and people from Weiguang Studio also came to assist the staff in maintaining order on site and guiding players to try out the game.

The first batch of players can play anything. Some players who are interested in the GS1 emulator directly get into the emulator and play two games of "Xuanjia Project" first; the loyal players of "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2" are They immediately took up the holographic projection equipment, wanting to see what the DLC of "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2" was like; there were also a group of players who sat directly in the trial area of ​​"Sekiro".

"Sekiro" still uses conventional equipment, a GS1

There is also a large promotional TV next to it, which plays the promotional CG of "Sekiro" on a loop.

This was the first time that the CG of "Sekiro" was displayed in front of players. Many people stopped to watch, and some media directly took pictures with cameras.

The staff on site did not stop this. The things on the booth were originally meant for players to experience, and this CG would be posted directly online sooner or later.

"Neon ninja theme? It's a rare theme."

"Oh, this sets off the atmosphere really well."

"The battlefield with falling maple leaves, the scene of fighting, the lonely ninja..."

"Is this a live scene from the game? It's so handsome!"

Those players who came late and had no seats could only queue up while watching the promotional video of "Sekiro" played in a loop on the big screen.

The promotional video is divided into two parts. The first part is the opening CG of "Sekiro", which is the part that explains the background of the story, telling the story of Isshin Ashina's war against the country and the adoption of the wolf. At the end of the CG, Yongzhen, holding a red umbrella, came to the top of the well and threw a letter to the bottom of the well.

The second part of the promotional video is the real-life battle of "Sekiro".

The second part is also very rich in content, including scenes of fighting various mobs, scenes of continuous assassinations, gorgeous skill effects, and scenes of large-scale boss battles. Of course, these live game scenes are only currently available materials, and most of them are concentrated in the early stages of the game, such as the battles with early bosses such as Mishanin Enma, Aka Oni, Oni Punbu, and Ashina Genichiro.

These materials have been edited to dazzle players while showing gorgeous battle scenes.

Over at the full-view display experience area, many players are already playing the DLC of "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2". Some are following the plot, some are trying out new vehicles, and are having a great time; over at the GS1 simulator, there are also many players People are queuing up.

The experience queue for "Sekiro" is the longest. Obviously everyone is much more enthusiastic about the new game than the two old games.

There were more and more players at the scene, and the staff used loudspeakers to maintain order.

"Welcome to the game experience area of ​​Weiguang Interactive Entertainment. Please queue up to play and stay civilized and courteous!"

"Players who want to try out the DLC of "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2" should go to the holographic projection experience area; players who want to play "Xuanjia Project" can go to the simulator and queue up."

"Players who are trying out "Sekiro" queue up here. Each player can have 30 lives. The number will be counted on the screen. When the number is up, please feel free to change to the next player!"

After hearing the staff's last words, many people in the queue couldn't help laughing.

30 lives? ?

I’m afraid not everyone can pass the level!

30 lives, in many games, is already a number of lives that can only be obtained after opening cheats. Many people basically will not die when playing "Ink Clouds and Smoke 2". 30 lives is too much!

Many people who came later began to envy the first batch of players. With 30 lives, they can probably play until they eat!

However, the first batch of players who have started the game have no such idea at all. Instead, they feel like facing a powerful enemy one by one.

Behind them, the players in the queue were also looking at their game screens. After watching for a while, they also discovered the problem.

Why doesn't it seem like 30 lives isn't enough?

…

Cheng Yang was in second place. Looking at the players in front, he wanted to see how others played and learn from their own experience.

Cheng Yang is an internal staff member of Xingyou.com who specializes in writing game reviews. He originally planned to come to Weiguang Interactive Entertainment's booth to try it out as soon as possible, but he still didn't win the first batch of players.

But it doesn't matter, anyway, after the first player passes, it will be his turn.

The guy in front is obviously not a hardcore gamer. His posture when using the controller is rather awkward. He couldn't complete the jumping and wall grabbing at the beginning.

However, the previous content was not difficult and I passed it smoothly.

The wolf wakes up from the bottom of the well, picks up the letter on the ground, and then sneaks all the way to the place where Miko is imprisoned, triggering a cutscene.

Everything is fine up to this point, but problems arise after that.

Finally getting the katana, the player was obviously very excited and confident enough to fight the mobs outside.

Then he died twice at the hands of mobs.

The few mobs in front were okay, but the mobs in the back all came together in two or three. This player couldn't parry at all, he only knew how to cut hard, and he was quickly beaten to death by the mobs.

After he died, this guy scratched his head. It was very confusing. He was probably thinking, why am I so fragile? ?

After dying several times, this guy finally learned how to assassinate, but then he encountered an elite monster blocking the way, the leader Shigenori Yamauchi, and then died gloriously like a dog.

The process of death is also very simple. This guy attacks once, Yamauchi Shigenori parries, and then cuts him. This cycle lasts three or four times, and the protagonist is dead.

As for the blood volume, if Shige Yamauchi cuts the protagonist's blood, it will be about one-fifth of the blood, and if the protagonist cuts the boss, the health bar will be reduced by less than one-tenth.

After dying several times, this guy was so angry that he stood up: "What a crappy game, I won't play anymore!"

Cheng Yang took the handle from his hand and wondered: "As for that...you are too good at this..."