Chapter 5 - 5 The Essence of a Horror Game_1

Chapter 5: Chapter 5 The Essence of a Horror Game_1

All fear stems from the unknown.

This is a line learned at the training academy, and it's also one of the guidelines for making horror games.

A horror game is the genre that takes the element of the unknown to the extreme, and it's the subject Fang Cheng is challenging.

Having checked out of the academy's dormitory, Fang Cheng called for a ride-share. While constantly reminding the driver to "keep your eyes on the road, not on me," he returned to his newly rented apartment.

The apartment was cheap and far from the city center, basically in the suburbs.

However, Fang Cheng could teleport at will, come and go as he pleased, and only occasionally took a car to experience life, so distance didn't matter.

His apartment was small and sparsely furnished, with just a bed and a computer. Beyond that, there was nothing else.

As an Immortal dedicated to the pursuit of the Taoist Way, Fang Cheng's room was almost devoid of possessions and devoid of any devices for pleasure.

But today, he was ready to indulge.

He picked up some soda, took out some high-calorie fried chicken he had ordered online, turned on his computer, downloaded all the top-ranked horror movies from a famous movie platform, opened sixty-four windows, watched each film at ten times the speed, and finished watching the top three hundred movies within an hour.

After finishing, he silently turned off the screen, then chewed on his crispy fried chicken, a question in his mind.

Where was the horror in these movies?

"Midnight Bell" — if the protagonist knew Palm Thunder, then the moment the antagonist crawled out, a single Palm Thunder would take them out.

"Dawn of the Living Dead" — if the protagonist knew Palm Thunder, a single Palm Thunder would be enough at the break of dawn.

In "Iron Blood Warrior," if the protagonist knew Palm Thunder, as soon as the warrior appeared, a Palm Thunder would suffice.

Other movies like "Vampire Legend," "Black Monday," and "Texas Chicken Killer" could all be resolved with a single Palm Thunder, so Fang Cheng couldn't understand why people found these movies scary.

Unable to draw inspiration from the movies, Fang Cheng decided to turn on his computer and start playing horror games based on rating recommendations.

After spending an hour completing a game involving a music box, black fog, and Cthulhu, he subconsciously thought "a Palm Thunder solves everything," when suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his brain, and he thought of a keyword.

Helplessness.

In those highly-rated horror games, the protagonist is always helpless.

He was now eager to see the players panic and scream.

Satisfied with his work, Fang Cheng sealed everything with Immortal Spell, packaged the game, and then began to select a platform to release it.

Last time, the rookie cup, aside from the honor, included a prize of ten thousand yuan.

Although an Immortal could live without money, he still wished to earn a little in the secular way, feeling that it would give him a better understanding of the people's experiences and help him in game development.

Using that money, he bought a small advertising spot and placed "Towards Death and Life" on the largest international Steam platform, still for free, and then returned to the planet where the Star-devouring Beast resided.

Now, all that was left was to wait for the players' performances.

At this moment, Wang Say Games could hardly take it anymore.

Seven consecutive days of grinding "The Forest's Second Son" had transformed his base dramatically and pushed him to the brink of exhaustion.

He had put off ranting about new games, advertising new games, revisiting old games, discussing games, and even his promotional streams.

All his time was spent chopping down trees in the forest, crafting, building his base, and preparing to launch a new assault on the Relic Guardian.

The last time, three hundred players joined forces and finally breached the first layer of defense of the Relic Guardian, draining its shield and toppling it to the ground.

Unexpectedly, that little darling managed to transform a second time.

The transformed Relic Guardian was even more formidable, instantly killing all the players, who cursed the game's developers while enthusiastically continuing to chop trees and craft equipment.

Wang Say Games wanted to continue, but someone in the live chat couldn't help but say, "Wang, give yourself a break."

"Stop grinding, get some sleep. The earlier you sleep, the longer you'll live; the longer you live, the longer you can grind; therefore, the earlier you sleep, the longer you can grind."

"Impeccable logic, totally convincing."

Wang yawned, ready to take the advice, when he saw an advertisement float by on the Steam platform.

"From your favorite, the developer of "The Forest's Second Son" has released a new game "Towards Death and Life", now on hot sale..."

"..."

"Forget my life!"