Chapter 21: You Downloaded It!

Translator: Daoist6fubtiW

After “Death Cell,” Ye Feng’s studio gradually faded from the public eye.

Game development cycles are long, and once most players finished “Death Cell,” their attention naturally shifted to other games or matters.

However, whenever there was a topic related to “Death Cell,” one could find a continuous stream of fresh content being added to the game.

Though the players of “Death Cell” seemed unremarkable, any newcomer without a fan base who posted a video related to the game would gain thousands of views within a few hours.

Whether they played poorly or skillfully, they would attract a group of “Cell People” who laughed and discussed the game’s interesting moments in the comments.

If someone played poorly, nobody would criticize them, but if they played well, they would receive praise.

Brother Yin continued his live broadcasts of gaming. Now that graduation season had passed, the quirky games made by graduating students had vanished from the gaming platforms, and the fun of testing new games daily had diminished.

“Oh, there’s nothing interesting to play lately,” Brother Yin remarked, glancing at the gaming platform’s page.

“I’m not boasting, but listen up. From now on, nobody will be able to torture me with games anymore; it’s impossible!” He straightened his back and patted his chest.

Seeing his confident look, the bullet comments couldn’t hold back.

“Didn’t you say something different before?”

“Can someone remind this monkey of his words?”

“Monkey: Is this Black Star really so cunning? Is this how your teacher taught you to make games?”

“Hope you can still say the same then!”

…

Brother Yin dismissively waved his hand. “You guys don’t understand; do you think game development is easy?”

“How many designers claim to create new games and end up delaying indefinitely? You’re all too young, my friends.”

Previously, he heard that Sprout Studio was planning to release a new game in three months.

He immediately shook his head.

Three months?

More like three years.

One “Death Cell” was probably the peak for this studio.

In other industries, with more experience, one could create better and improved products. For example, in smartphones, even with the same model, updates and iterations could be made every year with more memory, a new processor, or a better operating system. Consumers were willing to buy new devices for these improvements.

But it was different for games; rehashing old content was easily criticized, even if the dish was delicious.

In the creative realm, there existed a phenomenon where achieving fame equaled reaching the peak. Even if a designer had improved skills and experience, someone would compare their current works with their initial creation, and in the end, summarize with a line like:

“The graphics have improved, and optimizations are better… but in my heart, ‘Death Cell’ is still a masterpiece.”

Brother Yin didn’t understand game development, but he understood players. And in most cases, the facts were like this: designers found it challenging to surpass the success of their initial works.

“My advice is not to expect too much; three months is too short,” Brother Yin shook his head. “If he had said it would take three years to make a new game, then I might have genuinely looked forward to the three-year period.”

“But if he wants to make a game like ‘Digging for Ascension’ with low-quality textures, just forget what I said. Such games can’t compare to ‘Death Cell’; they lack sincerity,” Brother Yin sighed.

As he thought it over, he realized that he would still accept the studio if they made small games. However, with the brilliance of “Death Cell” in his memory, he couldn’t help but hope for an even more successful and exceptional work.

“It’s impossible that he’s not working on a new game, right?”

“Before, Sprout Studio offered exceptional conditions for recruitment. They can’t keep idle people, right?”

“Failed applicants, speak up! The benefits at Sprout are genuinely great, but the recruitment conditions are very strict.”

“Huh? Do any of Monkey’s fans know how to make games?”

…

While Brother Yin kept emphasizing not to expect the release of a new game anytime soon, Steam Platform sent a push notification.

“[The designer you subscribed to, Black Star, is about to release a new game. Come and check it out!]”

Simultaneously, a banner message appeared on the platform’s homepage, with clear and concise words:

“[New Game][Black Star]”

Brother Yin: …?

“What is this? Did I download Steam Game Keeper?” Brother Yin widened his eyes, looking at the banner message that popped up.

It was well known that Steam Platform had many piracy platforms with names that were very similar to the original.

For example, “Steam Keeper,” “Steam Game Keeper,” “Steam Games”…

When Brother Yin found out about this, he couldn’t help but smile; the Steam platform in his previous life had similar problems. Every time a game became popular, it attracted many newcomers who had little experience with computer games. As a result, they easily downloaded the wrong platforms.

When searching for platforms with similar names, some players would be misled. Sometimes, after downloading the real “Steam” platform, they would find that the store couldn’t be accessed and showed a webpage error, with only the inventory game page accessible. This led many newcomers to mistakenly think that “not being able to open the store page” meant the platform was fake.

Sometimes, when new players posted screenshots or short videos online, indicating their doubts, players would easily spot the traces of pirated versions on their platforms and couldn’t help but tease:

“Oh no, you actually downloaded the real thing.”

“Check if you can smoothly open the store page. If you can, then congratulations, you downloaded a fake.”

“All pirated versions can open the store page, except the official one.”

…

Now, Brother Yin couldn’t help but exclaim in disbelief, staring at his gaming platform repeatedly, only confirming that it was the official version and not someone reinstalling a fake version for him.

“F**k, how is this possible? Why would the Steam platform promote his new game?” Brother Yin gripped the table with both hands, his face full of disbelief.

Platforms promoting new games for designers was normal and mutually beneficial.

However, this had never happened in the Greater Xia region before.