Chapter 8: Player’s Recognition

Translator: Daoist6fubtiW

Netizens are truly resourceful. After a series of speculations, many people feel they know the truth.

“My cousin works in a certain company, and according to him, the company wanted to make money by selling the copyright of that designer’s work, but the designer ruthlessly rejected them.”

“A certain gaming platform? Isn’t this a common practice?”

“I heard that the copy version is already in the production stage and will be released soon.”

“I wouldn’t even play it.”

…

Some viewers watching the live stream started to express their indignation over the game’s removal, but most players didn’t seem too affected. For them, this was just a popular game with a short-lived internet fame.

Perhaps due to having a previous template, the team at Yogame acted swiftly. In about a week’s time, they had a new game ready for release:

[Shovel It: Digging for Ascension]

The game was priced at ten dollars, and overall, it didn’t differ much from the previous version.

The only notable change was the character inside the bucket, now replaced with various characters holding different tools, from shovels and sickles to even a rake.

Each weapon had unique enhancements, which could be acquired through additional in-game purchases.

For example, the sickle and rake provided more stability for climbing than the hammer.

Seeing this, Ye Feng couldn’t help but sneer. The charm of “Get Over It: Digging for Ascension” had never been about extending your life or changing weapons to improve yourself.

Just like Hollow Knight, Celeste, Dark Souls, and other games, every progress was achieved through repeated trials in death.

Technological growth was never about using more convenient or powerful weapons.

As expected, when Yogame’s “Shovel It: Digging for Ascension” was released, eager players immediately downloaded the game.

Those who had previously purchased “Get Over It: Digging for Ascension” could still play it, but those who hadn’t purchased it had no way of doing so.

Although they said they would only restrict broadcasting but not playing, the game was entirely removed from the store, leaving no purchasing channels.

Even so, this game still occupied the internet with its funny and hot topics.

Players who learned about its removal could only express their itching desire to play it.

This itch persisted until the release of the new game, “Shovel It: Digging for Ascension”.

With the same game setting and similar map models, even the tree from the hometown was perfectly replicated.

The only difference was that “Get Over It: Digging for Ascension” had a low-quality texture, while this one featured more refined original artwork.

“Hmm, they didn’t ban it this time?” Brother Yin bought the game and prepared to try it out.

He looked at the bullet comments with a mocking expression. “This time, no one reminds me of violent elements, huh?”

He used the free trial card for the rake, and climbing up the mountain became smooth sailing.

As he reached Orange Mountain, the trial card’s usage time ended, and the rake turned into a shovel.

Using the shovel, he easily hooked onto the edges of the mountain, making the game much easier than “Get over It: Digging for Ascension.”

The feeling of losing from easy to difficult instantly appeared in everyone’s hearts, but even so, it was challenging to recapture the same sensation as before.

Brother Yin played for only about ten minutes before uninstalling the game and requesting a speedy refund.

“Before playing, I was worried that if this game surpasses the original designer, how would the original game get the attention it deserves?” He was surprisingly serious during the live stream.

“Haha!” He just laughed, as if everything was self-evident.

Curious netizens, after experiencing the new game, couldn’t help but mock:

“So this is the game that made you smash tables and keyboards?”

“I thought it would be much harder, but it only took me to reach Snow Mountain?”

“Sigh, a game that relies on hype is not fun…”

“I’m glad I only played for an hour and a half, got a refund easily.”

“A bunch of people who never played the original version are criticizing it using a pirated one…”

…

Comments like these flooded the internet.

Song Shan, who had been feeling frustrated since the game was taken down, now felt elated. “Look at these comments, feels so good! I made them take it down, made them copy it! Got a taste of their own medicine!”

“Really satisfying!”

“Hey, why aren’t you reacting?” He walked over to Ye Feng and showed him the related content on his phone.

Ye Feng read the comments about “Shovel It: Digging for Ascension” in the comment section and felt a hint of jealousy.

All these comments were tagged as “Super Difficult.”

For a game, getting recognition from players and earning the label “Super Difficult” was a sign of success.

It was like the highest praise among boys, saying “You’re awesome.”

[Super Difficult: The game is really hard, hahaha! Can’t play without paying money. I’m poor, so I’d rather play the simple and cheap one that got taken down.]

[Yes, it’s super difficult. Finally got the evaluation I’ve been hoping for from other games nearby.]

[I just want to enjoy the fun of the game. Why do I have to spend money?]

[I played ‘that game’ and my heart almost stopped for 30 seconds, but even so, I still give it a ‘very simple’ rating!]

…

Ye Feng read the comments and fell silent.

In his heart, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the system. Following him must have been quite difficult…

“We’re not releasing the next game on Yogame, right?” Song Shan looked at the game, which Ye Feng had worked on a large part, leaving himself only responsible for about one-fifth of the content, but it still made him exhausted.

The game had a perfect storyline, fascinating and ever-changing levels, a rich weapon and equipment system, and exhilarating action gameplay.

Initially, Song Shan thought this was just a game where collecting cells would make you stronger, but after seeing the entire game design, he realized that contributing cells was actually a scam.

Every permanent upgrade in the game was the driving force for progress, just like a snowball rolling down from the mountaintop – it continuously grew until it became unstoppable.

Song Shan believed that once this game was released, it would undoubtedly impress the world once again.

“No.” Ye Feng shook his head, not wanting to make the same mistake twice.

Song Shan glanced at Ye Feng, who was still earnestly making the game.

This snowball was rolling down the mountain.