Game Making: Start By Healing the Player

As more and more players came into contact with ‘Undertale’, the statistics for the game grew rapidly in many aspects.   

And on many third-party gaming platforms, ‘Undertale’ was popping up at the top of their recommendation lists. 

Chen Xu still wasn’t quite used to seeing so many different platforms coexisting with each other,, but he still felt it beneficial to allow ‘Undertale’ to be listed on some of these platforms. After all, there was money to be made. 

Even if one was determined to make a change in the gaming industry, one thing cannot be avoided. 

Needing capital. 

Therefore, Chen Xu selected a few of these third-party platforms based on size and their willingness to compromise. 

Even though he was a newcomer to this industry, he was still very different from ordinary newbies. 

He had ‘Mirror’ as a guarantee for performance, and now with the “help” of Zhong Mei, ‘Undertale’ is generating massive amounts of traction as well. 

Making it so that some third-party platforms with more savvy or amicable management teams would be willing to make concessions regarding their commission rates. 

So far, the results of ‘Undertale’ on these platforms are very satisfying for both parties. 

…………

While the team at Nebula Games was busy with post-launch activities and business deals. 

Many game designers, particularly in the indie game sphere, were having an ‘Undertale’ induced existential crisis in their private chat groups. 

• [ Holy shit! What the fuck is this?? At first I thought Zhong Mei was right, what kind of good game can this Chen Xu guy make? But now… I have nothing to say ]

• [ What’s going on? Surely, this is overblown. Didn’t people say they bought those ratings? ]

• [ What are you saying? How do you buy ratings like these? Let’s not mention third-parties, just try buying ratings for the official platform and see what happens to you ]

• [ That’s right, don’t be stupid. You wanna swipe your card? You wanna try swiping the official platform? You wanna get blacklisted? ]

• [ I actually suggest all of you guys try the game out if you haven’t already. It really surprised me ]

• [ To be honest, my new game was supposed to be released next week. But now it looks like I’m gonna have to delay it. It’ll get buried ]

• [ Are you guys being serious right now? Is the stuff I’m hearing about this game real? ]

• [ How do I describe it? At the surface level, it’s just another RPG. But there are so many nuances, and the endings. In my first playthrough, it shook me. In my second, I got the “True” ending and it melted my heart. I tried going for the bad ending and it made me so fucking miserable. Honestly, I loved every moment of it ]

• [ I laughed it off when people were saying “Mirror” changed the world of erotic games. But now I think this ‘Undertale’ might start a new trend for RPGs, or at least fourth wall breaking ]

• [ My god, have you guys seen the forums? It’s like a god damned cult in there ]

• [ Is it? Link it to me so I can avoid it ] 

• [ Ok, I wouldn’t call it a cult, yet, but I can definitely see this game being brought up a lot in the future. I think ‘Undertale’ is going to be one of those names you can’t avoid bringing up when discussing this style of game ]

The discussion was interrupted when someone linked to an official blog post. 

• [ Everyone shut up! Read this! ]

• [ Lmao, this guy. Is he even human? ]

• [ What are these numbers my dude ]

• [ Over 100,000 sales in just 3 days. I give up, it’s fucking over man, it’s over… ]

Everyone clicked in for a peek, only to see that it was Chen Xu’s official post.

It contained a very simple message of thanks, made in the aesthetic style of ‘Undertale’, with images of the main cast posing happily. 

[[ A big thanks to all our wonderful players for your support, ‘Undertale’ has exceeded 100,000 copies sold. 

But the belief that this is not the end, fills us all with DETERMINATION! 

Have a good day, signed, Chen Xu, Nebula Games ]]

Chen Xu did not hide this data, after all, it wasn’t something that he could hide. Third-party research agencies would be able to dig this up in a few days anyway.

They’re accuracy might be off due to delays, but it wouldn’t be too far off. 

He was also doing this for publicity. With the game having such a high reputation, making such an announcement would ignite the tribal pride of existing fans and tempt those who were still hesitating to try it out. 

The announcement sparked conversation across the gaming sphere. 

As Chen Xu exposed the sales volume, it wasn’t just game designers who were interested, but gaming media outlets too. 

It came out of nowhere, blew up, was made by a game designer who previously developed an erotic game, and was mentioned in a verbal dispute with a more well-known game designer. 

This smelled like drama, this smelled like news. 

Before this, some of the major outlets felt that ‘Undertale’ was not going to be worth mentioning. But now, it felt like they turned around and got slapped. 

As for the masses who have played the game, they had only one reaction.

These results, these ratings. ‘Undertale’ deserves it. 

The characters were impressive and memorable, the experience of reaching the endings were different and impactful. 

Before playing this game, no one could have imagined that a game could do this. 

Many players felt like they were witnessing history being written, they had no doubts that ‘Undertale’ would leave its dazzling mark on the gaming industry. 

Meanwhile, several gaming news outlets were pumping out articles and videos regarding the game. 

[ 100k in 3 days! 9.9 score! What do the experts have to say? ]

[ An indie masterpiece, A must-play title ]

[ A masterclass in subverting expectations ]

[ I was played by this game ]

[ An incredible new indie darling! ]

“The first time brings shock, the second brings warmth, the third brings pain, the fourth brings philosophy” 

There was no more doubt, ‘Undertale’ was a hit. 

First, it was well received by media outlets and players, then its influence spread across circles of game designers. 

Because it was a very different game, it stood out not just in terms of plot, but how the plot was expressed and implemented too. 

Flowey, as an example, seems to be talking directly to the player through the screen. 

This method of design seemed to open new ways of thinking for many game designers. 

Strictly speaking, ‘Undertale’ in Chen Xu’s past life was not the absolute peak when it came to meta-elements. 

Because except for the beginning and the end, the wall breaks mid-game were actually more focused around the various characters such as Sans, Papyrus and Undyne. 

But it is also why ‘Undertale’ ended up being more immersive than other meta-games. 

The secret behind the ending is usually what gets people when they play meta-games. It’s one of the biggest features. 

In terms of meta-elements alone, ‘Undertale’ is actually lacking compared to other titles such as ‘The Stanley Parable’ and ‘Pony Island’.

But in this parallel world, the concept of meta-games is still basically non-existent. 

So, with the meta-elements of ‘Undertale’ working together with its plot, the impact it had on its players was much, much stronger compared to the previous world. 

Especially with the live-streaming platforms, and video platforms, showing some of the hidden content from ‘Undertale’ to players, it has completely made this fire burn even brighter.

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