Mo Li's eyes suddenly lit up. "That's right, I'll just play Otto myself!"
After all, Otto was someone every gamer loved to hate. If he, the game's creator, played this villain...
That would be such a great meme!
And memes meant attention. Why not?
He wasn't worried about getting beaten up when he went out. People these days were different from before; everyone could still tell games from reality.
If players saw him in real life, they would probably just jokingly shout, "Otto, look at my sword!"
It was settled, then!
"Then it's decided. Bronya, I'll leave the server construction to you."
"For now, everyone should discuss the promotional plan."
"I'll assign you voice-acting tasks later."
In truth, the Honkai Impact 3rd included in the newbie gift pack came with absolutely everything.
It even included the game PVs, so naturally, it wouldn't lack voice acting.
But to avoid causing any more misunderstandings, Mo Li thought it was better to proactively find something for them to do.
The game Saving Girl had actually been voiced by these girls themselves. Mo Li had listened to it, and they had done an excellent job.
He had to admit, these girls really were capable.
"Oh, right. Himeko, come with me."
After saying that, Mo Li picked up his laptop and walked out of the office.
After exchanging looks with the other girls, Himeko followed him with a smile.
"Boss, asking me out alone... You don't have any bad intentions, do you~?"
Mo Li rolled his eyes at her before explaining, "There's another promotional video that needs your voice work."
"I see... That's actually a little disappointing~."
Hearing that, Mo Li unconsciously looked Himeko over for a while.
In their brief time together, he had discovered that these girls' personalities were truly exactly the same as they were in the game.
Seeing this, Himeko casually brushed back her hair and teased, "What? Has the boss started getting ideas about me?"
Mo Li helplessly shook his head, knowing that Himeko was just joking around.
"Stop talking nonsense and take me to the recording studio."
Over the next while, aside from directing the girls' voice acting, Mo Li also revamped the MiHoYo Official Website and finalized the game's promotional work.
The primary promotional method was buying ads on a short-video platform and an anime-focused video site.
After all, Honkai Impact 3rd was entirely an anime-style game, and its main audience was young people.
So placing ads on those two platforms would yield the best results.
PS: Is anyone reading? Could you cuties give me some feedback~? Free flowers, rating votes, anything...
Dusk, Girl, Battleship
Douyin was currently the hottest short-video app in Dragon Country, with daily traffic reaching as high as two billion users.
It was also the only case in Dragon Country so far of a platform breaking through Tencent's traffic monopoly and successfully gaining a foothold on the internet.
Douyin's usual promotion method was targeted advertising, commonly known as "targeting familiar users." It recorded each person's preferences and recommended videos with similar content.
That day, young people everywhere came across a very novel game advertisement.
Zhang Ming was a gaming enthusiast. Though he wasn't a true anime fan, he was still the sort of person who really enjoyed watching anime.
After getting home from work, he usually just played games, watched anime, and scrolled through Douyin.
Today was no different. After returning home from work, he turned on his computer and opened an online game published by Tencent.
It was the only game he was currently playing, but... its operations had become increasingly predatory, and many players had already started complaining bitterly.
"Sigh... Let's see what new content they've added."
While the game updated, he opened its announcement page.
After reading for a while, his brow furrowed deeply.
He closed the page and opened the game's group chat.
The first thing he saw was a flood of complaints from his gaming friends.
"What the hell is this? The new event only gives useless materials, and everything else is game gift packs!"
"A second anniversary gratitude gift pack? More like a goddamn payback-with-a-vengeance gift pack!!"
"Pay fifty bucks for a pile of useless materials, and the only decent box can only give good stuff based on luck."
"Hehe~ I thought Tencent might have improved, but they're still just scamming people for money."
"Scamming money would be one thing, but they even have the nerve to call it a gratitude gift pack. What a joke."
"Hahaha, someone posted a video on Douyin. A streamer spent five thousand buying a hundred gratitude gift packs and only got one +10 enhancement coupon. He lost four thousand nine hundred and ninety bucks!"
"Well, the materials from a hundred gift packs can save him ten days of dungeon grinding. Isn't that hilarious?"
"Goose goose goose~~ I wouldn't even spend five thousand hiring a power-leveler."
"This game is getting more and more disappointing..."
"Tencent is still Tencent. They even brainwash players, saying we should support domestic games. How are we supposed to support them when they pull this crap?"
"Sigh, forget it. I'll go find games on STM instead. At least they won't treat me like a crop to harvest."
Seeing those comments, Zhang Ming silently nodded.
Relying on its massive traffic, Tencent not only created a traffic monopoly but also blatantly copied other people's work.
Even when a small Studio managed to make a good game, within less than a month, it would become a Tencent title. Then, the game would immediately lose what made it special.
No money, no fucking game.
If the small Studio refused to be acquired, Tencent would release an identical game in an extremely short time and crush that Studio with its overwhelming traffic.
Domestic players were helpless about it too. They could only curse Tencent while continuing to play Tencent's games.
But did Tencent care? Curse all you want—I'll keep making money.
What was a few insults? Making money wasn't shameful~.
Thinking of that, Zhang Ming silently sighed as well.
Just as he was about to close the group chat, a link suddenly popped up.
"Everyone, check this out! Douyin has been promoting this game these past few days. I've seen it several times already, and the visuals are totally my thing!!"
Curious, Zhang Ming clicked on it.
The player opened, and a small line of text slowly appeared in the center: mihuyo.
"MiHuYo Studio?" Zhang Ming thought for a moment. "Never heard of them."
But before he could think any further, an exceptionally pleasant female voice came through his headphones.
"Helios, this is the Hyperion. Report your mission status."
The moment he heard that voice, an image of a tall, alluring mature woman immediately appeared in Zhang Ming's mind.
Then another female voice sounded in the video, while several lines of text slowly appeared on-screen: "The Third Honkai outbreak, 2 years, 5 months, 16 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes, and 22 seconds ago."
"Reporting to Major, the Wind Cave detection target is not visible. Risk level has risen to A-rank. Requesting confirmation."
The gradually rising, passionate music, together with faint radio static, created a tense atmosphere of preparation within just a few seconds, completely capturing Zhang Ming's attention.
"Disable the hatch safety lock. Open the hatch manually..."
"...Observation unit one, confirmation complete. Awaiting Valkyrie boarding."
At that point, the video's scene finally fully unfolded.
A hatch slowly opened. Then, the sound of high heels striking the ground gradually rang out. The camera moved from bottom to top—long legs, slender waist, full breasts... The high-altitude wind lifted her two white braids, and the girl's exquisite face finally came into view.
"Whoa~ What a cute girl. The visuals are gorgeous too."
Before Zhang Ming could finish marveling, the girl in the video leaped down from high above.
The scene changed again. At dusk, the girl fell like a shooting star, while an enormous battleship in the distance looked incredibly imposing...
Those three elements mixed together, paired with the stirring music...
Zhang Ming felt his entire body tremble, goosebumps rising along his arms.
"Holy shit... Is this some newly released anime?"
By this point, the video had completely piqued Zhang Ming's interest.
Only twenty-odd seconds had passed, and the information revealed was limited.
There were only three key words: battleship, Valkyrie, combat. Yet they had genuinely struck right at Zhang Ming's heart.
"Is this an anime about girls fighting with guns?"
The moment that thought surfaced, the video changed scenes again.
The white-haired girl from earlier was now standing atop a small drone.
Through the brief dialogue, Zhang Ming also learned that the mature woman with the alluring voice was named Murata Himeko, while the cute white-haired girl wielding dual pistols was named Kiana.
A few small words in the bottom-right corner also told Zhang Ming that this was not an anime, but a game.
Game footage recorded in real time
"This is actually a game?!! And it's 3D too?!!"
Zhang Ming was truly shocked.
It wasn't the 3D perspective itself that shocked him, but the elements and visuals of this game were simply too exquisite.
The characters in most 3D games on the market used realistic-style models. Though the visuals looked realistic, they didn't suit the aesthetic tastes of anime fans like him.
But Honkai Impact 3rd's 3D anime rendering technology was simply a perfect fit for anime fans' tastes.
PS: Cuties, if this suits your tastes, please give me some feedback, pretty please...
This book is absolutely harmless and angst-free.
What? You're Telling Me This Is a Game?
In the video, the drone sped across the surface of the lake.
Elevated bridges and towering buildings in the distance slowly swept past, while white Honkai beasts occasionally darted by at high speed.
Kiana had finally finished speaking with Himeko.
Zhang Ming knew that the game had begun.
Several girls wielding scythes suddenly appeared on the drone Kiana was standing on.
Kiana held her dual pistols and unleashed a sequence of gun-fu attacks against them.
Judging from the combat feedback, both the impact and flow of the fighting were excellent.
"Is this... really a mobile game?"
"And even the monsters are cute girls? The creator... really understands anime fans, doesn't he?!"
Watching the video, Zhang Ming practically felt as though he were there himself, fighting atop a rapidly flying drone, feeling the sea breeze brush across his face, the bright sunlight shining upon him, and the energetic voice of the girl ringing in his ears.
Kiana: "Aunt Himeko, all these Honkai beasts have been taken care of!"
Murata Himeko: "How many times have I told you? Call me Teacher Himeko!!"
At that point, the video ended.
Zhang Ming took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart as he clicked on the video again.
He planned to watch it one more time.
Before you continue