There were probably dozens of livestreaming platforms in Huaxia. Danmu Network was merely one of them, but its massive user base put it far ahead of the rest. It had developed much better than the other platforms, offered streamers excellent treatment, and carried more prestige as well.
Meng Shu only had an account on Danmu Network, so that was the first platform he logged into.
Once he entered the livestream section, he was greeted by quite a sight. He did not even need to choose a category—the first two streams under "Recommended Livestreams" on the homepage were both Dark Forest.
Had the game really become this popular already?
Meng Shu blinked, shrugged, and casually clicked into one.
He did not use methods such as questionnaires or face-to-face livestream interviews to gather feedback.
Those methods made it too easy to receive feedback from people nitpicking for flaws, players trying to tell developers how to make games, or even armchair gamers hiding among them and acting like they knew everything.
They were typical methods that required plenty of effort for little reward.
Compared to those two methods, it was more effective for developers to watch livestreams themselves.
They could observe the players' firsthand experiences, along with their thoughts and opinions throughout the game.
Over the course of two hours, Meng Shu watched dozens of streamers and gathered some useful feedback for optimizing the game.
For example, resources were too scarce, boarded-up doors and windows broke too easily, the plot was too obscure to understand, and there were no quest guides.
He noted down all of those issues and planned to optimize them when he ported the game to VR.
Dark Forest differed somewhat from its counterpart in his original world.
He had changed a few things during development.
For instance, during the nighttime events in the first area, Withered Grassland, the original game treated it as a beginner level. The enemies that came were mostly Wild Men and wild dogs, so it was not particularly difficult.
But after his modifications, all kinds of monsters and demons could appear.
He had considered whether no one would play after such changes, but then he thought that if players could not even handle Dark Forest, there was no point in making heavyweights like Dead Space and Outlast later.
So he adjusted the difficulty. The game started directly on hard mode.
After sorting through all that, it was already half past nine.
Meng Shu opened the development engine that even a monkey could use and prepared to continue making the final chapter.
At that moment, his phone suddenly rang.
The caller was an unfamiliar number.
Meng Shu frowned. After thinking for a moment, he still answered it.
"Hello?"
There was a brief two-second silence on the other end before a professional-sounding female voice spoke.
[Hello, this is Infinite Network Entertainment. We are a platform specializing in game development, game operations, and game publishing. May I ask if you are Teacher Shuo Guang, the developer of Dark Forest?]
Meng Shu raised an eyebrow.
A game publisher had come knocking?
Teacher Shuo Guang?
That kind of honorific really existed everywhere.
"That's me."
After receiving confirmation, the woman on the other end immediately replied.
[Hello, Teacher Shuo Guang. We understand that Dark Forest is currently available on Cyber Platform and has not previously received widespread promotion domestically. Have you encountered difficulties with publishing?]
After saying that, without waiting for Meng Shu to respond, the businesswoman continued smoothly.
[We are a game development and publishing company with exceptional capabilities and standards. Most members of our team have worked for renowned foreign game companies. You may search online to verify our company credentials and team composition.]
[We have over twenty-six years of industry experience and have developed all kinds of original games. We have released excellent titles worldwide, including Star Voyage, Underground War, Brave and Unrivaled, and Sharp Action. We have also published premium domestic games such as Legend of the Jianghu, Peak Basketball, and World of Gods. We would not dare claim to be at the very top of the industry, but we can certainly call ourselves one of the leading companies.]
[The reason we contacted you this time is that it appears Cyber Platform is your only sales channel. We wanted to ask whether you might need professional publishing services from us.]
Meng Shu could not help feeling awkward.
She really could talk.
She had clearly received professional training.
Meng Shu was no stranger to publishers.
The two martial arts games from his original world that had obtained approval numbers were both published domestically by publishing companies.
In both worlds, whether it was games, movies, music albums, or anything else, publishing companies were indispensable.
To a certain extent, publishers could greatly reduce a developer's promotional workload and costs while saving time.
Their relationship was similar to that between authors and publishing houses. The difference was that publishers could not only publish books—they could write their own as well.
So, to a certain extent, authors still needed to rely on publishers.
The relationship between publishers and developers was much the same.
Developers were responsible for production work.
Publishers were responsible for early-stage operations and promotion, as well as later after-sales handling.
For example, even the approval submission process was handled by publishers.
Simply put, publishers dealt with all the tedious and exhausting work, while developers only needed to focus on development and production. It greatly saved time for both sides and improved efficiency.
All it took was spending some money.
One developer could have multiple publishers, releasing games in different countries and handling localization.
Likewise, one publisher could invest in or sponsor multiple developers and earn profits from them.
Of course, developers could also develop and publish their own games.
The prerequisite was that they had grown large and strong enough to handle every aspect of the business themselves.
Otherwise, it was better to honestly find a publisher.
Meng Shu's current situation did not allow for such integration.
After all, his company had just been established. It did not even have a single employee, the game had only just been released and was still unfinished, and he lacked funds.
He was already too busy with development work. Where would he find the confidence to take on publishing as well?
Promotional costs alone would be enough to make him suffer!
"What advantages do you offer for publishing?"
Meng Shu lowered the chair back and reclined, resting both feet against the computer desk with a calm expression.
[Teacher Shuo Guang, we have many advantages. One of them is our extensive promotional channels. Every video site, classified information site, self-media network, social platform, search engine, and so on that you know of can serve as our promotional channels. Furthermore, we have agreements with channel providers. If Infinite Network Entertainment handles the negotiations, it will be much cheaper than if you approach them yourself, saving you considerable costs.]
After pausing, the businesswoman continued.
[For example, if you promote your game on Danmu Network, they might charge you one hundred thousand. But if we approach them, they may charge only fifty to sixty thousand.]
Oh?
Meng Shu's eyes lit up.
That was indeed a pretty good advantage.
But—
"Your company has over twenty years of industry credentials. That cannot be your only advantage, can it?"
[Of course not, Teacher Shuo Guang. The company's management greatly appreciates your work and believes you have a promising future. Therefore, they specifically instructed me to offer you a new-game support plan.]
A new-game support plan?
Meng Shu raised his brows, the corners of his lips curling upward.
"What kind of support?"
A mature smile came through the phone before she spoke again.
[If Dark Forest is published by us, then for your next work, Infinite Network Entertainment will provide development funding to help you through the early stages. Afterward, we will continue publishing it for you.]
Meng Shu immediately smiled.
Support. That was a nice word for it.
In reality, it was merely another way of saying investment.
And investments came with risks.
"That sounds good. Will you interfere with game development?"
[Generally, we will not. Although we have professional personnel, we rarely interfere with developers' work to avoid disrupting their rhythm. Only when developers are at a loss and need assistance will we arrange for personnel to step in, take over, and carry out the work.]
Meng Shu nodded. That was normal; it had been the same in his original world.
Some small studios only had a handful of people, so they would inevitably encounter technical difficulties during development.
When that happened, capable publishers would help solve them.
But if even the publisher could not solve the problem, works like Legend of the Jianghu would emerge.
"This kind of thing carries a lot of risk. Have you considered what happens if the game sells poorly, has terrible sales, and cannot recoup its costs?"
[Teacher Shuo Guang, we do not publish only your work. If we lose money on your project, we naturally have profits elsewhere to make up for it. That is how business works. There is no such thing as guaranteed profit; risks exist everywhere.]
[And you have already succeeded, haven't you? Although Dark Forest is still in the EA stage, its popularity and buzz have already reached a peak. You have proven to the entire industry that horror games still have a market. I believe that, aside from us, other publishers will also come looking for you. We also believe that your next work will not disappoint anyone.]
Mm, that flattery felt good. Meng Shu had to admit that he liked hearing praise like that.
"You have your own game platform, right?"
[Yes. It is called IGame. There are only two domestic platforms, and we are one of them. Most domestic games are available on it. You understand as well that Cyber Platform's thirty percent commission is simply unbearable for some small developers, so our platform is their best option.]
Meng Shu nodded in understanding.
Although Cyber Platform was a major global platform, its commission was very high.
Small studios spent tremendous time and effort developing games. If their games did not sell well and another thirty percent was deducted, they would basically be unable to recover even their original costs.
That was why they settled for domestic gaming platforms instead.
"What is your commission rate?"
[Five percent.]
"How are promotion costs across the internet calculated?"
[We will cover them. We will choose websites with higher traffic to place promotional advertisements such as videos and pop-ups.]
"Do you have channels for console platforms?"
[Of course. We have channels for every platform. If you intend to release your game on console platforms, we can make that happen as well.]
"After I hand the game over to you for publishing, does it need to be taken down from Cyber Platform?"
There was a moment of contemplation on the other end, as though she were organizing her words. Only after several seconds did she speak.
[Of course, we would prefer that it be taken down and sold on our platform instead. However, considering that you have signed an agreement with the Cyber Platform agency, we will not interfere.]
Meng Shu nodded. He already understood.
"Before you send me the contract, I need to tell you about my plans for the next game and see whether you are willing to accept them. That way, neither side wastes time."
[All right. Please go ahead.]
"Since you have a support plan, I'll be direct. My next game will still be horror. And I plan to make it a VR Game."
The other end fell silent. Only after quite a while did she speak in surprise.
[Teacher Shuo Guang, are you sure? You are also an industry professional, so you should know that VR games currently simply do not—]
"Of course."
Meng Shu rocked his chair, interrupting the businesswoman with a smile.
"I'm sure, and I know exactly what I'm doing."
"Now it depends on whether you're willing."
Before you continue