New Horror Game Idea

Zai Zong's popularity and stream effect quickly pushed his channel to the top of the game category.

It attracted tens of thousands of live viewers!

Overwhelming the anime streamer Xin Xin.

Tonight, thanks to this game, he briefly claimed first place after being stuck in second for ages!

Beyond that, some streamers who got lucky and cleared Story Mode discovered there was also a Challenge Mode!

In this mode, players had to play a life-or-death card game against four opponents other than Hoffman.

And in terms of punishment mechanics, besides the finger-cutting, electrocution, and meat grinder from Story Mode, three new tortures were added: Branding Iron, Strong Acid, and Liquid Nitrogen, along with a ton of extra dialogue.

This once again terrified players, yet they still wanted to keep trying.

You could say they were scared but eager to play.

At this point, in the game category of the entire Danmu Network, almost half the streamers were playing "21 Points."

Meanwhile, some small streamers who originally had no popularity gained a massive following just by screaming in fear while playing "21 Points."

So these clever streamers quickly figured out how to entertain their audience.

That was screaming!

And the sneakier ones even changed their stream titles to things like "Screaming Tenor," "Passionate Scream," "Moaning Scream," and so on.

They really found the key to traffic.

Because of "21 Points'" widespread play on Danmu Network, some people who didn't usually play games or had little time for them thought it was some new movie.

They clicked in out of curiosity.

But after a closer look, they realized it was a game, and a VR game at that! And free to download!

That shocked them.

What!

Free!?

Holy crap!

These days, who doesn't have a VR headset!?

So another huge wave of people flocked to IGame to download and try it out.

This caused "21 Points" to reach an unimaginable 4.1 million downloads in just one night!

This data made the game explode in popularity! Its fame even landed it directly on Weibo Trending!

Becoming known to even more people!

At this point, in the Weibo topic section, there were already thousands of discussion posts about the game.

"Last night I was about to watch some streams of this game before bed, but after seeing a bit, I was wide awake."

"This game has given every streamer endless meme material."

"I played a bit and got so scared I couldn't even play cards right. Mainly because VR is so immersive, it really felt like I was sitting in there playing."

"This game made me appreciate the value of life. That Masked Man never showed his face the whole time, but every time he spoke, I got chills."

"The game is amazing! It's the most realistic and terrifying survival game I've played in years!"

"I just wanted to play cards, why do I have to suffer like this?"

"Too bad you can't play a round with the Masked Man."

"Shuo Guang is awesome!"

On Danmu Network, many uploaders also posted their own gameplay videos.

Some of these uploaders even put their videos on the biggest foreign video site, YouTube, shocking those foreigners!

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Is this a VR game!? Please tell me the video is a game, not a movie! I beg you!"

"Is this really a VR game? My God, I can't believe a VR game of this quality exists!"

"Where can I buy this '21 Points'? I couldn't find any info about this game on the Cyber Platform. Please reply, Thank you!"

"Absolutely stunning! Even the famous company's 'VR StarCraft' doesn't have this level of detail! It makes me itch to play. I really want to try it, I have to ask my friend in Huaxia to help me get it!"

"I can't believe such a high-quality VR game exists in this era! It looks so perfect, it even has a story! Oh my God, I can't resist wanting to experience it!"

"It's just a shoddy-looking game from a newly founded small company with zero credibility, far inferior in technology to our Sminida."

"Sminidans never admit their shamelessness and ignorance. I like that."

"(Broken Chinese) Huaxia fwiend, pwease contact me, I pay 300 USD to buy Game, thank you."

Thus, with free and VR as its gimmicks, "21 Points" attracted countless players, made a significant impact domestically, sparked heated discussion abroad, and successfully entered the public eye.

It also rode this wave of popularity to give "Dark Forest" a huge sales boost, almost entirely from foreigners buying it out of admiration.

And on that day, it topped the online player count rankings at number one!

At the same time, the developer Only Game and its producer Shuo Guang became the brightest gold in the domestic gaming industry!

Right now, this "gold" was in his office, on the phone with the head of Infinite Network Entertainment.

[Shuo Guang, President Meng, your game is absolutely incredible! Not only are our internal staff blown away, but even people in the industry find it unbelievable. With this level of technology, they're all saying they want to hire you for outsourced game development.]

Meng Shu was sitting at his computer, tidying up his desk. Hearing this, a faint smile tugged at his lips.

"You flatter me. I'm just a game developer—nothing that exaggerated."

A hearty laugh came from the other end of the line, followed by a reply.

[President Meng, you're too modest. But I have to say, the quality of your "21 Points" has already far surpassed foreign games. Calling it the pinnacle of the era wouldn't be an exaggeration. Right now, the hottest topic online is comparing your game to the foreign "VR StarCraft," and even people abroad want to experience your VR game.]

"Is that so? Then maybe I should consider finding some publishers for the next game to handle localization for foreign markets."

Meng Shu picked up his water cup, took a sip, and then leaned back in his reclined chair.

It was lunch break, and he felt a wave of drowsiness creeping in.

The person on the other end of the line perked up at those words.

[As for localization, President Meng, you can rest assured and leave it to us at Infinite Network Entertainment. We have a department and business dedicated to foreign distribution. If we handle it, it'll be much more convenient than you doing it yourself, and the price will be very attractive!]

Meng Shu yawned, not particularly moved.

"If it can save me a lot of hassle, then I'd be happy to have your company's help."

Laughter came from the other end of the line.

[Thank you for your trust. By the way, President Meng, your current "21 Points" has already achieved its purpose as a promotional tool. Do you have any plans for what's next? Our support funds can be adjusted based on your subsequent development plans.]

After a pause, the person on the phone seemed uneasy and added.

[But one thing's for sure—"21 Points" has fully proven your skill and your eye for the market. Our Infinite Network Entertainment's support fund is at least between 15 million and 40 million. If you want to increase the amount, we'll need to know your follow-up development plans before we can apply.]

Between 15 million and 40 million?

Meng Shu thought it over, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

Enough. More than enough.

Even a little too much.

For him, developing a game mainly required funds for employee salaries and outsourced voice acting and music composition.

Later on, he might need to hire actors for motion capture and facial capture, which would also cost money.

Then there were the upfront promotional fees advanced by Infinite Network Entertainment and various miscellaneous processing costs.

After all, these expenses would be deducted from the subsequent 5% of sales revenue.

So the amount actually spent on game development itself wasn't that much.

Whether it was special effects or CG, the game development engine he—this monkey—used could handle everything on its own.

It was essentially free, a total steal.

There was no need to hire a dedicated team.

The only thing missing was actors for motion capture and facial capture.

If Infinite Network Entertainment really approved several million...

Then he'd probably make a tidy profit from it.

Just thinking about it made Meng Shu's lips curl up involuntarily.

"Right now, I do have a game project, but it's still in the 'new folder' stage."

The person on the other end immediately understood.

[No problem, President Meng. Having an idea just means you haven't started implementing it yet. Could you share the general concept? That way, I'll have something to go on.]

"Of course, it's not top secret."

Meng Shu replied with a faint smile.

At the same time, he closed his eyes, connected to the system, and quickly located a game.

"It's still a horror game, but it's a bit different from the previous two."

[A horror game again? Alright, but what do you mean by 'different'?]

Meng Shu paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts, then spoke slowly.

"'Dark Forest' is a horror game, but the enemies are monsters, and the protagonist can fight back. In '21 Points,' the enemy is a murderer, and the protagonist can only wait helplessly—very passive. So I want to break away from the influence of those two games and make a different kind of horror game."

He paused, opened his eyes, and continued.

"A psychological horror VR game where the player can't fight back, can only turn and run when in danger, and uncovers the story through exploration and puzzle-solving."

Then, in his mind, he said the name of a game that the person on the phone couldn't hear.

("Visage")

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