It was late, and the world had fallen quiet, but on the internet, this was precisely when traffic was busiest.
On the country's largest video platform, a UP master with the account ID [Dr. Ruan] uploaded a new video. The instant his subscribers received their notifications, its views, scrolling comments, and comment count began skyrocketing at a visibly frantic pace. Its popularity curve climbed as steeply as a rocket launching into the sky.
The video opened with Robert's familiar face.
"Hello, everyone! It's your Dr. Ruan." Robert greeted his viewers as he always did, his voice carrying a barely perceptible trace of exhaustion, though excitement dominated.
The screen was immediately buried beneath a dense flood of scrolling comments.
[Caught him live! Caught him live! Bro, you finally showed up!]
[The missing person returns!]
[Man, I thought aliens had abducted you.]
Robert continued, "I know you're all wondering where I've been all day. No video updates, not a word in the group chat. The reason is simple—I got completely sucked into a game. That game that's been stirring up a bloodbath online lately, with a trailer that looks like a movie. That's right, Warhammer 40K."
He shifted to the main topic, his tone growing serious.
"First, I have to say that this game's developers have an almost pathological obsession with 'realism.'"
"I'd barely entered the game and hadn't even figured out what was happening before the Underhive's filthy air had me choking, with tears and snot streaming down my face. When I finally got aboard a troop transport, it bounced me around so badly I thought I'd puke up bile. Once we reached the battlefield, I had to scavenge all my weapons and ammunition from piles of corpses. I even found a scrap of someone's uniform in the meat broth the logistics crew cooked. Most ridiculous of all, you have to find somewhere safe just to log out. Otherwise, something really might attack you while you're asleep!"
His complaints sent the scrolling comments into a frenzy of amusement.
[Hahahaha! Going without a gas mask in the Underhive? Respect, you absolute madman!]
[As a steel-hard soldier of the Imperium, if the truck shakes you off, you can climb back on yourself.]
[LMAO, imagine waking up after a nap and finding out the Underhive's mutant rats have eaten you clean.]
But dissenting voices appeared as well.
[Wait, this game is that hardcore? That sounds like a massive turnoff.]
[Doesn't sound like playing a game. Sounds like suffering...]
As though he had anticipated his viewers' reactions, Dr. Ruan grew serious and addressed the camera. "But I also noticed that the developers aren't using so-called 'realism' to deliberately torment players. Nor are they just piling on environmental assets to create a realistic surface. Their realism has an internal logic. And that realism creates an unparalleled sense of immersion. I can say with absolute confidence that no game currently on the market can compare in this respect."
He began giving examples.
"For instance, after one battle, several other closed-beta players and I voluntarily dragged the bodies of fallen Astra Militarum soldiers somewhere relatively intact and laid them there. Just because of that small gesture, we could clearly feel the other NPC soldiers in camp treating us with greater friendliness and respect. When the Commissar returned, he didn't punish us for leaving our posts without permission. He simply told us to return to our positions immediately. He even softened his tone and told us to make sure we survived before worrying about the dead. You have to understand, before that, whenever we violated tactical regulations, the Commissar communicated exclusively through yelling and kicks up the backside."
"Another example: this game's death penalty is extremely harsh. It wipes out all your faction merit and resets your relationships with NPCs. But the person who carries out the procedure of wiping your faction merit is your immediate superior. Which means... if a player becomes that superior officer, then as long as that player officer is willing to reinstate you, theoretically, you don't have to worry about death resetting your position or wiping your merit at all!"
That revelation instantly set the scrolling comments ablaze.
[Holy shit, seriously?!]
[You figured out how to exploit bugs after just one day? Awesome. That's our bro for you!]
[Hey, how can you call it a bug? Anything that benefits players is a feature!]
Dr. Ruan gave the camera a knowing smile and continued, "I also have to praise the developers' attitude. They're genuinely great. When this closed beta ended, we weren't immediately kicked off the server. Instead, we were invited into a special space for a face-to-face discussion with an official game designer! He earnestly asked whether we thought anything in the beta needed changing, and he answered practically every question we raised. Even when something wasn't possible yet, he didn't dodge the issue."
"For example, you don't need to worry that the developers will patch out the method of avoiding the death penalty I mentioned earlier. I actually learned about that method by asking the designer during our face-to-face discussion. He personally acknowledged that it was a legitimate approach. Clearly, while pursuing realism, the developers haven't shackled players. Instead, they've given us an extremely high degree of freedom. They have absolute confidence in the internal consistency of the world they've created. They believe that no matter how we bypass challenges or hunt for bugs, we won't break the game's progression."
The scrolling comments erupted again.
[Holy shit, these developers are pretty damn impressive. They're thinking big!]
[I've honestly never seen developers encourage players to exploit bugs... I mean, game features.]
[Now that you've said that, I have to wait for the open beta and go bug hunting in their game!]
As the video approached its end, Dr. Ruan put away his smile and delivered his final assessment.
"Although this experience lasted just a single day outside the game, and only three days inside it, I believe this closed beta was a complete success."
"The developers clearly have no intention of turning this into a game for the mass market. At least at this stage, I haven't seen the slightest indication of that. Their target audience is very clear and straightforward: hardcore players with plenty of free time, who are willing to invest considerable effort in studying the game and immersing themselves in it. Whether that approach is good or bad is a matter of opinion. But at least as far as I'm concerned, it isn't necessarily such a bad thing."
The final image froze on Dr. Ruan's sincere gaze as the scrolling comments held their last discussion.
[A hardcore game... how are they planning to make their money back?]
[Hardcore is good! That's how it should be! Letting a bunch of trashy little bastards into the game wouldn't be any fun.]
[What a shame. Working stiffs like me have too little time. Looks like I won't get to dive into this one...]
The video ended, and the screen went black. But the firestorm it had ignited was only just beginning. Like a depth charge dropped into a still lake, the video sent shock waves racing beyond the confines of a single video platform and into every corner of the internet.
Before you continue