In-Game Beta Test

A few days later, Soul Knight was largely finished.

Over those days, Wang Chuan led the team, fighting on the front lines, and finally managed to grind the game out.

And that wasn't all they had to show for it.

Not only was Soul Knight complete, but the platform he'd been fixated on was also built.

A fully official website for Huangtu Game Company, along with the database and platform accounts, had all passed review and were officially done.

Among them, Huang Shanshan, besides handling art assets, was also in charge of compiling statistics.

The same went for Liu Qiang, Zhou Wei, and Zhao Jing.

Beyond their own duties, they were also responsible for internal playtesting.

Likewise, Wang Chuan made a special trip to the school to invite some students to his studio for playtesting.

He'd discussed this with the school in advance.

And doing so also helped him build a closer relationship with the school.

When they saw he always had the school in mind, they'd naturally be more willing to help him out.

He'd always held the school in high regard, so he'd consistently maintained good relations with them.

But after what happened last time, he suddenly realized the school's network was even bigger than he'd imagined.

They didn't even flinch at one of the Three Factories, Penguin.

Besides, he wasn't losing anything—he needed a batch of testers anyway.

He was just swapping the internal testers for school students.

Normally, game producers run internal tests before releasing a game.

First, to gather player feedback on the experience, and second, to check for bugs.

And typically, game producers have two channels for internal testing.

One is an offline game experience store—a dedicated store of their own, stocked with their own games.

Through the store, they can get player feedback fastest, and face-to-face communication avoids misunderstandings.

Because players aren't professional producers; it's hard for them to articulate exactly what's wrong with a game.

For example, a player might feel a certain map isn't fun.

But ask them to explain the specific reason, and they'll struggle.

There are many possible causes—a flaw in the map design, an issue with the art assets, or a problem with the underlying structure.

The other channel is leaving an internal test window online for sign-ups.

Every game producer has their own way to get player feedback.

As for Wang Chuan himself, he naturally preferred an offline game experience store.

But he was broke, had no money, and couldn't afford it!!!

Besides, not just anyone could set up a game experience store—it had to be reviewed by the Official Game Platform.

If a producer hadn't achieved certain results, approval was out of the question.

So Wang Chuan had no choice but to go to the school.

Back when he was a student, he'd complained about the school; now that he'd graduated, the tables had turned.

Ridiculous~~~

Still, the school was happy to have Wang Chuan invite students for playtesting.

After all, unlike other students, he was a distinguished graduate.

The Stanley Parable had blown up, sending Wang Chuan's popularity soaring.

And it had spread his name far and wide.

Worth noting, during this time, The Stanley Parable had even won a minor award.

But since Wang Chuan was busy leading the team on the front lines, grinding away at Soul Knight, he didn't go.

Even though it was his first award in this world—and in his life.

It was just a small one.

At most, it gave him some recognition among new producers in the industry.

But to well-known game producers and the player community, it meant nothing.

What awards did they care about?

Of course, the famous ones with a certain historical pedigree.

Going to claim that little award would only let him scrape some presence in the circle, with no real benefit.

Rather than waste time on an award ceremony, it was better to work overtime and get Soul Knight finished.

As a Roguelike game, the core of Soul Knight naturally lies in its random elements.

And the Pangu Editor has brought that out perfectly.

Right now, Soul Knight is about ninety percent complete.

Aside from some art assets and music resources that the outsourcing team hasn't finished grinding out yet, everything else is done.

Lucky for him, Soul Knight isn't a big-budget project—otherwise, with the few days Wang Chuan had been grinding, finishing even ten percent of the progress would've been impressive.

He opened the editor, then opened a group chat filled with students participating in the closed beta.

Reading their conversations, Wang Chuan felt even more confident now.

"Damn, the drop rate is way too low. I threw in all my meal money for today, tomorrow, and the day after, and I got nothing~~~"

"Boundless Heavenly Lord, Amitabha, Allah the Almighty, God Christ—red, red, give me red, please~~~"

"Holy crap, this boss is way too strong! Anyone out there? Come save me!"

"Hahaha, from now on, call me a god—full elemental immunity, scared or what!!!"

"Hey, this pig can actually be ridden? Oh my god, I've got a mount, hahaha~~~"

"Jeez, why is it white again~~ No, it's not my fault. I'm going to find Senior Wang—this chest is rigged."

"Enough, enough, someone just pulled an orange item. You're just unlucky, stop making excuses~~~"

Lying on his big bed, phone in hand, reading the students' chatter, Wang Chuan was grinning from ear to ear.

Sometimes, it's not the person playing the game who's happiest—it's the one watching you play, endlessly amused.

At one point, Wang Chuan went down to chat with them, sparking a wave of "Big shot, 666" shouts.

Then came the students' questions.

Some asked if he was single—cough, he didn't answer that one.

A bunch of grown men asking that? Up to no good!!!

Of course, most questions were about the game.

Like why the drop rate in the Wishing Well was so low, which character was best to pick, which class had more potential, and so on.

To that, Wang Chuan had to retreat.

Come on, if I told you everything, what would you even play for???

At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Back then, these students couldn't even figure out how Soul Knight played.

They even complained quite a bit.

But after playing a while, they quickly got immersed in the game, unable to pull themselves out!

There's no denying it—Roguelike games

really have a unique kind of charm!!