A Single Hammer Decides the Outcome

As time went on, sales of To the Moon steadily climbed.

Meanwhile, many domestic media outlets covering the event rushed to publish their articles.

"An unforgettable love story—To the Moon, a game that will make you cry!"

"Game review: A game that strikes straight at your heart!"

"Top contender for Zheng You—can To the Moon really be considered a sci-fi game?"

"A game that makes even the toughest men shed tears."

A week into the Zheng You Tournament, it was already clear which games could compete for awards and which couldn't.

Some games that were just there to fill the slots barely made a ripple.

As for the games aiming for prizes, by now most players—and even industry game designers—knew the score.

The First Prize was basically split between To the Moon and NetDragon's Sword Fire Thunder Studio's Galaxy Heroes.

In the Player Voting Zone, To the Moon had pulled ahead of Sword Fire Thunder Studio's Galaxy Heroes by a fair margin.

But since this wasn't purely a player vote, the Game Department Official Jury's evaluation carried significant weight too.

Although To the Moon held some advantages, it hadn't reached a crushing lead yet.

So it still came down to how the official side would score them.

As for these two games, players had been arguing endlessly online.

'The final winner will definitely be Galaxy Heroes. I admit To the Moon has a decent story, but can it even count as a game? No gameplay at all—can it really be called a sci-fi game?'

'Seconded. Galaxy Heroes winning the award would be well-deserved!'

'Give me a break. What do you mean by "gameplay"? Explain it to me, will you? Isn't story a form of gameplay? Isn't music a form of gameplay? Does it have to be fighting monsters and solving puzzles to count as gameplay?'

'Exactly. If To the Moon doesn't count as a sci-fi game, then a ton of entries here don't either. Might as well have the Game Department kick them all out.'

'Not listening, not listening—turtle chanting sutras. I'm giving my vote to To the Moon anyway.'

'Heh, victory belongs to Galaxy Heroes!'

'That's right! Galaxy Heroes will take the final win!'

'Hmph, Galaxy Heroes? Look at the game designer's name—"Meng Zuo." Isn't that just "dreaming"? Wanting to snag First Prize? Probably only in his dreams!'

'Damn, bro, that's one sharp angle of analysis!'

'Hey, are you all so sure it's down to To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes? You're disrespecting my Black Beast from Demon!'

'Heh, don't think To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes have way more player votes than the rest. I've got a feeling the final winner will be Black Lily Studio's Ashaji.'

'You two up there—night hasn't come yet, so stop daydreaming. How about you leave cleanly and smoothly?'

'+1. You two up there, please leave smoothly!'

Every player had their own favorite, and the real verdict hadn't come out yet.

Naturally, everyone was trying to stake their claim across the major communities.

But basically, everyone had their own arguments, and none of them could agree.

Compared to the heated debates and buzz among online players, Chen Xu was much calmer.

At the Nebula Games office.

Chen Xu sat in his office, making calls to inform candidates of their interview results.

He'd already found the right people for art and music.

But for the numerical level design position, the few people he'd interviewed hadn't really satisfied him.

"Chen Xu, how are you not the least bit anxious?" Yang Xin, sitting nearby, watched him finish his call, get up from his chair, and pace around the office a couple of times.

"Yeah, aren't the award results supposed to be announced today?" Ruan Ningxue was also a bit excited.

This was the third game she'd helped develop.

When it came to the game industry, she was no longer the clueless newbie she'd been back then.

As for that whole "becoming a doujin artist and then switching to manga creator" thing, she'd put that aside.

Partly because she'd found joy in making games.

And partly because Nebula Games was doing so well—why would she still be hung up on manga?

"Even if I were anxious, it wouldn't help! It's not like I can control the final outcome." Hearing Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue's comments, Chen Xu was speechless.

Of course he wanted to win the award, but the key point was that it wasn't up to him, alright?

"Oh, right—release the mobile version of Undertale once the award list is announced today." Chen Xu thought of something and said, "Based on the current trend, top two is basically locked in. Whether we get first prize or not, there'll definitely be buzz. We'll ride our own wave of hype."

During the time To the Moon was in the tournament, Nebula Games' internal work had focused on two main areas.

The mobile port of Undertale hadn't taken much effort—it had already been ported long ago.

It was just being held back until now to ride on his own wave of popularity.

The other matter was the formation of the Nebula Games team.

Beyond the R&D team, Chen Xu planned to expand.

The rest of the company's departments had also been expanding during this period.

Macro Play, finance, HR—the framework was basically in place.

Additionally, there was the platform development team.

For now, in the eyes of most players and the game industry, Nebula Games was still a small workshop.

From Magic Mirror to Undertale to To the Moon, they had never worked on any major titles—mostly just small-scale indie games.

But for Chen Xu, his ambition clearly didn't stop there.

In the future, Nebula Games would inevitably venture into broader horizons.

Building an independent platform now was the start of solidifying their own foundation.

As for whether it would draw the industry's attention.

To put it bluntly, Nebula Games right now was nothing.

Even if To the Moon took first place in this competition event, at most it would stir up a wave in the indie game circle.

Then show its face across the broader gaming scene.

As for provoking the vigilance or hostility of the giants—

That was just overthinking it.

Besides, self-operated platforms like this were fairly common.

After all, building a platform didn't mean you were setting up a distribution channel.

You still needed people to build the stage with you, and enough popularity to back it up.

For some second- and third-tier developers and companies—especially those with series works and a loyal fanbase—

They all had self-operated platforms. After all, launching on third-party platforms meant giving others a cut of the money.

With a self-operated platform, when players bought from your own store, Aside from taxes, it was pure profit.

Meanwhile, amid all the online chatter from players, this competition event was finally settled with a single announcement from the Game Department's official channel.