Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yi, Song Ren, Wang Han, Wang Yifan, and Qiao Yi began a cooperative puzzle game, but their sticky hands and clumsy movement turned simple obstacles into chaos. After pulling Song Ren and Qiao Yi back from a fall, the group regrouped and Song Ren complained about the game.

• Song Ren mistook a yellow brick for a tool to open the gate, but Zhang Yi simply pushed the gate open.
• The five players got tangled together at the narrow entrance before agreeing to pass through one at a time and stay together.
• Zhang Yi linked the group hand in hand, and they staggered through the aerial garden stage while joking about their formation.
• Qiao Yi stepped off the edge at a corner and dragged Song Ren partly over the side; Song Ren caught the wall and grabbed her hand.
• Zhang Yi, Wang Han, and Wang Yifan pulled Song Ren back up by his head, and Song Ren complained that the game was nonsense.

Zhang Yi tricked Song Ren into getting caught in an automatic door, sparking a ridiculous fight that kept them from progressing through Human Fall Flat. Wang Han, Qiao Yi, and Wang Yifan continued onward without them, while Wang Han doubted the team would ever reach the final stage.

• The players found that multiplayer checkpoints let teammates skip ahead and share stage clears, and Zhang Yi volunteered to hold a switch while the others passed through an elevator door.
• Zhang Yi shut the door on Song Ren as he walked through, trapping his upper body on one side and his legs on the other.
• Zhang Yi opened the door and freed Song Ren, who charged at him and wrestled him off a cliff.
• Song Ren grabbed Zhang Yi by the calf and tried to drag him over another cliff while Zhang Yi clung to the ground and pleaded.
• Wang Han, Qiao Yi, and Wang Yifan left the two brawling players behind and continued the stage, while Wang Han wondered if they would ever finish the game.

Human Fall Flat became a hit with players and streamers, who enjoyed its silly co-op antics and created custom maps. Pleased with the game's reception, Chen Xu planned to let players relax before delivering a shock at the carnival and summoned Ruan Ningxue and the art team.

• Zhang Yi and Song Ren argued while stuck together in a precarious position, as Wang Han and two others watched in disbelief.
• Human Fall Flat spread across livestreaming platforms, where players showed off climbing tricks, pranks, and chaotic co-op play.
• Players made custom Workshop maps, including skating, maze, parkour, and arena maps, and praised the game across forums and Chen Xu's Official Blog.
• Chen Xu celebrated the game's success but planned a later shock for players at the carnival.
• Chen Xu called Ruan Ningxue and several members of the art team into his office.

Song Ren downloaded Party Animals and entered its tutorial after the game’s cute cast and cheerful style drew players’ attention. He rushed through the tutorial and ended up dangling over a pit with a rubber strip caught around his neck.

• Players celebrated Human Fall Flat’s popularity while some lamented that they had nobody to play with.
• Chen Xu announced that Party Animals was available on the Nebula Game Platform for 16 yuan.
• Players reacted to Party Animals’ adorable animal characters and warm, comforting art style.
• Song Ren downloaded Party Animals while trash-talking Zhang Yi, who waited for him to finish the tutorial.
• Song Ren sprinted into a rubber-strip obstacle and became suspended over a pit, unsure how to get free.

Song Ren played Party Animals, struggling with its wobbly controls as he worked through the Tutorial. After repeatedly losing to the crocodile in the final stage, he admitted to Zhang Yi that he was stuck in the Tutorial.

• Song Ren freed his corgi from a rope by making it kick and struggle.
• Song Ren learned the basic controls, then was repeatedly struck by a spinning club before mastering the roll.
• Song Ren entered the final Tutorial stage and faced a sunglasses-wearing crocodile in the Arena.
• The crocodile knocked Song Ren's corgi out and threw it from the Arena, then defeated it again after it woke the crocodile.
• Zhang Yi asked whether Song Ren had finished the Tutorial, and Song Ren confessed he was stuck there.

Party Animals became a hit as players laughed through its chaotic matches and hazardous arenas. As the game drew new users to the Nebula Game Platform, Meng Zuo watched the players celebrate and worried about the upcoming Mario and Resident Evil games.

• Players struggled through Party Animals' Tutorial, where ropes, a rotating club, and a crocodile repeatedly knocked them out.
• Party Animals players used high ledges and played dead to ambush opponents, but poison gas and stray electric batteries sent them falling from the maps.
• A player wielding nunchucks accidentally knocked himself unconscious and was thrown off the airplane by other players.
• Party Animals' sales and reviews surged, attracting casual players to the Nebula Game Platform alongside fans of Human Fall Flat.
• Meng Zuo watched the delighted players and worried about the challenges awaiting them in his upcoming games.

Players praised Party Animals and Human Fall Flat while Chen Xu prepared the Nebula Games carnival presentation, where he planned to launch Super Mario Maker. After his team tested a trap-filled level on him, Chen Xu explained how to design more effective stages that frustrated players gradually.

• Players celebrated Party Animals and Human Fall Flat and predicted their amusing moments would become popular gaming memes.
• Chen Xu prepared the carnival's final-day presentation, which would introduce Super Mario Maker as a same-day Switch launch.
• Meng Zuo showed Chen Xu the completed game framework, and Qin Yi invited him to try a modified Mario 1-1 level.
• Yang Xin and the others trapped Chen Xu by turning the floor into coins, making his character fall and die.
• Chen Xu called their level too obvious and explained that better troll levels should give players hope before springing traps.
• Ruan Ningxue and the others agreed that Chen Xu knew how to make players suffer.

Chen Xu showed Yang Xin a malicious Super Mario Maker map, trapping her in a series of troll puzzles. He then assigned the team to make beginner-friendly official maps and prepared to discuss carnival activities with Zhang Yida’s marketing department.

• Chen Xu drew a complicated Super Mario Maker map and invited Yang Xin to try it.
• Yang Xin triggered traps, died repeatedly, and complained that Chen Xu’s map was too difficult.
• Chen Xu explained that the map tested players’ knowledge of Mario’s mechanics and skill at judging hazards.
• Chen Xu told the team to expand the game’s official maps with a progression of guided stages for new players.
• Chen Xu prepared to discuss carnival activities with Zhang Yida’s marketing department.

As the Nebula Games Carnival approached, Chen Xu’s company teased two upcoming games, stirring speculation among players. Chen Xu and his team toured the completed theme park, including recreated horror settings, before the Carnival opened.

• Players discussed the upcoming Carnival and speculated about what Chen Xu would announce at the Direct Conference.
• Nebula Games released teaser images of a fairy-tale book and a red Mario cap, prompting players to guess at a new IP and a Mario game.
• The day before the Carnival, Chen Xu arrived at the 168-hectare theme park with Yang Xin and the rest of the team.
• Chen Xu, Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, Meng Zuo, Qin Yi, and the other team members toured the park’s family-friendly and game-themed areas.
• Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin questioned the recreated Outlast asylum and Resident Evil farm, but Chen Xu said players would enjoy role-playing there.

The Nebula Games Theme Park Zone opened to ticket-holding fans, who explored its game-themed scenery, performances, and interactive attractions. The park’s Resident Evil and Outlast haunted houses left visitors screaming and turning away.

• Players speculated about the upcoming park opening and Direct Conference as their anticipation grew.
• Ticketless fans gathered outside the entrance while Lucky Players queued to enter the park.
• Visitors explored themed areas featuring Minecraft, Overcooked, Dark Souls characters, and a Pauline concert.
• Players tried interactive Monster Hunter: World and Sanguosha attractions using special equipment and holographic scenes.
• Visitors heard screams from the Resident Evil and Outlast haunted houses, and some turned away without trying them.

At Nebula Games Park’s final-night Direct Conference, Chen Xu revealed Super Mario Maker, a 2D platformer that let players create and share their own levels. Players welcomed its cheerful, nostalgic gameplay, while longtime fans joked that Chen Xu had become a “Warrior of Love.”

• Players enjoyed Nebula Games Park’s attractions and performances as they waited for the final-night Nebula Games Direct Conference.
• Holographic fireworks introduced a presentation showing Mario, Luigi, and two mushroom characters in a side-scrolling platformer.
• The presentation demonstrated tools that let players place power-ups and build paths to help characters through levels.
• The trailer showed varied gameplay features, then revealed that players could create levels and upload them for others around the world.
• Players identified the game as Super Mario Maker and discussed its nostalgic graphics, creative tools, and cheerful multiplayer gameplay.
• Some players praised Chen Xu as a “Warrior of Love,” while longtime fans lamented that his healing games seemed to mark the end of their old days of being tricked.

Chen Xu presented Super Mario Maker before unveiling The Witcher: Wild Hunt DLCs, Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone. The sunny Toussaint reveal gave way to a chilling voice introducing himself as Ethan Winster, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Chen Xu introduced Super Mario Maker's level creation, online sharing, and competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes.
• Chen Xu revealed Blood and Wine, which added the new region of Toussaint, along with Hearts of Stone as a new main quest on the original map.
• A bespectacled young man told a Black young man that Chen Xu's cheerful presentation seemed unlike his usual style.
• The venue lights went dark, and a familiar voice identified himself as Ethan Winster, shocking the crowd.

Ethan recounted what had happened after the Baker family incident before Mia narrated a dark fairy tale about a little girl who accepted gifts from monsters. The tale ended with the monsters transformed into a witch, revealing the title Resident Evil Village.

• Ethan recalled finding Mia in Louisiana, where she had been infected by mold and attacked him.
• Ethan said he cured Mia with serum and that Chris and his comrades had rescued them.
• Mia narrated a fairy tale about a little girl who wandered into a forest and accepted golden blood from the Bat Lord.
• The girl received a dress from the Spirit Weaver and a golden scale from the Deep Sea King Fish.
• The girl took a golden gear from the Steel War Horse, angering it and summoning the other monsters.
• The monsters transformed into a witch, and the book revealed the title Resident Evil Village.

At the Direct Conference, Chen Xu announced Resident Evil Village as a radically different action-adventure shooter, along with The Witcher: Wild Hunt DLC set in Toussaint and the imminent launch of Super Mario Maker. He left players anticipating the new games, especially the challenge awaiting Ethan, while Super Mario Maker preorders began immediately.

• Players discussed Resident Evil Village’s eerie promotional material and speculated about Ethan’s next threat.
• Chen Xu announced Resident Evil Village as an action-adventure shooter with a major change in gameplay and said it would arrive before the end of the year alongside The Witcher: Wild Hunt DLC.
• Chen Xu revealed that Super Mario Maker would launch in three days, prompting players to preorder and preload it.
• Gaming media highlighted the Toussaint DLC, Resident Evil Village’s mystery, and Super Mario Maker’s creation features.

After Nebula Games teased Resident Evil: Village with a short video of Countess Alcina Dimitrescu, players became captivated by the imposing BOSS and the game overshadowed the upcoming Super Mario Maker. NetDragon Games then announced a delay to its sci-fi FPS with a sentimental video featuring a blonde girl, and Chen Xu praised the stunt while Qin Yi and Meng Zuo thought of his own promotional tricks.

• After the Nebula Games Carnival, players and developers speculated about the release timing of Resident Evil: Village, Blood and Wine, and Super Mario Maker.
• Nebula Games released a five-second video introducing Countess Alcina Dimitrescu, whose appearance thrilled players and made Resident Evil: Village trend widely.
• NetDragon Games delayed its sci-fi FPS and posted an apology video featuring a blonde girl holding a handwritten sorry sign.
• Players forgave NetDragon Games for the delay, while other companies wondered why it had made the announcement so cleverly.
• Chen Xu praised NetDragon Games for its delay announcement, and Qin Yi and Meng Zuo silently recalled the promotional theme song being prepared for Resident Evil: Village.

Xiao Jie streamed Super Mario Maker, exploring its menus and Story Mode as viewers reacted to Mario’s unexpected role as a laborer. The chapter ended with Mario tasked with earning Gold Coins to help rebuild Princess Peach’s castle.

• After Fall Guys, Xiao Jie switched his stream to Super Mario Maker, a game he had been eager to try.
• Xiao Jie explored the options and learned that the game included course creation, world creation, Story Mode, and online courses.
• In Story Mode, Xiao Jie watched a dog trigger the Reset Rocket and destroy the castle Mario and the Mushroom Heads had built.
• Xiao Jie learned that Mario had to earn Gold Coins to help rebuild Princess Peach’s castle, prompting him and his viewers to joke about Mario being a working man and a simp.

Xiao Jie explored Super Mario Maker’s controls and features, then tried the Mario Endurance Challenge. After clearing Normal Difficulty with ease, he entered Super Difficult and found himself facing a course built around an apparently impossible Shell Jump challenge.

• Xiao Jie tested the different Mario versions, power-ups, and course tools while playing through two tutorial stages.
• Xiao Jie selected Normal Difficulty in the Mario Endurance Challenge and cleared stages while collecting extra lives.
• Xiao Jie quit Normal Difficulty and chose Super Difficult, where he started with thirty lives.
• Xiao Jie entered a course with three turtles, Black Flowers, spike walls, and doors, and wondered whether it was even possible to play.

Xiao Jie watched CEO Chen’s Super Mario Maker strategy videos and discovered they showcased techniques far beyond his abilities. As players enjoyed the game’s easier modes and multiplayer, some began to suspect the experience was about to get harder.

• Xiao Jie failed to clear a Super Difficult map and learned that its fastest recorded clear took thirty-six seconds.
• Xiao Jie opened CEO Chen’s Official Blog and watched Little Blue perform a series of difficult Shell Jumps in a demonstration video.
• Xiao Jie watched more technique videos, including pixel-precise maneuvers, and doubted ordinary players could reproduce them.
• Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin questioned whether players could learn Chen Xu’s techniques and whether the official maps were too difficult.
• Chen Xu pointed to players who had already cleared difficult maps and said casual players could enjoy music maps and other easier content.
• Players enjoyed Super Mario Maker’s multiplayer and easier stages, but nearly a week later some began to sense that the difficulty was changing.

Super Mario Maker players enjoyed creating and playing maps and competing in multiplayer, but Xiao Jie discovered how ruthless multiplayer could be. After he defeated a boss and earned the key, the other players stole his progress and left him behind.

• Players shared maps, traded Likes, and praised the game's cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes.
• Xiao Jie entered a multiplayer round against three players with higher scores and raced ahead through the level.
• After Xiao Jie defeated Little Bowser and obtained the key, he realized the other players had killed themselves to return to the pipe entrance and wait for him.
• Luigi stole Xiao Jie's key by stomping on him, then Little Red took it from Luigi and opened the exit.
• Little Blue arrived with a Koopa shell and killed Xiao Jie, while Little Red and the other players celebrated their clear.

The chapter explained how Super Mario Maker’s competitive, cooperative, and creation modes gave the platformer broad appeal, while competitive matches also exposed players to numerous dirty tactics. Its user-created levels and multiplayer formed a cycle that kept maps fresh and addressed the genre’s limits on scale and replayability.

• Players discovered competitive tactics such as stealing the rewards of others’ work and blocking doors or pipes with items.
• Players discussed the contrast between competitive matches and the relaxed enjoyment of cooperative play and level creation.
• The chapter explained that platformers usually relied on increasingly difficult levels for progression, which limited their scale and freshness.
• Super Mario Maker let players create large quantities of maps and encounter new levels in multiplayer, creating a self-sustaining cycle of content.