Something Seemed Different

"Who knows what kind of deal they made... That's seriously awesome!" Silver could barely contain his excitement. He had never imagined that a game developer he had supported by chance would actually catch Steam's eye.

Almost as soon as the agreement was reached, major marketing accounts swarmed in like flies scenting blood, rapidly posting the news the moment they learned about it.

[The first game promoted by the Steam platform in ten years!]

[Sprout Studio? The biggest dark horse in the gaming industry?]

[Steam insider news! Partnering with Sprout was just a transaction!]

[Yogame has also announced a new game. Who will take home the title of best game of the year?!]

Yogame moved quickly. Since every aspect of the company's operations was already well established, the moment the decision was made and orders were issued, the game's promotional campaign immediately got underway.

Steam only gave Sprout Studio a pop-up banner recommendation, and it would only appear for a few seconds when users logged into the Steam platform.

Curious people would click in to take a look, while those uninterested would simply close it.

Yogame, on the other hand, had gone all out with its promotion. First came banner pop-ups, then giant cover images...

"Tsk, look at the release date they picked. Isn't it exactly the same as Sprout Studio's?" Silver said helplessly as he looked at Yogame's promotional image.

Normally, game releases were scheduled to avoid one another. Accidental overlaps happened, but few people deliberately chose to crash head-on into another release.

And now, Yogame was clearly doing it on purpose.

Maybe it really is just a coincidence? Yogame is a major company, while Sprout is only a small studio. There's no need for them to deliberately clash.

Besides, before Sprout announced its game, Yogame had no idea it was making a war-themed game.

This time, it really is just a coincidence.

Some viewers in the stream insisted that was impossible.

It was always small studios trying to latch onto bigger names and ride their hype.

Yogame was already a major company with its own gaming platform. Why would it bother crashing into some little toy car like yours?

Yogame's promotional image made it clear that this was an FPS shooter. From beginning to end, it was all about unleashing firepower, with explosive sparks and blood staining the entire sky red.

Now the pressure is on Sprout Studio.

Question: What does it feel like to go head-to-head with a major company?

It's probably doomed. Now we'll see whether Yogame's new game can beat Dead Cells. Honestly, Dead Cells is insanely fun.

They must have been preparing this game for a long time. They just never expected a dark horse like Dead Cells to suddenly appear.

It probably really isn't a deliberate clash, just a coincidence. But beating Dead Cells will still be tough.

Dead Cells was simply too strong. Its popularity overseas was beyond imagination, and even after several months, its sales continued to rise steadily.

Ethan Vale did not so much as blink at Yogame's overwhelming promotional campaign.

"Everyone says our war game is clashing with theirs, but who knows? The two games have absolutely nothing to do with each other," Song Shan said with a smile.

Before making this game, he had never imagined war could be portrayed in such a way.

In the game, players experienced the brutality of war through the eyes of civilians, including the difficulty of simply surviving.

They had to endure long-lasting, dark, and heavy psychological scars, as well as moral dilemmas that could arise at any moment.

This war-themed game was not a hymn to soldiers charging through gunfire and killing enemies heroically, nor was it praise for the friendship between comrades tempered by life and death.

Freedom? Justice?

Neither.

The game's sole objective was to survive until the war ended amid scarce resources and dangerous conditions, leading several civilians sheltering together to stay alive.

There were no unexpected developments when the games launched. Sprout kept to its original schedule without making any changes.

Yogame likewise made no changes to its release date.

One week before release, Sprout also released a CG trailer.

The trailer was only a dozen seconds long, but it carried a profound meaning.

In the trailer, more than a dozen soldiers exchanged fire in the streets. Dark clouds hung overhead, and gray-black smoke filled the air. Muzzle flashes stood out especially sharply in the oppressive darkness.

The apartment buildings had fallen into ruin, their walls cracked apart. In the corners, countless ragged people could vaguely be seen embracing one another and weeping.

On the streets, severely wounded people leaned against walls, struggling for breath.

Gunfire and artillery never stopped from the very beginning of the video. The dark imagery left people feeling suffocated and powerless.

The game's tags did not include FPS or shooter, but players still labeled it a shooting game as soon as they saw the word "war."

Because every war game they had played had been an FPS.

July 1st was a Saturday. At eight in the evening, both games released on schedule.

Sprout's game was priced at 39, while Yogame's was priced at 59.

Although Sprout's game was cheaper, a game's price often said everything. A more expensive game usually meant it had been made with greater polish and care.

Silver was waiting in front of the purchase page right on time.

"Do I even need to say it? Of course I'm buying that black-hearted bastard's game first," Silver said, shaking his head.

At the very least, the two games made by Black Star had never disappointed him.

As for Yogame's games, he had played far too many of them. They did not feel fresh at all.

If this game is still just dying and starting over, I think I'm going to get tired of it sooner or later.

Once or twice is fine, but too many times really gets exhausting.

Same here. But that old bastard Black Star really is incredible. He truly has his own understanding of game design. Even though we say we'll get tired of it, after playing so many times, I still want to go for another hundred million runs.

If this game can come up with some fresh tricks and make me want to keep starting over, then it'll be a success too.

Silver looked at the comments. It was true that repeatedly restarting a game could become tiresome, but it was also true that Black Star had overcome that problem.

He was the first person to make players retain a sense of freshness throughout an otherwise repetitive gameplay loop.

He quickly bought the game and entered it.

There were no expected over-the-shoulder first-person hands on screen, nor were there any guns to choose from. Instead, he saw charred black trees, billowing clouds of black smoke, and low buildings struck by artillery shells.

Several people stood inside a house, unarmed and without any equipment.

This game was different from every war game Silver had ever seen.

It was a side-scrolling 2D game.

Please vote for me! Give them to me, not anyone else, okay? Arigatou, Pretty Goat-san.