I can't be the only one suffering.
Before the release of "The Way of the Corporate Slave" on May 1st, a certain unlucky boss had something to say.
Their sequel, "Double Happiness," was officially released at the end of April, coinciding with a holiday, giving players time to enjoy it.
Sales have remained stable within expectations.
Liu Jun was quite smug at the time: "See, I told you so, there's no need to worry too much. We're not even in the same league as that 'Corporate Slave Way' thing."
After he finished speaking, he immediately arranged the follow-up publicity plan.
This includes streamers who were previously agreed to release game recordings the day after the game's release, as well as some GG ports on apps, etc.
All the promotional slogans are genuine.
"A completely new horror experience; proceed with caution if you are easily frightened."
"Starting with the ancient folk culture of China, it will let you experience Chinese horror, which is different from Western horror."
Until May 1st, when "The Way of the Corporate Slave" was officially released, the sales of "Double Happiness" began to decline. It wasn't as severe as being cut in half, but Liu Jun was a little unhappy.
It's worth noting that "The Way of the Corporate Slave" is priced at 18 yuan, which is a few yuan more expensive than their own games.
When did these stingy players suddenly become rich?
It's really frustrating that this money isn't going into his pocket.
Many players who are paying attention to the new masterpieces of the year are among the first to experience "The Way of the Corporate Slave", and their reviews of "The Way of the Corporate Slave" are quite unique.
Some comments stemmed purely from the inability to speak normally: "It feels so special to be able to watch this game survive until now, as if I'm not actually in China right now."
"This game doesn't have an age rating; it's for all ages. Is that something to say? (covers mouth)"
Others approached the game from the perspective of pushing their characters to their limits: "The correct way to play this game is absolutely—8 hours is the limit for a person, but it is definitely not the limit for a Chinese player! I advise newbies to learn how to push themselves reasonably, otherwise this game is really unplayable."
"In real life, I earn 28,000 yuan a month and I'm still cursing my boss. In games, I earn 1,800 yuan a month and I'm risking my life for it. Who understands?"
Others were outrageously bad complaints: "I won't say who keeps dying, but who hasn't died today! Can someone who hasn't died from overwork even once be called a player of 'The Way of the Corporate Slave'?"
"I envy you guys who are always talking about hitting a career plateau in the game chat group. I can't even find a bottle (a game item) here. Can anyone tell me how to find a job in this game?!"
...This resentment at being unable to continue playing quickly spread across the internet.
I can't be the only one suffering.
This is why it was said earlier that Liu Jun's promotional resources were all wasted, because these players who went out to act as promoters directly used "囍" to rise to the top.
Liu Jun was completely dumbfounded. The decline in sales was already hard to accept, so how could a game company be trying to steal his business?
You're making a stress-relieving, text-based simulation game, and you're trying to steal the thunder from horror games.
All that hard-earned publicity money went to someone else's benefit.
"A completely new horror experience, proceed with caution if you are easily frightened." — This has become the tagline for "The Road to Becoming a Corporate Slave": "If you don't play this, you're not a true Chinese. It's absolutely not scary, suitable for all ages, and even kids love it."
"Starting with the ancient folk culture of China, it will let you experience Chinese horror, which is different from Western horror." — This has become the tagline of "The Way of the Corporate Slave": "Old Chinese horror is no longer scary. If you want to play, play something even more intense! Go for it! New Chinese horror, anyone who plays this will feel a chill down their spine and we'll refund your money!"
"What's so scary about a red-clad ghost compared to a client coming to you with new revisions? The eerie atmosphere might not chill you to the bone, but your account balance certainly can!"
It even has more promotional channels than "囍".
"This game is really stress-relieving. I recommend it to anyone who is under a lot of pressure in real life. It's a great way to relax."
"Playing games online with friends is highly recommended for an even better experience!"
These talented players quickly learned how to cleverly use the tags "horror" and "stress relief" from "The Way of the Corporate Slave" to lure other casual players into the game.
The main point is that every immoral thing must be done, so that I can't be the only one suffering.
Sun Fan was dragged into this trap in a muddled way.
He's a live streamer, currently giving a lecture on Machiavellian tactics in the workplace to a group of his student fans.
"When doing things, keep them hidden; when being a person, show your weaknesses. Survival in the workplace is not about how well you do, but how long you can last. So, when being a person, expose your flaws to catch people off guard. When doing things, be careful not to give them any leverage."
"For example, the 'pretending to be weak to eat the strong' trope is a common plot device in online novels, and it's actually the same in real life."
Sun Fan was explaining when suddenly a viewer with a fan light stick entered the live stream and immediately sent a "Piercing Arrow" message.
A single arrow costs 100 yuan. After the platforms split the profits 50/50, he still gets 50 yuan.
Just as Sun Fan was about to express his gratitude, the fan sent another arrow through the clouds, this time with a question attached.
[Who needs to type during work hours?!: Ms. Sun, I'd like to ask, how should one judge and deal with comments from bosses and colleagues in the workplace?]
Sun Fan's expression turned serious, and he sat up straight, saying, "[Who has to write at work!] I think the question asked by this netizen is very representative, so I'm bringing it up to talk about it."
"The principles your boss tells you are always in his best interest. It doesn't mean you should never listen to your boss, but you should learn to think independently and know which of his statements are beneficial to you and which are harmful to you."
"These days, which boss doesn't make empty promises? Some of those promises are really awful, so everyone should be careful about what they say and what kind of sales pitches you tend to believe."
The wealthy netizen seemed to understand but not quite, and seeing that the willing had taken the bait, he then revealed his real trump card.
[Who has to type during work hours?! : Thank you for your answer, Professor Sun. I wonder if you've heard of a game called "The Way of the Corporate Slave" recently.]
Sun Fan had no idea what he was about to encounter, and honestly shook his head: "I don't play games much."
It seemed that the words "The Way of the Corporate Slave" ignited the atmosphere in the live stream, and suddenly the barrage of comments started to flood the screen.
Let Sun Fan try it out; don't always be a theoretical master.
They said things like, "Practice makes the teaching even better."
Sun Fan doesn't usually get involved in games, so he was a little confused when he heard this. However, tempted by the endless stream of offers, he still opened the GDR official game platform and bought "The Way of the Corporate Slave".
"I don't know why everyone wants me to play this game so much, but I should mention this beforehand: my gaming skills aren't that great."
"Please forgive me if I make any mistakes that make people want to eat."
The viewers were very enthusiastic and considerate, saying it was okay and that Mr. Sun should just do his best.
Sun Fan was somewhat flattered, perhaps also blinded by the Cloud Piercing Arrow.
Having finished their conversation, the installation of "The Road to Becoming a Corporate Slave" was completed, so Mr. Sun, who was over forty years old, began to figure out how to operate a text-based adventure game.
Text-based adventure games are so easy to pick up that they're practically zero difficulty. Soon, Mr. Sun acquired his first identity in his first playthrough—an ordinary liberal arts undergraduate.
"Oh, I think I get it now, this is a job-hunting simulator, right?"
Viewers commented: "Yes, yes, it's basically a job simulator. We mainly want to see Teacher Sun put these Machiavellian workplace tactics into practice."
Sun Fan was flattered and became quite arrogant. He was very confident and immediately started demonstrating to everyone how to find a job, embellish a resume, conduct interviews, and negotiate salaries.
It must be said that for someone with his life experience and professional background, coupled with a character who didn't start on a hellish difficulty level, the game went relatively smoothly.
Until a random event occurred, the father suddenly fell seriously ill.
This instantly brought Sun Fan's original middle-class, petit-bourgeois lifestyle back to reality.
He was a little... a little... at a loss for words. He had just been talking eloquently, and suddenly he was dumbfounded.
Are all games like this?
Or is the game's creator just having some kind of twisted sense of humor?
Once someone falls ill, the money earned vanishes like firewood in a furnace, wiping out most of the savings in just a few weeks.
Sun Fan refused to believe in this superstition and started a second playthrough before the dehydration ending. In the second playthrough, he was a civil engineering graduate, one of the four major majors of the sinkhole.
I've been working like a bricklayer in a text-based adventure game for many, many years. The working conditions were truly terrible; initially, my salary wasn't even as high as that of migrant workers on construction sites.
Even Sun Fan was having so much fun that he started to doubt the world. Even a working professional like him was somewhat disoriented, though he genuinely didn't know much about civil engineering.
But surely it shouldn't be that bad?
Is the game's numerical system poorly designed?
The balance is terrible! When did college students become inferior to migrant workers?
This is not meant to discriminate against migrant workers; it's just that, based on objective facts, this is how it should be.
He was so engrossed in playing that he didn't notice the chat in the live stream was already filled with "hahahaha".
They successfully tricked another person into joining.
Indeed, the true essence of "The Way of the Corporate Slave" is probably to trick newbies into accepting major setbacks in life!
Sun Fan worked very hard to control his character, using his spare time to improve his skills, like a toy that was wound up to its limit, with an endless schedule.
This time he arrived at the upper-middle level of the scenery without any problems.
However, he also developed quite a few minor health problems. Despite his best efforts to maintain his health, Sun Fan was unable to live a long and peaceful life.
He died young at the age of 59.
I've paid social security for 15 years, but I haven't received a single year's worth of pension benefits!
Sun Fan silently ended his miserable second playthrough. At this moment, he finally realized that these so-called fans were not as kind and considerate as they seemed on the surface.
"I don't know if it's because I'm not the target audience for this game, but it's completely meaningless and pointless. Isn't this just torturing myself again in the game?!"
"The whole game, I personally feel, has a bit of fatalism in it."
"It's very pessimistic. There's no way to stand up. The poorer you are, the more you have to do your best to survive. You finally acquire some assets, but then just a slight blow will wipe them out immediately."
"It's hard to imagine what kind of producer would create a game that retaliates against society like this!"
After Sun Fan finished his indignant comments about his feelings about the game, he suddenly noticed that the number of viewers in the live stream had decreased significantly; many people had left in an instant.
Sun Fan: ?
No? You treat me like a disposable sex toy? You'll have your fun and then discard me?
Some of the remaining viewers kindly explained to him, "Streamer, have you ever thought that this isn't actually revenge against society or fatalism, but something that truly exists in our lives, in our world? It's always been possible for it to happen; you just happened to be there by chance. The reason you think it's revenge against society is because you've been out of touch with our community for too long."
"You'll understand once you play a few new games. Game developers don't actually have any malicious intent; it's life that's malicious towards us."
As if that wasn't enough of a blow to his alienation from the masses, someone quickly forwarded another link.
Sun Fan had just finished complaining that the game was completely unfunny, and the video link he was sharing was titled "Why is 'The Way of the Corporate Slave' so 'fun'?"
What kind of genius would find a game about taking revenge on society fun?
Sun Fan still couldn't shake off his lingering resentment.
The official probability design is flawed; the first three rounds are filled with frequent random events.
I couldn't sleep last night, and my mind kept replaying that Cthulhu street lamp universe from last time. Suddenly, I thought, why not let those unscrupulous bosses team up and raid a supernatural horror dungeon? Hahahaha (It's really funny if you put it in a side story).
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