Chapter 77 Game Explorer 233
Early September
The registration channel for the Deep Blue Game Platform has officially closed, and the list of all participating games has been made public on the platform. Players can now officially try out various games in the competition area.
Forums and social media were abuzz with discussions about which game had the most potential and which was the dark horse.
Even the debate over which game is a patchwork or a reskin has reached a fever pitch.
And Lu Ming, at this moment, was sitting in the office.
While holding a cup of iced coffee, he stared at the deep blue game platform interface on the computer screen.
His goal today was simple. Even as an ordinary player, he wanted to see what the entries were like on the Deep Blue gaming platform.
After all, as the producer of two games,
He knows very well that the quality of a game cannot be judged by watching promotional videos or listening to the manufacturer's hype, but by actually experiencing it!
Therefore, Lu Ming did not directly use his official account, but registered a new account.
I casually typed in "Game Explorer 233" as my name and chose a regular pixel-style icon as my avatar.
Completely hide your true identity.
After entering the Deep Blue game platform, the homepage has been dominated by various entries, with popular recommendations, real-time voting lists, and new game trial lists.
"Okay, there are quite a lot of works!" Lu Ming raised his eyebrows.
After a quick glance, Lu Ming found that there were more than 300 entries, covering almost every category.
Although more people registered, not all of them submitted their works.
Looking at the games that kept rotating, Lu Ming was very pleased.
The gaming platform is finally bustling!
Lu Ming casually scanned the game, and at a glance he could tell that some of the gameplay was a re-skinned version of some old games.
There are even many works that take advantage of the hot topics, such as "Yuan Sheng Isekai", "氪命修真", etc.
"This is quite a bit of water."
Lu Ming shook his head and had an idea in mind.
However, he would not jump to conclusions. After all, some games may appear mediocre on the surface, but the actual experience may be surprising.
So, he clicked on the trial list and began to carefully select the games that interested him.
First game to try: Forest Traveler
This is a pixel-style puzzle adventure game. It ranks in the top ten on the current voting list and has received a lot of praise in the comment section.
After downloading, Lu Ming entered the game.
The game's opening animation uses a short text narrative style:
"You wake up from a dream and find yourself in a strange world. It's pitch black, with only a faint candlelight to guide you. Who are you? Why are you here? Where does the road ahead lead you?"
This is a game similar to the Riddler style.
Lu Ming controls the protagonist, a traveler in a tattered robe, walking on the dim streets.
Although the picture is in pixel style, the atmosphere is created quite well, and the lighting effects and environmental sound effects are perfectly coordinated, giving people a feeling of loneliness and mystery.
Lu Ming controlled the character to explore for a while and was attracted by the game's atmosphere and clever puzzles.
“There’s something about this game!”
Lu Ming nodded and gave a positive evaluation.
“The gameplay is innovative and the atmosphere is top-notch, but it’s not suitable for Whale Leap.”
Then, Lu Ming tried the second game: Future Fight: Infinite
This is a cyberpunk first-person shooter game.
Each battle will have a different scene and enemies randomly generated.
It sounds cool, but Lu Ming frowned shortly after entering the game.
The game's UI design is too complicated, and the menus are so cumbersome that they are dizzying.
The gun also doesn't feel very good, lacking impact when shooting, and it even feels like hitting the air.
Not to mention optimization issues!
Lu Ming sighed and quietly exited the game.
Then I silently clicked on the collection.
"Worthy of attention, huge potential, and worthy of joining the "Time Journey" project team!"
Then, Lu Ming tried other games.
Overall, there are still many dedicated producers.
There are even many large-scale games with exquisite production.
It's very likely that the other party originally planned to list it on Steam, but only chose Deep Blue for this independent competition!
In addition, "Time Journey" does not participate in this competition. After all, this is a competition organized by Jingyue.
It is impossible to be both a referee and a contestant.
While Lu Ming was immersed in the trial process, the activity level of the Deep Blue platform reached a new height.
Players flocked to the game to try it out!
In the forum, everyone is discussing and recommending various games:
"Holy crap! This game 'The Final Battle between the Demon King and the Hero' actually has dynamic narrative! Every dialogue choice affects the final outcome. That's amazing!"
"The first two hours of content for Rise of the Machines: Temporary Operation are free. The production quality is almost on par with AAA titles!"
“Sky Survivors is so addictive! The combat and growth system are so powerful, I can’t stop playing!”
"Everyone, go try Nebula Rails! It's so fun! Open universe exploration + real-time combat—this type of indie game is really rare!"
As players tried out the game, discussion threads exploded on forums, live broadcast rooms, and social media.
Some well-made games immediately stand out.
Some works received a lot of attention and votes, while some works were criticized by players in just a few weeks.
"This game is rubbish. The operation delay is so serious. Are you forcing me to uninstall it?"
"How dare this skin-changing game still participate in the competition?"
"The modeling is at the same level as the web games from five years ago. Who are they trying to trick into voting?"
The cruelty of the market is mercilessly displayed to all developers.
…
On the other side,
Several members of the Camera Obscura studio were staring at the computer screen nervously, their faces becoming increasingly ugly.
Their game "Out of Control Accompaniment: Platycodon Prelude" was ranked first among all 336 games participating in the competition.
Ranked 266th!
"How could this happen? We are so far back in the row!"
Sun Qianli covered his face and looked at their game data in disbelief:
Trial downloads: 186
Average trial duration: 3 minutes and 42 seconds
Rating: 2.75/5
“The download volume is so low!” Artist Gong Min was dumbfounded.
"Forget downloads, the retention time is terrible, averaging 3 minutes and 42 seconds...no one is playing it!"
Planner Wang Hao's face turned pale.
"Hey there in the comments section, check out what the players are saying!"
They immediately clicked on the comments section, and instantly became even more desperate:
"I've never played a game that made me quit within a minute. The development team is awesome."
"The graphics are okay, the combat is terrible, the plot is okay... it's just not for clumsy people!"
"I played the game for three minutes, and my only thought was: the creators have ideas, but you can't cram all of them into it!"
"If the mechanics were simpler, I feel like there's still a lot of room for improvement in your game!"
"It's a very rare music game. I think it's pretty good, but it's too difficult!"
“…”
The entire studio was in dead silence.
“This is so depressing!”
“Is it because we didn’t canvass for votes?”
"Didn't the platform say canvassing is prohibited, and that you have to actually download and experience the game before you can vote? This makes it difficult for me to convince my dad to play this game."
"I told you before, let's not make the game so complicated!"
…
At this time, Lu Ming had already tried several games and had a clear judgment of the overall level of this competition.
“Unexpectedly, the competition is quite fierce.”
He glanced at the real-time voting list and found that the top ten games were almost all well-made works.
After all, the reward Lu Ming gave this time was relatively high, so it did attract many high-quality producers.
But Lu Ming was not interested in these games.
What he doesn't want are games that are favored by everyone.
What he was looking for were those games that were badly criticized.
This is what meets his acquisition and investment requirements!
…
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