C40: Hot Discussion

Judge POV with Some world explanation in MC narration:-

In Shanghai~

Unlike the previous life. Each entertainment industry in this parallel world isn't determined by a single head office. Instead, it's subdivided into various departments.

The Judges' work is under the game department, which is responsible for game content and game platforms.

Here, domestic agents and companies act as intermediaries for overseas games and review domestic titles under the department. They have a say in matters of whether an Overseas game should be introduced in the domestic market or not.

There are even games that pass the domestic review but are intended for export. This department also handles reviewing those. In contrast to the rigid system of my previous life, this world employs a detailed grading system for games.

Of course, that's mainly because some technologies in the world are more advanced. At least the real-name verification system for online games here is completely implemented. If you're a minor, don't even think about getting into certain games—you won't have access.

Because of this robust system, the auditing regulations are more relaxed than in my previous life. But if someone wants to push the boundaries of explicit content, they still won't get very far.

Take Chen Xu's first game, "Magic Mirror," for instance. It was developed but could only be exported for sale within the country. It's a gray area—neither encouraged nor outright banned.

Another unique aspect is that the game department offers a self-developed game engine to the public, unlike the Unreal Engine from my past life. The only difference is that this one is state-owned, not commercial, and the technology isn't on the same level.

At this moment, I'm sitting with the relevant Industry leaders and judges in charge of this sci-fi expedition competition. We're gathered in the game department of Shanghai, discussing the situation at hand.

Unlike regular players, we as reviewers have to play every game, which is a very sorry job for us. After all, we are not as youthful, as we used to be. But with so many entries, it's impossible to thoroughly review them all in such a short amount of time.

We rely heavily on summaries from other reviewers and form our judgments based on those reports and the game's content itself.

We use advanced data manipulation and artificial intelligence to check up on the reviews and gather sentiments and ratings. Due to the advanced Vision technologies, there is no way one can falsify their identity to flood the reviews and ratings.

In recent years, the game selection for various awards caused significant backlash from players. The game department's aim to guide the domestic game market, but that only works if the players agree with our choices. If they don't like what we select, how can we guide the market? We need them to be in sync with us.

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"Let's start by voting for the first prize. Everyone, explain your opinions one by one," I hear the chief Judge say, signaling the beginning of the heated discussion.

"The Galaxy Heroes, developed by designer Meng Zuo of NetDragon Games, has some flaws in the plot performance and numerical values, but the rhythm of the level design is excellent," I said, as I took my turn.

"Neon Games' To the Moon, developed by designer Chen Xu, although there isn't much worth mentioning in terms of gameplay, controls the rhythm perfectly with its flashback mode," another judge added.

"I agree," someone else chimed in.

"While To the Moon is different from Undertale, it may not have the same groundbreaking system, but its pure story is breathtaking." He continued with the praise.

"Galaxy Heroes is good, but To the Moon has its merits too. From a personal point of view, I think most ordinary game designers wouldn't have the resources to create something as complex as Galaxy Heroes, whereas To the Moon feels different. For this reason, I'm more inclined to choose To the Moon."

Another judge raised a point: "Even though it's excellent, can To the Moon really be called a sci-fi game? At its core, it seems more about love, right?"

"Strictly speaking, To the Moon isn't exactly science fiction," I replied,

"but if we go by that standard, over 40% of the entries in this competition wouldn't qualify as sci-fi either."

"Hmm, I'm still more optimistic about Galaxy Heroes," another voice said.

...

...

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The debate raged on as we, the game review panel, discussed the final selections. Meanwhile, online discussions were just as heated, with countless players experiencing and trialing the games themselves.

Many of the games in this competition had already gained some buzz during the earlier stages, but none had garnered more attention than Chen Xu's To the Moon.

Chen Xu's name had been hot ever since the popularity of Undertale hadn't fully died down, and then his feud with Zhong only added to the excitement. As a result, many players jumped at the chance to try To the Moon the moment it dropped.

Online forums and player groups were exploding with praise and discussions about the game.

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"I can't recommend To the Moon enough," one player posted.

"I was moved to tears!" (-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷄_-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷅ )

"What happened, man?" another asked.

"You cried? Isn't this the game Chen Xu made in a month?"

"So what if it was made in a month? It's incredible! The plot is so touching. You'll understand what I mean once you play it." (;﹏;)

"Man, just reading this thread is making me tear up again!" someone else added.

"Is it really that emotional?"

"Why don't you play it and see for yourself? This game made me realize how easily I cry." ╰(ɵ̥̥ ˑ̫ ɵ̥̥ ╰)

"Wow, sounds intense! I'm going to buy it and check it out."

"So, who are you voting for?" another player asked.

"I've already decided to vote for To the Moon, hands down!"

"Same here! To the Moon gets my vote too!"

"Although I am also very moved, I don't think To the Moon is a sci-fi game, right?"

"I don't care if it's a sci-fi game! I'm going to vote for it anyway!" (༎ຶ⌑༎ຶ)

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Cat empire POV~

When I played To the Moon for the first time, I voted for it without hesitation.

As for whether it can be regarded as a sci-fi game in the strict sense, after experiencing the touching plot, I didn't care at all.

Does it really matter if it's a sci-fi game? What do I care about?

If I think the game is great, if it leaves a deep impression on me, then that's all that matters when voting.

As for its eligibility, that's for the officials to confirm.

POV Change:-

Soon, the three-day sales for the participating games were announced.

Among them, To the Moon led with 193,000 sales, followed by Galaxy Heroes with 97,000.

We submitted the game on 20th October.

These numbers were already quite impressive.

However, there are two main reasons why To the Moon is leading by such a wide margin.

First, To the Moon is a cross-platform game, available on both mobile and PC, which widens its player base.

Second, the price~ To the Moon is only 15 yuan, while Galaxy Heroes is 65 yuan.

Although To the Moon is priced so low, it's related to the game's length.

After all, the entire game, from start to finish, takes just over four hours.

However the lower price has had a big impact on sales.