Thank You,
Knight Teir: "Makoa"
For Becoming A Member On My Pa'treon. The Emperor Protect.
-----------
Some things were not so clear over the phone, so John briefly explained a few points to Armani before hanging up.
"Are we really going to develop VR games?" Luna picked up the phone from the table and asked curiously.
"If the technology becomes truly reliable, maybe. But for now, it will only be an experiment, a test run at best." John answered with a calm smile.
Every new technology has the power to reshape an industry, and gaming is no exception. Those who adapt quickly will thrive, while those who lag will inevitably be swept away by the times.
At that moment, despite it being the release period of Epic Continent and the Dawnguard DLC of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, most online discussions were dominated by breakthroughs in VR technology.
The large corporations had already invested years of research into VR, staying far ahead of the competition. John was realistic; entering the field now wouldn't mean surpassing these giants, but rather learning from the mature platforms they had already built. That was the true point of concern.
After scanning news and overseas reports, John gathered a general picture and decided to hold off until Armani could bring back actual prototype data. Only then would it be worth diving deeper.
Meanwhile, John's main focus lay elsewhere. He played two games, Auto Chess and Red Alert, as part of preparing recruits for the upcoming summer intake.
To be fair, neither game was particularly difficult to create. Auto Chess borrowed heavily from the mechanics of existing games, with chance playing a major role. Even top players could be toppled by sheer bad luck. When first released, its freshness captivated players, but once the novelty wore off, many lost interest.
The real challenge lay in balance. This was the kind of game that might skyrocket in popularity for a season, only to vanish just as quickly. John had no intention of turning it into a long-running series. Instead, he planned to use the Resident Evil IP to expand its scope, introducing characters like Jill, Chris, etc, into Auto Chess. Through this spin-off and official Resident Evil comics, he could set the stage for the next true sequel.
As for Red Alert, being an RTS game, John also didn't intend it to become a permanent franchise. In his memory, only titles like StarCraft and Warcraft had the depth to sustain that role. His choice of Red Alert came from practicality: developing it, much like working on Outlast before, was about building production experience.
The hype around VR, after dominating headlines for two or three days, soon cooled. Major VR companies had announced new products, but without concrete release dates, interest quickly waned. With no groundbreaking VR titles available, players' attention returned to the heavily promoted Epic Continent and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.
In the country, Skyrim had already been on sale for more than a month. Although the new Zero of Dawn DLC had just launched, Epic Continent still stole the spotlight locally, thanks to its freshness and buzz.
Overseas, however, the situation flipped. With UEGame confirmed as the publisher for Skyrim's English release, complete with English dubbing and the Zero Dawn DLC, the game's momentum surged. UEGame's powerful promotion channels instantly eclipsed the attention Epic Continent had briefly enjoyed.
Players abroad were electrified. Many had sampled Epic Continent but had long been waiting for Skyrim. Daniel was among them. Eager to play early, he had even gone around regional barriers to buy a copy from a Chinese platform.
"Damn it, why does it take another day to unlock?" Daniel muttered, annoyed as he refreshed the latest news from UEGame.
Just then, a notification blinked on his computer's status bar.
"Daniel! Didn't you buy Skyrim on that other platform? Download it now, they've added other language options! It's amazing. Just like Powerstorm said, this game is top-tier. Oh, and check out this website for mods. It's incredible, I feel like I've discovered a whole new world!"
The message came from a close friend, with a link to a small community forum for Skyrim mods.
Daniel barely noticed the rest of the chat. His attention was locked on one detail: Skyrim had been updated with English support. Without hesitation, he logged into the platform, launched the client, and opened The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.