39: Then We'll Meet on the Moon
For the first time in the game, the background music changed from instrumental to a song with lyrics.
"Everything's Alright."
It felt like the song was singing out River's feelings.
With the sad music playing, River was slowly removed from Johnny's life.
At the stairs where Johnny thought he met River for the first time, the platypus and River were both gone. Only a book about the lighthouse was left, flipping in the wind with a rustling sound.
Johnny's close friend Nicholas walked down the hallway.
At the library counter, River was gone. Joey had taken her place. The two brothers chatted about Transformers and space.
River's favorite book, The Emperor's New Clothes, was covered in dust.
Outside the movie theater where Johnny and River once watched a film together, now it was just Johnny and his brother Joey, laughing as they walked in.
Yes, River had been erased.
Eva changed Johnny's memories, replacing River with his brother Joey.
She kept planting hints and guiding Johnny's dream—becoming an astronaut.
Without River, but with Joey by his side, Johnny's future completely changed.
The horse ranch where Johnny once rode with River was now empty.
In front of the lighthouse named Anya, there was only overgrown grass. The couple from before were no longer there.
Even the dead rabbit from the wedding day was gone.
In Johnny's memory, his future had taken a whole new path.
Through constant training and study,
Johnny finally got an offer from the space agency and went there for a visit.
His goal was right in front of him.
"Go to the moon"—this goal now seemed only a matter of time.
What Eva had done seemed to be working.
But every player and viewer was silent.
Yes, Johnny was about to go to the moon.
Eva and Neil were also about to finish their mission.
But was this really what Johnny wanted?
Going to the moon, but without River.
Did that even mean anything?
In Johnny's imagined future, he arrived at the space agency.
At this point, Eric and all the players who had made it here
were just going through the motions, moving the character forward.
There was only one feeling—pain.
But as Eva and Neil reached the space agency and toured it with Johnny,
"She's not here either…"
"What are you talking about?"
"Let's just go."
As Neil and Eva talked, Eric seemed to notice something different.
"Wait! That old lady!"
"She looks like she's searching for something!"
In the waiting room, thinking back on what just happened and what Eva had said, Eric suddenly had a bold guess—one he really hoped was right.
But before he could even say it on stream,
the sad background music suddenly went silent, replaced by the sound of a heartbeat.
Then cheerful music started playing.
A girl with an orange-red ponytail appeared at the door.
"Ah! You must be the new recruit, River, right? Glad you could make it," said the unnamed head of the space agency.
"Hi, I'm Johnny," Johnny stepped forward and greeted her, just like the first time.
At the same time, the last memory piece was finally collected.
Eva, standing by the window, let out a big sigh of relief.
"Phew! I really thought she was gone."
"What the hell, Eva! But you… deleted her!" Neil said in disbelief.
"No, like I told you—I only moved her. What she chooses to do with her life is still up to… her."
"This new world was built from public data and Johnny's personal wishes. Since River was someone personal to him, her data wouldn't have been stored in the public system."
As Eva explained, Neil finally understood: "So… all of this came from Johnny…"
Yes, River still came!
Even though their lives had changed, even though Johnny and River had no connection in that version of their past—
In this imagined world, Johnny still remembered that promise.
"What if we get separated? Then we'll meet again on the moon, silly!"
Yes, in the end, they did meet again—on the moon.
Eric's tears, which he had forced back earlier, were coming up again.
At the space center, the music playing now wasn't For River anymore.
It had a new name: To the Moon.
In the main hall, watching Johnny play the piano, River softly said from the audience:
"I like that name."
...
In Johnny's imagined memories, the two of them spent years training and getting ready.
Finally, the rocket was almost ready to launch.
Neil and Eva also invited Lily, the caretaker, along with Johnny's doctor and others, to witness this moment.
At sunset, many people stood on the long bridge over the river, watching the rocket launch site in the distance.
With a loud rumble, the rocket lifted off.
At the same time, the sound of a heartbeat echoed—
a heavy, muffled heartbeat.
It was Johnny's real heartbeat—
he didn't have much time left.
As the piano piece To the Moon played, the rocket soared into the sky.
Ahead of them was their destination: the moon.
Inside the rocket, Johnny and River looked at each other at the same time.
Then, gently, their hands came together.
[Then we'll meet again on the moon, silly!]
As the moon appeared, the screen faded to black.
And then, one by one, Johnny's past memories flashed by like a reel of film.
Looking at these memories and thinking about Johnny and River's story in the game,
Eric finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He covered his face with both hands and grabbed a napkin from the side.
But he didn't wipe his nose—he wiped his eyes.
"Damn! A grown man cried again!"
"This wrecked me, man!"
"Can't even see the screen through my tears!"
"If you really get lost, then we'll meet on the moon, you silly!"
"If you really get lost, then we'll meet on the moon, you silly!"
As the credits started rolling at the end of the game,
Eric's livestream chat was slowly taken over by that same line.
In that moment, everyone was touched by the story.
They even forgot—
That this game was actually part of a sci-fi game jam.
No one even cared anymore whether it counted as science fiction or not.
Everyone was completely caught up in Johnny and River's story.
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40: Hot Topic
In the Magic City Game Division—
At this moment, in the Magic City Game Division, the officials and judges in charge of the sci-fi game jam were holding a meeting to go over the results.
Unlike regular players, these judges have to try every game. So they base their ratings on summaries from their review teams, plus their own gameplay impressions.
Let's be real—there's no way they could play through every story from start to finish with so many games in such a short time.
And since players were often unhappy with past winners, this time the scores combined both player votes and official reviews.
The whole point of the contest held by the game department was to help guide the local game market in a better direction.
But the game market is driven by the players.
Even if the official judges pick a game that fits the theme, if players don't like it, how can it possibly influence the market?
"Let's start with voting for the top prize. Everyone, please explain your choices one by one," said the lead judge sitting at the head of the table.
"NetDragon's game, Galactic Heroes, developed by designer Marcus—while the story and balancing have a few flaws, the level design and pacing are very well done," said the first judge.
"Nebula Games' To the Moon, developed by Lucas—though its gameplay isn't anything special, the story told in reverse is incredibly well-paced and beautifully handled," added another.
"I agree. Even though Lucas's game is different from his earlier Undertale and doesn't have a particularly creative system or mechanics, the pure storytelling alone is powerful enough to move people."
"Galactic Heroes is a great game, no doubt. But To the Moon is also excellent. From a personal point of view, most indie developers just don't have the resources to make something like Galactic Heroes, but To the Moon is different. That's why I lean more toward To the Moon."
"I get that it's a good game, but can To the Moon really be called a sci-fi game? It's more of a love story, isn't it?"
"Well, strictly speaking, it's not really sci-fi. But if we hold everything to that standard, more than 40% of this year's entries wouldn't qualify as sci-fi either."
"I'm still not convinced. I think Galactic Heroes is more promising."
.........
The lead judge of the contest found himself caught in a heated debate over which game should win.
At the same time, countless players online were trying out the competing games.
In terms of early publicity, many of the games had received plenty of exposure.
But the one who got the most attention was clearly Lucas.
Undertale was still fresh in people's minds, and then Bell, who had been pretending to be dead, suddenly reappeared—only to get absolutely shut down by Lucas.
That whole drama gave Lucas even more exposure.
Because of that, lots of players rushed to try To the Moon as soon as it came out.
Online forums and player groups were already full of people recommending the game and talking about it.
"Everyone, go play Lucas's new game To the Moon! It had me crying!"
"Come on, is it really that emotional? Isn't this the game Lucas made in just a couple of weeks?"
"So what if it only took a few weeks? If it's good, it's good! The story is super touching—play it and you'll understand what it means when even tough guys cry."
"Damn, just reading your comments is making me tear up again!"
"Is it really that emotional?"
"Just go play it yourself. I didn't realize how easily I could cry until I played this!"
"Seriously? Alright, I'm gonna buy it and give it a shot."
"So, who are you voting for? I'm voting To the Moon no matter what!"
"Same here. My vote goes to To the Moon!"
"Yeah, it was moving, but is it really fair to call To the Moon a sci-fi game?"
"Who cares if it's sci-fi or not? I'm voting for it anyway!"
Everyone who played To the Moon right away didn't hesitate to cast their votes for it.
As for whether it technically counts as sci-fi—
After experiencing the story, most players didn't care at all.
Whether it was sci-fi or not didn't matter to them.
They thought the game was good, it moved them—that was reason enough to vote.
As for whether it fit the contest rules, that was something for the officials to decide.
...…
Soon, the sales numbers for the first three days came in.
To the Moon took the lead with 193,000 copies sold. Second place, Galactic Heroes, sold 87,000.
That's a huge gap.
But there were two big reasons To the Moon pulled so far ahead in sales.
To the Moon is available on both mobile and PC, which means a wider player base.
Also, it only costs 2 dollar.
In comparison, Galaxy Heroes is priced at 9 dollar.
To be fair, To the Moon is cheaper partly because of how short the game is.
From start to finish, it only takes a little over four hours to complete.
But even so, the lower price makes a big difference in sales.
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41: Final Decision
As time passed, To the Moon kept climbing in sales.
At the same time, many media outlets in China that were following the competition started releasing articles.
"Unforgettable Love — 'To the Moon' Will Bring You to Tears!"
"Game Review: A Story That Hits You Right in the Heart!"
"Top Contender for the Game Awards — Is 'To the Moon' Really a Sci-Fi Game?"
"A Game That Made Countless Grown Men Cry"
About a week after the competition began, it became pretty clear which games were actually competing for the top prizes and which ones were just filling the list.
Some entries were clearly just there for show and didn't leave much of an impression.
The serious contenders were already well-known to most players and even industry designers by now.
The top prize was clearly going to be a toss-up between To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes by Swordfire Studio, a team under NetDragon.
Among player votes, To the Moon was far ahead of Galaxy Heroes.
But this wasn't a popularity contest—official reviews from the Game Division were just as important.
While To the Moon had the edge in some areas,
it wasn't a complete blowout.
So the final decision still depended on how the official panel scored the games.
Meanwhile, online debates between fans of both games were getting heated.
"Of course Galaxy Heroes will win. I admit To the Moon has a good story, but come on, it has no gameplay at all! Can you even call it a sci-fi game?"
"Totally agree. Galaxy Heroes deserves the win, plain and simple."
"Oh please—define 'gameplay' for me. Isn't story part of gameplay? Isn't music part of it too? What, a game has to have fighting or puzzles to count?"
"Exactly. If To the Moon doesn't count as a sci-fi game, then a bunch of other entries shouldn't either. Maybe the Game Division should just kick them all out."
"Blah blah, I don't care. My vote went to To the Moon."
"Hah, the win definitely belongs to Galaxy Heroes!"
"Yep, Galaxy Heroes is sure to take the crown!"
"Hmph, Galaxy Heroes? Just look at the designer's name—'Marcus'? Sounds like a dreamer. If he gets first prize, it'll only be in his dreams!"
"Damn bro, that's a savage take, but kind of makes sense!"
"Are you guys so sure it's only between To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes? Don't forget Dark Beast by our very own Demon King!"
"Heh, even if To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes are leading in votes right now, I have a feeling the winner will end up being Asagi from Black Lily Studio."
"Hey, you two upstairs—it's not even nighttime yet. Stop daydreaming and leave quickly and cleanly, alright?"
"+1. You two upstairs, please leave smoothly and quietly!"
Everyone has their own favorite pick, and there's no real conclusion yet.
Naturally, people are just trying to gain some advantage across different communities.
But really, it's all just people arguing from their own points of view.
Compared to all the debates and heated discussions online…
Lucas was much calmer.
.........
Inside the Nebula Games office.
Lucas sat in his office, calling to inform someone about their interview results.
They had already filled the roles for art and music.
The only problem left was the game balancing and level design role—he'd interviewed several people, but none of them really stood out to him.
"Lucas, how are you not even a little nervous?" Anna asked, watching him get up after the call and pace around the office.
"Yeah, isn't today the day they announce the winners?" Rachel added, sounding a bit excited.
This was the third game she'd worked on.
She wasn't the clueless newcomer she once was in the game industry.
As for her dream of becoming a doujin star and then a manga artist? That had long been pushed aside.
One reason was that she'd started to really enjoy making games.
The other reason was that with how well Nebula Games was doing, there wasn't much point in chasing manga anymore.
"Even if I was nervous, what good would it do? It's not like I can control the outcome," Lucas said, clearly a bit helpless after hearing Anna and Rachel.
Of course he hoped they'd win an award. But the outcome was out of his hands.
"Oh right, let's release the mobile version of Undertale after the winners are announced today," Lucas said, suddenly thinking of something. "At the current pace, we're basically guaranteed a top-two spot. Whether we win first place or not, there'll be a lot of buzz. Might as well ride that wave for our own boost."
While To the Moon was in the competition, Nebula Games had focused mainly on two things:
Porting Undertale to mobile, which was already done and hadn't taken much effort—
They were just holding off on the release to take advantage of the hype.
The other focus was building up the Nebula Games team.
Aside from the dev team, Lucas planned to expand even more.
All the other departments had been growing too—operations, finance, HR—they'd all been set up.
And they'd started building a platform team as well.
Even now, most players—and even people in the industry—still saw Nebula Games as a tiny studio.
From Mirror to Undertale to To the Moon, they hadn't made any AAA games. All their titles were small-scale indie projects.
But for Lucas, his ambitions clearly didn't stop there.
He had plans for Nebula Games to explore a much bigger world.
And building their own platform was the first step in laying a strong foundation.
As for whether the industry would notice…
To be blunt, right now Nebula Games wasn't a big deal.
Even if To the Moon won first place in this competition, it would just cause a small stir in the indie scene.
At best, they'd gain some attention in the wider gaming world.
But to say it would make the big companies nervous or hostile?
That was just wishful thinking.
Besides, building your own platform was pretty common anyway.
Just building a platform doesn't mean you've created a proper channel.
You still need people to help you set it up, and enough popularity.
Some mid-tier developers and indie studios, especially those with a series and a solid fanbase, already run their own platforms.
Because if they launch their games on third-party platforms, they have to pay a cut.
But with their own platforms, when players buy the games there—
Aside from taxes, it's all profit.
At the same time, while players online were still debating, the game selection event was finalized with an official announcement from the Game Division.
(End of chapter)