Chapter 67. Publicity
"What a pity.
We didn't make it in time for the Far East Game Expo."
At the dining table, Bronya's voice carried a trace of regret.
The Far East Game Expo, together with the Anti-Entropy Game Expo, the Schicksal Game Expo, and the Shencheng Game Expo, are jointly hailed as the world's four major game expos.
They are held in winter, autumn, spring, and summer, respectively—four yearly festivals that belong to the players.
Whether it's the results of To the Moon or their relationship with Anti-Entropy Entertainment, Gensokyo Company had, of course, secured tickets to the Far East Game Expo.
Unfortunately, at that time Hollow Knight was still only a half-finished build, and they missed the opportunity.
"As the saying goes, 'When the old man loses his horse, who can say it's not a blessing?'
This time's Far East Game Expo stirred up no small incident because of the confrontation between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
If we had gone, we might not have gotten much attention anyway."
Eating the dishes Kaguya was serving him, Xander looked at Bronya as he spoke.
That's right—Kaguya.
Ever since Kaguya's proactive visit last time, she had become a regular here.
She arrived punctually every Saturday and Sunday, and sometimes even dropped by on weeknights to sit for a while and chat about everyday things with Seele.
Although she looked like a quiet, gentle beauty, she was actually quite the chatterbox.
Four months had passed.
Visibly, Seele and Bronya's resistance toward Kaguya had gradually faded, and they had even tacitly accepted her as half a member of the household.
You could tell from how, every Saturday, Seele would take the initiative to cook for the four of them.
"That's true.
Who would've thought those two companies would bring games of the same type?"
Same genre, and both big productions, and their booths were even right next to each other.
Naturally, players compared the two.
Unlike the courteous restraint shown offline, fans of both sides waged open flame wars online.
For a time the uproar was deafening, and even if they had exhibited, they probably wouldn't have gotten much of the spotlight.
"The trailer is already out.
Judging from public opinion, things are still looking good."
"But there are quite a few voices of doubt too, right?"
Recalling the recent online chatter, Bronya frowned.
"That's normal.
On one hand, I haven't made a Metroidvania before.
On the other, there's interference from other companies.
The pie is only so big—if we take a bigger slice, everyone else gets less.
With Anti-Entropy Entertainment backing us, they can't trip us up openly, so they can only pull dirty tricks in these shadowy corners."
"Besides, looked at from another angle, doesn't that mean they're scared?"
Of course, saying this also showed how confident Xander was in their game.
Otherwise, those companies wouldn't mind taking a huge bite out of him after release.
Speaking of which, Xander asked in passing, "Right, have you gotten in touch with Sirin and those streamers?
We don't have Titan Games' big banner feature this time, so we can't slack off on other fronts of promotion."
"Don't worry.
Those big streamers agreed readily, and maybe because of To the Moon, their asking price is very low.
The company's cash on hand is also quite sufficient.
As for Sirin, we're offering more.
After all, Anti-Entropy Entertainment gave us a generous promo budget—since it isn't coming out of our pockets, we'd be fools not to use it."
"Mm, that's good.
I've also sent builds to the mainstream game media.
According to what their staff revealed, the scores are looking very high."
Meeting Bronya's eyes, Xander gave her a reassuring look.
"So relax, Bronya.
Our first game's results won't be bad."
"Mm.
I think so too."
The dining table practically became Xander and Bronya's conference room.
The two of them ate while talking up a storm, leaving Seele—who couldn't get a word in—feeling a bit helpless.
At last, unable to endure it any longer, Seele reached out and grabbed her Brother's arm, looking at him pitifully.
"Brother, can we not talk about work while we eat?"
"Ah—got carried away…"
Seele's voice brought Xander back to his senses, and he looked a bit embarrassed.
He'd only meant to mention a couple of things, but once he started he couldn't stop.
They were almost done eating and the discussion still hadn't ended.
"Then as punishment, Brother has to take Seele out for a walk right now!"
"Okay, okay, no problem at all."
The game was already finished, and there wasn't much to keep him busy lately.
Naturally, Xander could fulfill this small wish of Seele's.
Besides, how was walking with Seele a punishment?
It was clearly a reward for him!
Seeing this, Bronya was about to say something, but Kaguya suddenly called out to her.
"Bronya, ever since my attempt last time, this concubine has been very interested in this game.
Since it's finished now, may this concubine try it right away?"
"...All right."
Her desire to go out was swallowed back down.
She glanced at Seele, who was smiling innocently as if she knew nothing at all, and sighed inwardly before nodding to Kaguya.
Every grievance has its culprit and every debt its debtor—Bronya could clearly see who was keeping her from going out.
After dinner, when Xander came downstairs in a change of clothes, he saw Seele in a pale red dress standing at the door, arms folded, a little impatient.
Noticing him, she said, "Why so slow?!"
The corner of Xander's lips lifted.
She'd switched—Veliona was out.
He came down the stairs and walked up to her, looking at that seemingly impatient yet actually shy gaze.
Smiling, he said, "Can't be helped.
Seele is too pretty.
If I don't tidy myself up a bit, what if people say I don't deserve you?"
At the teasing, Veliona's face flushed.
Bold at night, this girl suddenly turned bashful in this sort of situation.
"W-What are you talking about?
We should get going."
With that, Veliona stretched her hand toward him, her momentum a little lacking.
"Hand!"
Not intending to push her embarrassment any further, Xander raised his hand and clasped Veliona's warm little hand, holding it tightly.
Walking with Veliona filled Xander with novelty.
Those lines he usually used to tease Seele always got unexpectedly fun reactions from Veliona.
Sometimes, when embarrassed into silence by his teasing, Veliona would simply turn her face away and ignore him—yet the hand holding his stayed tightly laced, never loosening in the slightest.
When night fell, he brought the slightly reluctant Veliona home, invited the delighted girl to their next date, and then returned to his studio.
Using "just enough to test bugs" as a pretext, Kaguya began her journey of suffering.
Bronya sat to the side watching without a word.
With this kind of exploration game, the real joy comes from relying on yourself to feel your way through the maze step by step.
Besides, she also wanted to see how players would experience her map design.
Xander didn't disturb them.
He quietly sat beside Bronya and watched along with her.
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