After hearing Cecilia's review of the game, many viewers felt there was nothing particularly special about the new Subway Surfer.
Since most were only watching the stream from a third person perspective, they weren't sure if the game was actually good or not.
As a result, the comments began to waver.
Some viewers decided to download the game after watching the stream, while others chose to download it simply because it was free.
That week, downloads surged.
The game entered the top 10 and was still rising.
Felix, the one who caused all this, had no idea what was happening and he probably didn't care much.
He had created the game mainly to experience it on his holographic pad, and by now, he was mentally exhausted.
If he hadn't gained the ability to remember every detail in the game by purchasing it with coins, he likely would have given up already.
This game was far more detailed than Subway Surfer; unlike the cartoonish style of Temple Run from his previous life, he aimed for a realistic design.
So far, he had only completed the ground map.
There were no trees or bodies of water yet just a stark white space resembling a blank, empty room.
He often went back to check and update Subway Surfer.
When a player died, the game showed a picture of how they looked at the moment, whether they had run straight into a wall or failed to jump across a train, all with sliding animations.
It quickly became a meme on StarTok.
He thought he should have created a small studio; doing everything by himself was taking far too long. But, at least for now, it was still fun.
He wasn't in any rush to make money, he simply wanted to experience game creation in this world of advanced technology and collect as many coins as possible within the emotional system.
Sometimes, he even forgot the system existed. It seemed to know when to yap and when to stay quiet, it didn't bother him much.
Once, he even asked the system about its silence, and the response he received was that it was on holiday with its partner.
Felix was left speechless, staring blankly at the screen for a moment. After a long pause, he straight facedly said, "Take care and goodbye," then turned his attention back to his work, slowly becoming absorbed in the process once again.
Looking ahead, the chibi bear saw a pure white space on one side and only ground on the other side of the work. He sighed. "This game will take months to complete," he said, then continued working.
Elsewhere, a meeting was taking place at SolSphere Entertainment, a company known for having many talented game designers.
One of their designers ranked in the top five, and the company itself was among the top three in the entertainment industry.
A short, gray haired man was discussing the details of recent reviews.
After he finished speaking, a man with a mustache immediately raised his hand. "There's a newbie game designer who became popular this week. Their first game received widespread praise across reviews on every planet." The others looked up in surprise.
It was rare to see a game designer become popular with their very first game.
They quickly became interested.
The gray haired man with cropped hair, known as Administrator Orin, held the role of supervising game designers.
He had a top 10 game designer under his management, one of the best across all planets and many other talented designers in his team.
This was why his position kept rising; the game designers he managed were exceptionally skilled.
He was proud of his role and continued to support his game designers even now.
He showed interest and immediately nodded to the man who had spoken earlier.
Seeing Orin's interest, the man continued, "The game is called Subway Surfer. The name might sound strange, but it actually fits the game mechanics well. It offers a unique gameplay experience compared to others. The new mechanic requires you to keep running. At first, I was skeptical about how fun a game focused solely on running could be."
However, the others quickly lost interest when they heard about the gameplay.
These days, most popular games involve shooting and lots of action, often with graphic violence, and that was what caught their attention.
The running mechanic did not excite them.
Even Administrator Orin lost interest. All his game designers were popular because of their shooting games, so he was no longer interested in this new designer.
The man noticed Orin's reaction and panicked for a moment, slightly losing confidence.
"But the fun part of Subway Surfer is that the longer you survive in the game, the faster you become. The items are also very helpful, like the magnet that attracts all the coins and the jetpack that flies above the tracks to collect coins."
"The players were very intrigued by that feature. The more coins they collected, the more enjoyable the game became. On StartTok, every player became addicted because they could buy their own characters, skins, and other items."
The others immediately became intrigued by the idea.
They began to wonder if they could suggest this mechanic to the game designers they managed.
Seeing their growing interest, the man continued to explain.
He wasn't particularly focused on the game designer behind Subway Surfer; instead, he was fascinated by how players remained engaged simply because of that gameplay mechanic.
He even thought to himself that sharing these details with his boss might earn him a raise. "It got me thinking," he said, "what if we incorporated similar mechanics into our own games to make them more engaging for players?"
Administrator Orin, who had remained silent until now, finally voiced his doubts. "How would we implement that for our players? Would it only apply to new characters within the game? "
"I'm concerned they might feel dissatisfied. The GameStar system already allows players to create and choose from a variety of avatars. If we limit the game characters too much, players could feel overwhelmed or frustrated, leading them to complain. We need to consider how to balance new features without disrupting what players are already comfortable with."
Hearing this, the rest stopped talking and nodded in agreement.
The system already had an avatar feature that allowed players to create and choose their avatars across every platform, not just within GameStar.
The man, who had not considered this before, fell silent.
He realized that since the system already offered avatars, players would likely feel disappointed and complain if they were unable to use their own avatars inside the game. Understanding this, he immediately sat down, reflecting on the challenge.
Another man, who was also familiar with Subway Surfer, raised his hand and spoke confidently. "Since the game is free, it's no surprise that many players are interested. I've heard it's available on every VR platform. Should we consider creating a similar game?"
However, he quickly added a note of caution, though everyone already knew it well.
Creating games for VR platforms came with significant limitations compared to the holographic pad technology.
Unlike the holographic pad, which allowed players to feel physical sensations and interact with the environment in a highly immersive way, VR systems lacked such advanced features.
VR could simulate visuals and sounds, but it did not provide the same level of sensory feedback, such as touch or pain, making the experience less realistic.
Because of these differences, many game designers who specialized in creating games for the holographic pad referred to as C to S game designers often avoided developing games for VR platforms.
The varying systems and technical constraints made it difficult to create seamless experiences across both technologies.
Each platform required different design approaches, and the lack of sensory immersion in VR was a major drawback for those used to the richer capabilities of holographic pads.
As a result, most designers focused on one system rather than trying to bridge the gap between the two.
The others quickly became more attentive, their interest clearly sparked by the idea. The first man smiled broadly and continued, "What if we combined the running mechanic with shooting? Picture a game where players can shoot targets while they run. That would add a whole new level of excitement, wouldn't it?"
A wave of enthusiasm swept through the group as multiple voices joined in, sharing their own ideas and suggestions.
Even Administrator Orin nodded thoughtfully, showing genuine interest in the concept.
The atmosphere grew charged with energy as the team leaned forward in their seats, fully engaged and eager to explore the gameplay they were about to create.