Started as a comics editor

Chapter 256 Hmm?

Under soft lighting.

Damian sat at a wooden desk filled with physical cards, with a minimalist bookshelf and game merchandise in the background.

"Hello everyone, I'm Damian, it's been a long time."

He sat in front of the camera looking quite respectable, his former carefree demeanor of chugging beer completely gone. Instead, he exuded a refined air: "I haven't been making any public appearances lately because I've been looking for interesting games... but unfortunately, the process hasn't been smooth. The last game that kept me up all night was 'Yun'."

"I desperately wanted to find a similar game, but as you know, that's how it turned out."

"During this time, I even started paying attention to a certain ancient game genre."

Speaking of which.

He suddenly picked up a deck of cards and waved it lightly: "Yes, card games... Of course, to be honest, I personally don't know much about this type of game."

“I’ve always been an introverted person. Compared to card games, which require you to buy card packs offline and find someone to play against... I actually prefer sitting in front of the console and enjoying a wonderful gaming time by myself.”

"I don't think I'm an exception; not everyone has friends to play cards with."

"However, I personally still really want to learn more about this type of game, because it is ancient, enduring, and contains the purest wisdom of gaming..."

"For example, this one..."

soon.

Damian then began to introduce the development history of TGC, as well as related well-known games and its history.

After rambling on and on...

"I know what you're thinking."

Damian slowly put down the cards in his hand: "Is it worth spending so much time researching this information that can be found on Wikipedia?"

"To be honest, it's worth it; I really want to learn how fun this ancient game is."

"It turns out that this type of game is indeed very interesting, but the problem remains... This game is interesting, but if I want to play, I still have to go offline to buy card packs and find someone to play against, which is a very troublesome process."

With the development of internet technology, people increasingly prefer staying at home rather than going offline to play cards and exchange cards with others.

I want to recommend this old and fun game, but I can't ignore this simplest of questions.

"But this situation changed completely three days ago."

"this."

As the screen transitioned, an email appeared: "It's an email from a mysterious Eastern country. They're inviting me to test a card game, a digital card game."

"To be honest, I was skeptical when I first saw the label 'digital card game'."

Damian showed off his physical card collection: "After all, what can compare to the tactile feel of holding a physical card in your hand?"

"But when I actually entered this virtual tavern and heard the owner say 'Welcome,' my doubts began to slowly dissipate..."

soon.

The screen displayed gameplay footage from Hearthstone.

He finally got to the point.

"Nine professions, hundreds of cards, cross-platform synchronization..."

"Extremely high level of completion, ingenious class and card design, and multiple online battle modes."

"Of course, there are also extremely unique card designs and efforts to maintain balance."

“I was initially worried that digitalization would take away the ritualistic feel of card games… but it turns out I was wrong.”

"The game starts by teaching the most basic mechanics: gaining mana crystals each turn, summoning minions, casting spells..."

"The biggest difference between Hearthstone and traditional TCGs is that Hearthstone perfectly leverages the advantages of digital platforms, with dynamic effects when cards enter the field, unique character voice acting, and interactive Easter eggs on the board..."

"You might not understand this, so let me start a game."

After Damian gave a brief introduction to the game, the game began.

We want to fully showcase the various features of the game.

It was only halfway through.

Damian stopped, feeling that this make-to-order model was too prone to problems.

So he stopped immediately.

We're still planning to use a recording format.

Then, after hesitating for a moment, he straightened his expression and began recording his closing remarks.

"After a week of playing, I can say that Hearthstone has successfully recreated the magic of card games on digital platforms. It is both a tribute to tradition and a bold innovation."

"I must admit that this is not a replacement for TCGs, but rather a kind of online evolution of card games. It frees strategic battles from the logistical costs and venue limitations of physical cards, while retaining the most precious tactical fun."

“This is what a modern card game should be.” He held up a physical card box and continued, “It hasn’t abandoned the core strategy we love, it just…”

He gripped the mouse, and the tavern owner's voice echoed throughout the study: "Giving this ancient game genre the wings of the digital age."

"Sometimes, innovation is not about replacing tradition..."

"Instead, it allows the classics to continue in new ways."

at last.

The recording is over.

Damian turned off the camera and immediately started reviewing the video, filling in any gaps and contacting his initial fans to gather footage.

at this time.

Four days have passed since he received the email.

For the past four days, he has been working tirelessly, constantly researching the development history of card games, which he doesn't know much about, while also comparing it with this card game from the East, all in an effort to make the video more professional and rigorous.

In the video.

He wasn't lying.

When he was a kid... he really didn't have any friends, and he had never played offline TCGs. He could only say he knew about them. In fact, let alone TCGs, he had hardly ever played board games.

This is a sad story...

cough cough.

anyway.

It turns out.

Hearthstone is a really good game. As Damian delved deeper into it, he discovered that the game did indeed solve many of the pain points of TCGs.

Although some strategic and social aspects were inevitably lost.

The card swapping step hasn't been completed yet.

However, the extremely high level of completion, the ingenious class and card design that makes it easy to pick up and play, and the online matchmaking are enough to make up for these minor shortcomings.

Also.

Damian also discovered that almost all competitive card games on the market face a fatal problem: many card games, in order to avoid ambiguity in rule judgment, will explain the card mechanics in detail, a series of complex descriptions, at the cost of making it extremely difficult for newcomers to get started.

But there's nothing we can do about it. The rules for physical cards rely on people to make judgments, and if they're too simplistic, ambiguity is bound to arise.

Hearthstone is different because everything is based on computer-generated results, sacrificing the accuracy of the rules in exchange for a lower barrier to entry.

For example, the unique 'field' mechanism, such as Charge, Battlecry, and Taunt, not only intuitively displays the card's effect, but also allows players to know at a glance what role the card will play in the game.

It can also incorporate random effects from video games, bringing a richer battle experience.

This is also why he quickly immersed himself in the game and played all night.

Because understanding it really isn't difficult.

And the more Damian learned, the more he felt... Hearthstone is a truly amazing game.

Not good.

It might actually become a hit!
Therefore, he took this evaluation even more seriously.

And so, a week passed in a flurry of activity.

After revising it more than ten times.

at last.

The review video is complete.

Sunday.

Damian officially uploaded the video, feeling somewhat apprehensive and nervous.

and so……

He opened another can of beer... as the cold liquid slid down his throat.

Damian suddenly relaxed and decided to take a nap first.

Then in the evening.

Let's go check out the reviews.

As he pondered this, he lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

night.

Damian finally got up; he had been working day and night for the past few days and was truly exhausted.

When he got up, he felt as if he were filled with lead, and it was difficult for him to even stand up.

He sat on the bed in a daze for a while before he remembered where he was.

But soon.

He snapped out of his daze, jumped out of bed, and scrambled to the computer to open the backend.

Review video!

This is all he can think about right now!

soon.

The background process is now open.

Damian glanced at the view count, then said softly, "Over 100,000 views, not bad..."

then.

He then prepared to check the audience's comments.

But soon.

He rubbed his eyes, then suddenly realized something was wrong. After a pause, he looked back at the displayed numbers and muttered, "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands...wait!? Over a million!?"

Damian was shocked!
After he usually posts a video...

A daily view count of over 100,000 is already a lot.

But this video! Less than a day! Just a few hours!
That's all the people! ? ?
Damian jumped up from his chair and quickly opened the video he had uploaded.

See the comments section below.

As expected, there were a lot of comments from viewers!

The first comment was—"Damian, you've successfully convinced a ten-year physical TCG player to try digital card games!!"

"..."

Damian looked at the comment and the 20,000 likes below.

Senseless.

He realized it belatedly.

I think I underestimated the number of card game enthusiasts!

He continued to look down.

"Please give me a test code!!!"

"It looks really impressive! =)"

"This looks interesting. How did you find such a unique game?" "Damian, you are truly our angel. You deserve the name of a free reviewer. While other review websites are still going around reviewing those well-known games, you have found an excellent game that I have never heard of before. I am very interested, so can I have a test code?"

"I just saw the ad for this game! Is it really that cool to play?"

"Is this game made by the same developers as 'Avalon'? No wonder! Avalon! The paradise in Welsh mythology! The name is cool! The games they make are cool too!"

"Wait, everyone! I found something! The Hearthstone official website is giving out beta keys, and they're so easy to get!"

"real!??"

"..."

Damian scrolled down further and even saw a familiar name.

The reason why it is familiar.

Because of.

When he was researching TCG content, he came across this ID while making this video.

This is a video blogger who focuses on TCG content, and has even more subscribers than him, over two million.

He also left a comment under the video.

"Wow, this game is so well-made. I've seen card games digitized before, but I can guarantee this is the most complete and beautifully produced one. I'm very interested. If you'd like, please contact me... I'd love to play this game too."

"..."

Damian was stunned.

Although he had a feeling the game would be very popular.

But he never imagined it would be so popular.

Actually, don’t even mention him.

Tang Yao was a little surprised.

In fact.

In Tang Yao's previous life, Hearthstone, as a latecomer, was positioned as an online and entertainment-oriented constructed card game. Its strong competitors, the world's three major TCGs, all had their own card shop culture both online and offline. Moreover, in the online realm, Magic: The Gathering MTGA, Yu-Gi-Oh! MD, and Pokémon PTC Glive all had normal marketing and gameplay experiences. Hearthstone was not special overseas; it was just an ordinary constructed card game.

But it's different here; here, only one TCG reigns supreme!
In the absence of competitors.

This traditional TCG is declining and nearing its end.

Let alone trying electronic methods.

Even the physical cards themselves have been criticized, with many players expressing dissatisfaction with the various nonsensical cards they have released in recent years.

In Tang Yao's previous life, the reason why the three major TCGs paid attention to online games was because they were forced by Hearthstone. Hearthstone achieved good results in areas without physical card stores, which forced them to start paying attention to online games. Otherwise, how could there be online games for players to play? After all, the cost of printing is much lower than writing code, fixing bugs, and maintaining servers.

And here.

A combination of various factors.

Suddenly, this game appeared out of nowhere... Hearthstone.

Don't tell me.

It's truly a sight to behold!
Although they are completely different tracks.

The good thing is that no one really cares about bringing card games online right now.

Hearthstone has indeed chosen an excellent time.

Damian's video is like a signal.

It instantly ignited the passion of many card players.

and.

Damian's choice to post the video on that day was also a good one.

It just so happened to coincide with Avalon's major promotional campaign... Many players had just seen the ads when they discovered this review video.

The number of views skyrocketed.

All I can say is that he's incredibly lucky.

“Jesus…”

Damian looked at the continuously rising playback data and muttered something.

Then suddenly.

He remembered something.

The comments just now seemed to say... test codes can be claimed freely?
He suddenly jolted awake and immediately opened the Hearthstone client on his computer.

After logging in.

He randomly selected a deck and then clicked match.

Less than five seconds.

Match successful!

It's easy to imagine how many people are playing this.

"..."

Damian stared at the evenly matched opponent on the screen and murmured again, "Jesus..."

……

"Are you serious!?"

the next day.

Easy travel.

Jin Feng looked at his assistant with a complicated expression: "Has their Hearthstone really been successful overseas?"

"Yes."

The assistant nodded, then took a deep breath and whispered, "The initial trigger was a review streamer called 'Real Player,' who gave a detailed introduction to the game 'Hearthstone.' Then, whether it was pre-arranged or not, Hearthstone just started a large-scale promotional campaign, placing game ads on major overseas gaming forums and video websites."

The combination of these two factors attracted a large number of players.

Their overseas website has already disclosed the number of matches played during this period... It's quite alarming.

The game's popularity has indeed increased. After all, Europe and America are the birthplace of TCGs, and such a unique online card game with such high quality is really popular.

Yesterday I saw that many people were already making related videos, and there were also live streaming websites... It seems that live streaming of this game has also appeared.

And the results are extremely good! People have already followed suit.

The game has also been trending on social media, though it's not the most popular topic, it's still making the list.

Avalon has now begun to significantly increase its marketing and promotion of the game.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Jin Feng remained silent for a long time before suddenly exclaiming, "Damn it!!! What incredible luck! They've even succeeded overseas! This tiny company has actually gotten to this point! They've completely established themselves!"

The assistant said nothing.

Jin Feng took a deep breath and managed to compose himself.

then.

After the anger subsided.

Inevitable.

His heart burned with passion.

If Avalon succeeds, then EasyPlay...

"It seems mobile games truly are the future! Although this game is playable on both iOS and Android, this type of game is definitely more suited to smaller screens! Mobile games! Mobile games! We need to speed things up!!!"

Think of this.

He immediately looked up and said, "Call all the producers in."

"it is good."

The assistant responded and turned to leave.

As Jin Feng watched his assistant's retreating figure, he began to ponder how Yiyou should proceed and how to overtake Avalon.

But soon.

Then he remembered something.

"Wait a minute... Avalon's existing games are hugely successful overseas. What if they belatedly realize that the engine team they took over is completely useless? Hmm..."

Jin Feng pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head and muttered to himself, "Given their nouveau riche mentality, it shouldn't be that bad. They might even increase their investment... and go off on the wrong path, which could distract them."

"What if they abandon mobile games and instead use the engine to create some large-scale games...that would be even better! EasyGame's chance to overtake them would immediately appear."

Think of this.

Jin Feng immediately felt relieved and stopped thinking about it.

He even felt that laying off the engine team was the wisest decision he had ever made...

And this is not an isolated case.

Nine Heavens.

Shen Lun stared at the screen, lost in deep thought.

The only thought was.

Why! ?

What makes them so successful at sea?

Mobile games...

Shen Lun slowly came to his senses, then looked up with red eyes: "Have Yan Yun come over!"

……

Compared to its peers.

The atmosphere in Avalon was much more relaxed.

I'm definitely happy.

And the happiest of them all...

"Tang Yao!"

Li Xue put her arm around Tang Yao's slender waist and gently bounced around with her in her arms... Well, it wasn't really a bounce, since she was wearing high heels and couldn't really bounce. She was mainly holding Tang Yao, forcing her to stand on tiptoe and then land.

Simply put, it means holding Tang Yao and making her jump.

Tang Yao: “…”

but.

It's clear that Li Xue is genuinely happy.

Her beautiful face was full of gentle smiles as she looked at Tang Yao, her beautiful eyes filled with admiration, amazement, and even a hint of worship: "You are really amazing! Hearthstone's overseas launch has been a real success! How did you come up with the idea of ​​getting that 'real player' to post a review video? And how did it generate such a lot of buzz?"

"..."

Although Tang Yao was held and made to stand on tiptoe, and was forced to jump a little, she was also infected by the big sister in front of her who was so happy: "It was just a coincidence."

It was truly a twist of fate.

But it must be said that the result was excellent.

After all, it was a real success.

Tang Yao even wanted to put her hands on her hips, straighten her back, and act all high and mighty for a while...

With the success of its second game overseas, Avalon will be able to proceed with more ease.

Upon hearing this, Li Xue didn't quite agree, but didn't say anything further. She simply said softly, "That's really great... By the way, a mobile phone manufacturer contacted us, saying they want to meet with you. Do you want to meet them?"

"……Um???"

(End of this chapter)