Started as a comics editor

Chapter 318 Falling from the Altar
Zhang Da slumped in his gaming chair. This media professional, who works for "Game Frontier," one of the few media outlets in the industry that still maintains independence and objectivity, had once again finished a game.

The expert difficulty walkthrough animation for Left 4 Dead is playing on the screen.

His face still held the lingering excitement of fighting alongside his teammates all night and ultimately escaping with a daring escape.

Seven times!

He's already completed the game seven times! But he can still extract new adrenaline from this masterpiece of zombie co-op shooter from Avalon.

The oppressive zombie hordes brought by the Morning Star engine, the life-and-death struggle of four-player cooperation, the tactical challenges brought by special infected... all of this perfectly confirms the high praise he gave to this game in GameFrontiers. Avalon silenced all the doubters with Left 4 Dead and completely ignited his infinite expectations for the company.

"This is the kind of game that domestic game companies should be making! Hardcore! Exhilarating! Top-notch production quality!"

He muttered to himself in the empty room, as if reliving the exhilarating battle he had just fought, even repeating the passionate prediction he made at the end of the review: "Avalon's next goal will definitely be a AAA blockbuster of the year!!"

He muttered to himself as he closed the game and opened the AG platform with great anticipation, ready to check out the status of the Chainsaw Man MOD.

Actually, he didn't rate this mod very highly, probably because it was purely for fun and catered to comic book readers.

Therefore, Zhang Da, a media professional who had never read the comic, felt that this MOD was too unconventional, and its numerical values ​​and performance even felt somewhat absurd.

However, considering that it's free, its size is comparable to free DLC.

Zhang Da didn't complain much; on the contrary, he felt it was perfectly reasonable.

However, he was still hoping that Avalon could improve it a bit... because he saw a certain possibility in that mod!
This is why he opened the AG platform at this moment.

just.

He had just opened the AG platform and hadn't even had a chance to look at the creative workshop when he saw that bright green countdown banner on the AG platform's homepage...

"Summer Festival?"

Zhang Da was a little puzzled, so he clicked in to take a look.

Then he saw it—Plants vs. Zombies.

Zhang Da's smile froze instantly.

He blinked, and after confirming that he wasn't seeing things, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Huh? What the hell?
Avalon, who just stunned the gaming world with Left 4 Dead? Their next masterpiece... is called this? Planting flowers and fighting zombies?

"A summer gaming festival? Plants vs. Zombies? What's Avalon up to?"

Zhang Da was still immersed in the shock and collaborative frenzy brought by Left 4 Dead, and thought that Avalon would press its advantage and win another victory in hardcore shooting or at least mainstream genres to consolidate its position.

The result... was a game called Garden Defense, which sounded like a children's puzzle game but had cartoonish graphics like a web-based mini-game.
He clicked on the trailer, watching the sunflowers sillyally spraying sunlight, the pea shooters spitting out peas, and those adorably clumsy zombies walking crookedly...

Zhang Da's lips twitched.

"This... is your 'further step'?"

He muttered to himself, feeling a bit absurd.

With its self-developed engine and platform strategy based on Left 4 Dead, Avalon has clearly reached the threshold of disrupting the industry landscape. It's the perfect time to prove its strength with more groundbreaking works and attract developers and players to deeply commit to the AG platform! So why pull out this thing?

That’s not right!
An indescribable disappointment, like icy seawater, instantly extinguished the expectations that Zhang Da had for Avalon.

"What the hell is going on? Morningstar Engine is used for this? Garden Defense? Full of strategy? Relaxing and casual? And what's this 'Summer Game Festival'? What is this? Why all this fuss..."

Zhang Da rubbed his temples, feeling that Avalon was getting a little too cocky!
Having just made an appearance at the TGA, and with Left 4 Dead achieving great success, does he really think he can do anything? Is he starting to become blindly confident?

He acknowledged Avalon's past achievements and was pleasantly surprised by the nomination for Undertale.

However, as an objective gaming media professional, his professional ethics prevented him from ignoring the doubts at hand.

This Plants vs. Zombies game is completely different from all of Avalon's previous games! Can it really live up to the platform strategy's ambitions? Or is this just a...whimsical experiment by Avalon after its success?
I don't understand.

"Could he really be getting carried away...?"

After looking at the content on the screen for a while, Zhang Da let out a long breath, his eyes sharpening: "Avalon, you better not disappoint me! No matter how well you did before! If you try to fool me with a showy facade this time... my review won't hold back!"

at the same time
Easy travel.

CEO's office.

Jin Feng's gaze was fixed on the brightly colored, even somewhat childish, trailer for "Plants vs. Zombies" on the screen. His face was initially taken aback, but then an uncontrollable smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

His laughter echoed in the empty office.

Ever since he learned that Morningstar Engine was very likely derived from the useless team he had personally laid off, and witnessed firsthand how Left 4 Dead, made with Morningstar Engine, swept the market and propelled Avalon to new heights, Jin Feng felt like he was living in hell...

The global success of "Left 4 Dead," every acclaimed review, and every record-breaking sales figure felt like a red-hot iron, searing his pride and business acumen.

Jealousy, regret, and anger gnawed at him day and night, keeping him awake at night.

He probably knew that even if the engine team hadn't been laid off, they probably wouldn't have achieved anything within EasyGame.

But he was still unwilling! Extremely unwilling! Well... how should I put it! Seeing other game companies making big money off the people laid off by EasyGame! It was more painful than killing him!
He would rather that engine team had languished within EasyGame than have it turn out like this!
But things went counterproductive.

Avalon's success, especially the success of its engine, was like a resounding slap in the face, a slap in the face of Yi You!

Countless times before falling asleep at night, he slapped himself, imagining what would have happened if he hadn't laid off those people, if that engine had been born in Yiyou's hands... Would it be Goldwind standing in the spotlight now, hailed by players as the pride of domestic games, stirring up the industry? Would it be Yiyou?
This torment nearly drove him to the brink of collapse.

So during this time, he frantically collected any negative news about Avalon, like a drowning man desperately grasping at a straw, to prove that Avalon was not invincible and that his decision, Jin Feng's initial one, was not entirely wrong!
The appearance of Plants vs. Zombies was the straw he had been longing for!
Looking at the silly and cute sunflower on the screen and the zombie that could barely walk, Jin Feng finally felt the heavy stone pressing on his heart suddenly lift up a crack!
"Morning Star Engine? Self-developed technology? Used for this kind of thing?"

Jin Feng pointed at the screen, laughing so hard tears were almost streaming down his face: "Avalon, Avalon, it seems the success of Left 4 Dead has made you completely arrogant! What do you think players are? Would they pay for this kind of childish stuff? Your core player base, those hardcore gunners who are fans of Left 4 Dead, would they even look at this kind of game for kids?"

This game, Plants vs. Zombies, runs counter to the standards of a successful masterpiece in Jin Feng's mind, whether in terms of its name, art style, or gameplay shown in the trailer.

It looks so cheap, childish, and completely lacking in technology!
Anyway, that's how Jin Feng feels!
"Inflation! This is a classic example of inflation!"

Jin Feng gulped down a mouthful of ice water, trying to suppress his overly excited emotions, but the light in his eyes only burned brighter: "Hahaha, do you really think you can succeed with just anything? Do you think that just because you have the Avalon brand, even shit smells good? You dare to release this kindergarten-level stuff as your flagship new product? And what's with this summer festival? Naive! Players and the market will vote with their feet!"

Haha, finally got stupid! Looks like having good tools isn't all that great! Those guys are just so-so!

As he muttered to himself, he even began to imagine the chain reaction following the game's disastrous failure... Avalon, blindly confident, drastically changed its style, abandoning the hardcore and deep gameplay that made it famous to make this kind of childish casual game, then destroyed its own foundation, the reversal of public opinion, player disappointment and condemnation, AG platform growth stagnating or even declining, and then Avalon became increasingly anxious, but the game got worse and worse, unable to make ends meet, went bankrupt, and the engine team that it had laid off was once again left with nowhere to go...

Although the ideas are somewhat unconventional.

But Jin Feng became more and more excited as he thought about it, and even started rubbing his hands together.

This belated surprise was built on the opponent's mistake.

The gloom that had plagued them for days vanished, and their hearts were filled with anticipation.

At that moment, he seemed to see Avalon fall from grace!
……

Regardless of what others think.

Avalon is not going to stop, and Tang Yao won't let it stop either.

Early June.

The college entrance examination is just around the corner.

Meanwhile, AG platform's rare seasonal event—the Summer Festival—featured its first major new game, Plants vs. Zombies, which has been released.

On the day of Plants vs. Zombies' release.

Zhang Da sat in front of the computer, his face full of reluctance.

He really didn't want his vision of "the pride of Chinese-made products" to be shattered.

But his sense of responsibility as a media professional led him to open the AG platform with a critical mindset and a slight feeling of 'going to the execution ground'.

"Alright, it's work after all..."

He muttered to himself, trying to come up with a plausible excuse.

Move the mouse.

Double-click to open.

The game starts.

Soon, cheerful, slightly comical music began to play, and a brightly colored interface came into view.

And then you see the cartoon-style zombies in the game.

Zhang Da sighed and reluctantly began the game.
The first part is the tutorial level, which is quite simple.

It involves collecting sunlight, planting plants, and preventing zombies from getting in.

The pace is quite slow.

"That's it?"

Zhang Da was nonchalant, but inwardly he was constantly complaining.

He even became a little impatient, ignoring the instructions and simply following the tutorial.

After all, prejudice is a mountain.

When a person approaches something with preconceived notions, they often find it difficult to discover its advantages and instead tend to magnify its disadvantages.

Zhang Da is in this state right now.

He thought the game was boring!
Although he was a little impatient... he still learned the rules of the game.

After all, the rules of this game are not complicated, and you can play it as soon as you start.

At first, he operated mechanically, his mind completely blank. He planted some sunflowers and some aggressive plants, and that was it.

Because it's so easy to operate, planting and harvesting tasks can be easily completed with just a mouse click.

This also gave him the ability to operate mechanically.

However, as the levels progress, the game's gears begin to turn quietly... and at the same time, they begin to slowly loosen the high wall called prejudice.

As you progress through the levels, the game gradually becomes richer. Night mode arrives, introducing sun mushrooms; pool mode appears, adding lily leaves and aquatic plants; fog mode is activated...

New types of zombies are emerging one after another: the pole vaulting zombie can leap over walls of nuts, the buckethead zombie is tough and thick-skinned, the newspaper-reading zombie goes berserk and accelerates after its newspaper is broken, the dancing zombie summons backup dancers, the football zombie charges around, and the miner zombie attacks from behind...

This makes the difficulty gradually increase!
At the same time, as the variety of plants increases, Zhang Da is forced to carefully select a limited number of plants from the seed pack at the beginning of each level.

Different types of plants have different cooldown times after each placement, which requires him to plan the timing and order of planting plants reasonably during battle.

In addition, after successfully repelling wave after wave of zombie attacks, he will harvest a brand new plant at the end of each level, adding more strategic options for subsequent battles.

This cycle repeats!

Two completely unrelated elements—plants and zombies—are cleverly combined, and a brand new tower defense game experience begins to unfold...

At this moment, the time in the lower right corner of Zhang Da's computer screen was 4:18 PM. Time quietly slipped away.

The sky outside the window changed from bright to dim yellow, and then was completely swallowed by the night. The streetlights came on, casting dappled light and shadow on the curtains that Zhang Da had half-drawn.

Zhang Da initially slumped in his chair like he was going to his execution, but gradually sat up straight, started to look at things more seriously, then leaned forward slightly to start thinking about plant combinations, and now his impatience and doubt have been replaced by focus.

His brow furrowed and relaxed at times, his lips unconsciously pursed, his hand gripping the mouse, constantly sliding it, as if he were commanding a subtle, unseen battle...

"Not enough sunlight! The Nut Wall is about to give way! Damn pole vault!"

"That metal bucket is coming from behind! Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine! Hurry up!! I need to quickly place a cherry bomb!!"

"There are too many zombie dancers! Ice watermelon! Ice watermelon to slow them down!!"

"Miners! Miners are digging from behind! Back up! Back up! I remember there was a plant that shoots backwards!"

"..."

A series of rapid self-talks echoed in his empty room.

As the time goes.

now.

He was no longer the calm and objective media professional, but more like a commander deeply involved in the battle, his nerves on edge.

He has completely forgotten about critical thinking, work, and even time.

He opened the game at 4:18 PM, and the time in the lower right corner of his computer screen had already jumped to 7:03 PM.

He was completely oblivious to his hunger, his eyes glued to the screen.

His brain was rapidly calculating factors such as sunlight production, plant cooling, zombie waves, and terrain features...

He was overjoyed every time he successfully defended, and every time a mistake led to the collapse of the defense, he would slap his thigh in frustration and then click to start over without hesitation.

"I see... Sun mushroom, sunlight is the core currency."

"Corn cannon! That damage is insane... but it needs protection, and the firing interval has to be calculated carefully..."

"Brilliant! This plant design is brilliant!"

Wow! That's amazing...

soon.

He started meowing.

With each new plant that appears, he feels like he's gained a new tactical tool. How to combine them? How to target specific zombies? How to build the most efficient defense within a limited grid? These questions constantly stimulate his thinking.

It's about nine o'clock in the evening.

Zhang Da finally got stuck on a complicated level, then suddenly came to his senses, glanced at the words "A large wave of zombies is approaching" in the game, looked at the time in the lower right corner of the screen, and fell silent.

It's 9:32 now...

Five hours had passed since he opened the game!

Five hours!!!

His original plan was to only critically engage with the game for half an hour...

Time flies...

Zhang Da stared blankly at the ticking time, then turned his gaze back to the game, wanting to snort in disdain for it.

But after playing games for five hours, he couldn't hum a tune.

He seems to be addicted...

Thinking of this, Zhang Da slowly leaned back in his chair, let out a long breath, and then looked at the game screen again.

A strong sense of cognitive shock left him somewhat bewildered.

then.

He recalled his earlier boast that he would show no mercy, and how he had just been playing the game and making noises... His face flushed.

All the previous doubts and disappointments turned into unbelievable surprise and a touch of embarrassment at being proven wrong.

This seemingly childish and simple tower defense game turned out to be more interesting than he had expected... Its strategic depth and addictive nature far exceeded his imagination!

Avalon seems to have once again proven just how accurate and... terrifying their understanding of fun is!
"No, is this really okay?"

Zhang Da glanced at the screen, then raised his hand and scratched his head lightly, looking utterly incredulous, and muttered to himself, "This kind of subject matter can be made so fun?"

……

These days before the game's release.

Jin Feng felt as if it were New Year's Day coming early!
He refreshed various game forums almost constantly, searching like a hound for any negative reviews of Plants vs. Zombies, a smug smile always on his lips.

During this period, he did indeed find a lot of negative reviews.

After all, the contrast is just too great.

So he was really happy these past few days. He even made a prediction at an internal meeting of EasyPlay, with a hint of prophetic pride, that Avalon would definitely suffer a Waterloo this time!
"Core gamers won't buy it! This kind of thing is destined to be a short-lived joke!"

At the time, he spoke with absolute certainty and full of confidence.

However, reality hit hard and fast.

One punch shattered his dream.

On the day of release.

Jin Feng sat in front of the computer.

However, the expected flood of negative reviews did not materialize.

It appears sporadically.

"Uh...this seems interesting."

"I bought it for 27 yuan, played one level, and it was alright."

"That zombie's walk is hilarious..."

Jin Feng frowned slightly upon seeing such comments, but managed to console himself: "Or maybe they're just paid trolls or inexperienced newbies!"

But by the afternoon of the release, the changing winds began to make him uneasy.

"Holy crap! I can't stop! I'm obsessed with planting sunflowers!"

"This game is surprisingly fun!!!"

"That pole vaulting zombie almost broke my defenses! My house was almost destroyed!"

"Hahaha! Unbelievable! This game is so much fun!"

Similar posts began to spring up like mushrooms after rain.

Jin Feng's heart began to race, and a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

But on the night of the release... the situation completely spiraled out of control!
At least in Jin Feng's eyes, the situation was out of control.

Because... the entire gaming world seems to have been invaded by Plants vs. Zombies!

Jin Feng originally wanted to see negative reviews, so he opened many things, such as forums, communities, and social media.

But at night, in these places, he didn't see many negative reviews about the game; instead, he saw an overwhelming amount of praise for it!
"Help! Endless Mode is a time black hole! I can't get out!"

"This game is so relaxing!!! I can play a round anytime, anywhere! It's fun and a great way to kill time!"

"so fun!"

"Wow! Sorry Avalon! I misunderstood you! I admit I spoke a bit too loudly when I saw the trailer last time, I know I was wrong! The game is so much fun!! I can't even believe it! I can't imagine that this crappy game would be so fun!"

"Friends, I've found a strategy! Frost Archer + Gatling Pea, control her to death and maximize damage! It's guaranteed to be fun!"

"Rooftop layout needs improvement!"

"You can't go wrong for 27 yuan! You won't be cheated! It's really fun! Avalon is awesome! (voice cracks)"

These posts were filled with excitement, fascination, requests for help, and the joy of sharing strategies, a stark contrast to the disappointment and abuse that Jin Feng had anticipated.

The game's popularity is so high that people have completely forgotten that when it was announced, it was met with widespread ridicule.

The smile on Jin Feng's face had vanished, replaced by a grim expression.

He stared intently at the cheerful discussions among the players on the screen, his knuckles turning white from gripping the mouse so tightly.

"Impossible...this is impossible..."

Jin Feng was completely unable to understand what was happening before his eyes, or rather, he couldn't believe it: "No, this thing... how can it be?!"

What truly plunged Jin Feng into despair was a review that appeared the following day: "[Subversion and Conquest: A Tactical Abyss Lies Beneath a Naïve Exterior—A Review of Avalon's Summer Festival New Game 'Plants vs. Zombies', by DadaDa]"

This author!
Golden wind knows!

A veteran media professional at GameFront, known for his sharp insight and objective evaluations.

More importantly, Jin Feng clearly remembers that when the trailer for Plants vs. Zombies was released, this "da da da" made no attempt to hide his strong doubts and disappointment in a small industry group!

Jin Feng was happy about this for a long time!

"It can't be even him..."

Jin Feng's heart sank to the bottom, and he forced himself to open the article.

Then, I just watched the beginning.

He was stunned.

Avalon has once again proven that fun games are the real currency.

"..."

Jin Feng gritted his teeth and forced himself to glance down a few times, then suddenly clutched his chest, as if his heart had been gripped tightly by the words "subversive," "conquering," "exquisite," and "terrifying" in the review!

His vision blurred!
No!

What's the meaning!!

What happened to the promised fall from grace?!
(End of this chapter)