My game is depressing worldwide.

Chapter 125 Those who learn from me live, those who imitate me die.

a few days later.

The scene of the offline experience exchange meeting of the Tourism Committee.

At 4 p.m., prime time, the venue was packed with people.

Compared to the dazzling array of games and promotional materials at offline game expos, this experience exchange meeting seems much simpler, even somewhat shabby.

If you didn't know, you wouldn't be able to tell at all that it has anything to do with games.

Attendance at the experience-sharing sessions is not mandatory but by invitation only, whether you are giving a lecture or attending.

Those interested in attending the course can register on the official website of the Tourism Commission. In most cases, as long as you confirm that you are a professional in the industry, it is not difficult to get an invitation.

However, this time, the phenomenon of "tickets being hard to come by" has appeared for the first time.

Recently, a phenomenal masterpiece, Dark Souls, was released in the gaming industry, and its producer, Chen Xuan, will be giving a speech at this experience exchange conference to share his expertise.

Some of the latecomers looked at the packed hall and momentarily felt a sense of despair.

There was no other way but to stand in the last row.

In the end, the staff had to borrow a lot of plastic stools so that many people could finally sit down and listen.

"I never imagined that I, who am almost 40, would be able to listen to a senior college student who hasn't even graduated yet."

"Those who have achieved more are my teachers. Are you old enough to create Dark Souls?"

"Only a genius like him could come up with such a bizarre game."

Shh, Chen Xuan is coming up on stage.

The entire venue fell silent immediately.

On the stage.

Chen Xuan looked at the packed venue.

So many people.jpg

Opening the PowerPoint presentation, Chen Xuan slowly began, "Hello everyone. Originally, the Game Committee invited me, the producer, to explain the game design of *Dark Souls* today. However, these topics have already generated considerable discussion online, and the analyses are quite clear. Therefore, today I will use the various designs of *Dark Souls* as a starting point to discuss the future development trends of the game industry, and explore how small and medium-sized game companies can survive in the increasingly competitive industry landscape."

Upon hearing this, many people showed expressions of disappointment.

However, before their disappointment could spread, they heard something that almost blinded them.

"To the colleagues who came to this exchange meeting, I actually know what you're thinking. You just think that Dark Souls is just a low-budget action game, old wine in new bottles, which has achieved both market success and critical acclaim."

"If you just add a campfire, increase the death penalty, add a few one-way doors, and some malicious design elements to your own action game, you can call it a Souls-like game and expect it to be popular with players. But I'm telling you, you're not only wrong, you're terribly wrong. Doing this is just a poor imitation, a dead end."

"Okay, let's begin today's content."

Upon hearing this, many people present turned pale and then flushed, their expressions clearly not good.

Some people didn't react as strongly, but they were still a little embarrassed.

Before Chen Xuan could even begin speaking, a sarcastic voice came from below the stage.

"Don't overthink it, everyone. Plagiarism citations don't protect gameplay design. It's not that Mr. Chen is afraid you'll copy it and create your own Dark Souls, squeezing out Dark Souls 2 and leaving it with no room to survive."

After these words were spoken, the room fell silent.

Is it really that aggressive?!

Who is it?

Before people could find the speaker, another voice came from another direction.

The sound wasn't loud, but it had a very strong sense of sarcasm and unease.

"Yeah, even if you learn these designs and make an open-world Souls game, or a Souls game without a stamina bar where you fight bosses head-on. Chen Xuan already said that learning from Dark Souls is a dead end."

The host of the experience exchange meeting immediately panicked.

Almost every year, there are two producers debating at the experience exchange meetings.

However, it was a genuine discussion of ideas; it's just that when things got heated, it was as if both sides blushed.

This time it's different; it's blatant sarcasm, even bordering on provocative.

He was about to tell them to stop.

Chen Xuan shook his head at him, indicating that it was okay.

Chen Xuan looked in those two directions and said, "Learning from Dark Souls is indeed a dead end. The path on this track is already blocked. Of course, if you want to throw your money down the drain, feel free. However, who says that open-world Dark Souls games, Dark Souls games without stamina bars and boss battles, are not feasible? This is a very good idea."

These words elicited various reactions from the people present.

Some looked thoughtful, as if considering the feasibility of these two directions.

Some dismissed it, believing that Chen Xuan was strategically deceiving his competitors.

"Heh, I hope Mr. Chen remembers his words and makes sure to make the sequel to Dark Souls just like that."

After another sarcastic remark, Chen Xuan identified the spokesperson.

Because it was by invitation only, everyone who came wore a name tag with their own name and identification information.

Chen Xuan had good eyesight; the person was in the third row, not far away.

I could vaguely make out a few words from a distance.

Hongtu Studio?

Oh, that's not surprising.

Chen Xuan understood instantly.

The stone hit the dog and it barked; this is exactly what happened.

Hongtu Studio, Sun Zhirui's former employer.

The developers of "War Souls 4" are going to be driven crazy by players because of their lack of ambition.

It's said that the game was delayed because of unbearable pressure, and it's going to be drastically changed into a "soul game" in the name of innovation.

It seems they're trying to meet the expectations of players who desperately need a similar game after completing Dark Souls.

He meant well, but since they were being so rude, Chen Xuan didn't intend to give them any face.

"Lies don't hurt, but the truth is the sharpest knife. My colleague, what words of mine have stung you? Perhaps you know the true nature of your work, vaguely aware of the problems, but you're unwilling to face them. Is that why you're so hostile towards me for speaking the truth?"

Their gazes met across the distance.

Everyone present could smell the gunpowder in the air.

"Hmph!" In the end, the representative from Hongtu Studio couldn't hold back any longer. He snorted and stood up, walking out of the venue.

At this moment, the system pops up a panel.

[Defense Penetration Value Detected from Cao Qihe +1]

Hongtu Studio, is it Cao Qihe?

do not know.

We can ask Sun Zhirui about it later.

Then Chen Xuan looked in another direction and said bluntly, "This colleague from... Tianshuo Network Technology... If possible, I really hope someone can create a Souls-like game with a completely new look and make the market bigger."

However, I do have a question. Even for your company's buy-to-play single-player games, you still need to launch a paid store to sell items or equipment packs that affect game balance. Why are you so hostile towards me?

Are you afraid that if I release Dark Souls 2 first and start selling the Fire Keeper cosplay outfit and the 648-cost diamond set first, I'll steal your business?

If we're talking about which company had the worst business practices among those attending the lecture, it would undoubtedly be Tianshuo.

This practice has been going on for a long time, not just for a day or two.

Chen Xuan's words were met with bursts of laughter from the audience.

The man smiled, seemingly unconcerned.

However, Chen Xuan glanced at the system panel.

[Defense Penetration Value Detected from Chen Hongyu +1]

Oh.

I almost thought you were indifferent.

The system is especially useful in situations like this.