Chapter 22: A Double Victory in Word of Mouth and Sales

Game Development: Starting by Healing the Players 

Chapter 22: A Double Victory in Word of Mouth and Sales

As more and more players got their hands on Undertale, the game's numbers began climbing rapidly.

Moreover, on quite a few third-party gaming platforms, Undertale had already made its way onto various recommendation lists.

Although Chen Xu, just as in his previous life, had little regard for the distribution channels in this parallel world, for the time being, releasing Undertale on these gaming platforms was still more beneficial than harmful.

After all, refusing to make money when there was money to be made would be foolish.

Even if he genuinely wanted to change the structure of the gaming industry, there was one thing he could not avoid.

Capital.

Therefore, Chen Xu chose several third-party gaming platforms that were willing to compromise.

Although Chen Xu was a newcomer in the gaming industry, he was different from ordinary game designers.

For one thing, Mirror had already provided him with a guaranteed level of sales. For another, the hype surrounding his argument with Zhong Mei had given Undertale plenty of exposure.

As a result, some third-party platforms were willing to make concessions regarding their revenue-sharing percentages.

That was one of the reasons Chen Xu was willing to release the game on them.

And judging from the results so far, Undertale's sales growth could only be described as extremely encouraging.

………………

While Chen Xu was keeping an eye on Undertale's sales figures, many game designers in the indie game scene were also being shaken by the game.

In a small private group chat for indie game designers:

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! I can only describe Undertale with three ‘holy shits.’ Before this, I actually thought that Zhong Mei had a point when he said that Chen Xu couldn't make a good game. But now all I can say is—this is incredible!”

“What happened? Is it really that amazing? Those ratings weren't bought, were they?”

“What are you talking about? How could they possibly be bought? Forget third-party platforms—even if you had the money, try buying a rating on the official platform.”

“Exactly. Stop talking nonsense. Fake ratings? Go ahead and fake them on the official platform and see what happens. Aren't you afraid of having your game designer status revoked and getting blacklisted?”

“I recommend that anyone who hasn't played it go give it a try. I was genuinely stunned. ‘Incredible’ is the only word I can think of.”

“To be honest, I originally planned to release my new game next week, but now I'm probably going to have to polish it for a while longer.”

“Is it really that exaggerated?”

“How should I put it? On the surface, it's just an ordinary game. But there are several different endings. The first time I played it, I was shocked. The second time, I went for the pacifist ending, and it was heartwarming. The third time, I went for the genocide ending, and it left me in tears.”

“When people said Mirror was going to change the adult game industry, I just laughed it off. But with Undertale, I actually think it could kick off a wave of games built around this kind of gameplay.”

“Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? You're making it sound like he's founded an entirely new school of thought.”

“It doesn't quite rise to the level of founding a new school, but it absolutely deserves to be called a game that will popularize the concept. And I believe that in the future, whenever people talk about this type of game, Undertale will be a name they simply can't avoid.”

As everyone continued discussing the game, someone suddenly posted an article from an official WeChat account in the group.

“Stop talking. Look at Chen Xu's official Weibo!”

“Holy shit! Is this guy even human?”

“A double victory in sales and word of mouth!?”

“It only took three days to break 100,000 copies? That's ridiculous!”

Everyone clicked on the post.

It was a very simple thank-you message from Chen Xu's official Weibo account, once again concerning Undertale.

“Thank you to all the players for your support. Undertale has now surpassed 100,000 copies sold, but I believe this is not the end!”

Chen Xu had not tried to hide these figures.

For one thing, they were hardly a secret. Within a few days, third-party market research organizations would probably publish their own estimates anyway. Although those figures would certainly differ somewhat from the actual numbers, they would not be far off.

More importantly, the purpose was publicity.

With the game enjoying such strong word of mouth, this was the perfect opportunity to add fuel to the fire.

Revealing the sales figures was obviously an excellent way to generate another wave of discussion.

As soon as Chen Xu made the sales figures public, it wasn't only the game designers following the situation who were shocked.

Several major media outlets that had been paying attention were equally stunned.

An obscure little game, developed by a designer who had previously made adult games, who had also gotten into a public argument with another game designer before—

And Undertale's performance was explosive as well.

Before this, there had still been some gaming media outlets that thought Undertale was nothing worth mentioning. But now, their faces had been thoroughly slapped.

As for ordinary players who had played the game, there was only one feeling.

Undertale's ratings and sales performance were completely deserved.

The characters that left the deepest impression on players—especially the final ending—were simply breathtaking.

Before playing this game, no player could have imagined that a game could be made like this!

Everyone had the feeling that they were witnessing history.

Undertale might very well leave a brilliant mark on the history of indie games.

At the same time, other media outlets began rushing to publish their own reports.

“Over 100,000 Copies Sold in Three Days! Rating Soars to 9.9!”

“An Indie Game Masterpiece—A Must-Play for Every Gamer!”

“A Unique RPG That Completely Overturns Players’ Understanding of the Genre!”

“Player: This Game Played Me!”

“An Incredible Game! An Incredible Achievement!”

“The First Playthrough Brings Shock, the Second Brings Warmth, the Third Brings Pain, and the Fourth Brings Reflection.”

There was no doubt about it: Undertale had exploded in popularity.

It had started with positive reviews from various media outlets and players.

Then word began spreading throughout the game development community, because Undertale was fundamentally different from the games that had come before it.

And that difference wasn't limited to its story.

It extended to the way the story was presented.

Take Flowey, for example. At certain moments, it felt as though he was speaking directly to the player through the screen.

This kind of design made every game designer feel as if a skylight had suddenly been opened above them.

To be fair, the Undertale of his previous life wasn't actually a game with an especially heavy emphasis on meta elements.

Aside from the opening and ending, most of the game focused on characters such as Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and the other inhabitants of the game world.

And precisely because of this, Undertale was able to create an even greater sense of immersion than most meta games.

Only when the secrets surrounding the game's ending were finally revealed would players experience that overwhelming sense of shock.

Likewise, hidden behind each ending was a degree of philosophical reflection and introspection.

That was one of the defining characteristics of meta games.

If one were judging purely by its use of meta elements, Undertale was actually inferior to games such as The Stanley Parable and Pony Island.

But in this parallel world, the concept of meta games had not even reached the stage of a budding idea.

The combination of Undertale's meta elements and its story therefore delivered a far greater impact to players than it had in his previous life.

Especially as streaming platforms and video platforms began showcasing various aspects of Undertale to their audiences, the flames surrounding the game grew even stronger.

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Tn: I updated the story once a day, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.

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