The seasons turned, and the sun and moon shone together.
In the blink of an eye, two weeks passed, and the challenging December was finally over.
All players eagerly awaited, enduring the torment in "Dark Souls" while anticipating the launch of "Apocalypse Ark."
The first wave of players were already close to conquering the game.
Even Yin Lao San, who was slightly behind in progress despite his lower stats, managed to defeat the Soul of Cinder, Eldritch, using a "random fist beats teacher" sword style to obtain the First Lord Soul.
He also successfully parried and killed the Great Old Wolf of the Abyss within the chaotic timeline of the Cemetery of Ash, presenting a satisfactory performance.
During this time, Lingjing Studio would occasionally release setting PVs, stirring up the anticipation of players waiting for the mobile game.
They had masterfully piqued the players' interest.
It made them wish they could storm Lu Li's studio and force the designers to work 24 hours a day without interruption.
Tencent and NetEase were remarkably low-key during this period.
NetEase had been absent for a considerable time after their new game's failure.
Tencent, after the meeting held by Ge Wenbin, the president of the game division, had not bothered Lingjing anymore.
Instead, they had changed their approach, widely issuing invitations to recruit talent from all sectors of the gaming industry.
Everyone seemed to be tacitly holding their breath, waiting for the opportune moment to make a grand move.
As for "Dark Souls"...
With its exquisite art style, music, and the signature torment-inducing gameplay of the "Lu Li Old Thief," it had firmly established its position as the king of the "torment" genre in the gaming community.
It was crowned with the title of "Souls-like" game.
Almost whenever "Souls-like" games were mentioned, images of "Dark Souls" would come to mind.
Of course, this was also thanks to the efforts of "Souls" scholars from both domestic and overseas.
They applied their craftsmanship, delving into every detail of the game, and combined with the gradually released DLC content, they slowly unveiled the magnificent world of Dark Souls to the public.
Major overseas game studios were also considerably quieter.
This was because they were busy preparing for the TGA ceremony. As the Oscars of the gaming industry, being nominated or winning was the greatest affirmation for designers and their teams.
It was also market recognition.
However,
There was a slight hiccup this year.
The TGA awards ceremony nominated several of Lu Li's games, "UT," "Call of Duty," and "To the Moon," for multiple awards.
Yet, they did not win, with the reason being quite straightforward: their release time was too short to be eligible for awards.
The seemingly fair evaluation was full of hidden agendas.
Many overseas players couldn't stand it, as, based on data and sales alone, these games were more qualified than the winning ones.
Especially "Sì Mìng Zhào Huàn."
It was almost the undisputed No. 1 for all FPS players in recent years, and netizens unanimously agreed that "Sì Mìng Zhào Huàn" was the best FPS game of the year.
In the end, it was preempted by "Destiny: Mech Descent," which had significantly lower data.
However, this didn't change anything.
After all, the co-founders of TGA were giants like Valve, Nintendo, and Microsoft.
The newly added rule that a winning work must have been online for more than three months directly tightened the noose around Lingjing's fate.
It was as if they were directly saying, "I'm deliberately targeting you, Lu Li."
The matter of "Who dares to accuse me" was also circulating overseas.
Loyal fans of Lingjing games overseas were indignant.
There was an outcry online.
The rating for "Destiny: Mech Descent" was pulled down from 96 to 90, and the骂声一片 was so overwhelming that the comment section had to be closed.
It was obvious to everyone that Nintendo's lawyer's letter regarding "Sì Mìng Zhào Huàn's" infringement, sent months ago, was aimed at this award.
Then, in a clumsy attempt to steal, they ended up losing what they had, forcing Lingjing out.
This game platform, with over a hundred million downloads, though distant from Steam...
"So talented and so handsome, why is fate so unfair? You truly deserve to die!!"
...
The audience's enthusiasm transformed into an overwhelming flood of gifts, filling the live stream room with various gift effects.
"Now, let's randomly connect with a viewer, and they can chat while playing."
"You can ask anything you want."
Lu Li opened "Dark Souls" and simultaneously connected with a lucky viewer.
"Hello, hello! Old Thief... Teacher Lu Li, can you hear me?" a strange male voice came through the live stream, dry and seeming to be in the midst of puberty.
"Hello, classmate. May I ask for your name?"
"Wang Teng!"
"Classmate Wang, feel free to ask any questions about the game or about me." Lu Li replied while controlling his Ashen One to warp to the Dragon-Peak and back.
"I started playing 'Dark Souls' during the winter break, and I've reached the Undead Settlement. I want to ask... what exactly is that man-eating chest?"
His dry voice held an undisguised resentment.
"This, it's not normal for strange things to breed in dark and damp corners?"
"Then then then... why do those dogs in the Undead Settlement run so fast? Three dogs wiped out countless lives of mine!"
The owner of the voice was clearly unwilling and continued to press on.
"Humans aren't faster than dogs, isn't that common sense?"
Lu Li spread his hands, appearing somewhat innocent, in a manner that was incredibly irritating. "As everyone knows, this is also quite reasonable."
At this,
The audience could no longer hold back!
...
ps: I went to the supermarket to stock up on groceries for the next week. I'm a bit late today, sorry.