4: Chapter 4 is now available on Steam, and Lin Xi is live streaming.
After waking up, Jiang Yuan didn't make any further balance adjustments.
The system's settings were already the optimal solution; she didn't need to touch them.
Next was the matter of listing it on Steam.
Jiang Yuan opened Steamworks and began filling out various details.
Game Title: Vampire Survivors
Description: A survival game played with only the arrow keys. No complex controls, no tedious tutorials—just you and a tide of monsters.
The screenshots were simple; she just uploaded a few direct captures of the gameplay.
The tags were Indie, Pixel Art, Action, Roguelite, and Casual.
As for pricing, Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and ultimately decided to set it at 18 yuan, following the precedent from her previous life.
Everything was ready.
Looking at the page awaiting review, Jiang Yuan suddenly remembered something.
She seemed to have a few points left over.
In the System Shop, besides game information, there were other items available.
Such as marketing plans, player psychology analysis, market trend predictions, and so on...
Jiang Yuan scrolled through and found the cheapest one was 'First-Week Sales Prediction' for only 50 points.
She checked her point balance: 120.
This was what remained from her previous gacha pulls.
Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment but couldn't help herself; she spent 50 points to buy the 'Vampire Survivors First-Week Sales Prediction.'
The next second, a stream of information flooded her mind.
[Based on current market analysis, the game's first-week sales are estimated to be between 300-500 copies. If promoted by top-tier streamers, this could increase to 2,000-3,000 copies. If it triggers a community viral effect, it could break 10,000 copies.]
Jiang Yuan became thoughtful.
300 to 500 copies at 18 yuan each meant five to nine thousand yuan.
Subtracting the 3,500 yuan cost for the gacha, she'd still make a little profit.
But if it could go viral...
She remembered how this game blew up in her previous life.
Wasn't it through spontaneous player recommendations and word of mouth?
Then she would just wait and see. She had great confidence in the quality of this Earth classic.
Three days later, the game passed review and was officially launched.
Jiang Yuan posted an update on her Moments and registered accounts on several gaming forums to post threads.
《I made a game by myself called Vampire Survivors, check it out if you're interested》
Once the thread was posted, replies soon followed.
"Looks okay, but I'm not really into pixel art."
"Only arrow keys? Is it that simple?"
"Another domestic indie game? I'll wait and see for now."
"18 yuan? A bit expensive, I'll wait for a sale."
Jiang Yuan watched these replies with a calm heart.
It was normal; it was only natural for players to have reservations.
If it were her, she wouldn't easily play a completely unknown game either, unless the visuals or gameplay were truly captivating.
She looked at the 'Marketing Plan' in the System Shop; the cheapest one cost 200 points.
Forget it, no rush for now.
In the evening, Lin Xi sent a WeChat message:
"Xiao Yuan! Is your game live yet?!"
"Yeah, it just went up today."
"Holy crap, why didn't you say so earlier! I'm starting my stream right now, I'm playing your game today!"
Before Jiang Yuan could reply, Lin Xi had already started her stream.
She opened the Mouyu Platform and entered Lin Xi's stream, seeing the familiar girl frantically adjusting her equipment.
"Family, I'm streaming something fun for you today. It's a game my bestie made, just hit Steam, called Vampire Survivors!"
Lin Xi leaned close to the microphone, speaking slowly with an incredibly greasy 'vocal fry' voice:
"Supposedly, it's super addictive. Let me give it a try!"
The stream chat was instantly flooded with dense bullet comments:
"Try saying one more thing with that stupid voice and see what happens???"
"Your bestie? Who's prettier, you or her?"
"A domestic game? Avoiding that like the plague!"
"Your bestie made it? It must be some low-quality cash grab!"
"Made by Xi-Xi's bestie? Then I have to support it!"
Lin Xi ignored the sarcastic comments, opened Steam, searched, purchased, downloaded, and installed.
All in one smooth motion!
She opened the game.
The screen went black, then the title screen appeared.
Just a few simple words: Vampire Survivors.
Below them was a line of small text: Use arrow keys to move.
"That's it?"
Lin Xi muttered to herself:
"Where's the tutorial? Where's the beginner's guide?"
Bullet comments:
"So this is the level of a solo project?"
"Lmao, not even a tutorial."
"Who would play this crap!"
Lin Xi ignored them and clicked start.
The screen changed to show a pixelated character standing in an open field. Scattered monsters began to appear around her, slowly moving toward her.
Lin Xi tried pressing the arrow keys, and the character moved.
But what about attacking? How do you attack?
Just as she was wondering, she noticed the whip in the character's hand swing on its own. A monster it touched instantly turned into experience points.
Lin Xi was stunned for a moment:
"Auto-attack? Interesting."
She began maneuvering the character around. More and more monsters appeared, and she gathered more and more experience. Then the screen flashed—she leveled up.
A selection box popped up: Choose a new weapon or upgrade an existing one.
Lin Xi chose the Knife.
Then she noticed a Knife had appeared beside her character, flying out on its own.
"It works like this?"
She was starting to get into it.
Five minutes later.
"Holy crap, why are there so many monsters?"
Ten minutes later.
"Don't chase me, don't chase me, don't chase me!"
Fifteen minutes later.
Lin Xi had stopped talking, staring intently at the screen, her fingers clicking rapidly on the keyboard.
The tide of bullet comments had long since changed direction:
"??? What kind of game is this?"
"Looks kind of interesting."
"18 yuan? That's just the price of breakfast. Bought it, bought it!"
"Dodge, streamer, dodge! Left, left!"
"She's dead, hahaha! Streamer is really bad!"
Lin Xi stared at the words "Game Over" on the screen for two seconds, then slammed the table: "Again!"
She started another round.
This time she chose the King Bible to start.
Another fifteen minutes, and she died again.
Again.
The bullet comments had shifted from the initial mockery to passionate discussion about the game:
"Streamer, are you even good? If not, get out of the way and let me play!"
"This game is actually fun. I've been watching the stream for almost an hour now."
"Already bought, it's definitely addictive."
"18 yuan is a steal!"
"Holy crap, there's a Reaper at the end?"
Lin Xi finally snapped out of it and realized it was already 2 AM.
She had actually played for... over three hours?
The chat was also shocked:
"Streamer, you actually played for that long?"
"I declare this the best domestic game I've played this year!"
"Holy crap, are domestic indie games rising?"
"Don't overhype it. There are a few gems in domestic indie, but 'rising' is a bit of an exaggeration."
Lin Xi swallowed hard, opened Jiang Yuan's WeChat, and sent a message:
"Xiao Yuan, this game of yours... it's probably going to blow up."
After sending it, she looked at the replay of her stream.
The peak concurrent viewers reached 4,200.
This was the highest popularity record since she started streaming.
And right now, her mind was filled with nothing but starting one more round.
At 2 AM, Jiang Yuan's reply came, with only a simple emoji:
[Smile]
She checked the STEAM backend.
Sales: 47.
Reviews: 12, all positive.
She then checked the system panel.
Point Balance: 70.
The first-week sales prediction had been updated.
[Based on current data, the first-week sales estimate is revised to: 800-1,200 copies]
Jiang Yuan smiled.
Still a long way to go.
She stood up and drew the curtains. The moonlight shone in, feeling a bit chilly.
In the bathroom, she washed her face in front of the mirror and saw that face again—features like a painting, exquisite and flawless, with a slightly innocent look.
Jiang Yuan winked at herself in the mirror.
"This time, we'll take it slow."