54: Promote live streaming and build momentum for multiplayer mode

The Ancient Style Game Development Competition is held annually and has been for decades.

As of today, it has become the largest event in the entire Huaxia Federation, and even in all human society.

It has even transcended the gaming circle, becoming the most prestigious competition in society.

It boasts a mature event process, standardized PK mechanisms, and a host of major companies that participate every year.

At the end of the first week, the first round of PK will begin, determining the rankings based on first-week sales, retention, and online popularity. The organizing committee will also start its publicity campaign accordingly.

But this year is a little different.

Just after Xuanhuan World announced a major update, the organizing committee immediately prepared a live broadcast to promote Xuanhuan World.

The female host, Wang Huohuo, dressed in a professional suit and with a neat ponytail, sat impatiently at her workstation, holding her phone and complaining to her best friend:

"I don't know what kind of backing this Jiang Feng has to make the organizing committee promote him in advance, and even make me, the ace host, interview him. I have to work overtime again, it's so annoying."

"Hmm? You said he has no backing, that his game just exploded in popularity? Really?"

Wang Huohuo looked suspicious.

She had been on vacation a few days ago and hadn't paid attention to gaming matters. Based on experience, a dark horse game would only rise through the organizing committee's promotion in the second week, so there was no need to pay too much attention in the first week.

She quickly looked through the materials and scripts prepared by the main team, and the more she read, the more startled she became. Her curiosity about the future of Xuanhuan World grew, and her impatience significantly lessened.

"Wang Huohuo, are you ready? Jiang Feng is already here."

"Oh, okay, I'm coming right now."

Hearing her leader call, Wang Huohuo quickly composed herself, put on a professional smile, and walked towards the studio in her black leather shoes.

She sat opposite Jiang Feng, greeted him politely, and once the live broadcast began, she looked at her script and smiled:

"Designer Jiang Feng, the game Xuanhuan World has been a huge hit recently, with cumulative sales breaking two million copies, making it the most astonishing dark horse. What are your thoughts on this?"

Jiang Feng smiled and said, "I want to thank the players for their love. Without their support, Xuanhuan World would not have reached this point today."

Wang Huohuo nodded inwardly. To be so humble after the game's explosion in popularity, Jiang Feng is a good person.

She said with a smile:

"Just a short while ago, Xuanhuan World announced the launch of a multiplayer online mode, which will be global and on a single server. This has not only become a hot topic across the internet but is also the topic we will discuss in today's live broadcast... Let's look at the questions netizens care about most. The first is: Will this multiplayer online mode have a qualification draw for closed beta testing?"

Jiang Feng shook his head: "No, our Illusion Dream Game Studio will never resort to hunger marketing. This major update will directly launch large-capacity servers, allowing all players to enter the game simultaneously and experience the true Xuanhuan World."

Wang Huohuo looked at the backend questions, filtering out meaningless topics like "When will private parts restrictions for males and females be lifted?" and "When will pay-to-win items be released?" She then chose another highly popular question:

"Many players are concerned about their save files. How will these save files be handled after the multiplayer online mode is enabled?"

Although the game had only been online for a few days, those dedicated players could play twenty hours a day, making their save files extremely valuable.

"After the multiplayer online mode goes live, the single-player and team modes will stop updating and will forever remain on the maps of Qinghe Town and Efeng Mountain Range. All subsequent new content will only be updated in the multiplayer online mode."

"In the new mode, all players will start fresh, and their old save files will no longer assist them."

Most players expressed acceptance of this answer.

This is because the Ancient Style Game Development Competition updates games step by step from demo to the final full release, and it's common for player save files to be deleted midway.

Wang Huohuo glanced at the backend again and asked, "According to the announcement on your official website, this update will not only include a multiplayer online mode but also significantly increase content. Players are very curious, what updates can we expect next?"

Jiang Feng looked at Wang Huohuo with some surprise.

This kind of question was entirely an opportunity for him to promote, which was very rare for an official program.

"This update will open up more areas. Centered around the Efeng Mountain Range, an area of several hundred li will be fully accessible. There will be many small towns similar to Qinghe Town, as well as bustling cities, and some new Sects will appear. Naturally, more NPCs will emerge, skilled in Alchemy, Artifact Refining, talisman drawing, and so on. Players can also learn related Cultivation techniques from them."

"Some information will be updated in the Baixiaosheng panel, and players can check it themselves once the game goes live."

Wang Huohuo was a little curious: "An area of several hundred li fully open? Are you saying that all these areas are traversable, interactive, and populated with NPCs?"

Jiang Feng nodded: "That's right, all these areas are traversable, every house can be entered, and every NPC has their own social relationships and AI. Perhaps some players will feel this is a Second World."

Wang Huohuo felt a little skeptical. Creating content for an area of several hundred li would require a considerable investment. Could it be that Jiang Feng invested all the money earned from the game? How confident was he that his game would be a huge success?

Jiang Feng seized the opportunity and continued to introduce:

"The multiplayer online mode also has a special feature: different players will have different initial identities. Common identities like farmer, soldier, weaver, scholar, prince, etc., are all possible. Additionally, there's a chance to be born as the descendant of a Cultivator, or even start as a Sect Disciple with a certain level of Cultivation."

Wang Huohuo looked at the live stream's bullet comments; the audience in the live room had already exploded. The update news released by Jiang Feng was simply too exciting.

"Doesn't this mean I could be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator as soon as I enter?"

"If my wife and I go in together, and I start as an emperor and she starts as a palace maid..."

"Then if I start as a Duan Kong Cave Disciple, won't I be soaring?"

Wang Huohuo looked at the data and asked, "As far as I know, in single-player mode, Duan Kong Cave is an initial hostile force that causes players a lot of trouble. So, in multiplayer online mode, is it possible for players to become Duan Kong Cave Disciples?"

Jiang Feng nodded: "That's right, this is the greatest charm of the multiplayer online mode. In single-player mode, players all have the same identity and a step-by-step storyline. But in multiplayer online mode, initial identities are random, and all subsequent developments are unknown."

"Players might become Duan Kong Cave Disciples, or royal descendants; anything is possible. But the choice is in the players' hands. A player's initial identity is not everything; they can experience this new world according to their own ideas."

Jiang Feng smiled at Wang Huohuo, and seeing that she didn't interrupt, he looked at the camera and continued:

"The Xuanhuan World in multiplayer online mode is the true Xuanhuan World. Subsequent updates will continuously improve this world. For one hundred yuan, you won't be cheated or taken advantage of, but you'll get a colorful new world!"

Wang Huohuo was helpless; Jiang Feng was blatantly advertising.

However, instead of feeling annoyed, she felt a little excited and even wanted to buy a copy of Xuanhuan World to check it out after the broadcast.

Jiang Feng continued to promote for another hour until the live broadcast ended. Wang Huohuo smiled and gave him a business card, exchanging contact information.

"Mr. Jiang, if you're free, I'd like to treat you to a meal and ask some questions about the game."

Wang Huohuo winked at Jiang Feng; this woman indeed possessed the charm of a mature woman.

Jiang Feng smiled: "We'll see if there's an opportunity."

He also met with some leaders of the organizing committee, expanding his network.

Just as he thought things were over and he could go home, a chubby middle-aged man walked over with a smile and greeted him:

"Mr. Jiang, you're so accomplished at such a young age. I'm a director at Hua Xia Creation, and this live broadcast event was specially sponsored by our company."

The man handed over a business card.

Hua Xia Creation · Director · Director Li Shaohua

"It's an honor to meet you!"

Jiang Feng wasn't just being complimentary; he was genuinely honored.

Hua Xia Creation, that's a behemoth of a company. They own 90% of the VR cabins in the entire Huaxia and even globally!

Game companies appear very weak in front of Hua Xia Creation.

"To be frank, our company is currently developing a new type of VR cabin, equipped with an automated life support System, allowing for 7*24 hours of uninterrupted play. Players only need to exit the cabin for three hours every seven days to use auxiliary equipment for conditioning."

"The automated life support System also significantly reduces the mental stress experienced by players, and the five-sense simulation will be more natural. Researchers also stated that it can simulate some other things, allowing many unprecedented new functions to be realized."

"However, it is currently in the development stage, and our researchers are still unclear about what new functions game developers need, and whether these new functions will have the expected effect."

"Jiang Feng, I really like the Xuanhuan World you created, so I invite you to participate in the development of the new VR cabin, to adapt the game to the new functions in advance, and I also welcome you to offer suggestions so that our developers can research more practical functions."

Jiang Feng's eyes lit up. Indeed, current VR cabins were already quite high-tech, but many Xuanhuan elements still couldn't be realized.

For example, the most important Soul System, simply couldn't be implemented.

Director Li Shaohua finally patted Jiang Feng's shoulder: "The first batch of prototypes will be completed in about half a month. You are welcome to visit our R&D department then."

Jiang Feng nodded: "I will definitely be there then."

...The organizing committee's live broadcast had extremely high online popularity, and Xuanhuan World's sales were also skyrocketing.

Midnight Gao Sou watched the number of viewers in the live stream continuously rise, and his heart was also blooming with joy.

These days, more and more streamers started streaming Xuanhuan World.

But as one of the first to stream, he garnered the most traffic, received several advertisements, and made a good amount of money.

He looked at the camera and said with a smile:

"Brothers, the multiplayer online mode will only update tomorrow, so today we'll continue playing single-player mode."

"Eh? You're asking why I'm not teaming up?"

"Well, Old Potato had some issues with his physical examination and can't make it today. The Mage and Xiao Daidai also plan to rest for a day and play multiplayer mode directly tomorrow."

"I'm going to kill that Female cultivator in single-player mode, and then play multiplayer mode with a brand new attitude."

Midnight Gao Sou chuckled and entered the game.