Chapter 829 - 829: This Familiar Style

After holding an online press conference, Lucas and his team at Nebula Games began developing Elden Ring bit by bit.

Compared to the previous life's Elden Ring, in addition to some numerical balancing, like Spirit Ash summons such as the Blessed Blade of Carian Retaliation and the Mimic Tear, as well as some special bugs like using the Rock Sling spell to bypass fog walls and defeat bosses, and more complete side quest storylines, a lot of effort was actually put into the game's guidance.

Exploration is the core of Souls-like games, but Elden Ring, being FS's first open-world game, still had many areas that weren't well-designed.

For example, the item crafting system and the use of perfumers. Many players might not have understood what these things were for even after beating the game.

Moreover, a large amount of material needed to be collected in the wild. The original intention was clearly for players to explore the wilderness to find these items.

However, the actual benefits and rewards made players completely uninterested in exploration.

If they did explore, it was to find hidden caves and dungeons in the corners of the map. As for simply finding materials in the wilderness, most players basically ignored it.

Adding to this, players also needed to specifically collect extra crafting manuals. This directly caused item crafting and perfumers, which were auxiliary systems for combat and could even make various weapon builds stronger, to be untouched by many players after their first playthrough.

The most direct reason for this was that the returns and rewards felt unequal to the players.

On one hand, the game was designed with these as built-in systems, hoping players would engage with them.

But on the other hand, various crafting manuals were hidden in all corners of the map for players to unlock. Yet, only a small portion of the items were useful, and most items felt somewhat redundant to players, creating an awkward situation for the crafting system.

After all, unlike talismans, equipment, and upgrade material bell bearings, players couldn't directly see the effects and benefits.

As for the quest log tool found in most ARPGs, Lucas decided not to include it.

After all, in Souls-like games, exploring side quests is a very important and core element.

If it were designed like a typical ARPG, explicitly telling you where to find something or where to kill a monster, it would lose its charm.

...

For many players, this period felt like an eternity.

Although various major developers released a large number of big titles during this time, for most players, there was only one thing they were eagerly awaiting: Elden Ring, previously announced by Nebula Games.

The content within was simply too appealing: open world, ARPG, a fantasy epic story, rich weapons and equipment, and elements of puzzle-solving.

All of these combined made them incredibly excited just thinking about it.

The only pity was that, besides the original concept art and the game's name, there had been no further news.

"I wonder what Elden Ring will be like!"

"It feels like an eternity, I'm almost at my limit!"

"Exactly, it's been so long, and Boss Lucas still hasn't released any news!"

"Speaking of which, I wonder what the gameplay will be like, similar to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim?"

"Probably, since Boss Lucas already introduced the game genre, right?"

"That's not necessarily true. I think it might be like The Witcher 3, but with more detailed combat."

"Maybe it'll be a Zelda with a fantasy setting?"

Players had their own ideas, as there was no related information about Elden Ring on any websites. What could they imagine just by speculating?

...

Amidst the players' anticipation, Elden Ring's official promotional video finally arrived.

Players who had been eagerly awaiting it and paying close attention clicked on it immediately.

They were eager to see what new surprises Lucas would bring them this time.

First, the logos of Nebula Games and Elden Ring appeared on the screen.

Then, a gentle female voice began.

"It was a long time ago..."

"But to me, it's still vivid."

A young girl with an obscured face and four arms, sitting cross-legged in the darkness, began to speak.

"On a night filled with cold, gray fog..."

"The Rune of Death was stolen..."

In a forest at night, a group of black-clad knights galloped past.

The next moment, the sound of swords piercing flesh was heard.

"When [Golden] Godwyn became the first demigod to die, perhaps Queen Marika fell into madness..."

In the darkness, a dead man lay there, blood flowing from a sorrowful, centipede-like wound. Beneath the surface of his skin, strange, grub-like creatures seemed to be wriggling, moving towards his eye sockets.

The next second, his closed eyes opened, black, strange mucus oozing from them.

"The Shattering War is shrouded in mist... Who, and for what purpose, shattered the Elden Ring?"

In a grand palace, several thrones were arranged. A monstrous-looking elder placed his crown down and walked towards the palace entrance with a blade.

Beneath the Erdtree, in a magnificent royal city, two armies clashed.

"For what purpose did the demigods throw themselves into war?"

The next second, a battlefield under the sunset. A general with two greatswords stood beside a mountain of corpses, confronting a female warrior in armor.

"[Starscourage] General Radahn."

"[Miquella's Blade] Malenia, Blade of Miquella."

"The most powerful among them fought until their last breath..."

On the battlefield, the Valkyrie and the Starscourge clashed.

However, compared to the Starscourge who could shatter stars, the Valkyrie was still slightly outmatched. After several exchanges, her arm was severed by Radahn's greatsword.

"Yet... no one emerged victorious."

The kneeling Valkyrie thrust her blade into her own chest. The next second, scarlet blood flowed from the wound, and a giant scarlet lotus bloomed behind her, sending scarlet power sweeping across the entire continent centered on the battlefield.

"To this day, the world remains dilapidated... awaiting the Elden Lord."

"Or... are you that person?"

The camera slowly ascended, revealing a stunningly beautiful girl with one eye closed, calmly looking at the camera.

As she finished speaking, the screen went black.

Elden Ring, the game's logo appeared in the center.

...

After watching the entire promotional video, many players' first reaction was that Nebula Games' CG animation studio was at it again!

The exquisite visuals, cool camera work, and lavish special effects made the entire promotional video incredibly grand.

Many were thrilled just watching it.

But after their excitement subsided and they calmed down,

Some veteran Nebula Games players instantly realized something was off.

This promotional video's style felt somewhat familiar, like a certain type of game from the company!

(End of chapter)