Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 227: Update [1]

“Done…”

I took a deep breath while staring at the screen in front of me.

If I said I wasn’t nervous, that’d be a lie. I was incredibly nervous. But at the same time, I was also confident.

’I’ve already seen how the game performed against actual trainees. I’m sure this update will be massive.’

This was going to be a significant boost from the previous version.

Not only that, but with Nova Studios no longer interfering in my game, I didn’t need to worry about its performance.

“Well… this is as long as another studio doesn’t suddenly come in and try to do the same thing.”

A lot of studios were incredibly scummy in this regard.

Thankfully, I was also aware of the fact that they were all probably paying attention to the Nova Studios situation.

There was probably going to be a lot of poaching happening.

“…Okay. I’m done with my part. But even then, this is far from enough.”

I scrolled through my comments and paused in Idris’s contacts.

After a brief pause, I sent him the link to my game.

[There’s an update. I’d appreciate it if you checked it out. I’ve improved the game quite significantly.]

[Really?]

I received a notification right after.

[What amazing timing! Now that Nova Studios is no longer interfering, I can upload my old video back and create a new video too! Let me get right on it. I can’t wait to try it!]

The message ended there.

However, I couldn’t help but smile while staring at the message.

’I can’t wait for him to upload his video…’

Just thinking about the face he was going to make while playing the game and the absolute look of dread on his face made me—

“Ehm.”

I cleared my throat and thoughts as well.

“…I can’t wait because it will boost my sales of the game. It’ll help out there. Yeah.”

I closed down my laptop and stood up, stretching my arms and back in the process. Since I had uploaded the update, and there was nothing else for me to do, I planned on killing some time.

“It’ll take some time before the game starts gaining traction again. If… it’ll even gain traction.”

Coming out of the room, I expected everything to be normal.

Just a bunch of busy people hanging out in the kitchen, dumping several buckets of powdered coffee into their cups.

But…

“Hm?”

The moment I came out of my office, the first thing I noticed was several people huddled up together in one cubicle.

The sight appeared all over the place, and I couldn’t help but grow curious.

I spotted Rowan not far from where I was.

He was sitting by himself on his laptop.

“What’s going on?”

“Hm? Oh…”

Rowan scratched the side of his face, unsure of how to answer. Eventually, he pulled up a certain video.

“This has been going viral within our space recently.”

[Crownfall Press Conference – Introducing Samuel R. Milshine. The newest super recruit!]

“…The hell?”

Crownfall was one of the three King-Grade Guilds on the island.

I was naturally aware of them.

But…

“They do press conferences for new recruits?”

“Yes, sometimes. It really depends on the Guild. Take Crownfall, for example; they like to showcase their recruits, especially those from the main island who ranked within the Top 100.”

“…Oh.”

Seemed like a bit of overkill, but it didn’t really matter to me.

This was their money, not mine.

Just as I was about to lose interest, the screen flickered, and the interview began. But the moment it did, my eyes widened instinctively, and I leaned in, drawn closer to the screen without even thinking.

“Wait, hold on… I recognize this guy.”

He—

“He’s one of the new recruits that the Guild had hired but left.”

“Yes, that’s… I can see.”

It was hard for me to forget that face.

Staring at the cameras, one of the interviewers asked,

—Sam, hello. I’m from the Daily Voice. Would you like to tell us the reason why you joined Crownfall? Last I heard, you had accepted a deal with another Guild.

Another Guild…

Really?

I was sure everyone present knew what the ’another guild’ in question was.

—Haha, you can just say that the two of us were incompatible. I previously joined because they looked promising, but after arriving there, I quickly realized that it just wasn’t for me.

—Can you care to elaborate on that?

—Well…

Sam paused for a moment before bringing his face closer to the microphone.

—…Let’s just say that the people who run the place aren’t exactly the brightest. Their Section Chief, in particular. He doesn’t look like he’s been to a gate in years. And funny thing…

Covering his mouth, Sam laughed.

—On our first day… They actually made us try a game. A game… Hahaha. I couldn’t take them seriously anymore and just left. Several others left with me, but I’m sure all of you are already awar-

Click!

Rowan ended the interview there.

As he did, he turned to look towards me.

“This is basically the gist of it. Right now, the Guild is in a mess because of the interview. The other Section Chiefs have started to file complaints against our departments, and we’re getting a bunch of calls from investors asking if this is true.”

Rowan pursed his lips before hesitating.

In the end, he found it within himself to ask, “This game he’s talking about… It’s your game, isn’t it?”

“Yup.”

I nodded slowly, still staring at the screen.

“…It’s my game indeed.”

My lips pulled into a smile.

’Looks like I’m going to have to pay a visit to the Section Chief.’

A massive opportunity had just presented itself for all of us.

***

*Buuurp!*

Letting out a large burp, Idris tossed a can to the side and looked back at his own monitor.

“Alright, it looks like the game has updated.”

He stretched his fingers and tilted his neck to the left and then to the right.

Pressing onto the game, he loaded it up real quick, and immediately, he couldn’t help but be amazed by what he saw.

“Wow, this is so much better than before.”

Let alone the opening page, but even the insides of the game felt a lot better.

The game felt smoother, and the graphics looked even better.

“A multiplayer feature?”

Wow…!

This was a much bigger update than he had originally expected.

It was also the realization that made him stop as he turned his attention towards his camera. After a while, he nodded his head, mumbling a brief ’why not’ and booted up his streaming apps before suddenly going live.

“How are you doing, guys?”

—Yoooooo!

—First XD

—I’m here!

—You’re streaming? This is a surprise. You rarely stream.

The viewer count quickly started to rise as Idris sat in his seat while answering some questions. It was only when the viewership stopped growing after passing the five thousand mark that Idris began to address everyone.

“Alright, everyone. There’s something exciting today!”

He pressed the mouse and booted up the game.

“Do any of you remember this game? A Twisted Game? Well… a new update rolled in and a multiplayer feature has been added! This is why I’ve decided to stream today! I plan on playing this game with five of you!”

—Wah!!

—I’ve got the game! Pick me!

—Same!

—Wait, shit! I don’t! What is the game?

—Twisted Game. It’s called a Twisted Game!

The chat immediately started to spasm with messages as they couldn’t contain their excitement.

Seeing the scene, Idris couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Settle down, everyone. I plan on playing a couple of rounds. There will be more than five lucky winners. Anyways, I’ll give you ten minutes to download the game before starting the random selection.”

Idris leaned back on his chair as he watched his chat become even livelier.

As he did, his gaze fell on the screen of his computer.

He couldn’t help but want to try the game immediately. Following his first failure at the game, as a true gamer, he began to grind the very same game until he finally managed to clear it.

Despite Seth saying that the game had improved, Idris was confident in himself.

He truly believed he could clear it.

And—

“Ten minutes are up. I’ll start the wheel!”

He also believed he could carry his followers in the game.

This was, however, a decision he quickly came to regret.