Chapter 508: Golden Wind is releasing "Double Ride 2"! |
The trailer finished playing!
In the conference room, the Komera executives looked at each other, then all turned their gazes toward Seiichi Nakamura sitting at the head of the table.
It was obvious this wasn't their work.
After all, the overall style of this trailer was bizarre and inexplicable.
It was a fairy tale.
But it was a relatively dark fairy tale.
The Four Heavenly Kings and the final witch that appeared in the trailer definitely didn't fit the requirements for children's literature.
So...
"What game's trailer is this? 'Village Of Shadows'?"
"Which company's new game?"
This style seemed somewhat familiar.
Although Takasugi Isao wasn't entirely sure.
He just felt this confusing, foggy narrative style was very distinctive, with overall quality and storyboarding that could be considered top-tier, looking very "familiar."
Could it be...?
"It's a teaser trailer for Golden Wind's new work."
Seiichi Nakamura revealed the answer.
As expected!
Takasugi Isao nodded inwardly.
It seemed his judgment was fairly accurate.
After all, this bizarre, supernatural style—within the gaming circle, no one else could replicate its essence so perfectly.
One could say that ever since "Silent Hill PT," this inexplicable yet curiously intriguing trailer tone had become Gu Sheng's signature.
Although over the years, many developers had tried to imitate this style.
They all struggled to capture its essence, unable to recreate that mysterious atmosphere Golden Wind possessed.
So it was Golden Wind's teaser trailer...
Takasugi Isao secretly took a sharp breath, feeling somewhat uneasy in his heart.
No wonder Nakamura was so urgent about calling this meeting first thing in the morning.
It seemed Golden Wind's trailer named "Village Of Shadows" had just been released.
"...I gathered everyone for a meeting immediately because I wanted to ask for your opinions and views,"
Seiichi Nakamura said:
"Undoubtedly, this year's Higashitsu Gaming Festival, Golden Wind, having just become the largest shareholder of Illusion Engine, definitely won't be absent,"
"At that time, they will bring the most cutting-edge engine technology in the current gaming industry to launch the most fierce assault against us,"
"As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated,"
"Since their teaser trailer has already been released,"
"Then we must quickly analyze their intentions through this teaser to formulate a response..."
At the conference table, Seiichi Nakamura frowned deeply, his eyes filled with severe tension, as if facing a formidable enemy.
For a moment, Takasugi Isao even felt a bit dazed.
Golden Wind... had already become the most troublesome enemy Komera had ever faced.
He still remembered two or three years ago.
Back then, Golden Wind was just a small game company beginning to make a name for itself in Huaguo.
They were so weak back then.
Before the behemoth that was Komera, they seemed so insignificant.
So much so that several times, the former president Uekoe Kagemasa suffered painful blows due to underestimation.
And now.
The former tiny game company had grown into a medium-to-large comprehensive gaming group worth billions.
With the support of industry integration, the current Golden Wind had become the most powerful, most troublesome, most headache-inducing opponent Komera had encountered in its decades of existence.
No one dared to look down on them anymore.
Now, Golden Wind had even become the biggest threat, the greatest rival, to Komera, even to the entire Vivendi group!
The situation had long since reversed.
Once, their Komera, relying on its scale and technological advantages, ruthlessly crushed Golden Wind in production quality,
forcing them to struggle for survival in narrow gaps, relying only on stunning gameplay to find the most precise and appropriate solution among one-in-ten-thousand success probabilities.
And now.
The world's most cutting-edge gaming technology was firmly controlled by Golden Wind.
The former small hill in industrial technological level had now risen from the ground, standing alone as the leader among the Five Sacred Mountains.
And the challenges they once threw out had, like a boomerang, taken several years to complete a huge circle and come flying back—
When industrial technology is completely surpassed, can you use gameplay to lock in an undefeated answer among one-in-ten-thousand success probabilities?
This...
Takasugi Isao seemed to already have an answer in his heart.
But he didn't quite dare face this bleak and bloody reality.
Fortunately!
Right at this moment, a voice spoke up, temporarily interrupting his terrifying premonition—
"Is Golden Wind trying to make... a dark fairy tale?"
Takasugi Isao turned to look.
The speaker was about thirty-something years old, thin, with slicked-back hair, small eyes,
wearing a dusty gray casual suit, sitting upright and straight.
It was the lead designer of the top studio among the Big Three, Nakamurai Studio's lead designer—Kojima.
Hearing this.
Seiichi Nakamura nodded, signaling Kojima to continue.
Kojima cleared his throat and began his analysis:
"From the teaser trailer, we can see the entire story has no ending,"
"If the little girl is the protagonist of GW's work, then the witch's final attack means the beginning of the ending BOSS battle,"
"Golden Wind didn't give a clear combat outcome,"
"So I believe this should be the final setup of this work,"
"And the Four Heavenly Kings—[Bat], [Ghost], [Monster Fish], [Warhorse]—that the little girl encountered earlier are the corresponding four BOSSes in the game,"
"Similar to the Four Lords of Ashes in 'Dark Souls,' they are key figures in the game..."
There's something to this.
Listening to Kojima's analysis, Takasugi Isao couldn't help but nod inwardly.
It must be said.
As the lead designer of the top studio among the Big Three, Kojima's sensitivity to games was quite high.
With just a two-to-three-minute clip.
Kojima could clearly judge the overall design direction of this game through the visuals and storyboarding.
Seeing Seiichi Nakamura and the other executives nodding, Kojima grew even more confident.
He paused, then continued speaking, the certainty in his voice growing even stronger:
"As for the overall form of the game... I personally speculate it's most likely similar to 'It Takes Two,'"
"Only the art style and story core might differ from 'It Takes Two's' family-friendly tone,"
"Perhaps leaning more toward darkness."
Golden Wind is going to release 'It Takes Two 2'!
Kojima was very confident in his prediction.
Although stylistically, this "Village Of Shadows" was quite different from "It Takes Two."
The overall gameplay design must be largely similar!
After all, while this trailer seemed confusing and foggy, there wasn't actually little to glean from it!
First, the art style is right there, that's indisputable!
Second, the trailer heavily uses "adventure" and "jumping" elements, which also exceptionally fits "It Takes Two's" gameplay tone!
Finally, there's this obvious, unmistakable level BOSS design, exactly like "It Takes Two"!
"...And!"
At this point, Kojima narrowed his eyes slightly, clearly looking like he had seen through everything:
"According to Golden Wind's consistent design, this time in 'Village Of Shadows,' they will definitely innovate upon the original foundation of 'It Takes Two,'"
"Judging from this style and tone,"
"'Village Of Shadows' will very likely integrate horror elements,"
"Blending 'It Takes Two's' gameplay, 'Dark Souls'' obscurity, and 'P.T.'s' terror together,"
"Creating an obscure, horrifying dark adult fairy tale work,"
"Using the highest technical prowess to present a dark Little Red Riding Hood-style story."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Here, Kojima had just finished speaking, his words not yet fully fallen!
At the head of the table, Seiichi Nakamura's applause had already erupted!
Immediately after, thunderous applause filled the conference room!
Whoosh—!!!
Excellent!
Seiichi Nakamura's face was full of praise, even carrying a hint of self-satisfied pride, nodding repeatedly with satisfaction!
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
Precise, clear, far-sighted, penetrating!
From surface to essence, from macro to micro, from direct perception to extended prediction, from past work cores to developer style!
Kojima's analysis was incisive, thorough and logical!
Truly eye-opening, enlightening!
That's right.
Seiichi Nakamura nodded repeatedly, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Kojima's analysis couldn't be more comprehensive and accurate.
A horror-filled dark adult fairy tale!
Using the most cutting-edge technical prowess to present a fairy tale!
This couldn't be more in line with Golden Wind's consistent style!
Opening the comment section, he saw it was already extremely lively, with many players expressing their views—!
'My god! Is Little Yellow preparing to make a fairy tale?'
'Village Of Shadows, hiss... sounds like a horror story...'
'A horror fairy tale? My god, GW is really being bold!'
'Hard to imagine a game with this art style is actually GW's first work after acquiring Illusion Engine...'
'Bizarre, confusing, definitely a horror game'
'Classic Gu-style weirdness (doge)'
'Hard to imagine what gameplay form this theme should take'
'Maybe a first-person fairy tale style??'
'Don't know about the style, but if the little girl is the protagonist, I probably won't have a weapon again (laughcry)'
'"HAHAHAHAHAHA damn! Blindspot, you've discovered the key point!"
'Hiss—don't! Not this kind of creepy trick again?'
'Escape (Ultra HD Remastered Fairy Tale Edition)'
'On this day, Butter players once again remembered the fear dominated by the DV camera...'
'Don't get it, really don't get it, Old Thief's damn horror game trailers are impossible to understand'
'This art style is quite unique, looking forward to it...'
...
After browsing!
Although the comments said all sorts of things.
It wasn't hard to see that many experienced players made guesses quite close to Kojima's analysis!
This meant that "Village Of Shadows" was, nine times out of ten, exactly as they analyzed!
Even if there were some differences in the middle, overall, it must be largely similar!
Thinking of this!
Seiichi Nakamura's originally suspended heart settled a bit.
Knowing your game form makes things much easier, then we can focus our attacks and countermeasures!
So now—
"...let's continue our discussion,"
Seiichi Nakamura took a sip of tea, cleared his throat and said:
"Next, we should discuss our own projects..."