Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 17
When Ye Yuxi woke up, she felt as if the world had undergone some changes while she was asleep.
Everywhere she went, her classmates seemed to be whispering about something. As she passed by, she could catch snippets of words like “courage test,” “female ghost” and the like.
Considering the cultural gap in this world—where ghost stories and folklore didn’t seem to exist—Ye Yuxi immediately thought of her game, which had gone live yesterday.
No, she told herself, humility was important. There was no way her game could explode in popularity after just one day.
Just as she had that thought, a familiar classmate approached her with a mysterious grin and showed her a video.
The moment she saw that familiar female ghost jump scare, Ye Yuxi was stunned.
Wait—wasn’t that the ghost design she’d painstakingly crafted? The very one she had spent ages transforming from a masked, burly killer into an eerie female ghostly senior?
So… her game had really gone viral?
It was Ye Yuxi’s first time officially releasing a game, and she had never imagined it would gain such traction. She’d already braced herself for a slow grind, expecting to achieve recognition only after releasing her umpteenth game.
Suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly opened her social and game design accounts, only to find her inbox completely flooded with messages.
Countless people were either directly or subtly asking when the full version would be released. Even Jade Willow, the streamer who had cleared the demo, had sent her a private message, praising the game as a delightful surprise and urging her to release the full version as soon as possible.
Of course, there were also messages from people claiming they were too scared to leave their houses at night because of her game, demanding she tone down the horror. Some even threatened to send her “knife mail” if she didn’t.
As for the latter, Ye Yuxi skillfully ignored them.
She was making a horror game, after all! If she toned down the scary elements, she might as well switch to developing dating sims!
As for the former…
Before she could figure out a response, she noticed a system notification in her inbox. A message marked in red—this one was from Doudou itself.
Skipping over the other strangers’ messages, Ye Yuxi clicked on the one from Doudou without hesitation.
This was her benefactor, after all! The 2,000 star coins they had deposited into her account were still warm.
Two thousand star coins! While Ye Yuxi wasn’t exactly strapped for cash, game development was a money pit, and that payment had been a lifesaver. Without it, she’d have been stuck drinking low-grade nutrient fluids all month.
Initially, Campus Nightmare had started as a school project. All the NPCs were built using free templates from a creative library, and the voices were AI-generated. While the AI voices sounded decent, they lacked a sense of authenticity.
When she decided to release the game on a platform, she couldn’t be so half-hearted. During the process of turning her original project into a demo, she carefully selected several professional voice modules and reluctantly spent 200 star coins per voice license—totaling 1,000 star coins. This left her completely broke for the month.
And truthfully, those professional voice modules were relatively inexpensive. If she wanted the NPCs in the full version to feel even more realistic, hiring actual voice actors for recordings…
Ye Yuxi immediately wore a pained expression, as if she could see the freshly credited 2,000 star coins in her account sprouting wings and flying away.
The dashboard showed that Campus Nightmare was now the top search on Doudou’s trending list.
Unfortunately, the demo was free, and her contract excluded data-based rewards. In other words, she wouldn’t receive any income until the full version went live.
No wonder so many talented game developers rely on big companies—it really does take a mountain of money to make games!
Sighing deeply, Ye Yuxi wiped her face and began reading the message Doudou had sent her.
“LuoDiChengHe:
Hello, Master! First off, congratulations on your game topping Doudou’s trending and search charts! And this is even before our official promotion efforts started—it just goes to show how incredible the quality of your game is!”
“But we noticed something: the buzz generated by streamers alone isn’t enough. Comparing the overall search interest in Campus Nightmare online to the current number of pre-downloads, the conversion rate is still relatively low. It seems that many viewers are just cloud gamers and don’t intend to play it themselves.”
Ye Yuxi glanced at the stats. Pre-download numbers were approaching 20 million.
That figure sounded impressive, but considering the vast population of the interstellar world and the immense potential of the gaming market, it wasn’t groundbreaking. It couldn’t compare to the trending terms like “Courage Test,” “Female Ghost,” or even “May Bridge.”
While she reviewed the data, another message popped up.
“LuoDiChengHe:
Given the current situation, our promotional team suggests working with you to create some game trailers and explanatory videos. We hope you can help introduce the concepts behind the female ghost and the courage test.”
“Since you’re introducing some very fresh concepts, many players and viewers might not fully understand them. A clearer explanation could help build recognition and anticipation, drawing in more potential players.”
Ye Yuxi considered it briefly and agreed.
Then she stared at her personal editing tools and connection equipment, falling silent.
Her editing skills were… well, mediocre at best. If she left it entirely to Doudou, she worried they wouldn’t capture the exact vibe she wanted.
When she voiced her concerns, they responded immediately.
“LuoDiChengHe:
Don’t worry! Since Campus Nightmare is now a signed game with Doudou, we’ll provide access to our internal free templates for making promotional videos. Once you’ve finished your initial cut, just send it to us, and we’ll polish it to perfection based on your vision!”
Ye Yuxi’s hand froze mid-hair-tug.
What? Such a great deal existed?
“LuoDiChengHe:
Additionally, we have long-term partnerships with professional voice actors. Whether you want to buy sound templates or hire real voice actors, we can offer internal discounts!”
Ye Yuxi instantly replied, “Thank you so much!”
She stayed up all night creating a promotional and explanatory video, and soon completed the first version.
By the following afternoon, the Campus Nightmare page had a new video link featured prominently on its cover. Doudou’s official account shared it immediately.
Curious players—whether they were familiar with the game or had only heard of it recently—clicked on the link without hesitation.