Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 43
Another half-month passed, and Ye Yuxi finally completed her new game.
Doudou Interactive’s contact person, LuoDiChengHe, was overjoyed.
LuoDiChengHe: Teacher, you’ve already finished Campus Nightmare 2?!
Seeing the title “Teacher,” Ye Yuxi couldn’t help but feel awkward.
Ever since Campus Nightmare became a massive hit and cemented her reputation, it seemed like an unspoken rule—fans and Doudou staff alike all referred to her as “Teacher.”
But she felt totally unworthy of the title! She was just someone who made horror games!
Moreover, ever since her last PR crisis, despite some mitigation efforts, her identity was fully exposed within the industry. Doudou’s team all knew she was still just a university student at Nanhai University. How could they comfortably call her “Teacher”?
Wait.
Miss Ye: What Campus Nightmare 2? That’s not what I made.
The other party immediately sent a shocked emoji.
LuoDiChengHe: Teacher, this isn’t a sequel? It’s a brand-new series? But everyone’s been eagerly anticipating a sequel to Campus Nightmare…
Miss Ye: But I don’t want to make that. I only want to create something new.
“…”
Fine, you’re the designer. What you say goes.
Ye Yuxi sent over the new game package.
After a quick trial run on the other end, the response came back five minutes later—three consecutive exclamation marks.
LuoDiChengHe: !!! Aaaaaa, Teacher, is this a multiplayer game this time?!
Miss Ye: Yes. Up to four players can play together. The system balances the difficulty, which increases with the number of players.
No kidding—multiplayer games are the ultimate peak of the gaming world, aren’t they?
It’s common knowledge that any game becomes exponentially more dynamic and fun when multiple players can interact.
Now that Ye Yuxi had the resources, she went all out, purchasing equipment capable of supporting multiplayer collaboration.
However, considering the unique nature of horror games, she decided against making it an expansive open-world game. The player limit was capped at four.
LuoDiChengHe was clearly excited, immediately reporting that the game had been fast-tracked through the approval process. As long as Ye Yuxi agreed, the game could be published on their platform at any time.
LuoDiChengHe: I sincerely apologize for ever doubting you, Teacher! You’re amazing! Even with a brand-new concept, you’ve managed to break away from the formula of your last game and still create something just as outstanding! I was so foolish to doubt your creativity!
Ye Yuxi: … As long as you’re happy.
Well, judging from this reaction, it seemed her game was receiving solid recognition.
A slight smile tugged at the corners of Ye Yuxi’s mouth as she began looking forward to streamers playing her multiplayer game.
Meanwhile, on a nearby capital planet not far from Nanhai Star, in a university town’s internet café, a group of graduate students shuddered collectively before yanking off their VR gear at lightning speed, returning to reality.
Strictly speaking, they first sat in stunned silence, staring blankly at each other in their private booth to confirm they were back in the real world. Only then did they slowly start to recover.
“Oh my god… That ghost was way too terrifying! When she got close, I honestly thought I was gonna die for real, wuuu!”
“Ugh, I just wanted to log in and do some research in the game! Why did I get dragged into the main quest?!”
“Exactly! I totally think Miss Ye should release a tourist version that skips the main quest, so we can just focus on our research!”
Among the group, one woman stood out with her familiar appearance.
She was none other than Huang Heng, who had previously been selected by the Doudou platform for a live stream. It was her decision to report Campus Nightmare to her mentor, Professor Yuan, that provided Ye Yuxi with critical support during that public opinion war.
Huang Heng was the epitome of a research-focused personality, showing little interest in anything outside her academic pursuits.
Recently, she had been wholly absorbed in uncovering ancient cultural elements embedded within the game, paying no heed to the outside world’s chaos.
In fact, she had even gathered a few like-minded companions to join her in the research. Although the game itself wasn’t multiplayer, having others nearby still offered some psychological comfort.
Yes, as much as she hated to admit it, Huang Heng did feel a bit scared entering the game alone for research.
Moreover, post-game sessions provided opportunities for timely academic discussions.
As they grew more familiar with each other, their conversations eventually included complaints about the game’s design.
Most of these revolved around two points: why the game had to be so terrifying and why it didn’t allow players to explore the map peacefully as tourists.
On this latter issue, Huang Heng herself had plenty of grievances.
Repeated experiments revealed that the game would relentlessly force players into the summoning game’s main storyline.
For instance, if a player logged in and decided to stand still, NPCs would eventually come over, drag them away, and initiate the plot.
If by some miracle the NPCs were avoided, they would start summoning rituals themselves. Once they violated taboos and summoned the ghost, they would flee in the player’s direction, ensuring the player triggered a new bad ending (BE).
In short, the game gave players no time to catch their breath!
With such frequent incidents—one every five minutes—how could they focus on research? They barely had time to run for their lives!
Just as the four graduate students were brimming with frustration, a synchronized notification alert rang on their devices.
“It’s a new update from Miss Ye!”
Exchanging quick glances, the four immediately opened their terminals and skillfully navigated to their newfound favorite, the Doudou platform.
Surprisingly, the latest announcement wasn’t related to Campus Nightmare or its sequel. Instead, it read:
“Miss Ye’s Latest Creation—Large Scale 4-Player Multiplayer Game Residential Area Battle Royale to Launch on October 25th at Midnight!”
In his private office, Chu Yuanming repeated the announcement aloud in a tone laced with ambiguous interest, his expression thoughtful.
While Campus Nightmare had carved a niche for itself and enjoyed a brief explosive popularity, its player base and overall influence couldn’t compare to Starfall 2, the reigning giant in the gaming world.
After all, one was the hottest open-world title, and the other was merely a well-crafted single-player narrative game. The two appealed to entirely different audiences and weren’t even in the same league.
And now, a multiplayer game?
He’d long suspected that Miss Ye’s ambitions were anything but small—she wouldn’t settle for creating single-player games with a limited audience forever.
So, what kind of surprises would this new venture bring?
Like an emperor reigning supreme over the gaming industry, he cast a casual glance at the challenger stirring below, curious to see if they could even graze the edges of his throne.
What he didn’t realize was that the rise of the new king would be far more terrifying—and much faster—than he could have ever imagined.