Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 37
"Hea—ven! Wants! Me! Dead!"
Shen Miaomiao was about to lose it.
My complexion doesn't look good?
Heh.
How the h*ll could I look good right now?!
What the fck is this sht?!
Shen Miaomiao stared at the fax, flipping it back and forth. She scrutinized it for ten whole minutes before finally making out the actual words buried in the paper:
"Major Promotion Push!!!"
Early chart listing! Splash screen ad! Banner highlights!
Did Yan Sheng really give all of YiYou’s top-tier promo slots to Vampire Survivors?!
Not only did they max out the promotional effort, but it was going to run for five whole days—all the way through the end of the event?!
This isn't promotion!
This is a f*cking death sentence!
Shen Miaomiao screamed internally.
All I wanted was an explanation! I just didn’t want to be treated like a total idiot!
A simple, sincere apology would've been enough!
I wasn’t asking for compensation! I sure as hell wasn’t asking for this kind of promo blitz!!!
I—Shen Miaomiao—
Have gone to ridiculous lengths to make sure this game LOSES money!
I've been scheming and stressing, nearly pulling my hair out!
For the game design, I pulled three all-nighters just to find the most obscure genre on the market!
For the visuals, I analyzed hundreds of data sheets before deciding on the most abandoned pixel art style!
And for promo?
I ducked and dodged like hell, doing my best to become a national-grade master of quitting while ahead!
Only then did I barely manage to keep the game popular within the player base but invisible on every media or platform!
And now?!
You just wrecked everything I worked for in one blow! Threw me right into the spotlight!
AND!!!
One promo wasn’t enough for you?!
You had to cram in every possible ad slot like your life depended on it?!
Shen Miaomiao clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She forced the words out through gritted teeth, trembling slightly: “So this... is YiYou’s compensation for us?”
“Yes,”
Chu Qingzhou nodded.
“YiYou said they’ll do everything in their power to minimize the promotional damage we suffered,”
“And if you have any other requests, feel free to let them know. They'll try to meet them all.”
Shen Miaomiao slumped in defeat, tears welling in her eyes.
What requests could I possibly make now...
If I say anything else, they might just give us every promo slot across the entire platform...
She wanted nothing more than to slap herself across the face.
Shen Miaomiao, you fool!
Why did you have to go and play the righteous idiot?!
Let them cheat the system if they want! Who cares?!
Their little favoritism stunt might’ve even helped take Vampire Survivors down a peg...
But nooo, she just had to march in and demand an explanation.
And now?
Sure, she got her answer. Along with a whole heap of trouble.
After what felt like ages, Shen Miaomiao finally took a shaky breath and looked at Chu Qingzhou with a flicker of desperate hope:
“I mean... is there any chance? That we just... refuse the compensation?”
“Uh…”
Chu Qingzhou scratched her chin with a puzzled look:
“Why would we do that?”
“Because...”
Shen Miaomiao hesitated forever before squeezing it out:
“Because it affects the fairness for other games. I mean, everyone’s here for the event, right?”
“If only we get all this promo, that’s just... super unfair!!!”
She thought her logic was rock solid.
“Oh, Yan-ge already thought of that,”
Chu Qingzhou waved her hand nonchalantly.
“They already discussed this with the developers of the other participating games. Over 80% expressed understanding.”
“First, because what we went through was just plain brutal, so the compensation is justified.”
“Second, because our vote count already crushed second place by five times,”
“So this promo isn’t really about fairness—it’s more like financial compensation to boost post-launch sales.”
“As for the voting part, it doesn’t affect the outcome since we already won.”
“Yan-ge also asked me to assure you, this compensation plan is—”
“Exactly what the public wants!”
Pfft—
Shen Miaomiao felt blood rising to her mouth.
She honestly didn’t expect her fellow devs in the mini-game scene to be so... “understanding.”
Where’s your fighting spirit?!
Where’s your passion to win?!
Don’t just roll over like this! Band together and resist this injustice!
All it took was a measly fivefold vote gap to make you give up on your rights?!
...Okay, five times is kinda hard to catch up.
But still! Don’t just give up like that!!!
Shen Miaomiao was on the verge of tears.
It felt just like that military training session where the instructor asked who could run ten kilometers, and she stood still—only for everyone else to take a step back.
I never meant to stand out!!!
Worst of all, she couldn’t even find a legit excuse to reject YiYou’s compensation!
What was she gonna do, turn down free money they were practically forcing into her hands?
That would be way too suspicious!
Thinking of this, Shen Miaomiao let out a deep, miserable sigh:
“Chu-jie, go buy me some Yi Mu Cao this afternoon…”
Chu Qingzhou blinked, then leaned in and lowered her voice:
“Your... period’s acting up?”
Shen Miaomiao stared blankly at the ceiling, slumped in her chair, and nodded.
“It’s coming.”
YiYou Platform’s compensation plan was soon rolled out.
And just like that, Vampire Survivors, already wildly popular among gamers, exploded in popularity—becoming the most talked-about dark horse on the entire platform, and even across Huaxia’s gaming scene!
"A Supernova is Born! Golden Wind Locks In Victory a Week Early!"
"Why Is Vampire Survivors So Fun? Let’s Dive Deep Into Its Mechanics!"
"The Man Behind the Magic: Who Is Gu Sheng, the Creator of One Hit After Another?"
"I Won’t Allow Anyone to Miss This—The Ultimate Guide to Vampire Survivors!"
"..."
With unprecedented hype, media outlets jumped in without needing an invite. Whether big publishers or solo bloggers, they were all scrambling to uncover newsworthy angles in this breakout hit!
“Hey everyone, welcome back to Lao Ju’s #@￥% Game Showcase! Today we’re diving into a super爽 little game—Vampire Survivors! Took me ten minutes to fully master it…”
“What’s up guys, I’m Sanren. Today we’re playing this game called Vampire Survivors…”
“Yo! Hey everyone, I’m C-jun! Today’s game is Vampire Survivors…”
“Hey guys, it’s Apa. Today we’re playing a pixel-style mini-game—Vampire Survivors…”
One after another, gaming content creators started playing this mysteriously addictive title, piloting their tiny characters through endless monster swarms, screaming and laughing while chasing that pure, uncut gambler’s high.
As for the streaming platforms? Things were even more insane!
Besides dedicated indie game streamers like A-Yin, Tree Bro, Liuliu, and Zhuangzhuang—
Even FPS, singing, League, and go streamers were swept into the craze!
And the players?
They went from clueless about how to synthesize super weapons, to fully mastering the crafting formulas, playing smoother and smoother!
The increasing thrill of the gameplay sent the game’s reputation skyrocketing within the player community.
Until one day!
It was Sunday again. 7:50 PM.
Golden Wind Game Technology Co., Ltd., which should have been clocking out by now, remained brightly lit for once.
Inside the meeting room, people took their seats one after another.
At the head of the table, one bun-haired figure stood out clearly.
No one else but—
Shen Miaomiao, looking like she was staring death in the face.