In a few days, the DreamHeart gaming platform became extremely popular. However, Undertale, which was supposed to be the flagship game, didn't get much attention—at least not until some streamers started noticing it. One of the first to decide to play it was Alice.
After discovering Detroit, Alice streamed it almost non-stop for a month. She managed to get all the alternative endings, which made her a bit famous in the gaming community. After finally completing everything, she started looking for something else to stream.
"So, what do you guys want to see? Should we head to Vortex?"
Alice was much calmer dealing with the chat. Since finishing Detroit, her audience had grown a lot, but now she needed to find something to keep their attention.
"Play Star Hunt; there's a new update. They say there are new ships."
"Let's watch some videos of Galactic Vigilante. It seems a new planet was discovered."
"I want to see you try The North; they added lots of new weapons and a new ground troop. It looks fun."
"Let's watch some movies or series. Adventure Time is amazing."
"Adventure Time is terrible; it makes no sense. Everything seems so stupid. Star vs. the Forces of Evil is much better. Star is perfect."
"While you argue, the beast with just one eye only observes."
"You guys are crazy. Adventure Time is incredible. These others don't even compare."
"Hahaha, Star alone could beat up Finn and Jake."
"Someone commit this woman; she's lost her mind. Finn the human is enough for your little Star."
Alice noticed the chat starting to argue but didn't pay attention. She just continued as if she hadn't seen it. If anyone crossed the line, the AI would ban them.
"I think DreamHeart released several things, right? I haven't looked yet, but they were the ones who made Detroit. I'll check it out; maybe there's something fun."
The chat stopped arguing and started recommending their favorite animations. Alice watched some of the movies and series, but she didn't find anything interesting.
(If I'm not mistaken, that meme kid said there was a game on this app.)
Alice quickly saw Undertale featured on the app.
"This is the game the kid said would change how people see games, so let's give it a try."
Alex had included a streaming system in the app. He knew Detroit got so much recognition because of the viral videos made about it, even though support from the Association was the biggest help the game received.
It didn't take long for Alice to start the game. As soon as she launched it, a large screen floated in front of her with 'Undertale' written on it. A solid-light controller suddenly materialized before her. Holding the controller, she was confused, and so was the entire chat.
But before anyone could start asking questions, a small pixel-art character appeared. He seemed to be wearing a red skirt, no shirt, and holding two blades. Then, a deep, heavy voice began to speak.
"My time is precious, so I will explain this only once."
Alice was surprised by the small character speaking to her with such a strong voice. What she didn't know was that this was the hardest-to-find Easter egg that Alex had created. Since he knew no one would know how to use the controller, he made several characters from the game appear at the beginning to explain how it worked.
As an Easter egg, he included the three protagonists from Detroit with only a 2% chance of appearing and Kratos with just a 0.3% chance. This Easter egg was something he added for players to understand only when he releases God of War. It would be an interesting tidbit for future players.
Without realizing the super rare Easter egg she had encountered, Alice quickly grasped the controller's functions and started the game. The screen went dark, a soft music started playing, and an old, tired voice began to narrate slowly.
[A long time ago, two races ruled over the Earth… Humans and Monsters.]**
An animation began, showing a human child walking through a field of flowers. Then, they meet a furry child with two small horns. They both smile and raise their hands, about to greet each other, but before they could shake hands, the narration continued.
[One day, a war broke out between them. After a long battle, the humans were victorious, so they sealed the monsters underground with a magical spell.]
The animation changed, the cheerful tone disappeared, and a heavy, sad atmosphere appeared, showing a battlefield full of humans and monsters fighting. Many soldiers on both sides were battling, with various spells being cast from both sides. The warriors exchanged blows, destroying everything around them.
This animation was done in a style similar to the original Undertale, but Alex made sure that this animation surpassed the promotional videos from Blizzard in the past, with fights close to those in the Fate series.
The battle quickly ended, showing a large golden barrier. The screen went dark again, and some phrases appeared. The screen slowly brightened, showing a child climbing a mountain, and the narration resumed.
[Many years later….
Mount Ebott
Year 20xxx
Legends say that those who climb the mountain never return.]
The animation showed the child climbing the mountain and entering a cave. In the middle of the cave, a huge hole appeared. The child, seemingly curious, approached, but as they got close, they tripped over some roots and fell into the hole.
The child fell, hitting some branches until they reached the bottom. The scene ended, showing the child unconscious at the bottom of the crater. Then, the screen went dark, and the game began, displaying beautiful pixel art.
Alice was captivated by this beginning. The narration and the animation were very unique. It was the first time she had seen something like this. What she didn't know was that Alex had drawn this animation by hand, sketching each frame to create all the movements the way he wanted. Naturally, this animation conveyed a unique feeling. Alice wasn't the only one surprised; everyone in the chat was excited about this beginning too.
"Wow, that animation was amazing! As expected from Alexandre, all his animations are top-notch."
"Dude, that intro was insane. I'd love to see a movie of this."
"DreamHeart, what did you expect?"
"This is the first time I've seen something like this. I'm impressed."
"Alexandre?"
"It's amazing that an animation like this is made by just one company. How has no one copied it yet?"
"On the company's website, there are behind-the-scenes videos. Most of these animations are done by hand."
"Drawn by hand? Seriously? Why not use AI?"
"I've been a fan of Potato Productions since Totoro."
"Potato Productions? Alexandre? DreamHeart? Am I the only one who's lost?"
Alice saw the chat talking and joked a bit before starting to play.
"Alright, let's get started. It looks like we're in a cave."
Alice used the controller and walked the character to a door. As soon as she entered, everything was dark, and only a flower with a face was in the middle of the screen, smiling at her.
"Wow, that's cute! Look at its face."
Alice found the flower adorable. As she got closer, the character started talking to the flower.
[Hi, how are you?
I'm Flowey.
Flowey the flower.]
Flowey introduced himself and began explaining things about the underground. Then, the protagonist became a small red heart in the middle of a frame, and Flowey explained.
[See this heart?
This is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being.
Your SOUL starts off weak, but it can become stronger if you gain a lot of LV.
What does LV mean?
Love, of course.
You want love, don't you?
Don't worry, I'll share some with you.]
The flower blinked cheerfully.
[Down here, love is shared through...
Little white 'friendliness pellets.']
"This seems a bit childish."
"I think it's just a kids' game, kinda sad."
"It's cute, so I'm okay with it."
"I don't like things so childish. After that start, I was expecting more."
[Move around!
Catch as many 'pellets' as you can.]
Alice rolled her eyes but moved the heart to catch the little white pellets. The moment she touched them, the controller vibrated, and her health dropped to 1. The flower's face immediately became sinister and frightening.
[YOU IDIOT.
In this world, it's kill or be killed.
Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this?
DIE.]
Alice was shocked. For some reason, the flower's face made her really uneasy, and its laugh was chilling.
"@#$%#$$$%#@, my heart almost stopped."
"What kind of ugly flower is that?"
"Look at that smile. It gives me the creeps."
"Someone burn it."
While everyone was surprised, several light pellets appeared and surrounded the heart. But just when they were about to destroy it, someone attacked the flower. A sheep woman appeared.
[What a terrible creature, torturing such an innocent youth...
Oh, don't be afraid, my child.
I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.
I come through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down.
You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come, I will guide you through the catacombs.]
"We're saved! This Toriel seems very kind, but after that scare, it's better to be cautious with her."
Alice was genuinely caught off guard. She mentally scolded herself for letting her guard down. After Detroit, she shouldn't underestimate the games that kid released. She looked at Toriel with suspicion, not even imagining that soon she'd be crying over this character.
"She's cute."
"Kids' game, my ass."
"She's kinda cute, actually."
"Seems nice, hope she's not like the flower."
"I wouldn't mind meeting some furry girls, hehehe."
"Yeah, she's pretty. I wouldn't mind taking this kid's place, hehehe."
"For some reason, I feel like more and more weird people are showing up here."
Alice looked at the chat, speechless.
(Why is my audience so weird?)
While Alice was streaming, Alex received a notification. He'd been following her ever since he found out she was the first to stream Detroit. But as he watched, he was stunned by her audience.
(Did I just bring the furry lovers back into the universe?)
"...Forget it, that's not my problem..."
It was still early afternoon. Alex wanted to relax a bit by watching something interesting but gave up. His mind was filled with thoughts about the company's future, but he wanted to take a break and clear his mind. After thinking for a while, he decided to call Jade.
"Hey, Jade, are you busy?"
"I'm just watching some videos. Why?"
"I'm bored. How about we go out for a bit?"
"I don't know, I'm feeling lazy. Where do you want to go?"
"I just want to take a walk and clear my mind. How about you buy me a snack?"
"Why should I buy it? You're the one inviting me."
"You're a rich girl. Buying a few snacks is nothing for you... Come on, we could go watch some races."
"Is the track open?! I'll pick you up now."
Jade hung up the call immediately. Alex just laughed; this girl was so easy to lure out. He changed his clothes and waited for a bit. Soon, a horn sounded outside the house. When he opened the door, he saw Jade sitting on her motorcycle.
She was wearing black jeans, a black top showing part of her belly, and a black jacket with metal details.
[Note: I hadn't posted a picture of Jade until now, how is that even possible? And none of you reminded me about this.
ヽ( `д´*)ノ
Here's a picture of her.]
Alex looked at Jade for a moment.
"What are you staring at? Get on already."
"Oh, nothing, I just think you look good with your hair down like that."
(눈_눈)
"... Don't even try. You literally won trillions of credits. I'm not paying for anything for you."
"Tsk... fine, let's go. Are you sure you can drive?"
"Of course, I'm really good at it. Don't worry."
"Hearing you say that makes me worried."
Jade didn't care and accelerated. The anti-gravity motorcycle lifted into the air, causing the wind to blow against both of them. Jade simply loved this feeling and made sure to take the longer route.
When they arrived at the racetrack, Alex couldn't help but complain.
"You could have activated the barrier."
"Barriers are for the weak. Besides, this bike only goes up to 200 km/h. I can't drive anything faster than that."
As the two were talking, Jade suddenly saw a group of protesters holding signs and shouting.
"I can't believe it. Those damn protesters have nothing better to do than ruin people's days."
"Protesters? What do they want?"
"You don't know? They're complaining about the teleportation machine."
"WHAT??? Teleportation? Seriously?!"
"Yeah, how do you not know about this? It's everywhere. It seems there have been some advancements, but when it was revealed how the teleportation process works, these protesters started making a fuss."
"There must be some reason."
"Basically, the machine atomizes your body and then reconstructs it, atom by atom, at the location you were sent to. The problem is that people are saying since your body is atomized, you technically die, and what the machine creates is just a copy of you with your memories."
"Looking at it that way, they have a point."
"It doesn't matter if they're right!!! Instead of blocking people's way and making noise, why don't they go find a solution? Shouting in the middle of the street isn't going to help; it's just going to get in the way of those trying to make things work."
"...."
"...."
"Sorry, these protesters really annoy me."
"It's fine. Why don't we watch some races to relax?"
After that, Alex and Jade went to watch the races. Jade was especially excited watching the motorcycle stunts, and Alex was just as thrilled as Jade seeing the riders' skills.
After spending a few hours watching the races, the two left and went to grab something to eat.
"So, how's the competition going? Has the second stage started yet?"
"Yeah, this stage will only take two months, and the last one just a month. I've already sent in the game, but I'm not worried. At first, I really wanted to win, but now it's not that important. With the company being so well-known, the contract with Eternal Dream is good but not essential. How about you? Grandma Maria said you're getting better and better."
"Well, we were talking, and she said I'll soon be ready to start doing some shows. Nothing's been decided yet, but I don't think it'll take long."
"That's amazing! Soon, I'll have a famous singer to promote my games."
The two continued talking until evening. After returning home, Alex lay on his bed, smiling. Spending some time just having fun, without thinking about anything, always left him relaxed. But after that, he decided to tackle a problem he had been avoiding for a while: deciding what would be the company's 'flagship' in the future.
Alex started thinking about various games that could take on that role. God of War was a good title, but with it participating in the competition, it was necessary to create a new IP. This IP would be the company's first big release and also a game that Alex would put all his time and money into creating.
The first game Alex thought of was Halo. After all, the Halo universe was incredible, with such a dense and rich story that it intimidated anyone who tried to learn about it. When the studio that produced Halo changed, many developers felt lost, not knowing what to do with that universe. Fans even offered to help developers with the universe's story. This just shows how vast and full of possibilities this universe is. Another game Alex thought of was Destiny. Even though it's a multiplayer game, the entire universe's development is amazing, with great stories. If done correctly, he could create something incredible with it.
Mass Effect was also on the list, being a saga with an incredible story, iconic characters, and almost perfect relationship development. Alex really wanted to make one of these his first major solo release. But he ended up changing his mind. He didn't want to do anything involving space. Space war games weren't new enough to impact the audience. Even if the stories were unique, it wouldn't be different enough to grab attention.
Alex also considered Cyberpunk 2077. He could create the entire world using the tabletop game as a base, but he wasn't sure if it would be attractive enough to appeal to an audience addicted to war games. Maybe The Elder Scrolls saga could be a good choice, but unlike God of War, which would be in the competition where they're taking innovation into account, when he released the game, everything would depend on whether the audience was interested.
Alex started searching his memory for a game that could intrigue the audience while being different enough. Suddenly, he sat up in bed and slapped his leg.
"Hahaha, how did I not think of this before?! I think it's time for the people in this universe to understand that:
'War, war never changes.'"
Note: Yes, I'm late. Sorry about that. I've been quite busy this week, and I've also started going to bed earlier, so I'm feeling better. To make up for it, this chapter is a bit longer.
Soon, we'll start the protagonist's next big project, and I'll also finish the competition in the upcoming chapters. The plan was to finish it before chapter 30, but I couldn't, hahaha.
After the competition, there will be some time skips. I want to start the next arc soon. I want to gather some talent and get the company up and running quickly.
Also, if you have any game suggestions for the holographic bracelet, feel free to share, and if you have any good ideas, you can send them too. I'm open to suggestions, hahaha.