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Gu Fan lay comfortably on the lazy sofa in the living room, once again tuning into Instructor Ding's live broadcast.
Lilith, on the other hand, was perched on a single sofa to the side, surrounded by snacks and beverages, ready to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
She was brimming with confidence in "Sisyphus."
This time, there could be no repeat of past mistakes!
Previously, "Infernal Trajectory" had inexplicably suffered from a bullet-bending BUG, but "Sisyphus" was definitely not an FPS game—without bullets or enemies, surely a similar bug couldn't occur again?
As long as there were no surprises, the game was a sure thing.
"Brothers, it's time to feast, awoo, brothers!
"Today we're also here to test out this new game from 'Nitiandang' game company, called 'Sisyphus.' Everyone knows Sisyphus, right? He's that dung beetle—no, not that, the immortal—who pushed the rock up the hill in Greek mythology."
Instructor Ding had started his stream on time, just like before, getting straight to the point and letting all his viewers know he was about to start filling his stomach.
This was his "disclaimer."
However, this feed differed from the past occasions.
Instructor Ding added, "This time, Client Daddy is quite generous, opting for a 'monthly package' directly for our stream, but who am I? Right, brothers, you all know that I, Instructor Ding, always pay great attention to your viewing experience, so I've decided!
"To stream for five days first, if you brothers like it we'll continue, if not, we'll call it quits."
This announcement left the audience in shock.
"There's such an unashamed person!"
"Meal-Getting Immortal, you're escalating your shamelessness, aren't you? We put up with you eating every week, and now you're going for a whole week at once?"
"Please don't show commercials in the middle of the game!"
"Lecture us properly, is this Nitiandang company a family business of yours?"
Despite the barrage of criticism in the comments, Instructor Ding had already signed the contract and naturally couldn't back out now.
He pretended not to see them and started the game straight away.
According to Instructor Ding's original plan, he could stream the game for two hours a day over five days.
Client Daddy had told him that the game's playtime was definitely more than ten hours, so Instructor Ding wasn't worried about finishing the game too quickly and having nothing to do.
He could only hope the game was entertaining enough for a show!
Before long, Instructor Ding officially entered the game's title screen.
The title screen layout for "Infernal Trajectory" was rather standard—a huge Gate of Hell background with options like "Single Player," "Network Mode," and "Settings," similar to most games.
But "Sisyphus" was a bit different.
Its title screen was very clean, with only a discreet icon representing the "mouse left-click" in the lower right corner, and behind the icon were some small but artistic words: "Embark on the Journey of Atonement."
Clearly, by pressing the "mouse left-click," the game would start right away.
In this screen, there were no options for "Load Game" or "Settings."
Instructor Ding guessed that these options might be integrated into the game, a common approach with many art games: to avoid breaking the player's immersion as much as possible.
It's also worth mentioning that "Sisyphus" supports controller gameplay.
If you use a controller, the "mouse left-click" mentioned here would be replaced by the controller's "LT" button.
Apart from that, there was the title screen's huge original painting.
It was a distant view of a majestic mountain range.
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The gloomy sky was dense with dark clouds, occasionally lit up by flashes of lightning, accompanied by the roar of thunder; the pitch-black waters slapped against the beaches and rocks at the mountain's base, while further out at sea, whirlpools stirred up towering waves, making one wonder if there were sea monsters wreaking havoc.
At the bottom of the beach, there was a twisting and winding path that passed through cliffs, sheer drops, caves, waterfalls, and magma, constantly twisting upwards, sketching out a rough spiral that divided the entire mountain into many layers.
Each layer of the mountain had its own style; some were covered with food, others were laden with treasures, and some were piled with various types of weapons, resembling a battlefield.
Of course, since it was a distant view, Instructor Ding couldn't make out too many details, but he could tell that the spiraling road up wasn't the only way up. In fact, there were many floating objects around the mountain, resembling clouds drifting in the sky.
These floating objects also directly corresponded to the nearby layers, for instance, above the "food" layer, Instructor Ding saw a huge, suspended pizza.
"Wow! Guys, I won't say much else, but the art in Nitiandang's games is top-notch. Just looking at this title screen makes me feel like the game is an easy buy.
"48 yuan, my friends, you can't go wrong, and you won't be cheated. Getting it means earning it!
"I haven't even played this game yet, so I'm not clear about the specific gameplay. But from the description, I think it might be a fantasy-themed action game?
"Hey, now Little Ding, the god of action games, will show you some slick moves, and demonstrate what slicing through enemies like vegetables looks like!"
Having said that, Instructor Ding immediately clicked the left mouse button to officially start the game.
The audience was well-used to the instructor's bravado; although they also wondered why Nitiandang's games appreciated so quickly, nearly tripling in value, a price of 48 yuan was still reasonable. Whether it was worth it or not, they would have to see the content of the game to decide.
After clicking the left mouse button, the screen didn't immediately switch, but instead, the camera zoomed out, coming to the very base of the mountain.
The transition from the title screen to the actual gameplay was seamless, offering a silky-smooth experience.
At the starting point of the winding path on the beach, there was a huge boulder.
Dressed in ancient Greek attire, Sisyphus's back was slightly arched, his body leaned forward, and his arms were opened wide as he exerted himself to support the boulder, preventing it from rolling away.
Ancient Greek clothing was rather simple, and this white robe was tattered, not only dark in color but also full of holes. Sisyphus's weathered muscles tanned dark by the sun, were visible through the holes, giving him an appearance of strength.
At this time, basic gameplay instructions also appeared on the screen.
Pressing the "ASWD" keys would allow movement, or more accurately, control the boulder to "shift" in four directions.
The "left mouse button" was for temporarily lifting the boulder, but this action came with a delay. When making this move, players needed to continuously hold down the left mouse button to keep Sisyphus lifting the boulder; releasing it would immediately put the boulder down.
Of course, lifting the boulder had a time limit; during this period Sisyphus's body would start to tremble and the shaking would gradually intensify until he was completely drained of strength and automatically threw the boulder down.
"Spacebar" was for jumping, but this action could only be performed while "lifting the boulder."
Additionally, players could use the mouse to control the camera angle, but rotating the camera wouldn't change the direction Sisyphus was facing; it was designed to help players observe their surroundings.
Only when players pressed the "right mouse button" would Sisyphus perform a clear change in direction, aligning his front with the current direction the player's camera was facing.
Of course, players could also choose to hold down the "right mouse button" continuously. In this case, the game's camera rotation speed would sync with Sisyphus's turning speed, aiding players in more precise direction changes.
These were all the controls for the game.
For a controller, the controls were equally simple: the "ASWD" keys became the left stick, camera control was on the "right stick", jumping was the "A" button, lifting the boulder was "LT", and aligning the view was "RT".
Naturally, the game also supported key remapping, allowing players to embark on this long and torturous journey in any way they preferred.
"Wait a second, guys, this game isn't an action game? I was mistaken."
Instructor Ding was somewhat disappointed, as he had expected a riveting battle, perhaps even fighting his way through the entirety of Purgatory.
Though the game's title was Sisyphus, it was still a game, not necessarily adhering strictly to the mythological content—it could have introduced many adaptations.
Other similar games often featured underpowered characters slaughtering gods and demons.
But unexpectedly, Sisyphus was different; there weren't any outrageous adaptations, was it really just sticking to the mythological story?
So, should the game actually be called "Sisyphus Boulder Pushing Simulator"?
Or perhaps "Dung Beetle Simulator" would be more apt.