John knew nothing about the VR version of the chess game that was secretly developed inside Gemtechs. Naturally, there was no way he could have known. Moreover, the gameplay of auto-chess itself had its inherent flaws.
Compared with some game that is competitive, psychological battle where you can't see the opponent's hand, auto-chess felt duller. There was no guessing or bluffing. You didn't have to anticipate what the opponent would do next; you simply reacted to their lineup.
Once you grasped the mechanics, luck became the deciding factor. Even an ordinary player could sometimes overturn a veteran simply because of the randomness built into the system. That was the fundamental weakness of this kind of game; it lacked the mind games you'd find in some other games. The thrill of uncertainty and the tension of psychological warfare were what made such games so exhilarating.
Guessing your opponent's hand correctly gave you that strange rush of satisfaction and accomplishment, but that crucial element was missing in auto-chess.
"Resident Evil Auto Chess" relied heavily on the Resident Evil IP. It was inevitable that its initial popularity would fade over time despite ongoing updates. The cooldown was foreseeable.
At first, the gameplay felt fresh and magical. But as players came to understand its mechanics, the novelty wore off. Soon, competitors released similar titles, splitting the audience. Especially with the appearance of other IP-based games, for instance, if a player liked Resident Evil but a new auto-chess version based on Epic Continent came out, that player would likely drift toward the latter out of brand loyalty.
Even as players continued to discuss the storylines of Resident Evil Auto Chess, its comics, and follow-up plots, another surprise appeared on the market. A new mobile game quietly passed review and launched across all major platforms.
The mobile title "Starlight Photo Album," developed by PixelPioneers Studio, was officially released. Unlike the massive promotional push behind The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, this game had a much quieter debut, on par with Resident Evil Auto Chess in terms of advertising investment.
"Wait, PixelPioneers Studio made another mobile game?" Players were stunned when they saw the news.
Hadn't the studio just launched Resident Evil Auto Chess? Why was there another release so soon? And wasn't this Starlight Photo Album supposed to be a scrapped mobile project from before?
Not only were players curious, but industry insiders were also intrigued by PixelPioneers Studio's sudden move. A woman's storyline, titled Road to Starlight, and a man's storyline, titled White Album, are two different narrative paths merged into one game?
What exactly were they planning? Looking through the promotional materials, people were puzzled. Galgames were rare enough locally, let alone Otome-style visual novels. Hardly any studios in the country dared to touch this genre. Even so, because it was a PixelPioneers Studio project, players and industry professionals alike couldn't look away.
"This actually looks… pretty good!" In one of the game's promotional trailers, a 26-year-old office health management director lay in bed watching the preview on his phone.
As someone who had no financial worries, he was unlike most of his peers, who spent their nights partying. He preferred staying home, watching anime, and playing games, immersed in the world of otaku culture.
His upbringing explained it all. His parents had deliberately raised him frugally, and he only learned after college that his family owned assets worth hundreds of millions, including a listed company.
The revelation hit him like a truck. After more than twenty years of living modestly, discovering that he was actually wealthy beyond measure left his worldview shaken.
But soon, he adapted, just not in the way most would expect. He had no interest in clubbing or chasing girls. Instead, he indulged in what he couldn't afford before, buying every anime and game that caught his eye, no matter the price. As long as it was part of otaku culture, he wanted in. Money was no obstacle.
"What the hell? Another boring harem story?" As the game opened with the protagonist performing at the Academy Ceremony concert, two heroines appeared on screen, immediately catching his attention.
He'd seen far too many harem-themed games before. Couldn't developers offer something fresh for once? Still, those two girls were stunning. Despite his complaints, his eyes were glued to the screen. He claimed he was tired of harem tropes, yet he couldn't look away when the art was this beautiful. His words might say "no," but his actions told a different story.
Grumbling under his breath, he logged into his PixelPioneers Studio account and entered the game, "White Album… the song that dominated the winter streets nearly ten years ago…"
As the story progressed, he found himself surprised, "Wait, this is actually a galgame?"
He had expected something more card-based, using stats and attributes to drive the plot, but that wasn't the case at all. When the first scene ended and the heroine made her debut, he completed the tutorial stage, curious to see where it would go.
Meanwhile, reviews for Starlight Photo Album began rolling in across gaming sites. Not high, but not low either, just balanced enough to make people wonder. And yet, there was something strangely captivating about that average score.