While Marcus was chatting with Lucas,
the other game designers were also discussing what kind of demo they should work on.
"I think making an extreme sports game would be great. On one hand, it can test the new engine and how it interacts with the VR environment. On the other hand, an immersive extreme sports experience could give us really good feedback data."
"That sounds promising. We could even expand it into an action-adventure game. For example, climbing a high mountain and adding a falling experience, or facing wild beasts in the forest for an intense immersion effect."
"What do you guys think about a horror game? Something like Lucas's Outlast. If we want to test the threshold of immersion, isn't horror the best choice?"
"It's definitely a good idea, but Outlast is way too gory. On PC it's fine, but in VR, with that amount of blood and gore, there's no way it would pass approval."
"You're right, but without all the blood, the horror level of Outlast would drop by several notches."
The designers who knew each other kept discussing their ideas.
Everyone had different opinions on what type of game would be best for testing.
Still, some designers ended up thinking along the same lines as Lucas: start with horror games.
After all, horror is what can shake the players' emotions the most.
That's exactly why Lucas chose Silent Hill PT for this test.
The theme was perfect, and also because in his previous life, this game only had a single demo.
But even though it was just a demo, it scared the hell out of countless players.
Especially the looping hallway that created endless fear—many later horror games copied this idea.
Unlike Outlast, which was full of gore, Silent Hill PT barely had any visual horror. Apart from the deformed baby in the sink and the "lovely" wife Lisa, there was nothing else visually terrifying.
Silent Hill PT is the purest kind of horror—not about what you see, but about the unknown.
You never know what will pop out or from where, which makes players doubt themselves.
It's like when you watch a horror movie alone at midnight, and suddenly the lights go out, and the wind starts blowing outside.
You're the only one at home, but you feel like there's someone under your window, in your closet, or right outside your door.
This kind of fear from self-suggestion is the core of the Silent Hill series, and Silent Hill PT takes it to the extreme.
The narrow hallway, the endless loops, the music and sound effects, and the subtle changes in the same scene over time…
Silent Hill PT reached the peak of fear-building.
As for whether making this game could scare someone so badly it affects their health—
Lucas had already done his research and talked with the Game Division staff about it, so he had a good idea of what to expect.
First of all, it's scary. It's definitely going to scare people.
If a horror game can't scare anyone, can you even call it a horror game?
As for scaring someone to death, that's completely impossible.
This isn't a game aimed at the general public. It's a demo provided for testing a new type of VR device.
The people chosen for testing are basically carefully selected.
And during testing, the body's functions are fully monitored—not just by the VR device, but also by backup monitoring equipment. There are also medical staff standing by to make sure the tester's safety is guaranteed.
If the tester's body or emotions show strong fluctuations, the VR system will immediately stop the game.
Then, based on the tester's feedback, records are made and the experience is analyzed to provide data for the research team working on VR game pods.
So safety is completely guaranteed.
As for the so-called "scared to death," it doesn't literally mean dying from fear. It refers to other symptoms triggered by emotional stress.
The human brain has an area called the amygdala, which controls fear. Fear is actually a form of self-protection.
But when humans feel fear and can't determine whether it will harm them, the amygdala's feedback mechanism kicks in. This causes a surge of adrenaline, speeding up the heartbeat, raising blood pressure, constricting blood vessels, and increasing blood sugar.
If this state lasts too long, it can overload the body and damage heart tissue.
For a healthy person with a strong heart, if they actually die while playing a horror game—
There's only one possible reason: during the game, they already felt severe discomfort but kept playing anyway, acting like nothing was wrong, and continued to endure extreme scares. In the end, the body overloaded and failed.
So when it comes to whether Silent Hill PT might have negative effects, Lucas had no more worries.
He could just go all out and create without holding back.
......
After registering the related details at Game Division, Lucas and Marcus chatted a bit before heading back to Nebula Games.
The VR development prototype for Silent Hill PT will be delivered later by someone from Game Division.
As for subsidies, at first Nebula Games will pay out of pocket. Later, after sending invoices to Game Division and getting approval, the subsidy will be transferred to the company account.
Back at the office, Lucas started writing the design concept draft for Silent Hill PT.
After all, it's just a demo, and the story revealed in the demo isn't very complicated.
As for some of the Easter eggs in the game, Lucas decided not to change them.
The original Silent Hill PT had two special Easter eggs.
For example, after clearing the game, there would be a male voice monologue, hinting at the irreconcilable conflict between the creator Hideo Kojima and his old company Konami.
And the mysterious number 204863 mentioned in the game, just like in Kojima's previous work Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, hinted at the game's setting.
As for these two Easter eggs, players in this parallel world might not understand them at all.
But they could still leave a hidden detail. Even though this VR demo won't be for the public, Game Division will probably make some promotional videos later.
At that time, players will be able to see parts of the demo.
When the time comes to bring the Silent Hill series to players in the future, these Easter eggs will give them a completely different feeling when they look back.
Thinking of this, Lucas couldn't help but smile.
As a game designer, this is how you always care about the players' experience. That's what makes a true designer with heart!
Lucas let out a sigh and went back to drafting the design concept.
There wasn't much content, and by the afternoon Lucas had already finished most of it.
At the same time, Game Division was working quickly too, and they had already sent over the VR prototype.
They also temporarily unlocked higher-level permissions for the game designers.
Walking out of the office and into the project room, Lucas saw Anna, Rachel, and Hector all busy working on Dark Souls: Age of Fire.
Well… working on the promo trailer.
"Art team, pause for now. Rachel, pull a small group, we'll need to work on a VR demo next." Lucas said as he entered the studio.
Everyone looked shocked when they heard him.
Rachel's eyes went wide. "VR!? We're making a VR game now? Is it a new IP, or an old one? Don't tell me it's a VR version of It Takes Two?"
Not just Rachel—Anna, Hector, and the others were just as confused.
Weren't they supposed to be focusing on the Dark Souls: Age of Fire trailer right now?
Why suddenly shift to VR?
Was this related to Lucas's trip to Game Division?
Many people secretly started guessing.
"None of that. It's just a test demo, nothing too big. Won't need many people either. We'll outsource the modeling, so the main job will be handling VR shots and atmosphere." Lucas explained with a smile.
"Lucas, I'll do it!" Rachel jumped in right away.
Her workload on Dark Souls: Age of Fire wasn't too heavy, and more importantly, she was genuinely interested.
This was her first time working on anything VR.
Even if the tasks weren't that different from before, the game's nature was completely new.
Even if Lucas said it was just a demo.
At that moment, Rachel felt the same excitement as when she first started making games.
"Uh… alright then. Rachel, and two more from the art team. I'll explain the features of this VR game." Lucas looked at Rachel, who was practically glowing with excitement. He hesitated a bit, then picked two more people. Both of them looked pleased.
As they followed Lucas to the meeting room, Rachel was still smiling, wondering what kind of VR demo they were going to make.
Would it be warm and wholesome like It Takes Two, epic like Dark Souls, or light and cute like Fall Guys?
(End of The Chapter)
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