Chapter 17: How Can You Still Call Yourself Young If You're Not Angry?
"This is outrageous! How can such a person exist?!" Jane was furious.
After all, she was involved in Mirror.
"This guy is cunning, he's just looking for attention, whether you criticize him or support him," Lisa tried to comfort her.
"That's right, people like that aren't rare; they exist in all walks of life," Alex said with a smile.
"So, Alex, should we pretend we don't know?" Jane felt a little wronged.
If she didn't defend herself, others would be punishing her. If she did defend herself, wouldn't she just be giving them what they wanted?
"Of course not. He wants to fight, does he? Give him satisfaction!" Alex chuckled, opened his official blog, and sent a message.
"For those who consider themselves veterans, video games are art, but also commodities. Just like movies, there are art films and commercial films. Mirror has never claimed to be art. Of course, some veterans who claim their work is art have probably been attacked by unethical young people. After all, for a work that can be considered art, this rating is unacceptable!"
After posting the official blog entry, Alex also updated Mirror's store description. This was mainly because his official account had very few followers. He only had a few thousand, most of whom had previously followed him through his comics. After all, even though Mirror had good sales, most serious players wouldn't pay much attention to its creator.
Upon seeing Alex's official post, Lisa and Jane were stunned.
"Alex, didn't you say the other party did it on purpose? Wasn't that exactly what they wanted?" Jane asked, confused.
"They're taking advantage of me, and if I don't respond, wouldn't that be cowardly?" Alex asked, spreading his hands with a smile.
Lisa's eyes lit up beside him. "Undertale isn't very big. Lately we've been working overtime and we can definitely get the material production going!"
Alex nodded. "Of course. Before, I was thinking about how to promote it, but now... let's not waste this traffic coming our way."
"But everyone will have to work hard for the next few days," Alex said.
Just like in business, when the top player faces the second-in-command, the third usually loses. The same goes for video games. The most terrifying thing is not being criticized, but being ignored. Alex was also quite confident in Undertale's quality. While the three of them dedicated themselves to working overtime, a post on Alex's official blog began to gain popularity. Although Alex's official blog didn't attract many followers, Mirror had a significant number of players who logged in and drove traffic directly. Furthermore, Hype Games had already attacked Mirror, so many people were waiting to see how Mirror and Alex would react. Unexpectedly, they were caught. At first, Hype Games' official Twitter account was a joke to many. After all, it wasn't the first time they had done it. But Alex's official Twitter account followed suit, and the situation completely changed. Anyone could see that Alex was referring to Hype Games.
It takes two to tango, and Alex's response instantly attracted countless curious onlookers. Several media outlets reported on the incident, and many viewers joined the discussion. Everyone was clamoring for their comments.
"Damn! What's going on?"
"A fight has broken out, a fight has broken out!"
"So Alex is the creator of Mirror!"
"Hey, friend upstairs, does this designer named Alex have any history?"
"No, what's wrong?"
"If not, what are you complaining about?"
"Haha, Alex's words are so damning."
"There's nothing wrong with that. David Cannon made two good games, but they are far from works of art."
"I give Alex a thumbs up. What's wrong with liking adult games? The sequel and the new DLC character, already!"
"I think David Cannon is fine this time. Adult games don't measure up."
"Bah! How confident he is with his pants on! Wasn't David Cannon the first to try to scam me?"
After Alex's response, the news quickly gained traction, attracting the attention of many players. Many supported Alex, as Hype Games did not have a very good reputation in the industry or among players. However, some who disliked Alex sided with Hype Games, as Mirror's genre was truly controversial.
One thing is for sure: Alex and David Cannon instantly became the focus of media and player attention. To say that the entire video game industry was involved might be an exaggeration, but with so much media coverage, most players who had been following the indie video game scene were already aware of the news. Alex's official Twitter account also surpassed one hundred thousand followers overnight.
Meanwhile, at Hype Games' offices, David Cannon also learned the news after being alerted by his assistant. He wasn't angry, but rather excited.
"Great! As expected, we should hire a young designer who is just starting out, but still has some reputation. That's what it means to be young! What energy! Without that enthusiasm, how can we still be young?" David Cannon exclaimed, beaming.
Why the previous online interview? Wasn't it just for publicity? Look, isn't the publicity here? So much time has passed and no one has offered to actively cooperate. Cooperating and not cooperating are two completely different things! Look at the current media coverage. Before, he even got some volume to spark interest. But it didn't cause much of a stir. And now? With the response, traffic comes automatically without him having to do anything! But he still needs to add fuel to the fire, to further feed this hype.
With a smile on his face, David Cannon posted a message on his official Twitter account: "Some game designers are really good at taking things out of context. I never said my games were art. I just wanted to develop a game that could be called art."
"But judging by the games some designers have developed, they may never understand how to develop a real game, not just based on clever... tricks."
After posting the official Twitter post, David Cannon specifically tagged Alex. However, what surprised David was how quickly the other person responded. Within five minutes, he was already being tagged.
"I should have said this too. The new game, Undertale, will officially launch on July 15th. Perhaps some designers could take a look and see if this game can be considered a real game, and if it truly has any artistic elements."
David's smile suddenly froze.
'This operation feels so familiar!'
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