advance/early chapters : p atreon.com/Ritesh_Jadhav0869
With the update of the Infinite Realms version, one after another official space-themed content launched, but most performed mediocrely.
After all, the various bizarre planets showcased in the official interstellar maps were already very attractive.
The content and wilderness areas derived from the main storyline were sufficient for players to explore.
Many content creators were eager for quick success, developing official permanent content that largely bypassed the experiential content phase of IP incubation—which allows players to develop emotional attachments to the people and events of that world.
Therefore, without this IP foundation, it was truly difficult to compete with the official content of the main storyline.
Moreover, the worlds constructed by many releases were far inferior to the various planets constructed in the main universe, so failure was inevitable.
However, some relatively good space-themed official content quickly began appearing, including releases from large companies like ET Games and some veteran developers.
They had already incubated excellent space-themed IPs early on, and launching higher-level official content based on these naturally gave them established user bases, so their market performance was solid.
Not only that, many large companies also developed new IP experiential content, hoping to incubate more blockbusters.
For example, ET Company's new release "Invincible Battleship," and "Starship Empire" launched by Storm Company—a veteran game company once on par with ET—were also gradually released.
Major companies almost poured all their efforts and talent into creating these new IPs, resulting in extremely high quality.
In particular, "Invincible Battleship" once again embodied ET Company's hardcore and rigorous style.
The designs of various interstellar battleships were extremely detailed, the war scenes were grand, and the plot had profound gravity, giving people an extremely realistic and brutal war experience.
As for "Starship Empire," it deeply moved countless players with its magnificent and shocking interstellar war scenes, realistic interstellar political intrigue, and equally weighty war narrative.
"Invincible Battleship" and "Starship Empire" both achieved excellent market performance as a result.
As for the equally anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy, it clearly differed in style from the other two.
And from the style of Avengers, it wasn't hard to guess that Guardians of the Galaxy would likely focus more on character development, lively and interesting plots, and an even more fantastical worldview.
Although the promotional video also showed many grand war scenes, they seemed slightly less intense compared to "Invincible Battleship" and "Starship Empire," lacking the cruelty and gravity of war.
Plus, the characters of Rocket Raccoon and Groot added considerable charm to this release.
It was unique, making players highly anticipate it.
On the second day of the holiday weekend, the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy finally launched.
Leveraging the influence of Stormwind Entertainment and the popularity of Avengers, this content became a dazzling presence from its initial launch, and a focal point for industry peers and major media outlets.
Besides players, major game companies and media were also curious to see what kind of answer Stormwind Entertainment would deliver this time, and how it would once again create a phenomenon in the face of two excellent, high-quality competing works: "Invincible Battleship" and "Starship Empire."
In fact, as a currently red-hot game company, Stormwind Entertainment faced immense pressure.
Because of their previous successes, players had higher expectations for them, even believing that games produced by Stormwind Entertainment would inevitably bring surprises and become blockbusters.
It seemed even taking second place would be considered a failure.
Therefore, Guardians of the Galaxy carried a very heavy burden, which put the development team under immense pressure, leading to continuous careful refinement.
Now that the game was finally delivered to the market and released to players, their hearts didn't relax. Instead, they became even more nervous.
They were unsure whether this uniquely styled content would satisfy players.
So after Guardians of the Galaxy launched, the entire development team and Stormwind Entertainment's executives gathered in the conference room, monitoring the content's data performance.
Brian was a gaming content creator and also a loyal fan of Stormwind Entertainment and Avengers.
So the moment Guardians of the Galaxy launched, he immediately entered to experience it.
"Don't disappoint me!" Brian thought to himself.
Actually, he was somewhat nervous. As a fan, he deeply hoped that Stormwind Entertainment could bring him surprises and not let him down.
And as a gaming media personality and seasoned reviewer, he was even more aware of the situation Guardians of the Galaxy faced.
Content that leveraged the popularity of Avengers but introduced a completely new cast of characters, and also featured the same team-based format, would inevitably lead to internal comparisons.
If it couldn't offer novelty and present its unique style and charm, it would certainly be criticized and disappoint everyone.
However, achieving this was incredibly difficult.
With a mix of anticipation and trepidation, Brian started the experience.
The opening animation showed a spaceship landing on a dim, desolate planet.
As the scene zoomed in, one could see a barren, scarred landscape.
Under dim lighting, massive city ruins and broken structures were visible, as if a terrifying, destructive war had occurred, annihilating the civilization there.
Water columns and vapor continuously erupted from huge cracks in the ground, making one feel as if the planet was on the verge of collapse.
The entire scene presented an extremely heavy and oppressive atmosphere.
"Why this style?" Brian frowned, feeling slightly disappointed.
If it was this style, then it would be similar to "Invincible Battleship," and it seemed completely different from the feeling presented in the promotional video.
This would definitely disappoint everyone.
With a hint of worry, Brian continued watching the opening animation.
The game's protagonist, Peter Quill, walked toward ruins.
His clothing wasn't refined at all, and his equipment looked somewhat rudimentary, not reflecting the technological sophistication of an advanced interstellar civilization.
However, he quickly pulled out a scanning device that could restore the scene before its destruction, which did show some of the high-tech ingenuity expected from Avengers-style content.
Accompanied by tense and heavy background music, Peter Quill finally entered an ancient, abandoned ruin.
Then he pressed something behind his ear, and the mask on his face instantly particle-receded into a very tiny device worn on his ear—looking very high-tech.
"Hmm, that's more like it!" Brian thought to himself.
But the next second, Peter Quill actually pulled out an 80s Walkman, and then put on equally vintage headphones...
"What the heck is this?" Brian was surprised.
In such an advanced interstellar civilization setting, you're pulling out a Walkman—a cassette Walkman at that?
What are you trying to do?