On a spring night in Shanghai, where apricot blossoms fell like a dream, the employees of Chengjue Studio, an independent game development studio, gathered excitedly around the LCD screen in their office area. It was 9 p.m., and they were watching the live broadcast of the awards ceremony for the 24th International Game Developers Conference held in Shanghai.

Since the server's computing power has reached the lower limit of centralized cloud gaming requirements, and the cloud gaming platform side has suddenly magically solved the big problem of efficiently compressing and transmitting high-definition video files, the threshold for players to play single-player 3A masterpieces has been greatly lowered, and the boundary between indie games and 3A masterpieces is gradually blurring.

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Originally, a stage where independent games could shine by relying on gameplay and technological innovation—the International Game Developers Conference—was suddenly flooded with international giants.

In the crowded convention halls where big-budget games dominate, independent games struggle even harder to be seen, their light fading and their struggles becoming increasingly apparent.

This year, City Squire Studio's works also participated in the competition for various awards at the Developer Conference.

Although it achieved sales of millions, after platform sharing, City Guard Studio's revenue was not impressive. In addition, the studio's newly developed projects were too ambitious, with development costs far exceeding the budget, and the funding gap was widening day by day.

The studio's two heads had to apply for a new round of investment, and even launched a crowdfunding campaign. Participating in the international developer awards this time was also a valuable way for the studio to win over investors.

If we win the award, everyone will never worry about the funding gap for the studio's projects, and we won't even have to worry about our own future or the studio's future.

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This time, the fate of everyone is tied to who wins the grand prize. However, facing international 3A masterpieces that seem like insurmountable mountains, everyone feels immense pressure.

"At the very least, we should win an award for best download, right?" Lead artist Wang Jiali's voice trembled with nervousness, almost sounding like a sob.

“No, the most promising one is the Best Narrative Award!” an employee couldn’t help but say.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Chu... I mean, Young Master Chu's storytelling style in Lingli is impeccable." The employees nodded in agreement.

“You guys are wrong, the developers conference judges don't care about our soul stories. Even if we write a Dream of the Red Chamber, it’s impossible to win an award. Art, only Chu Shao's artistic skills can touch their hearts. Just like last time with that otaku breakout!” Jiang Shen glanced at Wang Jiali.

“This time, my art style is just a continuation of Chu Shao's 'Dead House Breakthrough' style. The judges can’t give the same art style two awards, diversity is the purpose of the event. Besides, with so many 3A games this time, how could Chu Shao and I beat international giants with decades of experience?" Wang Jiali shook her head helplessly.

“Yes, only game design is Chu Shao's truly competitive award!”

“I agree with that. It's impossible to win the Best Technology Award anyway. Even last time when the otaku breakout won, Chu Shao himself said it was lucky.”

"It's customary for 3A titles to win the top prize, but the other awards should also consider independent games!"

“Really? Are we seriously considering independent games for this? These AAA titles shouldn't even be in the running. And there are so many already, is one annual award enough?”

"Shhh! Look, Mr. Cai is here." Zhu Cheng pointed at a man on the screen whose hairline was struggling on the brink of death.

He had a rosy, healthy complexion. His nose gleamed with oil, and his beady eyes sparkled with anticipation as they darted towards the camera. He quietly raised a finger to make a scissors hand gesture.

Of the two bigwigs at City Lord Studio, Cai Jue is the COO, CPO, and producer. He's the face of the studio. All major awards ceremonies and player interaction events are handled by him.

"Mr. Cai's ring finger is shaking," sighed the lead artist, Wang Jiali.

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Everyone couldn't help but want to laugh, but no one could let out a sound. They were all too nervous and suppressed.

Everyone subconsciously turned their heads to look at the desk in the center of the work area. There was one person sitting at the desk. In tonight's City Baron Studio, he was the only one facing the big screen with his back to it.

He is called Chu Qiancheng, the man people call "Chu Shao," the person in charge of projects at Chengjue Studio, and a famous game producer.

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His first independent game, "The Escape of Otaku", co-developed with his close friend Cai Jue, once won four awards at the 22nd International Game Developers Conference.

The breakout of the NEET is a game where players help a shut-in who has become reclusive in his home due to the pandemic break out of his self-created fantasy world, gather his courage to leave home, and return to society.

Every day, hikikomori go through countless mental struggles when leaving their homes. Games turn these struggles into rogue-like dungeon crawlers.

This game was written by Chu Qiancheng based on his own experiences. It has a unique gameplay style and is known in the industry as a legend of the foodie country.

Chu Qiancheng's second game completely made a name for his studio, Chengjue Studio. The game was his Soul Guardian.

The game also uses a rogue-like dungeon crawling mode. The player takes on the role of a boy who, on the brink of despair, suddenly awakens to the superpower "Entering Dreams". They can enter the dreams of those on the verge of despair and collect psychological trauma, completing their self-rescue puzzle.

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After saving girls who are on the verge of collapse due to domestic violence, school violence, workplace discrimination, cyberbullying, childhood trauma, sexual harassment, and betrayal by close friends, they collect psychological trauma fragments as rewards. These fragments are integrated into their self-help jigsaw puzzles. The day the self-help jigsaw puzzle is completed is the day the player breaks free from their cocoon.

When saving the souls of young girls, players must rely on sacrifices and dedication throughout the levels to awaken the courage and strength hidden deep within them. The final boss can only be truly vanquished by a final blow dealt with the power of the girls' souls.

The core of the game is "sacrifice and redemption".

Chu Qiancheng originally didn't want to set all the characters on the verge of despair as girls, but Cai Jue, who was in charge of game production, supervision, and operation, insisted that they all be girls. You know what I mean!

This game sold three million copies on the internal combustion platform in its first month of release, and over ten million copies in a year, becoming the first single-player game in Foodie Nation to sell over ten million copies.

Tonight's contestant, and the game that created miracles.

At this moment, Chu Qiancheng is using a hand-painted screen connected to the main machine to constantly modify a game original painting.

This is a black and white illustration of the main female character from a game. She wears a worn work cap with goggles on top, one hand holding a smoking welding torch, and the other reaches out of the frame as if to touch the viewer.

She was thin and small, her face gaunt with chapped lips and dark circles under her eyes, giving her a look of weariness. Yet, her pale eyes shone brightly, like a galaxy hidden within them.

Chu Qiancheng's focused look, as always, gave employees a sense of immense reassurance, as if all the honors were destined to be part of Chengjue Studio's grasp.

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However...

“Now, the award for best sound effects at this conference is announced. The nominees are Soul Guardian, Dou Zong 5...and the winner is Faraway Cry 8.”

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“Oh~~” A sigh echoed through the workspace.

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"It's okay, it's okay!" Jiang Shen raised his hand and pressed it down. "There wasn't much hope anyway."

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“Now, we announce the Best Art Award for this event. The nominees are Soul Guardian, Biohazard Remake... The winner is Dou Zong 5!”

“This is total annihilation.” Everyone sighed in lament. Douzong 5, this single-player masterpiece that had been popular for almost twenty years, has been reborn from the ashes. Its artistic foundation simply cannot be compared to independent productions like Soul Guardian.

And now, the winner of this year's audience choice award... is Resident Evil!

“Nobody expected them to choose our game,” Wang Jiali said defiantly. The work area was eerily silent, everyone’s heart weighed down by an oppressive stone. Nobody responded to her mood, not even Jiang Shen, who usually got along with her best.

“…the best technical award of this conference...Dou Zong 5.”

“Oh no~~~~” This time, everyone couldn't hold back and shouted in disappointment. Although everyone knew that it was unlikely to win the technical award, they had accumulated too much disappointment.

" ... The award for Best Download at this event goes to Hell's Paradise.

"

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“What’s going on!” the lead artist, Wang Jia Li exclaimed, “Our spirit guardians have been downloaded over ten million times on the steam platform. Who is this Hell Nobody?”

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“......Jiang Shen shook his head heavily, a heavy feeling in his heart. “Another expert has appeared. This time it’s going to be difficult.”

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"The Best Storytelling Award at this conference goes to... Black Spirit 4!"

"Alas~~~~" The work area was filled with sighs of despair. As expected, the judges at the Developer's Conference had no empathy for the common people cared for in Soul Guardian. They only found the game...noisy.

"The Best Game Design Award of this conference, the nominees were Soul Guardian, Biohazard Remake, Hell No Man... the winner is Black Soul 4!"

"What!?” Chiang Shen and Wang Jiali both covered their heads with their hands.

Dark Souls 4 is a masterpiece by the legendary game developer known as "old man." In his latest work, he uses a rogue-like map reset mechanism to create a unique and ever-changing world. While it's brutally challenging, driving players to the brink of madness, it's also incredibly addictive, leaving them hopelessly devoted. They become Stockholm syndrome sufferers who can't resist its grasp.

But this mechanism is also used in Spirit Guardian, and the release time of Spirit is earlier than Blacksoul 4. This doesn't mean that old thief plagiarized Spirit, but a rare case of heroes seeing the same thing.

But the old thief's status in the Jianghu is beyond reach. The City of Glory Studio can only bow down to him in admiration. After winning the Best Game Design Award, Soul Guardian had no competition for other awards. The Annual Grand Prize was even incomparable to 3A masterpieces.

This time, the developer conference was a bust for City Lord Studio.

(Editor in charge：what is a novel)