Amid all the discussions from players and the media online—
At 3 PM, the Game Division's website and all its official channels, including social media account and their game account, all released the latest results.
"To the Moon" won first place in the event, while "Galaxy Heroes" came in second.
Lucas from Nebula Games also got a call from the Game Division.
They invited him to attend the upcoming award ceremony.
At the same time, the official game store featured a banner on the homepage announcing the win of "To the Moon."
Also on the homepage was a featured review praising "To the Moon" as the first prize winner.
"Imagine sitting on your deathbed, remembering every happy moment in your life, every regret—especially the regrets."
"You always tell yourself: if you could go back, you'd do that one thing, chase that dream. But somehow, things always got in the way—family, work, time spent with friends."
"And now, as you near the end, you have no time left. But what if you could change your memories at the end of your life, and in your mind, make that dream come true?"
"This is just the tip of the iceberg in 'To the Moon.' It's not a big production. It doesn't have flashy visuals or complicated gameplay. But just like the creator Lucas's last game, 'Undertale,' this one teaches every narrative game designer a lesson. It raises the bar for storytelling in games to a whole new level."
"It's hard to review the whole game without spoilers, but we'll just say this: if you care about storytelling in games, you have to play this one."
"Maybe this opinion will change with time, but right now, this game is absolutely perfect."
"The dialogue is perfect. The banter between Dr. Eva and Dr. Neil is full of clever jokes, bringing humor to an otherwise dark story."
"The story is perfect. The tale of Johnny and his wife River is full of twists—some bittersweet, some truly heartbreaking. But it's more than just a mix of laughs and tears."
"The music is perfect, filled with beautiful piano melodies. Each track stands out, returning at key story points and choices—just like you'd expect from the best movies."
"To the Moon is about a kind of life—the people, places, struggles, and joys that make us human."
"The story starts as a bit of a mess, but as time moves backward, everything comes together into something truly satisfying."
"No doubt about it—this is a perfect game."
The Game Division's review gave "To the Moon" extremely high praise, fully recognizing its place in the world of video games.
...
Inside the Nebula Games office—
Anna and Rachel were the first to see the announcement from the Game Division, and both of them let out loud cheers.
"Lucas, look! 'To the Moon' just made it to the front page of the official game platform!" Anna shouted excitedly.
This was the official platform!
And the game even won first place in the event.
That was something Anna had never even dared to dream of before.
For someone who's always wanted to do something big in the gaming world, she was so excited that she could barely contain herself.
Her whole face turned red from all the excitement.
Rachel felt the same—she looked thrilled.
Even the new hires at Nebula Games, who joined after "To the Moon" was released, were super excited.
Even though the game had nothing to do with them—
This kind of result proved that Nebula Games had a bright future. And now they were going to be part of that future, so of course they were happy.
"Oh right, aren't you going to attend the To the Moon award ceremony next?" Anna suddenly remembered and asked Lucas.
"Yeah, the folks from the game department already told me," Lucas nodded.
"An award ceremony? Will it be on TV?" Rachel asked curiously from the side.
"You're overthinking it. It's not some kind of commercial event. It's more like showing your face, getting a certificate, that kind of thing," Lucas shook his head.
"I see!" Rachel nodded in understanding.
"Alright, let's drop that topic and talk a bit about the company. Just giving everyone a heads-up—after the National Day holiday, we'll be kicking off a new project. And this time, it's going to be a big one."
"Also, we need to get the platform up and running before the end of October. Anything time-consuming that's not core work, we'll outsource," Lucas said to everyone.
Mirror, Undertale, and To the Moon—these three games were all low-cost, small-scale projects.
But in terms of sales, they were definite successes.
The money made from them wasn't enough for Lucas to jump into a full-scale AAA game yet.
But it was more than enough to start making more polished and mid-sized titles.
Hearing this, everyone's expressions grew more serious—though mostly they looked excited.
After all, anyone in the game industry dreams of being part of a major project.
Whether it's for personal goals or career growth.
After chatting with the team for a bit, Lucas went back to his office, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the UI that only he could see.
No doubt about it, To the Moon had earned him a big chunk of points.
It gave him enough to do three full ten-rolls. And that's not even counting what Undertale and Mirror brought in.
Right now, his total points had reached 4.5 million.
That's enough for 45 rolls.
But even looking at that number, Lucas didn't rush to use them.
He was planning to save up first.
Even though he hadn't finalized the next project yet, he knew they wouldn't start until after the holiday.
At the current rate of growth, he figured he'd probably have enough for another ten-roll by then.
After all, To the Moon, which just won first prize, was now featured on the official platform's recommendation list. That was bound to bring in a ton of new players.
And more players meant more points.
Saving up for a full ten-roll gave you a better chance at getting something good—at least, that's what superstition said.
He just hoped this time it wouldn't be like last time—21 pulls and only two memory capsules, not even one rare skill book.
(end of chapter)
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