As time passed, To the Moon kept climbing in sales.
At the same time, many media outlets in China that were following the competition started releasing articles.
"Unforgettable Love — 'To the Moon' Will Bring You to Tears!"
"Game Review: A Story That Hits You Right in the Heart!"
"Top Contender for the Game Awards — Is 'To the Moon' Really a Sci-Fi Game?"
"A Game That Made Countless Grown Men Cry"
About a week after the competition began, it became pretty clear which games were actually competing for the top prizes and which ones were just filling the list.
Some entries were clearly just there for show and didn't leave much of an impression.
The serious contenders were already well-known to most players and even industry designers by now.
The top prize was clearly going to be a toss-up between To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes by Swordfire Studio, a team under NetDragon.
Among player votes, To the Moon was far ahead of Galaxy Heroes.
But this wasn't a popularity contest—official reviews from the Game Division were just as important.
While To the Moon had the edge in some areas,
it wasn't a complete blowout.
So the final decision still depended on how the official panel scored the games.
Meanwhile, online debates between fans of both games were getting heated.
"Of course Galaxy Heroes will win. I admit To the Moon has a good story, but come on, it has no gameplay at all! Can you even call it a sci-fi game?"
"Totally agree. Galaxy Heroes deserves the win, plain and simple."
"Oh please—define 'gameplay' for me. Isn't story part of gameplay? Isn't music part of it too? What, a game has to have fighting or puzzles to count?"
"Exactly. If To the Moon doesn't count as a sci-fi game, then a bunch of other entries shouldn't either. Maybe the Game Division should just kick them all out."
"Blah blah, I don't care. My vote went to To the Moon."
"Hah, the win definitely belongs to Galaxy Heroes!"
"Yep, Galaxy Heroes is sure to take the crown!"
"Hmph, Galaxy Heroes? Just look at the designer's name—'Marcus'? Sounds like a dreamer. If he gets first prize, it'll only be in his dreams!"
"Damn bro, that's a savage take, but kind of makes sense!"
"Are you guys so sure it's only between To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes? Don't forget Dark Beast by our very own Demon King!"
"Heh, even if To the Moon and Galaxy Heroes are leading in votes right now, I have a feeling the winner will end up being Asagi from Black Lily Studio."
"Hey, you two upstairs—it's not even nighttime yet. Stop daydreaming and leave quickly and cleanly, alright?"
"+1. You two upstairs, please leave smoothly and quietly!"
Everyone has their own favorite pick, and there's no real conclusion yet.
Naturally, people are just trying to gain some advantage across different communities.
But really, it's all just people arguing from their own points of view.
Compared to all the debates and heated discussions online…
Lucas was much calmer.
......
Inside the Nebula Games office.
Lucas sat in his office, calling to inform someone about their interview results.
They had already filled the roles for art and music.
The only problem left was the game balancing and level design role—he'd interviewed several people, but none of them really stood out to him.
"Lucas, how are you not even a little nervous?" Anna asked, watching him get up after the call and pace around the office.
"Yeah, isn't today the day they announce the winners?" Rachel added, sounding a bit excited.
This was the third game she'd worked on.
She wasn't the clueless newcomer she once was in the game industry.
As for her dream of becoming a doujin star and then a manga artist? That had long been pushed aside.
One reason was that she'd started to really enjoy making games.
The other reason was that with how well Nebula Games was doing, there wasn't much point in chasing manga anymore.
"Even if I was nervous, what good would it do? It's not like I can control the outcome," Lucas said, clearly a bit helpless after hearing Anna and Rachel.
Of course he hoped they'd win an award. But the outcome was out of his hands.
"Oh right, let's release the mobile version of Undertale after the winners are announced today," Lucas said, suddenly thinking of something. "At the current pace, we're basically guaranteed a top-two spot. Whether we win first place or not, there'll be a lot of buzz. Might as well ride that wave for our own boost."
While To the Moon was in the competition, Nebula Games had focused mainly on two things:
Porting Undertale to mobile, which was already done and hadn't taken much effort—
They were just holding off on the release to take advantage of the hype.
The other focus was building up the Nebula Games team.
Aside from the dev team, Lucas planned to expand even more.
All the other departments had been growing too—operations, finance, HR—they'd all been set up.
And they'd started building a platform team as well.
Even now, most players—and even people in the industry—still saw Nebula Games as a tiny studio.
From Mirror to Undertale to To the Moon, they hadn't made any AAA games. All their titles were small-scale indie projects.
But for Lucas, his ambitions clearly didn't stop there.
He had plans for Nebula Games to explore a much bigger world.
And building their own platform was the first step in laying a strong foundation.
As for whether the industry would notice…
To be blunt, right now Nebula Games wasn't a big deal.
Even if To the Moon won first place in this competition, it would just cause a small stir in the indie scene.
At best, they'd gain some attention in the wider gaming world.
But to say it would make the big companies nervous or hostile?
That was just wishful thinking.
Besides, building your own platform was pretty common anyway.
Just building a platform doesn't mean you've created a proper channel.
You still need people to help you set it up, and enough popularity.
Some mid-tier developers and indie studios, especially those with a series and a solid fanbase, already run their own platforms.
Because if they launch their games on third-party platforms, they have to pay a cut.
But with their own platforms, when players buy the games there—
Aside from taxes, it's all profit.
At the same time, while players online were still debating, the game selection event was finalized with an official announcement from the Game Division.
(End of chapter)
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