Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 52 - The game that makes you scream [2]

[Optional Quest Completed!]

• Difficulty: Second Order

• Reward: 5,000 SP

• Objective: Investigate the paintingʼs origins.

• Location: Velora Art Museum

Description: Clues hide within the museumʼs halls. Travel to the Velora Art Museum and uncover the story behind the mysterious painting.

Time Limit: 2 days

I watched as my balance went from 1,450 to 6,350 SP in a matter of seconds.

Seeing this, I almost jumped up with joy.

This was massive. With the additional 5000 SP, the number of items that I could purchase from the shop had increased by a lot.

With this, I felt a lot more confident in handling the conductor.

It finally made me feel like I could breathe again.

But it didnʼt take more than a couple of seconds for the system to pour cold water over my joy as several notifications appeared on the screen.

[• You have uncovered the dark secret hidden within the painting: the young girl was being raised from childhood as a living sacrifice for the cult leaderʼs ascension. When she learned the truth, she tried to take her own life, but her efforts were in vain.]

[• By disrupting their plans and exposing part of their scheme, you have drawn their attention. You are now one of their targets.]

[• Be cautious. This cult is no ordinary gathering. They are backed by some of the wealthiest and most powerful families, with influence that reaches the deepest parts of this land. They know your face now, and they will be watching.]

[• Caution advised] 

Ding! 

[Continuation Quest Activated] 

• Difficulty: Third Order

• Reward: 40,000 SP

• Objective: Expose the cult and its plans.

• Location: N/A

Description: The cult has now set its target on you. You must be careful not to get caught by them. Only death awaits if you get caught by them. Find a way around the situation and expose them.

Time Limit: 2 months.

”You really couldnʼt just let me enjoy my moment for one second, right?”

Staring at the sudden quest window, I felt my head throb.

However, that only lasted for a brief moment. This wasnʼt outside of my expectations. I had more or less guessed that something like this was going to happen after hearing the Senior Officerʼs words.

”40,000 SP and 2 months time limit... Thatʼs good enough.”

Thankfully, I had quite a bit of time to complete the quest, and the rewards were equally as appealing.

I guess there was a silver lining to the situation.

Furthermore, I was going to have to deal with the situation regardless. Getting a reward for it was just an added bonus.

”This also means that I no longer have to look at the painting every day.”

I sighed in relief while taking a glimpse of the painting.

Recalling my first experience, I really didnʼt want to go through the same situation again.

”In that case, since everything is done, I should check out the streams to see if anybody is playing my game.ʼ

This was the aspect that I was most curious and nervous about.

I wanted to see if my game was going to be well-received. There wasnʼt much time left until the quest expiry date, and the conductor was making its presence known more and more.

In order to be absolutely ready for its eventual arrival, I had to make sure that my game was well-received.

The better it was, the more it was going to sell, and the more SP I was going to make.

This was going to be crucial for my future.

”...I also need to find a way to reach the second order.”

Only by reaching the second order would I be able to upgrade the shop. Perhaps then Iʼd be able to find more pills to heal my situation.

”Alright.”

Taking a deep breath and closing down the app, I didnʼt delay the situation and opened the streaming app, quickly searching for my game in the search bar.

A Regular Day in the Office.

”Five?”

The number of results ended up being a measly five.

Looking at the streams, they also didnʼt have that many viewers watching them, with the one with the most only having 115 viewers.

My heart sank at the sight, but I soon realized the reason for this.

”Right, itʼs one am...”

Who was going to watch the stream at this time?

In fact, the fact that there were five people streaming the game was quite good.

I drummed my fingers over the table before closing the computer down.

”I guess I should go to sleep now. Iʼll most likely see the true impact of the game tomorrow.”

If by the next day there had still been hardly any streams or talk about it, alongside a lack of reviews on the website, then it could very well have been considered a flop.

I felt extremely nervous thinking about that.

I couldnʼt afford to fail. Especially when taking into consideration the consequences that would come from such failure.

The more I started to think about it, the more nervous I became.

”Letʼs just forget about it.”

Putting the computer away, I quickly moved out of the office and headed back to the dorms. I wanted to get some sleep so I could forget all about the situation.

ʼHopefully, by tomorrow Iʼll see something.ʼ

***

Horror games werenʼt particularly popular.

This much was the common consensus between those who worked in the entertainment industry. Be itʼs game developers or streamers, they all understood the lack of appeal of horror games.

But just because there wasnʼt much of an appeal, it didnʼt mean that there was no interest in them.

Within a small one-bedroom apartment.

The lights from the monitor flashed in the otherwise dark space. Sitting on his chair with his feet resting on it, Karl opened a certain game.

”...The game has finally finished downloading. Honestly, this doesnʼt look like much, but Iʼll give it a try.”

Karl glanced at his second monitor as he spoke.

The game he was currently playing was called A Regular Day in the Office. It was a game he heard about after watching a certain clip. Seeing the clip catch some stream, he immediately bought the game and was prepared to try it.

It was nighttime, and the lights were off.

There was no better time to play a horror game than now.

Karl made sure that everything was ready for the game as he looked at the viewer score.

● Live

Viewers: 115

ʼ115? Thatʼs not too bad...ʼ

Considering what time it was, this was quite good. Furthermore, he was playing a rather niche genre, so he was satisfied with the current viewer count.

”Alright, it looks like the game is booting.”

He drummed his fingers on the table while looking at the chat.

”Whatʼs the likelihood of me getting scared?”

He chuckled after seeing the message.

”...I doubt Iʼll be scared, to be honest. Iʼve played too much shit like this to get scared these days. You guys saw what happened when I played Gentle Whispers by Nightmare Forge Studios. It was ass.”

Indeed, Karlʼs expectations of the game were extremely low.

This was especially after taking note of the fact that it was developed by a single person.

”That stream had most likely been a marketing stunt to get people to try the game. But just because his clip was funny, it doesnʼt mean his game was any good. It kind of felt a little desperate to me.”

These were Karlʼs honest opinions as he opened the game and looked at its simple interface.

His already low expectations were further lowered.

As someone extremely experienced in this industry, he understood what sort of game he was about to play — a low-budget, poorly rendered game that would try to scare you with cheap jump scares.

He already wanted to do something else, but wanting to ride the recent trend, he steeled himself and pressed play.

ʼAlright, letʼs just get this over with.ʼ 

In that moment, Karl wasnʼt the only one who decided to play the game.

There were quite a few others who also began to play that game.

All curious about the game, they pressed [Play].

[Welcome to the world of a simple salary man] 

Their game soon began.