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

Chapter 392: Viral Sensation [1]

The soft tune of the jazz played in the air.

A man stood before Darwin, his eyes locked onto him as he smiled.

”...I’d like to check in.”

He repeated, causing Darwin to flinch.

”Uh, ah...”

He looked around. The touch, the smell, even the sights around him, all of it felt disturbingly real. So real, in fact, that it sent a chill crawling down his spine.

The chat also felt the same way.

—Holy crap! What are these graphics?

—The configurations are unreal. Wtf?? I can literally smell the lavender.

—Even the touch of the marble desk feels real.

—The hell??

Such reactions drew the attention of those who hadn’t yet put on their headsets, curiosity pushing them to try it for themselves. Many had been skeptical at first, assuming the chat was exaggerating, but the moment they slipped the headset on and felt the world around them, they all swore in disbelief.

’Holy fuck!?’

’This is actually insane!’

’What the hell!? This actually feels like a high-quality game!’

[●Live]

Viewers — 137, 992

The viewers grew even further, but Darwin wasn’t happy at all.

’This isn’t what I’m getting paid for. I can’t let them think that this is actually good.’

He immediately started to criticize in areas where he could.

”The general graphics of the game aren’t so bad, I’d say. They are pretty good. I’m in fact impressed, but...” He raised his hand and looked at it, shaking his head in the process. ”There’s quite a bit of lag with the movements. This game has clearly not been optimized quite well. Oh well, I guess I can make due with this.”

He wasn’t lying in this aspect.

There was indeed a slight lag in the movements, subtle but noticeable. It was likely a result of the short development time and the small number of team members who had worked on the game.

Just as Darwin was about to continue criticizing the game, something unexpected happened right before his eyes.

The world froze, and a panel appeared.

——[Game Rules]——

You’ve just been hired as the night receptionist at a peculiar old hotel, where not every guest is what they seem. Your job is simple: observe, decide, and survive the night.

Using the hotel’s grainy security cameras, you’ll monitor each guest who arrives. Some are harmless travelers... others, not so much. It’s up to you to accept or reject them based on what you see.

But be careful! Management doesn’t tolerate mistakes! You can only reject three guests before you’re the one getting kicked out.

Keep your eyes open. Trust your instincts.

Not everyone checking in is still alive.

P.S. - Make sure you smile. Guests like it when you smile.

——[Game Rules]——

”Huh?”

Staring at the game’s description, Darwin’s face changed subtly. He read each line to the viewer before eventually cracking a smile.

”...Is this it? This simple?”

He almost burst out laughing. A moment prior, he felt a little bit off due to the realism of the game, but looking at the description, he didn’t think it would be anything scary at all. The comments also felt the same.

—Isn’t this game a little too simple? I mean, I’m sure it’s obvious when you see one that is off.

—I was just getting a little excited.

—Yeah, but who knows? It might still be good?

”I wonder about that.”

Darwin lowered the game description and turned his attention to the guest before him. With the panel out of the way, he could finally see the man clearly, his hair neatly parted to the side, his posture composed, and a crisp black tuxedo fitting him perfectly.

At a glance, he looked perfectly normal. But when Darwin noticed the man’s eyes, just a little too wide, and the faint, unnatural curve of his lips, a small smirk appeared on his own face.

”Make it any more obvious...”

He looked at the guest and shook his head.

”I apologize, sir, but we don’t have any available rooms at the moment. If you could come back another time, I’d be more than happy to welcome you.”

The smile on the guest’s face slowly started to recede.

”You don’t have any more rooms?”

”We don’t.”

Darwin shook his head, feigning focus on the monitor in front of him. As his eyes drifted over the screen, he noticed something odd. Seven numbers lined up neatly across it, ranging from one to seven.

Curious, he randomly clicked on one.

Flick!

The monitor flickered and changed, revealing a long corridor. A soft carpet with faded floral patterns stretched across the floor, while beige walls lined with framed paintings framed the view. On each side of the hallway stood six doors, evenly spaced and perfectly still.

The quality wasn’t perfect, evident from the ’old’ vibe that the game was going for.

”...Cameras?”

He clicked on the other buttons, displaying other corridors. Most likely, each number represented a different floor.

”Hah.”

Darwin laughed.

”Chat. Doesn’t this feel like a copy and paste of Nightmare Forge Studio’s game? And here I thought he was going to be original for once. This game is a literal copy of what they created. What the hell...”

Of course, Darwin used this chance to criticize them.

The chat also shared similar thoughts to his.

—The game mechanics look copied and pasted. There’s really no originality anymore.

—But what can someone expect from a thief? They already stole the programs, so of course they’re going to steal their game. There’s literally no shame.

—It’s quite frankly pathetic.

”I’m quite frankly disappointed.”

Darwin shook his head, lifting his head to look at the counter. Seeing that the man from before had left, he started talking with the chat.

”Not only does he steal programs from them, but now he’s trying to plagiarize their game too. Isn’t that a little too shameless? Other than the graphics, there’s really nothing special about this. I’m already getting bored, to be honest. Scary? Yeah, I’m scared... scared of how boring this game is.”

—Loool!

—Hahahah!

—Lmaaao! Me tooo!

—This shit is straight up ass.

The chat exploded with laughter, several gifts being donated at the same time.

Seeing how lively the chat was, Darwin used this chance to promote Nightmare Forge’s latest update.

”Let me tell you this. I’ve got exclusive access to Nightmare Forges’ latest update. After I’m done with this crap, I’ll play it. How about it?”

The chat moved fast following his words.

Many were in favor of his suggestion, with some already getting bored with the current stream.

Darwin was tempted to switch the game at this moment, afraid of losing the audience, but a bet was a bet. He needed to honor the bet.

”Let’s carry on. I wonder when the next guest will appear.”

He didn’t have to wait for long.

A moment later, an elderly woman stepped inside, her clouded white eyes suggesting blindness.

Tap. Tap.

The soft rhythm of her cane striking the floor filled the quiet space, each tap carrying a faint echo. When she finally stopped before the reception desk, her frail voice broke the silence.

”I’d... like a reservation.”

Staring at her, Darwin paused.

He then looked at the chat.

”What do we say? Should we accept her?”

A barrage of comments followed. In a way, this game wasn’t too bad at helping him interact with his newfound audience as one guest after another went to the reception. Each time, he’d ask the chat whether to accept them or not.

The cycle repeated for quite a while, until...

”Reject? Alright! Let’s reject this gues—Huh?”

Beep!

A loud beep suddenly echoed, causing Darwin’s face to change. Looking at the monitor, he suddenly saw a large notification.

[Rejection Quota Reached!]

”Wait, what...?”

Turning his attention towards the guest and seeing them smile at him, Darwin’s lips twitched as he looked at the chat and sighed.

”Welp, I guess we ran out of rejections. Looks like we have no choice but to accept him.”

He reached for a card and handed it over.

”Here you go. Floor 5.”

”Thank you.”

Staring at the guest’s departing back, Darwin looked back at the reception hall, but as he did, he was surprised to see that there were no more guests coming.

How come?

He frowned, looking at his surroundings. And just as he was trying to figure out the situation, something strange occurred.

Flick! Flick!

The lights above...

They started to grow dimmer.

A certain breeze brushed in at the same time.

”Wait, what?”

Flick!

A change was beginning to take place.

A change that made everyone watching pause.