Chapter 1179: The Significance of the Special Mode
Although Zou Zhuoyong had bravely sacrificed himself, he had at least fulfilled his historical mission: making many players aware of the "Transcendent Player Mode" gameplay.
After all, millions of viewers in his livestream had clearly seen what the mode looked like when activated and deactivated—it was practically a living advertisement. Many viewers were chatting in the darkened livestream room, some waiting to see if Zou Zhuoyong would come back, while others discussed this new mode.
"Can some big-shot bro explain what this new mode actually means?"
"Same request!"
"Why do we always have to bother the big shots? Can't you just look it up online yourselves? It's written in the game introduction for Resident Evil!"
"Forget it, I'll explain it to everyone. Basically, turning on this mode means the game pod implants some top-tier players' talents and consciousness into your brain. Didn't you guys notice that the little fatty's aim was much steadier before? He was calmer too? Not as annoying? That should all be because of this mode."
"Whoa, isn't that basically an official cheat device?? If I use it for League of Legends and PUBG, wouldn't I be unstoppable?"
"Dream on... Currently, this mode only supports single-player games. Otherwise, talented players would be rioting."
"In simple terms, it's meant to let all single-player gamers have fun without affecting other players, while letting you experience what it's like to be a pro. And it doesn't lower the game's difficulty—it raises your ceiling. As long as you keep playing the game, you'll naturally get stronger."
"...You've successfully sold me on a horror game. Fine, I'll go buy Resident Evil."
Many players who would never have bought a horror game like Resident Evil suddenly thought, after hearing about this new mode, that maybe buying it to try out wasn't such a bad idea...
Most people who don't dare play horror games are simply timid.
As for poor skills? You can just play on low difficulty. At worst, you die a few times. Once you memorize the patterns, you can clear it somehow. But the process of clearing it is torturous, and most players don't find much enjoyment in it.
However, there are also some die-hard fans who genuinely love horror games. Clearly, what sets them apart from other players is that they can derive enjoyment from horror games.
For these people, horror games can spike their adrenaline, quicken their heartbeats, let them experience the thrill of pushing their limits, and feel extreme excitement they can't get in real life...
But the fun of horror games doesn't stop there. It can also test whether players can stay calm and rational in emergencies, and whether they can find key clues amid a flood of useless information in a panicked state to solve mysteries.
Whether players can enjoy these pleasures is largely predetermined. Those who don't like it won't change no matter how much they train.
But with the Transcendent Player Mode, players no longer need to worry about not being suited for a certain game type like before.
Seeing someone as cowardly as Zou Zhuoyong stay calm and composed in Resident Evil, facing all kinds of challenges, gave others even more confidence...
...
As soon as the Transcendent Player Mode was launched, it immediately sparked strong reactions among players.
But the first consensus players reached was: Streamers are strictly forbidden from using it!!
Streamers were bitter about it. Why can everyone else use it, but we can't?
Actually, it made sense. When streamers broadcast games, they're essentially performing for the audience, showcasing their skills and talent. If they used the Transcendent Player Mode, whose talent would they be displaying?
The audience would say, "If you play like that with the Transcendent Player Mode, then I could do it too. Why should I watch your stream? If you play well without the mode, that's real skill!"
This view quickly became the consensus among viewers. Except for some pretty, timid female streamers who could use the Transcendent Player Mode to stream Resident Evil without getting flamed, every male streamer was inevitably criticized...
Streamers were miserable. Many simply stopped streaming Resident Evil altogether, waiting until they weren't broadcasting to secretly use the Transcendent Player Mode to enjoy the game, having to hide it...
But for players, this mode was genuinely fun.
In fact, Chen Mo's original intention was exactly this: the mode was meant for players to enjoy privately, as part of the game experience. As long as players confined it to single-player games and didn't cause trouble for others, it was fine.
The launch of this mode also had an unexpected effect: a surge in Resident Evil's sales.
As horror games produced by Chen Mo, Outlast and Silent Hill were both famous, even household names.
Although these two games used completely different pricing models and marketing strategies, overall, many people knew about them, but few actually played them. Even when Silent Hill adopted the "clear the game, get a free game" strategy, most people remained unmoved because their survival instincts were just too strong...
But judging from the current popularity and sales curve, Resident Evil's sales surpassing the previous two titles seemed like a foregone conclusion.
Of course, all of this was thanks to the new game mode. When players tried it, they found that they weren't as scared while playing horror games, and they even seemed to start understanding what made horror games fun.
As a result, Resident Evil's sales kept climbing, and discussions about the game became a hot topic among players.
...
The success of Resident Evil and the Transcendent Player Mode made many people see the broad prospects of this mode.
Its greatest significance was that it could eliminate the barriers caused by players' "talent," making niche games no longer niche, and allowing players who lacked confidence to dare try game genres they wouldn't have touched before.
The Resident Evil experiment was just the beginning. Besides horror games, many other games could use this mode, such as suffering games.
Even some originally hardcore games could use this opportunity to expand into player groups that weren't interested in games before, like the female player demographic.
And this meant that the gaming audience would be further expanded. Players who had no interest in games at all might, after trying this mode, fall in love with the feeling of playing games.