Chapter 142: Authentic Chinese Style
Ignoring the barrage of comments demanding to see pretty girls, Lin Xue turned on the computer while sizing up the layout of the experience store.
More than half of the people were playing *Warcraft*, a smaller group was playing *Plants vs. Zombies* and other mobile games. The two computers closest to the front counter seemed to be taken by the other assistants—one was adjusting a data table, the other was revising a storyline.
“I don’t see Chen Mo. He’s probably upstairs.”
Lin Xue scanned the store but didn’t spot Chen Mo.
Earlier, Chen Mo had shown his face as a commentator, so many people already remembered what he looked like.
Lin Xue felt too shy to go directly to Chen Mo. After all, she didn’t know if he was working right now, and interrupting him rashly would be rude.
The games on the computer were few, all developed by Thunderbolt Interactive. Lin Xue noticed an unfamiliar icon with the game title *Heroes of the Martial World*.
“Just as I thought, a martial arts theme! Chen Mo never disappoints when it comes to being ‘unexpected.’”
Lin Xue couldn’t help feeling a bit thrilled.
As a female streamer passionate about single-player games, Lin Xue had some understanding of the gaming industry. She knew that Chinese-style games nowadays were almost synonymous with xianxia (immortal hero) games, and very few dared to tackle the martial arts genre.
But many players longed for martial arts games because the settings and atmosphere of wuxia were completely different from xianxia.
Moreover, many current xianxia-themed MMORPGs, when played deeply, revealed that their core mechanics were still the same as Western RPGs—just with a different coat of paint and storyline. The gameplay lacked innovation.
Some xianxia single-player games were well-made, but there were already plenty of them, and players were getting a bit bored.
In Lin Xue’s view, Chen Mo’s courage to make a martial arts game was already commendable.
Lin Xue said, “Alright, I’ll download a streaming software now. The store’s internet should be good. In a bit, I’ll switch to this computer to stream and take everyone to experience Chen Mo’s new martial arts game.”
As she downloaded the streaming software, Lin Xue kept an eye on the barrage reactions.
“Show us the cute front desk girl!”
“Give us the cute front desk girl’s contact info!”
“Ah Xue, go find Chen Mo! Have him teach you how to play *Warcraft*!”
“I don’t want to watch a martial arts game. Domestic martial arts games are all garbage. It won’t be fun!”
“Yeah, since we finally made it to the experience store, show us more of the layout. No rush to play games.”
“Alright, alright, stop arguing. Let Ah Xue decide what to stream.”
“I love martial arts games! I want to watch!”
“Chen Mo’s new game? We’ve got to see it!”
There were all kinds of opinions.
The internet was fast, and the streaming software was already downloaded. Lin Xue adjusted a few settings, found no major issues, and switched the stream from her phone to the computer.
She double-clicked the icon and entered the game.
First came an opening CG.
The background resembled rice paper. A drop of ink fell onto it, slowly spreading. The Thunderbolt Interactive logo appeared in the form of a seal stamp.
The scene quickly shifted. On the rice paper, strokes seemed to be writing something. Between the brushstrokes, ink-wash-style character portraits flashed by in quick succession, with clear composition. These portraits had simple animations—some zooming in or out, some sliding sideways, some fading in and out—each appearing on the screen.
Among them were a dashing swordsman, a ferocious female demon, a dignified monk, an inscrutable master... All sorts of classic images flashed by, leaving Lin Xue a bit overwhelmed.
The CG continued, the camera seeming to pull back. It became clear that part of a character was being written, but it was still illegible.
The scene shifted. Several martial artists were fighting over a scroll of secret techniques. Above them, a sinister villain with a dark expression was secretly pulling the strings.
A dashing young swordsman swept across the screen, cutting down all the petty bandits in his path.
Misty mountains loomed in the distance. An old man stood with his back to the camera, exuding an immortal aura, while his disciples stood respectfully behind him.
In a plum blossom forest, a gentle girl played the zither, while a long-haired swordsman beside her played the flute, like a couple of immortals.
Over a vast desert, a giant eagle soared. A swordsman sat on its back, looking down at everything below.
A chaotic battle unfolded, with all sorts of heroic figures taking the stage.
Finally, a villain with a sinister expression suddenly opened his eyes. Five large ink-wash characters appeared in the center of the screen.
*Heroes of the Martial World*!
After watching the CG, Lin Xue was still a bit surprised.
If measured against the CG of Chen Mo’s *Warcraft*, this one was far inferior in quality—after all, the budget was different, and the results were worlds apart.
A CG made of ink-wash character portraits like this cost less than a fraction of *Warcraft*’s CG budget.
But what surprised Lin Xue was how perfectly the CG’s atmosphere captured the essence of a martial arts game.
It was clear that the character designs were very typical of wuxia roles, and the events depicted were authentic wuxia scenarios. Combined with the ink-wash art style and background music, the entire CG felt cohesive, giving the impression of a traditional martial arts theme.
This kind of CG couldn’t be made by foreigners. Only a designer with a deep understanding of Chinese martial arts culture could pull it off.
After the CG, the game screen appeared.
The background was an ink-wash landscape painting. In the lower left was the Thunderbolt Games logo, and at the top was the game title *Heroes of the Martial World*.
In the lower right were four options: [First Steps into the Martial World], [Return to the Battlefield], [Retreat to the Mountains], and [The Past Like Smoke].
Lin Xue clicked [First Steps into the Martial World] and entered the game.
To her surprise, she didn’t immediately enter the game screen. Instead, she arrived at an interface for adjusting character attributes.
On this screen, she could set the character’s name, adjust the avatar, and modify basic attributes.
A system prompt said: Press the spacebar to randomly select attribute values.
Lin Xue was a bit taken aback. This was the first time she’d seen such a setup in a Chinese-style game.
Some Western fantasy single-player games had similar features, but those usually involved allocating attribute points to things like strength and intelligence.
After looking more closely, Lin Xue realized that the attribute allocation in *Heroes of the Martial World* was completely different from those Western fantasy games.
The most critical part was three talents, displayed as “Quick-Witted,” “Sentimental,” and “Chivalrous Heart,” along with three basic attributes: Health, Internal Energy, and Comprehension. Additionally, there were three Bagua (Eight Trigrams) diagrams representing other branch attributes.
The first Bagua diagram included: Eye Skill, Ear Skill, Soft Skill, Hard Skill, Light Skill, Internal Skill, Attack, and Defense.
The second Bagua diagram included: Mining, Hunting, Fishing, Herb Gathering, Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Cooking, and Tea Art.
The third Bagua diagram included: Pharmacology, Chess Skill, Poison Art, Medical Skill, Painting, Calligraphy, Wine Art, and Flower Art.
Lin Xue was stunned. There were way too many selectable attributes!
She tried pressing the spacebar, and all the attributes randomly changed.
Lin Xue noticed that these branch attributes had a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 30, and the total value of all attributes seemed fixed—it was just a matter of how they were distributed.
Moreover, as the attribute values changed, the three talents also shifted.
“This... the content is so rich!” Lin Xue said, completely bewildered.