Chapter 362: The Vicious Cycle of Curiosity and Peeing One's Pants
On the comprehensive discussion forum of Thunder Game Platform, a few posts caught the players' attention.
"Outlast is so fun! It's the best game I've ever played in my life, everyone come and play!"
"Outlast is freaking terrifying! It's scary enough to kill you without paying compensation, don't come!!"
"Rumor has it that everyone who plays Outlast quits within ten minutes. Anyone willing to try and see how long they can last?"
"You might not believe this, but this game can actually scare people to death..."
Although these posts had varying tones and said different things, they at least successfully proved one thing: the horror game Outlast was a great success and hadn't become a game for complaining (tucao)!
This successfully piqued the curiosity of other players about Outlast.
Everyone was very curious: what kind of horror game was this? How scary could it really be? What aspect was terrifying? Why did everyone quit within ten minutes?
That's too fake, right?
Many players in the Imperial Capital were very unconvinced, one after another saying, "Let me at that Outlast!" Just a horror game, how scary could it be?
Soon, everyone started leaving comments under the posts.
"I feel like you guys are paid shills for Chen Mo, but I'm voluntarily taking the bait. I'll go to the experience store tomorrow and try this game."
"Too exaggerated, right? Just a horror game, how scary can it be?"
"You bunch of cowardly weaklings, watch me show you some high-level gameplay!"
"Really? Is it really that scary? Baby doesn't believe it!"
Many players who loved horror games, as well as streamers, had their curiosity fully aroused. Everyone was eager to know: what kind of game was so terrifying that most people quit within twenty minutes?
...
The next day, another batch of guinea pigs arrived.
"I want to play the new game Outlast!" A few young people had obviously come together and were very lively at the front desk.
In the lobby, people with pale faces clutching their chests gave them sympathetic looks.
Ah, ignorance is bliss.
Back in the day, I was just like you, fearless. Now? I have to keep quick-acting heart medicine on hand every day.
The young people swiped their ID cards and cheerfully took the elevator to the third floor.
"Come on, let's play together, hold hands on the escape route, whoever quits first is a dog!"
"Heh, I'm someone who can walk through a haunted house backwards without changing expression. How could a mere horror game stump me?"
"Hmph, today I'm going to be the first person to clear Outlast!"
...
Fifteen minutes later, these young people all returned to the first-floor lobby with pale faces, clutching their chests.
"Damn! This game is freaking terrifying, I'm not playing anymore!"
"Didn't we say whoever quits first is a dog?"
"Woof! Uh, no, I mean we clearly underestimated how scary this game is. I don't want to play anymore! Never playing it a second time!"
"I've developed psychological trauma from the game pod!"
"I've already called a taxi! I'm going home!"
"Don't leave, don't you want to experience it again?"
"Experience my ass! If you want to experience it, go ahead. Don't drag me into seeking death. Goodbye!"
Soon, more and more players with pale faces clutching their chests and drinking milk tea were in the first-floor lobby, to the point where there weren't enough seats on the sofas.
Strangely enough, these players who had been scared pale by Outlast didn't deter other players; instead, they sparked intense curiosity.
How scary was this game?
As wave after wave of players came down from the third-floor VR game experience area, more and more players from the PC experience area were itching to go try out this new VR horror game.
And so, the players in the experience store quickly fell into an infinite loop of "curiosity → peeing their pants → more curiosity → more people peeing their pants"...
And the players who had tried Outlast couldn't wait to post on the comprehensive discussion forum of Thunder Game Platform, with wildly different content.
Some said the game was very scary, some said it wasn't scary at all, some said it was extremely fun, some said it scared people to death...
Truth and lies mixed together. Some were telling the truth and sharing their real experiences, while others were lying to trick more people into playing.
Those who weren't in the Imperial Capital and couldn't come to the experience store to play Outlast were all very curious: what kind of game was this?
...
...
September 23rd, Outlast officially released!
This time, Chen Mo didn't use too many promotional methods, because Outlast was a VR horror game. In China, such games were extremely rare, and the novelty itself was enough to generate high buzz. The players' spontaneous recommendations were sufficient to create a lot of hype.
After the trial runs by the experience store players, many who had been following the game had also learned some details. In simple terms: this game was very scary! Most people would be scared off within the first twenty minutes!
But this only made Outlast's reputation grow. Many netizens even spammed the chat in various streamers' live rooms, asking them to try this new horror game.
...
On the Mo Yu Live Streaming Platform, Lin Xue's live room.
Lin Xue, who had just finished a ranked match, was resting and chatting with the viewers in the chat.
"What? You want me to play Chen Mo's new game Outlast?"
"Isn't that a horror game? I don't want to play it! Don't even think about it!"
"...Unsubscribe if I don't play? Wow, are you guys that cruel? Do you really want to see this cute streamer play such a scary horror game?"
"So many people are spamming 'want to see'?! You guys... I misjudged you!"
Lin Xue originally wanted to ignore these people, but for some reason, the viewers kept getting more enthusiastic, to the point where the entire screen was filled with comments begging, "Please play Outlast, Ah Xue!"
Lin Xue was a bit speechless. She had actually been following Chen Mo's new game for a while, but as soon as she heard it was a horror game, she immediately backed out.
Damn, a VR horror game made by Chen Mo? Could that be played? It would scare people to death without compensation!
As the saying goes, you can dodge the first day but not the fifteenth. Lin Xue originally didn't want to bring up this topic at all, but the number of viewers asking to see Outlast kept increasing, and she could no longer ignore it.
"Ah, fine." Lin Xue sighed helplessly. "Let's set the rules first. If I get to a particularly scary part, I'm quitting the game directly. I'm not guaranteeing I'll clear it."
Lin Xue stood up and went to turn on her VR game pod.
The viewers in the chat immediately perked up and started spamming.
"Wow, Ah Xue is really going to play Outlast! Nice!"
"You guys are so cruel. Ah Xue is such a gentle and cute girl, how can she handle such a scary game! You're not real fans!"
"What kind of game is this? Who's played it?"
"I played it a bit. I can only say, do you really think only Ah Xue will get scared? Heh, too naive. Everyone watching the stream will pee their pants too!"
Genius remembers this site's address in one second: