Chapter 444: You Again?
Chen Mo stepped onto the stage for the second time, sparking a buzz of discussion and envy among the designers in the audience.
"Chen Mo feels like he's going against the heavens this year, a huge harvest? I feel like these two awards aren't the end of it; there's definitely more to come! The best PC game has already been reserved for 'League of Legends,' and even if 'Overwatch' doesn't win Game of the Year, it should at least snag another award, right?"
"Scary, it's absolutely insane. In previous years, Chen Mo made big headlines too, but this year seems especially packed?"
"Mainly because the games Chen Mo released this year all have strong topicality. Think about it: 'League of Legends' swept the PC platform and hosted the World Finals; the horror game 'Outlast' is basically the best domestic horror game right now; and then there's 'Overwatch'..."
"It feels like if other designers could make one of these games in two years, that would be impressive. Chen Mo actually made three quality games in one year—it's like he's cheating!"
"You're forgetting 'Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy'... That game was all over the streaming platforms back then too."
"He's practically a bug."
"Actually, if you look closely, these four games aren't technically difficult, and their content isn't particularly rich. The key is that they're hard to design; the ideas are rare."
"You can only say that guys who might become S-class designers are all monsters!"
"Just wait, there's probably more to come."
...
Next came a series of category awards: Best Shooter, Best Fighting, Best Adventure, Best Sports, Best Competitive, Best Strategy, Best Role-Playing, Best Action, Best Puzzle...
Chen Mo returned with another full haul. 'Overwatch' took Best Shooter, and 'League of Legends' won Best Competitive Game.
Still no surprises.
This year, there weren't any particularly outstanding domestic FPS games, and even if there were, it would be hard for them to compete with 'Overwatch' for Best Shooter.
Because 'Overwatch' has two things other FPS games can't match: first, gameplay innovation, adding hero skills to shooting; second, the character and setting designs, which basically blow away 90% of current domestic FPS games.
As for Best Competitive Game, 'League of Legends' had already fully demonstrated its competitiveness and popularity among players at the World Finals. The fact that major clubs were setting up 'League of Legends' divisions highlighted the game's huge contribution to advancing the domestic esports industry.
After going up on stage twice more in a row, Chen Mo was running out of things to say.
He'd already accepted awards twice before, and now another two times. Should he thank the leadership again?
That seemed a bit silly.
This time, Chen Mo had no choice but to briefly look to the future, talking about the development prospects of competitive games and his own good wishes.
He also reinforced the effect of his earlier spiel, getting more people to buy into the esports model he'd made up for 'Overwatch.'
On the streaming platforms, various comments were flooding the screen.
"Him again? I feel like he's been up there several times already?"
"Did he bribe the judges? How can he have so many awards?"
"Up there, are you kidding me? You don't even know Chen Mo?"
"Yeah, among domestic designers, it's fine if you don't know others, but not knowing Chen Mo? That's embarrassing!"
"I actually think these awards are very fair and objective. 'League of Legends' and 'Overwatch' winning these awards is well-deserved. Choosing anything else would be a conspiracy, right?"
"Haha, Chen Mo's expression is a bit awkward. I want to see his seat—where is he putting all those trophies? Can't fit anymore, right?"
...
After the series of category awards, the ceremony began to build toward its climax. Next were four very heavyweight awards.
Best Independent Game, Best Mobile Game, Best PC Game, Best VR Game.
These four awards served as a prelude, selecting the best works of the year on each platform, at least representing that these works were the best within their respective platforms.
As for Best Independent Game, it was a kind of encouragement for independent game designers.
Everyone was eagerly anticipating the winners of these four awards.
"I announce that the winner of this year's Best Independent Game is—'The Grand Tang,' designer Lin Mu!"
...
"The winner of this year's Best Mobile Game is—'Time Gone By,' designer Zhang Xiaokong!"
...
"The winner of this year's Best PC Game is—'League of Legends,' designer Chen Mo!"
...
"The winner of this year's Best VR Game is—'Overwatch,' designer Chen Mo!"
These four awards were given out one by one. The first three games had basically no suspense and little controversy, but after the last Best VR Game was announced, a murmur of discussion rose from the audience.
'The Grand Tang' had been a contender for Game of the Year, so winning Best Independent Game was normal; not winning would have been the problem.
As for Best Mobile Game, although Chen Mo's 'Conquer the World' was also good, it was too commercially oriented. Zhang Xiaokong's 'Time Gone By' was a single-player game with excellent storytelling and gameplay, making it a well-deserved winner.
Best PC Game went without saying. Given 'League of Legends'' sweep of the entire PC platform this year, not winning would have been the issue.
As for Best VR Game being awarded to 'Overwatch,' many people still had doubts.
Generally speaking, Best VR Game and Game of the Year were somewhat overlapping, as both were selected from VR games. According to unwritten rules and conventions, if there were two excellent VR games in all aspects, the slightly inferior one would often take Best VR Game, while the better one would get Game of the Year.
Now that 'Overwatch' had won Best VR Game, did that mean Game of the Year would go to 'The Grand Tang'?
"Why did Best VR Game go to 'Overwatch'? What about 'The Grand Tang'?"
"By common sense, each should get one. Does that mean Game of the Year is going to 'The Grand Tang'?"
"Impossible. I think 'Overwatch' is going to sweep both awards!"
"That would be too much! 'The Grand Tang' in any other year would be a solid contender for Game of the Year!"
"A competitive game winning Game of the Year? That's not appropriate, right? The Game Committee wouldn't allow it."
"Forget it, stop guessing. Let's just watch Chen Mo accept the award!"
"How many times has Chen Mo been on stage now? Six?"
"Hahahaha, Chen Mo is completely at a loss for words. He has no idea what to say anymore—he's already said everything!"
Chen Mo walked onto the stage and took the trophy from the awarding official.
The official also looked a bit exasperated, with an expression that said, "You again?"
Chen Mo looked at the audience below, a bit tongue-tied.
He'd already been on stage five times. He'd even talked about his vision for the future, thanked everyone he could think of, and expressed gratitude to the Game Committee and the players twice over.
Holding the trophy, Chen Mo stood at the microphone, paused for a long time, and finally squeezed out four words.
"Thank you, country!"
A thought from a genius, recorded at this site.