Chapter 721: The Propaganda War
The development team of *Lost Treasure* was quite displeased about this.
It was clearly their idea first—buying the movie IP, doing the game promotion—so how could Thunderbolt Entertainment swoop in and steal the thunder?
If it were any other company, GA would undoubtedly scoff and say, "Riding the hype!"
Indeed, both games were treasure-hunting themed. You didn't make it earlier or later, but you had to wait until *Lost Treasure* was a global hit and its official game adaptation was announced? Wasn't that blatantly riding the hype?
But when it came to Thunderbolt Entertainment, and to Chen Mo, no one dared to accuse him of riding the hype. Given Serent's international fame, he was already on par with many renowned foreign designers. Every game he made, whether online or single-player, sold like hotcakes. There were also masterpieces like *Dark Souls*, with its extremely distinct style and unique characteristics.
For someone like him to be accused of riding the hype? No one would believe it!
The vast majority of players felt that Chen Mo's move had only two possible purposes: either he was preparing to slap GA in the face and teach them how to make an adventure game, or it was a pure coincidence—his development plan had been set long ago, and it just happened to coincide with the *Lost Treasure* hype.
In reality, players familiar with Chen Mo's personality would know that he was, in fact, riding the hype...
Of course, "riding the hype" wasn't entirely accurate. Strictly speaking, it was more like "using other companies' promotional funds to achieve better publicity for his own game." Whether it was riding or not—when a designer does it, can it really be called riding?
For Chen Mo, the *Uncharted* series would be a hit no matter when it was released. It was just that releasing it at this particular moment was more advantageous.
...
In the film industry, the influence of *Lost Treasure* was still spreading, with ripples that refused to fade.
First, the *Lost Treasure* film production team confirmed a sequel. Then, news broke that *Lost Treasure* would be adapted into a TV series. After that, many similar treasure-hunting films jumped on the bandwagon, announcing their release dates one after another.
It could be said that in the film industry, *Lost Treasure* had sparked a treasure-hunting craze. Fans of similar genres were in for a treat.
In the gaming industry, treasure-hunting themes had also become a hot topic. All discussions revolved around Chen Mo's new game and GA's *Lost Treasure*. However, while there was plenty of discussion, no one else dared to follow suit.
The reason was simple: the risk was too high.
Although *Lost Treasure* was a box office hit, there was still a huge gap between movies and games. How to adapt it into a rich, replayable game remained a challenge for many designers.
Without the *Lost Treasure* IP, developing a treasure-hunting or exploration game was a high-risk endeavor. If the game turned out to be neither supported by the original IP nor enjoyable in terms of gameplay, wouldn't it be a complete loss?
Thus, most developers were waiting on the sidelines, letting GA and Chen Mo be the trailblazers.
If one of these two games succeeded, they could follow suit later.
Although following the trend wouldn't bring in as much profit as being the pioneer, having a successful example to reference would greatly reduce the risk. Besides, the pioneer might not necessarily succeed—they could just as easily hit a dead end.
Compared to *Lost Treasure*, many people were more interested in Chen Mo's new game.
So far, Chen Mo had only released one concept art and an introduction to the game's protagonist. It was full of style and suspense, leaving plenty of room for players' imagination.
To use an inappropriate analogy, GA's frequent release of game materials was like someone lifting their skirt and saying, "Come on, sir, I'm almost ready!" Meanwhile, Thunderbolt Entertainment only showed a graceful silhouette, sparking endless fantasies among players.
Online, many players were studying the key locations Chen Mo had revealed, such as El Dorado, the City of a Thousand Pillars, the Kingdom of Shangri-La, and Pirate's Paradise.
"The Kingdom of Shangri-La is hidden deep in the snowy mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. There lies the Kalapa Palace, where the inhabitants possess extraordinary wisdom (chaofan zhihui) and immense wealth..."
"Henry Every was also a ruthless figure in history. He served in the British Navy, later became a pirate, organized a pirate alliance of over 400 men, robbed the Mughal Empire's pilgrim fleet, and disappeared with countless treasures..."
"Wow, so Chen Mo is planning to imagine treasures that have never been confirmed in history?"
"With so many locations, can they all fit into one game?"
"Probably just one, with the rest as sequels. I think the first one should be El Dorado?"
"The guy above clearly doesn't know Chen Mo's style. That guy, who never counts to two, might just start from the back..."
GA was unconvinced. Why did players find Chen Mo's game more interesting even though he released less information?
Although GA didn't say it out loud, the propaganda war between these two games had already begun the moment Chen Mo announced his new game's development plan.
...
After some time of brewing, GA dropped a bombshell: a gameplay demo video.
In the video, players fully experienced a short adventure of the *Lost Treasure* protagonist. After an explosion, he rolled into a cave, climbed down using vines on the wall, and eventually discovered a key clue to the treasure. At the end of the video, the player's perspective lifted, and through a crack illuminated by sunlight, a golden glow filled the screen—an absolutely unparalleled shock!
This video caused quite a stir. The scenes in the video closely replicated those in the *Lost Treasure* movie. While the graphics weren't as meticulously detailed as the film, they were still very impressive. Moreover, the first-person perspective greatly enhanced the player's immersion, offering a completely different experience from the movie.
Players who had been skeptical about *Lost Treasure* suddenly gained more confidence in the game after watching the demo.
"Wow, I didn't expect the replication to be this accurate!"
"And the immersion is incredible. It feels familiar to the movie, yet completely different?"
"When the protagonist climbed down the vines, I felt my legs go weak. Imagine how terrifying it would be in VR!"
"That's what makes it exciting—being able to experience the adventure of *Lost Treasure* firsthand!"
"By the way, I heard the game version of *Lost Treasure* has a lot more content than the movie, written by the original author himself. I'm really looking forward to it!"
"That's great! But honestly, the game version is bound to have more content than the movie, given the difference in runtime."
"I'm suddenly really excited about this game!"
"Chen Mo better step it up. If this keeps up, all the hype will be stolen back!"