Chapter 786: Winning Game of the Year Again and Again
Chen Mo also understood why it was Zhou Jiangping who called instead of Qiao Hua.
Because this technological advancement, on the surface, didn’t seem to have much to do with game designers.
This time, it wasn’t about progress in artificial intelligence or physics engines, but rather an innovation in the hardware itself.
Chen Mo had always marveled that the VR gaming level in this world was so high, all thanks to this world’s unique black technology, and the most critical piece of that tech was the consciousness reading device.
When players entered the VR gaming pod, issues like visual perception and full-body tactile feedback were relatively easy to solve. The most crucial question was: how should players control the game?
In Chen Mo’s previous life, the solution was a controller or joystick, but obviously, that outdated control method didn’t match VR games.
Some had proposed using a omnidirectional treadmill... but honestly, if that were used, say a player wanted to level up by fighting monsters in VR’s *World of Warcraft*, they’d basically be running the whole time. In reality, the player would also be running on the omnidirectional treadmill—wouldn’t that exhaust them to death?
Mapping character actions through player movements was inherently absurd. For example, if a game character needed to unleash a powerful spinning kick for a big move, would the real-life player also have to perform a spinning kick?
It just didn’t make sense.
In the parallel world, the core black technology of the VR gaming pod was this consciousness reading device. It could read and precisely distinguish the player’s intentions. Players could walk when they wanted, stop when they wanted, and use any skill they wanted.
With this device, players truly felt like they had “soul-transmigrated” into a new world. The physical differences between players could be leveled out, providing a relatively fair and just virtual environment for everyone.
This time, the technological advancement was actually quite simple: the size of the consciousness reading device... had shrunk.
Just like how early computers could fill an entire building but later shrank down to laptops, the consciousness reading device in the parallel world had originally been larger than a desktop computer tower, so it could only be crammed into a VR gaming pod. But now, after a technological explosion, its size had been reduced to just that of a bottle cap, and it could even shrink further.
The business opportunities hidden in this were enormous.
For manufacturers of VR gaming pods, this technological advancement could spark a wave of upgrades and replacements, making it possible to create even more miniaturized gaming pods.
It might even impact other digital electronic products.
So, this news was mainly important for hardware developers. For game designers, whether the VR gaming pod shrank or not didn’t matter much—they’d still make games the same way.
It was precisely for this reason that Zhou Jiangping got the news before Chen Mo. After all, his main job was hardware, while Chen Mo’s was software.
After receiving this news, Chen Mo asked Zhou Jiangping for a general explanation of the new consciousness reading device and then started drafting a design for new equipment.
Zhou Jiangping had his own plans, and Chen Mo had his.
As Chen Mo wrote, he couldn’t help but marvel, “This new item really is useful. The money wasn’t wasted—it was totally worth it!”
No one probably expected that the instigator of this technological explosion was actually Chen Mo...
However, based on the item description, since it was a worldwide technological explosion, it should have already happened abroad too, though the news hadn’t spread yet.
Hardware manufacturers and game designers around the world would all be exploring new business opportunities around this new hotspot. Competition for related devices could become very fierce. For Chen Mo, he needed to act quickly.
...
Many players still didn’t know about this news that was about to shake the entire tech world. They were still focused on the series of awards *The Last of Us* had won.
Since taking Game of the Year at GameHighlight last time, *The Last of Us* had been on a winning streak, snagging three more influential Game of the Year awards.
Not only that, but *Uncharted* and *PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds* had also made it onto the Game of the Year shortlists. Judging by the buzz, these two games also had massive fan followings.
Many players had almost become obsessed. At any awards ceremony, as soon as it was time for the Game of the Year announcement, the comments would inevitably be flooded with people spamming *The Last of Us*. And the most infuriating part was that the Game of the Year really was *The Last of Us*...
This year’s awards ceremonies felt like they had been spoiled—there was no suspense at all.
If there were a Game of the Year betting pool, you could just blindly bet on *The Last of Us* and never lose...
In previous ceremonies, viewers would chat in the comments, feeling nervous, excited, or hopeful. But now, the tone had completely changed.
“The awards ceremony officially begins! I now declare, *The Last of Us* wins Game of the Year. Alright, meeting adjourned.”
“Suddenly, these awards ceremonies feel so boring. What do I do? You don’t even need to watch. The nominees for Game of the Year will definitely include *PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds* and *Uncharted*, and the winner will definitely be *The Last of Us*. No suspense at all...”
“Mom, have I seen this awards ceremony before?”
“Such strong déjà vu... How come the nominee list is similar, and the Game of the Year reveal is so identical?”
“From now on, don’t bother telling me to watch the livestream. Staying up late is exhausting. I’ll just check in the morning and see that *The Last of Us* has won another Game of the Year, and that’s that.”
“Is this year going to be the most predictable year ever? So suffocating!”
“Chen Mo is unstoppable, absolutely sweeping everything!”
“Honestly, even if *The Last of Us* didn’t exist this year, the Game of the Year would still be *Uncharted*. No one else would have a chance.”
“They’re announcing the award. Damn, it really is *The Last of Us* again. Can’t any media outlet bring some novelty?”
“Novelty my ass! If they don’t give Game of the Year to *The Last of Us* this year, they’d be ruining their own reputation.”
“Huh? Someone else is going up to accept the award? Eh, it’s a cute girl! Is she a new intern at Thunderbolt Interactive? Isn’t it inappropriate for an intern to accept the award??”
“Intern?? What nonsense are you talking about? Goldfish is now the Vice President of Thunderbolt Interactive...”
“Oh my god, how come everyone who latched onto Chen Mo’s coattails got rich? My heart aches! If I had decisively latched onto his coattails back when he first started—no, even just become a janitor at his experience store—I’d be set for life now, right?”
“Heh, who wouldn’t want that?”