Chapter 18

▪️GAME REVIEW

Back on Earth, only half a day has passed since the game’s closed-beta launch, yet the reviews have already started pouring in from the first batch of beta-testers.

At this moment, countless video recordings and screenshots of Elven Kingdom are constantly being uploaded to various sites and gaming distribution platforms, resulting in it appearing on the top pages of trending topics.

One of the first people to release an in-depth review of the game was none other than Xiao Mu, a relatively famous streamer who has a decent following. As a result, his video garnered numerous views as soon as it was uploaded.

When Evé found the review video, a day had already passed since its posting, and by then, the video had surprisingly accumulated over a million views and more than ten thousand comments that were still rapidly increasing by the minute.

Evé is somewhat familiar with this guy, because she used to watch his content back when she was still alive and living on earth. However, this time, in order to be the first to release a review, he seems to have foregone his usual style of commentary with amazing motion graphics editing and simply uploaded himself talking without any added embellishments.

Without hesitation, Eve clicked on the video, feeling mildly interested about his impression of the game.

“Greetings, everyone! I am your host, Xiao Mu and this is VR Corner. The show wherein I review the latest and some interesting VR games out in the market. Recently, I’m sure everyone’s social media feeds are being flooded with post regarding this new VR game that boldly claims to use ‘mind acceleration technology’ and perfectly replicates a fantasy world like reality…”

“Yes, it’s that infamous game, Elven Kingdom! Luckily, I was chosen by the game’s publishers to be one of the initial three hundred beta-testers. This time, I won’t be discussing any game strategies, as there are many beta testers who will surely publish theirs soon. Instead, I want to talk about my personal experience of this magnum opus of a game.”

“Yes, you heard me right, this is a masterpiece…a magnum opus that will transcend time and still be talked about even after centuries had passed!”

“I believe most people were either shocked by the game’s trailer and doubted as to whether the gameplay could really deliver the same experience. Well, let me tell you that everything that was shown in the PV is indeed true!”

“First of all, I believe what everyone is most curious about is the so called, ‘mind acceleration technology.’ I too doubted its authenticity at the start, but upon entering the game, I found that the devs hadn’t lied to us at all, this game can really speed up our thinking process!”

“Although it’s only been half a day since the game’s official beta launch, my in-game experience have already spanned an entire day! To prove this, I have uploaded the entire 12-hour recording of my gameplay as well. I’ve put the link to that video on the description down below…”

“For those of you whose planning to livesteam your playthrough, you may be disappointed because of the mind acceleration technology. Everything in the game appears to be four times more faster compared to reality, making the livestream looks to your viewers as if they’re watching it on 4x the usual speed… My live streaming audience can attest to that. Here’s a short recording of the live chat at the time…”

“Just as it looks, you can still stream the game but the viewers comments would have a huge latency delay on your perspective while it’s the opposite for your viewer’s whose watching your feed on breakneck speed, thus making interacting with your live audience in real-time almost impossible.”

“Nevertheless, I don’t know how the developers had created this miraculous tech, but it’s an undeniable fact that they can somehow extend the in-game time. This alone is enough to surpass all other online games currently out in the market! Think of all the possibilities! This will not only attract gamers but normal people as well.”

“As for the graphics quality…after experiencing the game, I can attest that the graphics of ElvKing are way beyond the current industry standard. As the promotional trailer says, it’s truly ‘the most realistic’ and ‘the most substantial’ recreation of reality! It’s truly an immersive experience! Not only that, but the landscapes in the game are incredibly beautiful as well. Look guys, this is an unedited screenshot I took… doesn’t it look way better than those heavily edited premium wallpapers?”

“For those people who enjoy viewing natural landscapes, please take a look at the video I recorded of a forest inside the game…Look everyone, doesn’t it look like those well-known tourist spots in our world?”

“In addition, everyone here should be familiar with my nickname. I have been looking out for bugs and glitches while I was playing, but to my surprise, it turns out that I cannot even find a single flaw.”

“Besides, as you all know, there are constantly more VR games being released nowadays. However, no one, not even the big names in the industry have yet to perfectly replicate the feeling of gravity and touch sensation in any of the games they have released so far.”

“But ElvKing is different. The gravity engine and sensory experience of the game are absolutely the most advanced in the industry, without any inconsistency. If I didn’t remember that I was logging into a game, I would’ve really think that I had traveled to another world!”

“As for the content of the game… It seems the main objective at the present is to build a town. This coincides with the game’s core theme which is the revival of the Elven Civilization. In fact, I seriously believe that this town we’re currently constructing will be the eventual novice village that will be used once the open beta-test launches…”

“I have to say that the devs way of involving players in the game’s infrastructure development is quite ingenious. I can predict that due to the players participation, the game’s historical depth will be much greater as the plot further develops.”

“The experience of using magic and sword skills is absolutely real, and the sense of achievement in leveling up is unprecedentedly wonderful. Personally, I am not very fond of grinding mobs to level up, but this game piqued my interest in that aspect! Although, I must admit that I only chopped trees all day to reach the level I’m currently at. Ha ha!”

“However, what surprises me the most was none of these things…What truly shocked me the most is the NPCs of this game!”

“So far, I have only seen two NPCs in the game. The first one is the goddess named Evé Yggdrasill…I have to say that this is by far, the best and my most favorite god-archetype model I have ever seen in all the games that I’ve played in my life. Here is a picture of her…”

“Isn’t she beautiful and cool? I gotta say, she really exudes that ‘kneel down ye’ mortals!‘ aura when you meet her.”

“She is the personification of the World Tree, and only appears initially when creating your character in order to guide you. She will also give the players their starter skills and as for what skills you’ll get, well, it depends on your luck since its completely randomized.”

“The goddess currently doesn’t have any more appearances due to her still recovering her power, but it is rumored that she’ll be an active NPC once she recovers her strength. So players can look forward to interacting with this divine being when that time comes in the future…”

“And the second NPC is one of the goddess’ believer, the Saintess, Alice Galewind, a pure and lovely elven girl… These are some screenshots of this character, beautiful isn’t it? She’s mainly the one you need to talk to if you want to complete some task.”

“Besides these two NPCs, it is rumored that there’s also a third one which is an oak treant, but I couldn’t find it. Some people said that they saw it lurking on the edge of the safe zone, as if exploring something, but you shouldn’t dare mess with it since this treant seems to be very powerful. I suspect that this NPC is likely related to the next storyline progression…”

“Now, I want to talk about the game’s AI schematics in detail.”

“I think you’ll be missing out on alot fun stuff if you assume that the NPCs’ in ElvKing are just like those in other games. That’s really far from the truth I tell ya, since the NPCs in this game are definitely the most intelligent AI I have ever seen! They are so lifelike that they could be easily mistaken as real people!”

“This is not only reflected in their expressions and behavior but also within the interactions they have with the players. Heck, the only thing that differentiates them from players is the fact that they don’t have their names floating above their heads like players do! Here, let me show you a video…”

“This is a video of our interaction with the NPC when we first met. As you can see, when provoked by some players, the NPCs’ reactions are quite vivid, and even shows intricate expressions like shyness and anger… “

“At the beginning, most of us weren’t aware that these NPCs had an advanced AI schematics. As a result, some players acted as if the NPCs wouldn’t be able to comprehend their brash and silly behaviors just like the usual NPCs in most games at the present. We simply assumed that we could raise the NPCs’ favorability value just as long as we completed the tasks well.”

“But we were wrong. All those cheeky players who had acted mischievous and flirty had their favorability value decline into negative digits and were given cold shoulders by Alice. She was able to comprehend that they’re fooling around and might even inadvertently looking down on her, which is amazing.”

“If I analyze it correctly, the developers seem to have implemented emotional and neural learning schematics with a sizable memory data allocation for each individual NPCs. Every action you take with the NPC will receive feedback similar to that of real humans, and the NPC will remember every player who has interacted with them. For example, the player who provoked Alice has only received a cold response from her ever since then…”

“In my opinion, only by truly immersing yourself in the game and communicating with NPCs on an equal footing, can you gain their favor.”

“I suppose… this is also the developers intention. If it only had real graphics and touch sensation, then ElvKing would be at most, a great game with immersive and excellent experience; but with the implementation of an AI that is so real that it’s hard to discern whether they are actually human is added, the whole game experience will be sublimated yet again…”

“It would no longer be just a great game, but a masterpiece that will stand at the pinnacle of the VR genre!”

“It gives me the feeling that this merely not just a game, but a real world full of magic and wonder!”

“Yes, this is a game that has achieved what most VR games are still hopelessly pursuing…which is to depict a real existing world for players!”

“Believe me, in this game, you will experience unprecedented immersion like never before and start a brand new life in a fantasy world utterly different from our own!”

“I will stop here for now since the time in-game is already approaching dawn and I can’t wait to chop more trees! Anyways, this is your host, Xiao Mu, signing off. Have a great day everyone!”

After watching the entire video, Evé simply stood motionless with an unreadable expression as if digesting every words from the review. She didn’t immediately leave the video page afterwards but rather, scrolled down to look at the comments section.

“No wonder, so this is the reason why the players have been taking the game more seriously…”

Not surprisingly, this video review had once again reignited massive public discussion and attracted the attention of countless people. The most discussed topic appears to be when Elven Kingdom will launch its public beta testing.

Seeing this, Evé knew that one of her goals had been achieved.

“In the future, there will be no shortage of players anymore.”

However, Evé sighed helplessly whilst thinking of her ever increasing DP consumption since the arrival of these players.

“I underestimated the difficulty of connecting the two worlds. It’s only been less than a week in Saigües, and I’ve already consumed around 0.3 divine power, while the returns I’m gaining from my investments is still far from enough to break even…”

“Alas, I don’t know when would this group of players will finally turn my losses into gains…”

Evé felt her heart bleeding while thinking about her less than 11 divine power points left.

“I wonder how long would I have to wait for my DP to finally reach 100 points…”

Just as Evé sighed, she suddenly heard a whispered prayer coming from within her mindscape.

Evé tried to identified the source and found that it was from the oak guardian Berserker. At this moment, his emotions seemed to be tinged with excitement.

Berserker? Has he discovered something?

Eve’s heart skipped a beat.

These days, Evé ordered him to start exploring the area beyond the safe zone once Berserker cleared the threats within the inner ten-kilometer radius zone.

Although Evé inherited the legacy and partial memories of the previous World Tree, these memories were rather incomplete, and her understanding of the Forest of Elves was not that comprehensive.

In addition, after the Heavenly war and the passage of thousands of years, the Elfen Forest has long since changed its topography, thus rendering her inherited knowledge obsolete so she urgently needs to explore the area in order to update her information.

However, Evé is limited by her own weakness and cannot personally survey the surrounding area.

Therefore, before the players leaves the safe zone, Berserker has become the best candidate for exploring the outer rim of the Elfen Forest.

Thinking of this, Evé immediately contacted the other party through the link within her mindscape and projected her consciousness over his location…n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om