Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 253: "Wolf-Type Game"

anwhile!

Just across the water in Huaguo, strears on major gaming platforms began adjusting their fixed livestream schedules, choosing to start streaming this very morning.

After all, this was one of the world's top four gaming expos, attracting enormous attention. Nobody wanted to miss out.

Moreover, among the exhibitors, Golden Wind—always a standout as Huaguo's mid-sized ga developer representative—was set to face off against Kora once again!

Previously, during promotional phases, Sekiro had clashed fiercely with Torii.

Now, the true test was here. Both sides were ready to show their ttle, naturally causing a surge in viewer interest.

The audience was extrely excited.

After watching the live gaplay of Sekiro and Gu Sheng, the Old Thief’s, personal comntary, their enthusiasm soared even higher!

This was practically a revolution in motion-sensing pod action gas!

Intricate and complex combat moves, delicate yet dazzling battle effects, challenging and skill-demanding level designs!

Everything made the players thrill with excitent.

So, after the demonstrations and explanations, all the top strears eagerly dove into the motion-sensing pods to experience the ga firsthand!

In truth, right from the start, everyone had so expectation about the ga's difficulty.

After all, they had watched the Corrupted Monk’s live boss fight.

It was obvious that Sekiro’s boss battles were the core challenge of the ga. Knowing Old Thief’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t let players pass easily.

But!

No one expected that the difficulty wasn’t limited to the bosses!

Those damned little minions had insanely high attack power too!

One hit could take away a fifth of your health, and they even had perfect parries!

Blood pressure skyrocketed.

We! Professional strears! Top-tier strears in our sections! People who make a living from gaming!

Although we don’t claim mastery over every ga, the average gaming age was well over ten years!

PC, mobile, motion-sensing!

Countless gas big and small, and innurable action gas, we’d played them all!

And yet, as soon as I stepped out, that little minion hiding in the reed bushes killed ?

Went back for revenge only to be parried and cut down?

Hadn’t even left the gate, and I got killed by a minion two or three tis?!

Suddenly, all the strears in the ga zone were stirred up by this unprecedented 'humiliation,' their tempers growing more irritable, and the ways they died were wildly varied!

So were killed by chickens—

"Damn! Bro! No way! Gotta practice more, got it?"

On a cliff edge, Ayin, with blood splattered on his blade, sheathed his sword with a vengeful tone, snorting disdainfully at a fallen minion!

Then, he flicked his hook chain!

Snap! Swish!

Snap! Swish!

Three swings later, he arrived on the next cliff edge.

Then he drew his blade and aid at two roosters on the cliff:

"Hmph! Where did you little black bastards co from? Die!"

Cluck cluck cluck—cluck cluck!!!

Ayin only wanted to vent by cutting sothing.

But the mont his blade struck, the two big roosters suddenly flapped their wings and took off.

In mid-air, they glided straight toward his face with a powerful kick!

"Ah, what the—?"

Clang!

Ayin hastily raised his blade to block one, but couldn’t block the other!

Whoosh!

A powerful force grabbed his shoulder, followed by a huge slap from the rooster’s wing.

His balance lost, he tumbled to the ground with a thud!

Just as he was about to get up—

The first rooster was back!

Cluck cluck cluck—cluck cluck—cluck!

Flap! Flap! Flap!

The two roosters took turns clawing at Ayin, forcing him to retreat in panic!

In a frenzy, Ayin swung his sharp blade, slicing one rooster to death with a crisp crack, but the last bit of its blood was sucked away by the other rooster!

[Dead]

After two seconds of silence, a roar erupted in the livestream chat:

"Damn you! I’m going all out today!!!"

The chat exploded with laughter!

‘Life is dull, monkeys beating poultry’

‘Hahaha, this is aweso! So good!’

‘Getting killed by a minion is one thing, but trading one-for-one with chickens is pure entertainnt…’

‘“How tough is Kun Ge?”’

‘Hahaha, so damn funny!’

‘Double chicken wolf-slaying formation!’

‘Should be double chicken monkey-slaying formation…’

‘Who knew these things were so powerful…’

‘Honestly, those two chickens seem stronger than the minions…’

‘Laughing my ass off…’

‘…’

Others were killed by muskets—

“Damn it! Bring it on! Fight blade to blade, no backing down! Co on, who’s scared is a loser!”

Ding! Ding! Clang!

Sparks flying, Qiezi blocked a two-on-one attack by two guards.

With his health dangerously low, knowing retreat ant death, fury boiled inside him, sparking a sudden parry!

Clang!

Two blades ca at him simultaneously but were both deflected!

A huge red dot appeared in front of Qiezi.

He stepped forward with the instincts of a born swordsman, aiming for the enemy’s heart and thrusting!

Pfft!

Splatter!

Blood sprayed as Qiezi swung his blade and began crowing:

“Goose goose goose goose goose, is that all you got? Think you’re tough just ‘cause you’re in numbers? Look down on huh?”

“Everyone in the chat, watch carefully, learn well! Do you know what Maoming Sword Saint ans? Learn it!”

Saying that, Qiezi passed through the wooden gate, intending to continue along the narrow path.

However, as soon as he stepped inside,

His goose laugh hadn’t even died away when a muffled blast echoed from a cliff opposite!

Boom!

[Dead]

“Ah?”

Qiezi was stunned!

He didn’t even realize what happened.

In an instant, he died, the big [Dead] sign flashing as the screen faded to gray.

“Is this a bug?”

He imdiately used Rebirth, resurrecting and standing up again.

But then, another muffled blast!

Boom!

[Dead]

This ti, Qiezi was truly done for.

Fortunately, this ti he saw who killed him—

On the cliff, a guard was aiming his long-barreled musket, having just sniped Qiezi from over a hundred ters away.

“WTF! What the hell is this? Guns? How can you even use guns?!”

anwhile, the chat was filled with laughter and jokes—

‘Musketeer: No living things in the crosshairs!’

‘Hahaha sniper god’

‘Old Thief’s conspiracy’

‘Look at their sniper, then look at yours!’

‘Hahaha, so damn accurate’

‘Who would’ve thought…’

‘…’

Others were crushed by huge hamrs—

Ding! Ding! Clang!

Sparks flying!

Tree-ge darted and dodged in the snow, tangled in combat with three enemies!

This was an enemy outpost.

Tree-ge had already stealthily taken out nearly a third of the enemies inside.

But a small movent mistake exposed him to a high-placed sentry.

Drums sounded!

All the guards in the outpost surrounded him!

Amid flying sparks, Tree-ge fought left and right, constantly repositioning to keep enemies at bay.

The clang of sword strikes echoed as one enemy after another fell beneath his blade.

The battlefield was drenched in blood, with endless sounds of forging!

The chat roared with excitent:

‘Wow, Acui’s killing it!’

‘Tree-ge is truly the master of the Flaming Blade, impressive!’

‘Little sapling coming up in the world!’

‘This outpost clearing difficulty almost feels like a boss fight’

‘Damn! Tree-ge’s almost done!’

‘Tree-ge rocks!’

‘…’

With all the chatter and cheers,

Tree-ge swiftly killed another guard.

Looking up, only two enemies remained in front of a dilapidated small building.

Swish swish!

He advanced quickly, growing braver, charging straight up to duel the small guards by the broken building!

Ding! Clang! Clang!

One strike, plus two perfect parries—the sharp blade instantly pierced a guard’s neck.

Blood gushed as Tree-ge swung his long blade, throwing the guard aside, then perford a nimble step!

Boom!

A musketeer on the second floor fired a deadly blank shot, but Tree-ge snorted coldly:

“Hmph! You think you’re tough?!”

He hooked his chain on the eaves, leapt up, and with a few quick strikes, executed the troubleso musketeer!

However!

Just as he jumped down from the broken building, humming a tune, and rounded the corner ready to push forward,

Wham—thud!!!

A massive hamr suddenly swung from behind the corner, smashing Tree-ge into the ground!

[Dead]

Tree-ge was completely stunned!

He stared dumbfounded at the chubby man over two ters tall, hiding behind the corner, wielding a huge wooden hamr:

“…What the hell!”

Rebirth!

Step!

Swing!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

After a triple hamr strike, Tree-ge looked at the [Dead] sign in front of him and completely lost it—

…

“Word! Word! Word! Word!”

Amid laughter and cheers,

At the arcade festival, everyone watching the live experience saw pew’s screen black out again and burst into laughter:

‘Hahaha I feel like I’m learning how to write [Dead]’

‘Got one-shot right off the bat’

‘That must be an elite monster, right?’

‘Judging by the difficulty, I’d even say it’s a boss…’

‘Indeed, the damage is insane, nearly half the health gone with one hit’

‘Three hits per health bar, a healing gourd recovers about one hit’s worth, so with rebirth, you can only afford eight mistakes’

‘Damn—that’s really hard…’

‘I even think if pew can beat this general in half an hour, that’s super impressive…’

‘…’

Yes!

At this very mont!

In Golden Wind’s exhibition area!

Strear pew was locked in a tense and thrilling duel with the first elite boss in the demo version—Samurai General Naomori Kagemasa!

The courtyard was empty, surrounded by walls and a dilapidated gate, clearly designed as an arena for players to battle the general.

Pew held his katana tightly, eyes fixed on the general, stepping forward slowly, beginning a one-on-one dance in the arena.

As an experienced ga strear, pew’s talent was quite good.

Though the ga’s design and chanics were almost entirely new to everyone, highly innovative,

Players like pew adapted quickly thanks to their extensive gaming experience.

Moreover,

After the live demo and Sam’s personal explanations, pew clearly understood the core of the ga: perfect parries and deflections to break the enemy’s posture bar.

So, he deliberately practiced deflecting throughout.

“Phew—”

Inside the motion-sensing pod, pew took a deep breath:

“My earlier attempt was a montary lapse. This ti, it’s the real fight!”

“Prepare for my sha—!!!”

Breathing deeply,

Swish!

Pew stepped forward in an arrow step, charging at the general clad in jet-black samurai armor!

The general shouted a fierce battle cry, planting his stance and swinging his huge blade!

The massive blade clashed with pew’s sharp sword!

Clang!

A tallic chi rang out, sparks flying!

The two locked in combat instantly!

Pew’s sword slashed and stabbed with lightning speed!

The general’s heavy blade parried with fierce wind!

The tallic ringing drew gasps and cheers from the audience:

‘Woooo! So cool! Pew’s strikes are sharp!’

‘After so many years as a ga strear, his talent is still high’

‘The general’s posture is so fierce, really intimidating…’

‘That forging clang sound is addictive, love it…’

‘The whole booth feels like a blacksmith shop, hahaha…’

‘Uh oh!’

‘…’

Just then, a spectator’s shout broke through the crowd.

Suddenly, a large, eye-catching red warning flashed on pew’s UI—

[Danger]

This sign ant the enemy’s next attack was unblockable and could only be dodged temporarily.

The player could choose to sidestep and escape.

But that was a last resort.

Because originally, the appearance of [Danger] ant players could perform special counteractions to break the enemy’s defense.

And the ga had already given this hint during the first eting with the general—

When the enemy made a thrust attack, players could perform a “spear step to stomp blade” action to break defense.

When the enemy attacked low, players could perform a “jump stomp on head” action to break defense.

These special reactions, if successful, greatly increased the enemy’s posture bar burden, making it easier to break defense.

Besides “thrust” and “low attack,” there was a third enemy attack that triggered the [Danger] warning: “throw.”

This [Danger] was unblockable; players could only dodge.

In other words!

When [Danger] appeared, you had to quickly judge from the enemy’s movents whether it was a “thrust,” “leg sweep,” or “throw.”

If you guessed right, the battle reward was huge, the enemy’s posture broke faster.

If you guessed wrong…

“Thrust!”

Pew shouted as he stepped forward, trying to stomp the general’s raised blade!

To be honest, he didn’t really know which move to do; he just guessed.

During battles with minions, he never got to practice this “motion-sensing QTE.”

The sudden [Danger] warning left pew flustered.

Bang!

He missed his step, shouting sharply: “NO—!”

Buzz—

The general’s great blade swung horizontally!

Brimming with deadly intent, it struck pew heavily!

Pfft!

Blood sprayed!

Pew flew sideways, rolling three tis on the ground!

Two-thirds of his health instantly vanished!

“Damn—!!!”

Not just pew—

The live audience exploded!

Inside the pod, pew scread repeatedly!

“Word! Word! NONONONO! Please please please! NO—Fvvvvvvvk!!!”

He ran, gulping down healing gourds!

What the hell kind of damage was that?

One hit almost one-shot ?

Damn it, Old Thief Sam, can you be a decent human?

Sure, the UI said correct judgnt gave huge benefits, but it didn’t say wrong judgnt was equally risky!

This was like a charged attack in other gas!

Guess wrong and full health turns to crippled, crippled turns to death!

But!

Before he could finish complaining,

Buzz—!

The samurai general charged forward, swinging his blade again!

Pew hurriedly blocked in panic, forgetting even to parry.

Clang!

Clang!

Another two strikes!

[Danger]

Another bright red warning flashed before pew!

“Uh… stomp head? This ti it’s head stomp, right?!”

Pew was overwheld with fear and panic, bending his knees to jump.

But before he could lift off, the general’s blade was already on his face!

Swish—pfft—!!!

Pew felt a chill in his chest, pierced through completely!

The general’s blade rose and fell!

The body collapsed.

[Dead]

“Aaaaaaa—!!!”

A furious roar echoed inside the pod, causing the audience to burst into laughter and the livestream chat to flood with amusent:

‘LOOOOOOL…’

‘Said he’d embarrass himself, and he sure did, pew keeps his word (dog head)’

‘Hahahaha…’

‘Two wrong guesses in a row, so frustrating’

‘It depends on the enemy’s starting move; these two attacks have different beginnings’

‘The main thing is the ti is too short, under that pressure it’s really hard to judge calmly’

‘Damn, I now understand how hard Sam’s perfect defense breaking was in the demo’

‘True! The general’s opening move is clearer, but the Corrupted Monk’s hand raise is impossible to tell!’

‘I can’t imagine what the Corrupted Monk fight will be like’

‘This design really forces you to learn for real, can’t rely on guessing, no one guesses better than Sam (side-eye smile)’

‘Today, pew rembered the fear of being dominated by Cat Mario…’

‘Small tricks catch big fish’

‘Doesn’t pew have Rebirth? Why not use it?’

‘No point, Rebirth cos up half-health without gourds, the general’s posture bar resets, no chance to fight, one hit and dead…’

‘Indeed…’

‘…’

As the audience discussed,

Pew’s real suffering journey began!

[Danger]

“Uh… uh… stomp blade!”

Crack!

[Danger]

“Emmmm… still stomp blade?!”

Crack!

[Danger]

“Forget it! This ti it has to be stomp head!”

Pfft!

[Danger]

“Ahhhhh! Stomp blade! No! Damn! It’s a throw—!!!”

Buzz—boom! Pfft!!!

Pew was slamd brutally onto the ground by the general, the huge blade rcilessly pinning him down before swinging him away again!

Pew wasn’t sure if throw was always an instant kill.

But at his current health, one throw ant death.

Once or twice was okay.

Three or five tis, manageable.

Ten or eight tis, biting through the pain.

But after thirteen tis!

Pew really couldn’t take it anymore; he broke defense on the spot!

“I’m not guessing anymore, fuck this! Fuck! Fuck this damn [Danger]!”

“F*** you all! If I guess one more ti, I’m f***ing done! F***!”

“Co! Fight blade to blade! Let’s go!”

Furious,

Pew gritted his teeth, swearing never to guess [Danger] again.

Giving up on guessing made things seem easier to handle.

Ding! Clang! Bang! Clang!

Sparks flying!

Pew concentrated fully on deflecting, focusing all attention on the parry.

When [Danger] attacks appeared that couldn’t be parried, he sidestepped to create distance, taking the chance to heal with a gourd or pill.

The more he fought, the smoother and more confident he beca!

Finally!

Clang!!!

With sparks flying again, the general’s posture bar collapsed under pew’s repeated parries!

Pew scread excitedly, raising his blade with both hands and plunging it into the general’s chest!

Pfft—shing!!!

A gush of thick blood erupted!

The pod echoed with pew’s joyful shout!

“Woohoo! I get it! I get it!”

“Forget breaking, guessing, judging!”

“You don’t need any of that, just fight blade to blade and you can beat this boss!”

Saying that,

Pew continued the fight with the general’s second health bar, watching the posture bar rise higher and higher with laughter:

“Hahahahaha—ah???”

At first pew was happy.

During the phase two fight, he’d taken so damage and planned to sidestep away during [Danger] warnings to heal.

Thinking that was fine—he’d heal while the general thrusts.

But when he looked up, pew was stunned.

Because while he stepped back and healed, the general also charged up energy.

“Ha!”

A deep shout.

Pew watched as half the general’s posture bar dropped!

“I…”

Pew didn’t know what curse words to use to describe his feelings!

I heal and you heal too?!

No!

Hey!

Does anyone regulate this?

What kind of boss heals itself?

This… this is crazy!

From start to now,

This ga constantly shattered pew’s understanding of ARPGs!

Whether the overall difficulty, scene design, boss chanics, or the underlying ga logic!

Clearly, Sekiro was unlike any ga he’d ever played!

Not just ARPGs.

Is it fun?

Sure, but it’s designed to torture you in every possible way!

From ambush minions hiding in reeds, chickens flying up to slap your face, wild dogs in the streets, getting sniped at the gate, to huge hamrs swinging around corners…

To bosses with absurdly high attack power, the unpredictable [Danger] warnings, and the heal-while-fighting chanics…

Pew even suspected the ga wasn’t ant to be completed but was Old Thief Sam’s pure experint to watch players break their defenses.

But!

Is it not fun?

Those fluid, flexible motion-sensing moves, the delicate feel of blades slicing air, the mysterious and majestic scenery of Wano Castle in the distance, the bloody thrill of every successful death blow…

Golden Wind’s ticulous dedication fully imrsed players in this world.

The stealth atmosphere, the exhilaration of a successful assassination, the heated clash of cold weapons…

Most importantly, the unparalleled joy of perfectly deflecting enemy blades and achieving death blows amid the hypnotic clang of forging sounds.

That thrill was intoxicating.

And!

Though intangible,

You could clearly feel that with each failure and resurrection, your combat experience gradually improved!

Yes!

Though the main character only had two attribute upgrades—health and attack power,

“You,” the player, grew stronger as the ga progressed!

Your moves beca smoother, combos more fluent.

Your judgnt sharper, your parry timing more precise.

From initial clumsy panic to holding your own against three or five foes.

The clang of forging was not just sword clashes but the forging of player skill.

Especially in this first-person motion-sensing pod mode, fully imrsive,

The sense of “training to grow stronger” beca ever more intense!

Each resurrection made the blade feel more like an extension of yourself!

That feeling of mastery was addictive!

Ding! Clang! Thud!

Reinvigorated, pew plunged back into battle!

Parry, slash, sidestep, read!

Death after death, resurrection after resurrection!

Every [Dead] was an improvent in skill!

From struggling just to get a death blow on the general without gourds, to approaching nearly unhard!

From panicking at the [Danger] warning to steady observation of the general’s hand raise!

Stomp blade!

Nod!

Sidestep to dodge throw!

Clang clang clang, pew’s combat beca ever more skilled!

Sparks flying, the general’s posture bar grew perilously low!

Boom—clang—!

A precise stomp blade staggered the general!

Buzz—clang—!

A perfect parry sent the general’s weapon flying amid sparks!

“Ugh ugh—”

A panic-stricken roar!

The black-armored samurai general staggered, posture collapsing!

Pew stepped forward, kicking the general’s chest!

Holding the blade with both hands!

The cold gleam on the blade reflected the wolf’s sharp eyes.

Resolute and cold, eyes sharp as a hawk, fierce as a lone wolf!

“Shinei—!!!”

A fierce shout!

The blade pierced through the general’s chest, slanting upward!

Pfft—!!!

“Ugh—cluck ugh—”

In an instant!

A single stroke sealed the general’s throat, freezing his body stiff.

Then,

Pew pulled back his blade, crimson blood spraying alongside the bright white steel!

Turning, he sheathed his sword with a click!

At the sa ti, a thud sounded as the samurai general’s corpse fell, unable to rise!

[Ninjutsu Kill]

Boom—!!!

After a brief silence, the crowd went wild!

Everyone scread and applauded wildly!

Then, the pod door opened.

Pew stepped out slowly, standing before the pod like a victorious king, striking a pose to show off:

“Hmph! Enemy defeated! I will strip him naked!!! (Japanese: Enemy general defeated by !)”

Rember!

This was Neon!

Though many audience mbers ca from abroad, the majority were Japanese!

Moreover, this line was famously shouted by the sword saint Wano Ichimonji in Sekiro’s CG!

In an instant!

The whole venue erupted!

After cheekily showing off, pew excitedly ran to the crowd!

“I did it! I did it! Woohoo! Friends! I won!!!”

Phew—

Relying on the crowd’s energy, normally outgoing pew could no longer contain his excitent, running on stage and imitating a nightclub DJ with a “dive”!

Splash!

The audience and players went wild, lifting pew’s body with screams and cheers!

anwhile, Gu Sheng, who had been quietly observing from the side, laughed heartily, grabbed a microphone from staff, lowered his voice, and announced in English:

“Ladies and gentlen! I hereby declare that the first kill record of Sekiro’s elite boss ‘Samurai General Naomori Kagemasa’ at Neon Arcade Festival belongs to—”

“Peeeeeeeeeeeeew—!!!”

Boom!!!

The players were already cheering wildly!

Now with Gu Sheng acting as host, announcing pew’s ‘achievent,’ the excitent reached a fever pitch!

Instantly, Golden Wind’s booth beca the liveliest and most eye-catching at the entire arcade expo!

A sea of players crowded around, repeatedly tossing pew into the air!

“Pew—! Pew—!” chants echoed through the hall.

Pew cried.

Few could withstand such an emotional scene.

Dozens of attempts, dozens of failures, an hour of life and death struggles without giving up.

Now, all the effort seed worth it.

The overwhelming satisfaction and sense of accomplishnt made his skin crawl with goosebumps, the cheers and crowd’s support brought tears to his eyes!

Click!

Click click!

Countless dia froze this mont in ti!

And now!

Pew finally seed ready to define Sekiro for himself.

It wasn’t just an action ga.

It wasn’t a role-playing ga.

It wasn’t an action RPG.

It was itself.

A unique ga genre created by Supernova Designer Sam with unparalleled talent and brilliant ideas.

It should be called—

“The ‘Wolf-Type Ga’ Stands Alone! Leading the Arcade Expo’s Popularity!”

“Explosive! Sekiro Announced, Stirring Waves Among All!”

“Action? Role-play? No! It’s Wolf! ‘Wolf-Type’ Gas May Beco a Major Trend in Motion-Sensing Pods!”

“Neon Buzz! Global Attention! What Charm Does Sekiro Have to Make People Hurt and Enjoy at Once?”

“…”

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