I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 269 - 111: Show them the tough guy! A game masterpiece comparable to "Interstellar"!_1

Chapter 269: Chapter 111: Show them the tough guy! A game masterpiece comparable to "Interstellar"!_1

"That’s how it was..."

Gou Chehua simplified things and roughly explained the cause and effect to Ke Jin.

More than 40 years ago on Blue Star, there were only eight recognized forms of art globally.

Back then, what couldn’t yet be called games,

were known as "office electronic entertainment," featuring computer programming code.

This form of entertainment was far from being ranked within the realm of art.

Later, an outstanding game designer from our Huaxia Nation used his boundless imagination to transform what was originally a small electronic pastime of programmers, represented by strings of coding, used to pass the time,

into the first generation of electronic games, laying the foundation for the development of pixel art + 8bit electronic music games.

However, at that time, the Huaxia Nation was relatively behind in the field of technology.

To tap into more game markets, this pioneer among global game designers set off with his bags packed for the other side of the ocean to seek development.

As a result, in the information-blocked era of that time,

this outstanding Huaxia game designer didn’t leave behind his name.

But he managed to almost single-handedly turn what was known as "office electronic entertainment" into the first FPS, 2D ACT, and the source of all development in gaming history—RPG—in the early ’90s.

Very soon, people of that era realized

this uniquely styled and rich form of electronic virtual entertainment seemed to possess a different kind of charm.

It was very easy for one to become engrossed in it,

and one could experience a variety of positive emotional feedback such as joy, excitement, and relief.

Thus, it rapidly spread among the populace,

establishing the origin of the title Ninth Art.

"So, the history of game development on Blue Star is like this, quite different from Earth’s," Ke Jin reflected while listening to Gou Chehua’s narrative.

Because this history was too ancient and information was blocked, on top of the designer having left his homeland early, it was nearly impossible to find any relevant information online.

Basically, when looking up the origins of electronic games, most of the information came from the Western world.

Delving deeper would unveil all sorts of stories, a jumble of claims making it difficult to discern truth from falsehood.

Even Gou Chehua said the rumors were something he heard from a respected old employee while he was working at another game company, and it was very hard to verify their authenticity now.

However, putting aside whether it’s true or false,

for the ten or twenty years after games were classified as the Ninth Art,

the label was indeed subject to controversy.

At that time, many other niche art forms also sought after such a trendy title,

like photography, comics, crafts, and a range of other arts, all wishing to stand out from the larger categories.

But due to their inherent characteristics, which were too closely related to their parent arts,

in the end, it was the new form of interactive art—games—that broke through and was officially recognized by Blue Star as the Ninth Art.

"That’s actually better than on Earth, where public opinion has never formally acknowledged games as the Ninth Art," Ke Jin couldn’t help but remark on Blue Star’s gaming history.

"However, since games started much later compared to the other eight major arts, and even now it’s barely been over forty years... there are still many of the older generation who disdain to call it art," Gou Chehua added.

"Actually, even seven or eight years ago, what was celebrated as the Ninth Art Cultural Festival was still called the ’Eight Art Forms.’ Back then, numerous gamers petitioned to include the annual game awards, but it was to no avail."

"Later, when the gaming capital stepped in, coupled with the fact that the game industry indeed was developing rapidly... although somewhat malformed, it eventually managed to mix in successfully," Gou Chehua said with an awkward smile.

This wasn’t just slightly malformed...

In Ke Jin’s eyes, it was downright alien.

But on second thought, he could understand.

After all, those who haven’t tasted pork can’t imagine its flavor.

Before the leading company Number One Gamer rose to prominence, nearly all gamers on Blue Star believed that mainstream games were puzzle games led by heavy microtransactions and exquisite character artwork, and all other genres were considered unorthodox.

Suddenly, Gou Chehua spoke up again,

outlining the subsequent events.

Originally, the gaming capital had a beautiful vision.

The cultural festival was an annual event that captured the attention of the whole population,

an embodiment of greatness.

Everyone, dog-tired from working all year with hardly any time to relax, usually looked forward to unwinding and enjoying some interesting cultural arts from the festival during the end-of-year holiday.

Unexpectedly, though the festival officials ostensibly agreed to include games,

they were basically just a side show every year with few opportunities to even make an appearance, merely getting a brief mention during the final award summaries.

Claiming it was discrimination against you,

The Blue Star gaming industry itself didn’t have anything that could be presented as works of art.

In other words, they were not up to par.

After all, in the eyes of indifferent onlookers, those highly popular heavy microtransaction games were seen as simply exploiting gamblers’ psychology to keep players hooked. Even their game mechanics could be less engaging than playing cards, and such games were everywhere.