Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Chapter 217 - 217: 215: How Can They Be So Similar?

However, Super Tomato was fearless, and not only did he continue playing the terrifying Tomb Soil Level calmly, but he was even excited about it.

For video uploaders, playing games is not only for fun, but also a professional need; out of professionalism, they are required to clear the game as soon as possible.

They are not afraid of difficult or terrifying games – at least not at the moment.

What they fear is running out of content to use, making the game uninteresting to stream.

Streamers feel the same way; as long as the game is interesting to watch, everything else is secondary – even if they are scared witless, it’s still part of the show.

Furthermore, if you actually wet your pants, you might even gain popularity overnight…

Although along with money and fame, public humiliation and dark history would also come your way, there are still plenty of people who are willing to take the plunge…

Of course, top streamers are usually an exception; once they have a secure position and financial stability, they naturally start caring about their reputation.

However, Super Tomato is an exception; he has always been conscious of his reputation and never relied on these kinds of gimmicks to gain popularity.

The reason for his excitement now is that he has found new video production material –

He found that “Light Encounter” truly deserves to be called the “sister game” of Cloud Dream as they claimed, since many level design concepts are not only inherited from “Wind Journey” but also almost in a one-to-one corresponding state.

The first few levels weren’t so obvious because they were designed for beginner tutorials and to establish the game’s art style.

But starting from the fourth level, it no longer bothered to hide the resemblance!

Mist Valley Map – race track sprint mode.

As Super Tomato sprinted on the icy racetrack, he immediately thought of the sliding sand level in “Traveler of the Wind”; although one involves skiing and the other sliding on sand, there’s no doubt they share the same concept!

Even the splendid setting sun is identical in both games!

Although Cloud Dream further developed this gameplay in “Light Encounter” and added an entirely new flying racetrack, the attempt to innovate once again brought a different kind of fun.

Tomb Soil Map – the dark, lightless underground, and the airborne wandering spirit dragon.

This corresponds to the underground level in “Traveler of the Wind”.

The abyssal dragon’s pitch -black body, its sharp head and body, the densely packed tentacles that make one’s scalp tingle…

When it slowly swam overhead, the chilling sound it made, whether it was a rumble or a low growl, was even more oppressive than the mechanical flying dragon in “Wind Traveler”, making Super Tomato shiver with tension.

Forbidden Pavilion Map – climbing the forbidden tower and unveiling the mystery.

This corresponds to the temple checkpoint in “Traveler of the Wind”.

Although many interactive, exploration and cooperative social elements have been added to encourage player interaction, it still essentially involves interacting with mechanisms to ascend to the top of the map.

Of course, Super Tomato must admit that the feeling of walking through the starry sky as he ascended, layer by layer, was mesmerizing.

Especially when he saw the transparent Starlight Distant Kun swimming in the sea of stars- -it was incredibly beautiful!

As for the Eye of the Storm Map, although the artistic style differed greatly from “Wind Traveler” –

One involves pure white, harsh blizzards that obscure vision, while the other involves a hurricane mixed with fatal falling rocks.

However, the two share similarities: In “Traveler of the Wind”, the cold freezes your scarf, preventing you from flying, forcing you to walk most of the journey on foot.

In “Light Encounter”, you must face the fierce storm in the Eye of the Storm, not to mention flying, even a careless jump could be blown away by the wind, and you’re forced to walk step by step through the entire path using only your legs.

The design concepts for both games are still exactly the same!

The goal is to make players feel the most difficult and challenging environment at the end of their journey.

Upon entering the final map – the Eye of Eden, Super Tomato had already guessed what he would encounter.

Seeing the system prompt’s eight characters “Lost Light, return to the sky,” he confidently said to the audience in the live broadcast room: “I dare to bet with all of you that I will fall before the final checkpoint and then experience a ‘resurrection’! ”

Although mentally prepared, Super Tomato still significantly underestimated the difficulty of the journey ahead – dense falling rocks kept crashing down, which would cause the wings to fall off when hit.

Even if they dodge the rocks, touching the red stones shattered by the falling rocks would still cause them to lose energy.

In such a dangerous environment, they also have to sacrifice their wings to liberate the souls transformed into statues.

The only shelter was the hidden statues in the darkness, but it was extremely difficult to find them on their first visit.

With unwavering determination, Super Tomato sacrifices his wings time and time again, liberating the imprisoned souls.

Until the final area, where he is constantly hit by falling rocks like rain, even though his wings are continuously smashed off and he falls to the ground, he struggles to get up time and time again, desperately trying to save the souls of the strangers transformed into statues, until all his wings and energy are exhausted, and he falls powerless.

The comments have already become sparse, and millions of viewers hold their breath, nervously watching him fall down again and again, get up again and again, sacrifice the only thing that can protect him – his wings, until even his heart fire is exhausted, and he falls powerless into the rain of falling rocks.

Everyone’s mood is suppressed to the lowest point.

Some sensitive viewers even couldn’t help but shed tears.

In the audience’s silence, Super Tomato, now devoid of all light, turns into a little black man and wakes up again in the void.

Looking at the shiny little golden figure not far away, Super Tomato subconsciously walks towards it, follows the system prompt and pulls the little golden figure up and hugs it.

As expected, the next moment the little golden figure merges into his body, making him shiny again and full of endless golden energy.

He flaps his wings and leaps up, flying straight upwards!

The statues that solidified around his body are instantly shattered, and he continues to fly upwards unimpeded!

At the highest point! That circular gap where the light comes in!

Super Tomato’s prediction was entirely accurate.

How similar this is to the end of the “Wind Journey,” when the frozen and buried ancestor awakens, and with endless energy, flies up, breaks through the snowstorm’s obstruction, and reaches the pure, beautiful, and magnificent Sacred Mountain!

But Super Tomato doesn’t feel any smugness at this time. Instead, he tries his hardest to flap his wings again and again, doing his best to break through that gap, to see the end of the road, to truly reach Eden!

The moment he breaks through the gap, the City in the Clouds is already within sight!

The storm has long since subsided, accompanied by shining flying birds, jellyfish, and Distant Fish, they keep going upwards, and upwards, then upwards more!

Passing through the collapsed buildings, passing through the smoke and rubble, and even… passing through the shattered City in the Clouds, with only a few ruins remaining!

It wasn’t until this moment that Super Tomato completely realized – The City in the Clouds no longer existed. At the beginning of the game, in that mountain cave, the mural had already explained it very clearly.

It’s just that the City in the Clouds still has some remnants left, reflecting in the splendid light from afar, with an awe-inspiring and beautiful silhouette that still makes people yearn for it.

As a result, both Super Tomato and the countless audience members in the live broadcast room believe all along that the end of the journey must be a delicate, magnificent, and splendid City in the Clouds!

Even despite witnessing many ruins along the way, they didn’t change their minds.

But the truth is: it has long been dilapidated as time goes by, and it is even in constant accelerated decay.

However, before he could fully experience this regret, he, alongside the multitude of glowing creatures, crossed the spire of the City in the Clouds at its highest point, but— there was no stopping! In the end, they actually arrived —

Above the starry sky!