This Is Not a Bug but a Game Feature-Chapter 82: Best Visual Effects Award

In the blink of an eye, the twelfth month of the lunar calendar arrived.

It had been three months since they began developing the new game "Divine Grace Continent" before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Last year, because of work, Chen Ba couldn’t go home for the New Year. This year, he definitely had to go back; otherwise, it wouldn’t sit well with his old father.

Chen Ba’s parents divorced early on and went their separate ways. He was raised by his father and grandmother.

After his grandmother passed away, there was only his old father left at home.

Originally, when the profit share from "Star Emperor" came in, Chen Ba planned to buy a house in Jiangning and bring his father to live with him.

But his father couldn’t bear to leave the few acres of land at home and refused to let them go to waste. Plus, developing "Divine Grace Continent" required a lot of money, so this idea was scrapped.

In the past, it didn’t matter if he didn’t make money, but thanks to the previous three games, Chen Ba had some money now. So he planned to build a new house for his father in the village.

The old man, if he didn’t want to move to the city, Chen Ba could only build a new house for him at home to improve his living environment.

"Building a house is pretty expensive."

"Yeah, mainly because of the rise in labor costs; materials don’t cost much." Chen Ba nodded.

After deciding to build a new house for his father, he asked around about the costs, and the results were quite speechless for him.

Ten years ago, you could build a two-story building in his hometown for seventy to eighty thousand. But now, without two to three hundred thousand in hand, you can’t even start.

"What about the renovation?"

Yang Dong seemed curious about these rural self-built houses, so he asked, "Renovation for rural self-built houses shouldn’t be expensive, right?"

"That depends on how you decorate it. If you go for a high-end look, it can still be pricey."

Chen Ba shared his thoughts and plans: "My dad thinks it’s unnecessary to make it too luxurious. After all, the countryside is different from the city, and it’s just him at home, so cleaning would be a hassle."

"Uncle is right."

Yang Dong completely agreed, as this renovation matter indeed requires practical considerations. Making a rural self-built house too luxurious would make cleaning and daily maintenance labor-intensive.

Having a little garden or pool may look nice, but is it practical? Not at all! Plus, it’s a pain to maintain. The time spent cleaning the pool would be better spent doing some farm work!

That’s how the older generation thinks.

Chen Ba could afford to make it luxurious, but he also understood that self-built houses should focus on "practicality."

"I’ll have my dad handle this. After the New Year, the workers should be ready to start building."

As Chen Ba spoke, he seemed to have thought of something and looked at Yang Dong, saying, "You’re not going home again this year, are you?"

"You’ve left, leaving me all alone in the empty office?" Yang Dong said woefully.

"You..."

Chen Ba rolled his eyes, really used to Yang Dong’s hopelessness.

So many years have passed, and you still can’t let go of that woman? No wonder his parents were worried; even outsiders felt anxious for him.

"You really should move on."

Out of kindness, Chen Ba advised, "Stop dwelling on your ex. Who’s to say she hasn’t started seeing someone else, and you’re still in the dark!"

"Oh, by the way, are Juan and Kun Kun seeing each other? She requested leave yesterday, saying on her social media that she went to see a movie?"

"Probably..."

Yang Dong pondered, "Those two have probably gotten together, and I reckon they’ll start planning for marriage next year. Zhong Shengwei has a girlfriend now, and even Lu is chatting up a storm with the customer service girl, Xin."

Great!

In the vast Tianba Studio, the scent of romance lingered everywhere, leaving only the two of them as single dogs.

"Ahem!"

Chen Ba coughed, deciding to skip this depressing topic, and turned the conversation to this year’s Steam Platform annual game awards.

Tianba Studio had grown!

"Star Emperor" was shortlisted for the "Best Visual Effects" award on this year’s Steam Platform.

Even though it’s just a nomination and requires player voting to see if it will win, based on the fact that it gained 100,000 votes overnight once voting opened, this award seems secure.

"Definitely secure..."

"Do any other games have visuals like ’Star Emperor’? Can they get Old Huang and Su to stand on stage together?"

Yang Dong raised an eyebrow: "If we win, it will be well-deserved! Even if Cyberpunk 2077 is here, today’s award should go to Star Emperor!"

"I like hearing that. Say more."

Chen Ba said with a smile, "It’s a pity that the award from the Steam Platform has less prestige and isn’t as well-known as the TGA."

"Be content with what you’ve got; winning an award is already something. The TGA, what does that have to do with us?"

The words may be harsh, but they are true.

With the Steam Platform awards, Tianba Studio could at least get a share. But the TGA, the ’Oscar of gaming,’ is out of reach.

It’s the playground for AAA titles or global hit games.

Tianba Studio’s works don’t have the competitiveness; they can’t even snag a nomination, let alone win.

"’Star Emperor’ is too niche. If its sales reach a million, and it has more international players, maybe it can snag a Best Fighting Game nomination," Chen Ba sighed.

Apart from requiring high specs and lacking impact, "Star Emperor" does have its highlights.

Even if it doesn’t deserve an award, it should at least get a nomination.

The pity is that "Star Emperor" had low sales, and most players are from Hua Country. There aren’t many international players, which makes its recognition very low.

This is a major reason why the TGA Game Awards this year lacked "Star Emperor’s" presence. After all, if no one has heard of a game, who knows if it’s good?

"It’s okay!"

Yang Dong comforted, "Divine Grace Continent is a good game. I think it might get a nomination at next year’s TGA."

"Let’s hope so."

Chen Ba wasn’t as optimistic as Dong.

With three months of development, the general framework of the new game was already in place. Based on the current demo, it indeed looked decent, but as for being exceptional, not necessarily.

Average!

This could be seen from the system’s scoring standard. With a comprehensive score of 90, it seemed decent...

But, the first game "Cold Window Study Simulator" scored 91! The system’s comprehensive score is just for fun; taking it seriously would be foolish.

and 90 are still quite close.

Thinking back to "Cold Window Study Simulator’s" post-launch performance, sales data, and overall reputation, Chen Ba had a rough idea.

"Divine Grace Continent" had a comprehensive score of 90, significantly higher than "Star Emperor." This indicates that the game should be decent, and its sales and reputation should be better than "Star Emperor’s."

But a 91-scored game has bugs, so what about a 90?