Chapter 60: “God Game, Trash Game, Reverse World”

“It’s simpler than I thought.”

• “Not a big deal, right? We don’t have many specific requirements. We used to have a detailed advertising manual, but these days… well, we’re in a bit of a situation. Just enjoy the game, and if you have any questions during the ad, feel free to contact me right away. We’ll be monitoring everything in real-time, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

This was a conversation with the ad manager.

Despite the times of humiliation and oppression I mentioned, this was the first ad I would be doing on my broadcast.

Naturally, I was excited and eager to do a good job.

That’s why I had been asking the manager so many questions. I thought it was better to clear up any concerns before doing anything, after all. Business, where money changes hands between people, works like that. You have to do your part after receiving what you were promised.

The manager’s responses were somewhat unexpected. When they sent the proposal, asking for both the good and bad points of the game, it wasn’t an empty request. The manager didn’t present any specific demands, nor did they offer detailed explanations. They simply said to enjoy the game and that we wouldn’t be heavily involved.

The ad team wanted to create an image of gamers freely and joyfully playing Envision without being interrupted by any external influences.

That was good news for me. It meant I wouldn’t have to worry about unnecessary details.

But I still had to be somewhat cautious. I hadn’t been broadcasting for that long, after all.

They seemed to appreciate my fresh image, since my channel hadn’t been established long enough for it to become fixed, but I knew that one wrong move could easily lead to a mishap.

I had already received warnings from Yusia and Kim Jae-jun a few times. In normal broadcasts, it was fine, but during ads, there could be no accidents.

Especially with alcohol; it seemed they were taking extra precautions and had even implemented a drinking ban starting the day before.

I couldn’t imagine drinking during the ad, no matter how reckless I might be. Maybe a celebratory drink after the ad was over, but during the ad, I planned to stay as calm and composed as possible.

• “Is this your first time playing Envision, Kayak?”

“No, I’ve played it a lot before. Probably around 3-4 years ago?”

It wasn’t a lie. I had played it a lot, although my intentions back then were a bit less pure.

Back when Abyss was declining, and Envision was the number one game in PC cafes, I infiltrated Envision like an industrial spy, trying to uncover the secrets of the top game.

I analyzed how Envision became successful, what its strengths were, and what aspects of the game attracted users, and then shared that with IoniX.

I told them that if they didn’t know what to do, they should at least benchmark Envision rather than making strange patches. But IoniX continued to mess up.

Looking back, it wasn’t a beautiful memory… more like a terrible one.

But now, seeing where both games were, I felt like my efforts hadn’t been completely in vain.

• “3-4 years ago, huh?”

As I briefly got lost in my memories, I heard a small sigh from the phone.

The manager must have felt overwhelmed too. After all, Envision was doing so well back then.

• “Anyway, I’m counting on you, Kayak. Please save our game like you saved Abyss!”

“Abyss wasn’t saved by me, though…”

The manager spoke desperately but in a playful tone. It seemed half like a joke, but half serious too. I couldn’t be sure, but I assumed they were probably feeling the pressure.

I smiled slightly, though the manager couldn’t see it.

“I’ll do my best.”

It was around 6:30 PM on Saturday. I started my broadcast earlier than usual.

It’s because of the ad.
The ad scheduled to start at 7 PM today.

I hadn’t informed my viewers about what the ad would be, and I hadn’t shared any specific details.
It wasn’t just because I don’t usually announce things properly, but also because Envision didn’t want me to.

Every time they gave ads to streamers, they got a lot of criticism, so now they do it secretly.

It wasn’t completely incomprehensible.
I had already experienced the same situation with Abyss a few times.
When Abyss gave random ads to streamers, I was one of those who threw stones, saying they should have used that money to fix the bugs in the game instead.

But the ads weren’t entirely useless.
As a proof that many gamers watch streams, whenever an ad aired, the number of viewers would always increase significantly.

The problem wasn’t the influx of users from the ad, but whether we could maintain them.
That was more of an issue with the game itself.
But as far as the ad was concerned, it was enough to draw in new viewers.

[Kaha~~ (Meaning “Kayak Hi”)]

[Why are you on at 6 PM when you usually start at 9 or 10?]

[Thought the Bangon alert bot was broken again]

[Watching Kayak after getting home at 6 PM, showering, and having dinner… this is heaven]

[What are you doing today? What are you doing today? What are you doing today? What are you doing today?]

[So mad, hurry up and turn Abyss on!]

And those new viewers had just arrived.

Even though I started earlier than usual, within 5 minutes, people started chatting.
That meant the stream had grown to the point where people would come regardless of the time or irregular streaming schedule.

I felt a subtle satisfaction with that thought and slowly changed the stream’s title.

• “Ad) Envision, our game is still in business.”

“Hmm. Today’s a special broadcast. A historic day. I’m finally doing an ad.”

[Wow! An ad!]

[Envision still has players?]

[Congratulations on your first ad broadcast ^^]

[Are you seriously advertising King King King…? Hmm….]

[Kayak, who used to promote the doomed Abyss, is now promoting another doomed game]

[Kayak, the doom game specialist streamer]

[Are you starting the ‘Save the Doom Game’ project?]

[Envision is still a decent game though]

[It was a good game. Please use past tense.]

[Come to think of it, things have changed completely compared to Abyss.]

[God Game, Doom Game, Reversed World]

[How did it go wrong…??]

And with that, the viewers began reacting.
Since Envision used to be a great game, no one was asking, “What game is this?”
At that point, I thought the reactions were not bad at all.

<EnvisionFan gave 1000 won!>

• “What era are you talking about? Turn off Envision and play Abyss!”

“Heh. Are you trying to ruin my business? Don’t you see the ‘Ad)’ in front of the stream title? Today, we’re playing Envision.”

[Finally, Envision! I’ve been asking for it all the time]

[What’s with the SB? It’s Envision, not ‘Gimbidong’–]

[Get out, Abyss fans. This place is now taken over by Envision fans.]

[The Envision fans are so excited, it’s really annoying.]

[Will anything change from this ad?]

[By the way, do you even know how to play Envision?]

“Yes, I’ve played Envision before.
I even reached veteran rank for a while.”

[Abyss core user, but you played Envision…
I’m disappointed, teacher.]

[What’s a veteran, you nerd?]

[Is that a tier name?]

[The naming… haha, so unoriginal.]

[What’s a veteran? What’s a veteran?]

[Stopped playing when Elite came out.]

[Too many tiers, it’s annoying.]

[Just keep it simple, like Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond.]

[Magma Diamond.]

[Were you an Envision veteran?]

As they exchanged some banter, my phone rang.
It was the alarm I set for 7 o’clock.
Finally, it was time.

“Alright, then.
Today’s game, Envision.
Let’s get started.
Since it’s an ad, please refrain from excessive criticism.
For those who watch the entire stream, we’ll be giving out coupon codes with special rewards.
Can the code be used in Abyss…?
Well, you can’t use it for the worst game, Envision.
Of course, the code is for Envision.”

With Envision’s grand music, the ad broadcast began.

“First of all, the controls feel weird.
It’s kind of stiff, I guess?
I don’t remember having this issue when I played before…
Was there a submarine patch or something?”

“The trolling, smurfing, and other issues are serious too.
Since I’m a veteran, I can tell, but if it were another streamer, they probably wouldn’t even be able to run the ad.”

“The genius swordsman, the gloomy Hayden…
Doesn’t his concept and skill set seem exactly like Renekton’s?
Oh, Hayden came out 3 days later?
Never mind.”

[Stop already…]

Kayak’s ad broadcast proceeded smoothly.