Cannon Fodder Genius Game Producer - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The 7th Day of a Blockbuster

Time rewinds to 30 seconds ago.

Pei Shu had already inserted the game disc for Sky Demon Thief into the GM4. Since the game was a port from the GM3 to the GM4, when a player logged in using the same GM platform account, a special game CG (cinematic) dedicated to veteran players would play.

The vast majority of the audience watching this stream in “Teacher Bu Shu’s” live room were veteran gamers. Most had at least heard of this veteran-exclusive CG for Sky Demon Thief. Some senior players had even triggered it themselves and didn’t have high expectations for what was about to happen.

Pei Shu was unaware of this. He knew he was effectively performing a 2013-style livestream in the year 2021. The content he was triggering should theoretically be nothing special by now, but to him, everything appearing was unknown. He held the purest sense of anticipation for what was about to unfold.

Amidst Pei Shu’s anticipation, a CG connecting the past and present lives of Sky Demon Thief appeared on the television screen before him and his entire audience.

A soft wind blew across the continent of Yasifern. Magnificent architectural complexes converged into a medieval fantasy tapestry. Noble ladies and young misses wore beautiful trailing gowns. On the cobblestone roads bustling with people, weathered adventurers in leather armor wove through the crowd, and mages in worn robes and hoods raised their pale faces slightly toward the sunlight.

The camera moved rapidly through the crowd. A disheveled beggar boy about thirteen or fourteen years old threaded through the dense press of people. The camera swayed following his nimble hand movements; one coin purse after another was swiped by the boy. In the flickering frames, one could see the boy’s upturned lips and triumphant expression.

Suddenly, the screen shook violently. The beggar boy was knocked to the ground. Looking up, he saw an old man exuding noble grace, dressed in a magnificent formal suit.

In the next second, the beggar boy watched helplessly as the coin purse that should have been hidden in his own bosom was held nimbly in the old man’s hand, tossed and played with casually.

This triggered CG was a display of technical mastery. From the fine textures and complex, crowded frames to the massive architecture and the skin texture of every character—rather than calling it a game CG, it was more like an animated short film whose quality remained top-tier even by 2021 standards.

In the live room, Pei Shu was incredibly impressed: “…I didn’t expect the GM4 to reach such a level in its graphical detail. I am now very much looking forward to the masterpieces new game developers will create after seeing the GM4’s outstanding performance!”

“It’s no wonder the Biak Group has such confidence, believing the GM4 can dominate the console market for the next 10 years. This expressive power in detail is indeed breathtaking. It makes complete sense why they dared to change the console architecture. This level of performance will be an incredible boost for the player’s experience. I believe gamers will definitely be drawn to the GM4, and game developers will inevitably flock to it.”

“After a brief period of game scarcity, the GM4’s market share will surely see a massive increase—or rather, with this kind of expressiveness, even if there are only a few playable games at the start, players with high standards for their gaming experience will definitely be hooked…”

Pei Shu looked at the CG, appearing very pleased. He didn’t notice that from the moment the Sky Demon Thief CG began playing, his live room had been submerged by a surging tide of bullet chat.

Initially, some viewers only noticed that the Sky Demon Thief CG Pei Shu triggered wasn’t one of the many versions already widely circulated on the internet.

As a classic series, Sky Demon Thief was developed by Tracer, an overseas studio famous among early console developers for their obsession with detail.

When porting from the GM3 to the GM4, they didn’t just aim for a simple transfer. In the GM4 version, Tracer injected many new details and easter eggs. Upon its release alongside the GM4, it became the platform’s first-generation blockbuster hit.

Among the added easter eggs was the opening CG. To date, three versions of the opening CG had been discovered by players: one for brand-new accounts, one for those who achieved series milestones on the GM3, and a version for when a player starts a “New Game Plus” after achieving everything on the GM4.

Over eight years, hardcore fans had tested Sky Demon Thief countless times, digging out every hidden secret they could find. These easter eggs had been compiled into collections; theoretically, no deeper secret should remain.

But that wasn’t the case—Tracer Studio had a tradition: once all easter eggs in a game were triggered, their official website would announce the names of the players who triggered them and send them gifts. Since the website had never made such an announcement, it meant hidden secrets still remained.

Because of this, persistent “Easter Egg Hunters” played the game over and over but never found anything new. Some even doubted if Tracer Studio was just playing a trick and that no more secrets actually existed.

Yet, Tracer Studio insisted—the Sky Demon Thief easter egg collection was incomplete, and might never be completed in the future. This mysterious statement led to endless speculation, but no one ever figured it out.

The first wave of viewers was merely confused, but viewers more familiar with the series’ secrets soon let out gasps of shock.

Holy crap, crap, crap!!! A NEW EASTER EGG!!! FRIENDS!! A NEW EASTER EGG!!!

“Mad Rabbit” pulled his gaze back to Pei Shu’s live room at that moment. The screen was already covered by bullet chat. Upon seeing the words “New Easter Egg,” his first instinct was to clear the screen and block the chat to focus on Pei Shu’s game footage.

As scenes never seen before flashed by, this CG—with a level of detail far exceeding the other three versions—finally appeared for the first time.

“Mad Rabbit” stared dumbfounded at the screen, mouth agape, momentarily forgetting what to say.

The other top streamers who had wandered into Pei Shu’s room were also stunned. They originally thought they were there to “donate” traffic, but now, based on this fresh Sky Demon Thief secret CG, they knew “Teacher Bu Shu” didn’t need their help—because his name was about to resonate through the console gaming world once again, rewriting his glory after an eight-year absence!

The viewers in the live room went wild.

My god, we are witnessing history! Is this the final secret of Sky Demon Thief?!! Help, does anyone remember what “Teacher Bu Shu” just did? Nothing special, right? He just confirmed his GM3 login account?? So the key is his GM3 account?? What exactly is the trigger?

The possibility that the CG was linked to both GM3 and GM4 accounts had been guessed by players long ago, but no matter how “Easter Egg Hunters” switched accounts, they could never trigger new content.

So is there something special about his GM3 account???

As everyone speculated, the account Teacher Bu Shu’s Little Sidekick popped up.

Teacher Bu Shu’s Little Sidekick: Teacher Bu Shu’s GM3 account has unlocked every story path and every easter egg in the GM3 version of Sky Demon Thief, with a cumulative playtime of 500h+.

The viewers paused. Completing everything and having over 500 hours… that was indeed a strict condition. If this was the trigger, it was possible.

But “Mad Rabbit” disagreed.

Mad Rabbit: While that’s strict, over eight years, plenty of hardcore hunters have accounts of that level.

That was true. Given eight years and global player efforts, accounts of any level were possible.

Just as people fell back into confusion, the NO.1 fan, “Little Sidekick,” sent another bullet chat that left everyone stunned.

Little Sidekick: I guess players with those accounts probably don’t have a First Generation GM4 Supreme Version?

All Viewers: ? All Viewers: !!!

Holy crap!

It feels like the Little Sidekick hit the truth!

The administrators and operations staff at the WG platform jumped up the moment the new CG appeared.

“Quick, push it! Site-wide push!!” “Quick! ‘Teacher Bu Shu Suspected of Unlocking the Last Secret CG of Sky Demon Thief’!” “Contact all platform promotion channels immediately! Also, contact Tracer Studio right now to confirm if this is the last one. If it is, push it to the trending searches!”

The WG platform hadn’t had this kind of pure gaming-related bombshell news in a long time. If confirmed, this would trigger an explosion of discussion among console players worldwide. Players from all over the world would be drawn to WG, giving the platform a chance to claim a larger share of the global game streaming market.

An opportunity!

The operations director and management of WG were informed immediately and gave the event the highest priority.

In fact, WG didn’t even need to confirm it. As Pei Shu triggered the CG, Tracer Studio received an automated alert. They never expected anyone to actually trigger this CG they had poured their hearts into; after eight years, they were met with this surprise.

They had originally planned that if no one triggered it after ten years, they would release the CG as the post-credits scene for the Sky Demon Thief movie currently in production…

Immediately, Tracer Studio’s Twitter and official website released a “Full Easter Egg Collection Completed” announcement.

Congratulations to the Chinese player with GM4 ID ‘bushu222’ for successfully unlocking the final secret of Sky Demon Thief! Tracer Studio will contact you soon to present the ultimate reward!

Alongside the announcement, they released the trigger conditions and the full CG animation:

1. User must use the same account for GM3 and GM4.

2. User must have achieved 100% completion (all stories, all secrets) in the GM3 version of Sky Demon Thief.

3. User must have a cumulative playtime of 500 hours or more in the GM3 version.

4. The console used must be a First Generation GM4 (Limited Production Version 1).

In an instant, the mystery that had remained unsolved for eight years finally unveiled its veil, and the eyes of console players worldwide were drawn to China.

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