Horror Game Monster Makeup Artist

Synopsis:

In the player forums for the full-immersion horror game Ghost Grudge, one post has remained near the top of the trending list for ages.

Title: Is the dev team really going to do nothing about the SSS-rank NPCs roaming between instances?

It all started when one player bulldozed their way through an instance, only to be ruthlessly killed in the final second before clearing it by a stunning platinum-blond NPC. When they came to, they were in their game pod, staring at the screen:

[Clear Progress] 99.99%

[Game Outcome] Failure

They nearly spat blood and passed out.

But players couldn't drag an NPC out of the game and kill them three hundred times over. And whenever they encountered her again in-game, they were still guaranteed to lose. All they could do was rage helplessly, then smash their keyboard in fury.

They hammered out this post at lightning speed.

The replies split into two main camps, red and blue.

The red camp were die-hard fans of the NPC, all power-scaling fanatics who believed that might makes right. They'd write essays hundreds or even thousands of words long, showering the NPC with praise and claiming she was peerless in heaven and on earth. They'd also copy and paste long introductions to the NPC at anyone who happened by.

The blue camp fiercely defended the players' experience, insisting that players were blameless. They denounced the devs for breaking the combat system and making the stats between players and NPCs unbalanced, and demanded that the devs release the NPC's personal stats to make sure this never happened again.

Ghost Grudge has high visual fidelity and strong immersion, and ranks among the top three games in the annual player poll.

Many onlookers who didn't know the story asked where the imbalance was. They hadn't noticed anything when they played.

The blue camp, hearts breaking, produced a pile of screenshots and cried out in outrage: See? She's just an ordinary employee in the Logistics Department, but even maxed-out defense gear can't save you from a single swing of her blade!

The pictures showed different players getting stylishly slaughtered from every angle by the beautiful platinum-blond woman with a high ponytail.

The red camp sneered and shot back with several fan-made composite images, mocking them: Oh, dear, some people can't even beat an "ordinary employee" from the "Logistics Department." Where do you get the nerve? It's like knowing there's a field boss roaming around and still insisting on wandering into its territory. Aren't you asking for it? Besides, Ghost Grudge isn't even a real-time combat game. If you can't handle the violence, don't play!

The pictures showed different players posing with the platinum-blond beauty NPC, all edited together, with the NPC captured from some rather daring angles.

Onlookers: She's so cool and beautiful, I love her! Hnnng. Give us more.

Who cares which side wins the argument? They just want to stare at the screen and drool.

Launching Ghost Grudge! Logging in right now to see if I can get matched with this NPC!!!

*

Official announcement: In response to players' requests, we're releasing the personal profiles of some NPCs, ranked by popularity.

[No. 1] Mu He

[Department] Logistics Department

[Occupation] Ghost Makeup Artist

[Age] Unknown

[Combat Power] ■■■■■

[Note] Her combat power becomes uncontrollable when she goes berserk, making her extremely dangerous. Players are advised not to approach her. Reminder! If this NPC is in a berserk state, move away immediately! Move away at once!!

#Respect the work of others#

#Reject brute-force clears and stop bullying ghosts and monsters#

■Synopsis archived on 2024.2.6

■The original synopsis's premise remains unchanged.

■Instances include backstory and focus on exploration and puzzle-solving.

Theme: Maintaining a healthy gaming environment is everyone's responsibility.