Original Column

At this point, I no longer feel the need to dwell on clichés like "Chinese developers storming overseas exhibitions, drawing massive crowds and long queues." It's hardly surprising anymore—we've seen it happen time and again. As the influence of domestic game developers has grown over the past two years, the international gaming market has increasingly turned its attention to Chinese titles, captivating more and more players abroad. This year's Tokyo Game Show was no exception.

The long-awaited "Midnight" expansion is finally here. From the highly customizable housing system to the map overhaul that breathes new life into Quel'Thalas and Silvermoon City, both new and veteran players are thrilled. However, beyond these welcoming features, the "Midnight" expansion also introduces significant gameplay changes, including modifications to addon functionality and a simplification of all class abilities. Given that these changes affect some of the most fundamental aspects of World of Warcraft, it's fair to say that the early days of Season 1 bring mixed feelings for the community.

Dear netizens, I have a small request, it's really no big deal—

At this year's G-STAR game exhibition in South Korea, I met again with Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, also known as Tobi, the Head of PR at Warhorse Studios.

Recently, Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium has become popular again—yes, "again."

"Xifeng Valley Strategy" is a strategy RPG that I'm not particularly good at. Its most competitive core selling points are the territorial control gameplay and modular scenarios—if you've played titles like "Taikou Risshiden" or "Sengoku Rance," you'll likely understand the main gameplay better than I do.

There's an old trope that has circulated in the mystery community for a long time: a body is found in a locked room. Classic detective fiction uses precise logic to identify the culprit, neo-classic mysteries claim the entire building was constructed for the sake of the locked room, narrative tricks reveal that you are the corpse, and social school mysteries turn around to condemn the society that created the murderer...

First of all, thanks to Bilibili's "Game First Look" event for the invitation, which gave me the opportunity to try out "Monster Fantasy" a few days ago.

A few days ago, a new folklore-themed game titled "Twelve Tales of Yuan Ye" released its promotional video. The release date coincided with the Lantern Festival, aligning perfectly with the "Yuan Ye" (Lantern Night) in the game's title. Interestingly, not only was the release timing special, but the content was also quite unique—the blood moon scene in the PV corresponded to the actual "Red Moon Over Shangyuan" phenomenon that occurred on the Lantern Festival. These coincidences layered together even evoke a sense of occult mystique.

For a long time, I have strongly disliked generative artificial intelligence, especially prompt-based image generation and AI image-to-image tools, commonly referred to as "AI art." This isn't because I'm particularly moral or concerned about creators' copyright. With hundreds of gigabytes of resources collected in certain mysterious pink apps and the "underground library," I can't exactly claim to be defending artists' original rights.

Before the interview, I had a chance to chat with the President of Digital Extremes before the Tenno Live event officially kicked off. You can check out the related interview article for more details.

In recent years, the formalization of esports has become an increasingly obvious trend.

Not long ago, Zhe Bangye's critique of the new "Three Kingdoms" series finally reached the episode of Liu Bei entrusting his son at Baidi City. Under Zhuge Nailong's clever schemes to torment Xuande for three rounds, Liu Bei, who had been torturing the audience for a year and a half, finally passed away as wished. Upon hearing the news, Sun Quan, who was kneeling before Lady Sun, went crazy with joy, while Zhuge Liang, having won the MVP, couldn't help but shed tears while playing the zither. With this, the "Peach Garden Trio of Nuisances" from the new series have all been dragged to their deaths by soul chains. As the Song of Guan Yu plays, history undergoes a major change.

When I first started playing PC games, I thought the only gaming-related term that could be formed from the letters "A," "M," and "D" was "AMD"—one of the major computer hardware giants known for its cost-effectiveness. However, after being beaten by so-called "prodigies" in various games over the past couple of years, I realized these three letters can also be rearranged to form "DMA," a term universally hated and condemned.

In a recent episode of the "All-In Podcast," NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang offered his advice on college major selection. He suggested that liberal arts, often dismissed as merely "service industry" work, will soon dominate the computer science field, becoming the top-tier ("T0") choice in the AI era.

I'm not a Pokémon player, but I know the memes surrounding GAME FREAK. Whether it's the rough graphics or the lackluster technical prowess, the company behind what is arguably the world's biggest game IP has long suffered from a reputation of being "unworthy of its status."

The PC version of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is about to be released.

Since its announcement in 2020, Capcom's new title PRAGMATA has been delayed multiple times, leaving players puzzled about what kind of game it truly is. How does the novel "shooting + puzzle" combat system actually perform? What story lies behind Diana, the blonde girl who tried to charm her way out of trouble in the delay announcement? Many are eager for accurate answers to these questions.

Interestingly, whenever the "Metro" series is mentioned, two images always pop into my mind: the protagonist wiping a contaminated gas mask in first-person view, and using a lighter to ignite spiderwebs covering the walls in abandoned subway tunnels or enclosed buildings. It's as if these two elements have become synonymous with the "Metro" series.

To be honest, I've never seriously watched "SpongeBob SquarePants." It's not because I have any bias against the show or that strange yellow sea creature; it's simply because I never had the opportunity. Whether due to the era or my location, the TV stations in my hometown never aired it.