"Oh—
"Let us congratulate Take-Two!"
When Samuel L. Jackson's voice traveled through the microphone and reached every corner of the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Kristen Bell felt as though an invisible hand had suddenly squeezed her heart.
The realization slowed her reactions considerably. She applauded mechanically and stared blankly toward the front of the guest section, where Take-Two's representatives leaped to their feet, pumped their fists, embraced one another, and accepted congratulations from the people around them.
It was not that Kristen Bell could not accept the result.
She was not part of the gaming industry!
She did not normally play video games either!
So which game had won the gaming world's equivalent of the Oscar this year?
What did that have to do with her?
Right?
The only reason she was so shocked was that she had just remembered Take-Two and realized that the company belonged to the most legendary and mysterious person in the global entertainment industry—no, the global media and entertainment industry.
She had barely recalled that connection and begun thinking about how she might "benefit" from it when the woman's company suddenly won an award?
And not just any award, but the biggest award of the night?
"This—"
"Isn't this a little too ridiculous?"
After silently expressing her astonishment and pausing for a moment, Kristen Bell leaned toward her assistant again and whispered near her shoulder, "Did Take-Two win any other major awards tonight?"
"Huh? Oh—of course!"
Her boss's sudden question startled the assistant, who had been applauding.
Once she recovered, she immediately nodded. "Take-Two is the biggest winner tonight! Including Game of the Year, they've won three major awards!"
"The other two were Best Original Score and Best Xbox 360 Game!"
When she heard the words "biggest winner," an expression of unexpected yet understandable realization flashed across Kristen Bell's face. The next second, she instinctively asked, "Oh, so—was this result manipulated by Paramount?"
"???"
Although Kristen had spoken quietly, her assistant abruptly turned her head and stared at her as though she had seen a ghost.
"Darling! What are you saying?"
Her assistant looked bewildered.
"You know what I mean."
Kristen Bell winked at her.
"OMG—is that something we can say? Do you have a death wish?"
Her assistant looked around nervously.
After confirming that no one nearby was paying attention to them, she stared wide-eyed at her boss. "I don't know why Take-Two won because I don't understand games! But I know there was something wrong with what you just said!"
"If you were merely expressing surprise, then I think you should wait until we get home before discussing it with me!"
"But if you're looking for an opportunity—"
"Then the most important thing you should do right now is watch everyone around us!"
"Because plenty of people must be thinking exactly the same thing as you and looking for an opportunity!"
That's right. In the assistant's eyes, her boss's current thoughts were like an unguarded public toilet!
They stank beyond belief!
She believed her boss had finally sensed the mysterious woman's true power—
And therefore wanted to climb up and establish a connection with her?
As for that—
Honestly!
The assistant thought her boss's idea was far too reckless!
The reason was simple: many relationships in this world could not be formed simply because you wanted to form them!
She would not even mention which direction the gates to the Boston Brahmins' territory opened.
Take the Resnick family, the local landowners of California, for example.
Everyone claimed that they controlled more than sixty percent of California's water resources and were responsible for the state's droughts, but—
No one reported that their family's most valuable business was actually located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
They owned a mint there.
Officially, the mint produced currency for countries without their own minting capabilities.
But in reality?
The mint owned by their family was called Franklin.
Anyone involved in coin collecting should have heard of the company.
Within the global minting industry, its craftsmanship was widely considered superior even to that of the British Royal Mint.
The "Franklins" it printed—
Could essentially be used directly.
What?
Someone was asking about serial numbers?
The family's true identity was as a Class A shareholder of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland!
Within the Federal Reserve System, Class A shareholders represented capital itself!
So, you were asking whether the people who issued serial numbers had their own serial numbers?
Was that not ridiculous?
Their family's second-largest business was selling Fiji Water.
Yeah~
The water praised by countless celebrities, which Principal Wang—the LPL's number-one long-range Jhin in win rate—used to cook noodles, was a product of the Resnick family. And since water was a mineral resource, their private soldiers remained permanently stationed in Fiji to protect it.
Yes.
They could deploy private soldiers all the way to Fiji.
It was an open secret.
So, when everyone seeking to climb the social ladder knew that attaching themselves to such a family could send them soaring into the heavens—
How many people in the world had actually succeeded?
Or rather, when such a family had not taken an interest in you, you could not even meet their representatives!
So—
Her boss wanted to reach the top in a single step?
"Sigh—" The young assistant sighed silently and wished her boss good luck.
As for what actually happened—
Under their watchful eyes, Take-Two's representatives slowly moved toward the stage amid celebratory applause.
Every time they attempted to take a large step forward, someone would jump out to stop them, embrace them, and offer congratulations.
Although such scenes were common at awards ceremonies—
Regardless of the ceremony, when a major award was presented, guests seated nearby would smile politely and offer their congratulations.
But when many of the people repeatedly stopping Take-Two's representatives were prominent figures from the media and entertainment industries—
The assistant understood that her boss might face considerable competition.
After all, Take-Two's connection to the mysterious woman was not confidential information.
And when everyone wanted to attach themselves to a powerful patron—
Most of them would probably fail.
However, Kristen Bell did not particularly care about that at the moment.
All she knew was that Take-Two was extremely popular.
Therefore, at the party later, she might need to position herself carefully before finding an opportunity to speak with them.
While she stared wide-eyed and let her imagination run wild—or perhaps simply indulged in wishful thinking—
Take-Two's award recipients finally reached the stage.
After accepting the trophy and microphone, they shared their excitement with the industry professionals and guests in the venue, as well as the audience watching on television. "Okay, good evening, everyone. I'm Jonathan Chey, co-founder of Irrational Games."
"We're delighted that everyone enjoyed our game—"
BioShock was developed by Irrational Games. The VGA attributed it to Take-Two mainly because Take-Two had acquired Irrational Games in early 2006.
Acquiring companies to obtain their intellectual property was extremely common in a capitalist society.
Even Disney's most profitable IP, Winnie the Pooh, had been purchased by Disney.
Disney had not created it.
Therefore, after a work involving transferred intellectual property won an award, what identity should the recipient use to introduce himself?
That—
Was not something most people cared about.
However, Jonathan Chey's words held a different meaning in Kristen Bell's ears.
She thought—
When a company that had already been acquired continued emphasizing its former identity in public, perhaps the group was experiencing severe internal conflict, possibly on a level ordinary people could not even imagine?
And when a group was internally unstable, desperately trying to establish a relationship with it might not be a wise choice?
Because choosing the wrong faction could permanently destroy one's chance to attach oneself to the real source of power?
Ahem—
Everyone trying to climb upward had an extremely complicated mind!
Saying such a person had a thousand schemes would be underestimating them.
While Kristen Bell enthusiastically applauded with the crowd, her mind raced as she carefully assessed the situation. At that moment, the founder of Irrational Games finished speaking.
He handed the microphone to Take-Two's president.
Then, the moment the man opened his mouth, Kristen Bell's heart skipped a beat.
Because he said, "Jonathan has actually said everything I wanted to say. Except that when introducing himself, he forgot to place the words 'Take-Two' before 'Irrational Games'—"
At that point, Take-Two's president winked at the audience.
The next second, supportive laughter erupted throughout the enormous venue.
"Hahahahaha!"
Everyone understood what he meant!
He was joking that Irrational Games was harboring rebellious ambitions!
Or rather, since Irrational Games had already been acquired by Take-Two the previous year, why were they still emphasizing their identity as an independent studio in public? Perhaps they were demanding complete operational freedom from Take-Two!
Most of the time, matters like this were private affairs between companies!
So now, Take-Two was airing such an issue at the gaming industry's equivalent of the Oscars?
This—
Forced Kristen Bell to maintain an awkward smile!
In her eyes, her wonderful plan had already dissolved into nothing!
If Take-Two was filled with vicious internal conflict, trying to attach herself to it would be like pulling chestnuts from a fire!
However, before she could lament for more than a few seconds, Take-Two's president continued speaking into the microphone. "Okay, that was a joke. There are no conflicts within our company. Perhaps we once had conflicts, but every one of them disappeared several months ago because our company got a new owner, and she is extremely wealthy."
"She can casually throw several hundred million dollars at us to build a new headquarters—"
"There really is no problem in this world that money cannot solve, right?"
"And if there is, that only means you are not rich enough."
As he spoke, Take-Two's president opened his arms and wrapped one around the founder of Irrational Games beside him.
His actions made the founder of Irrational Games burst into laughter. He tilted his head toward the microphone and shouted, "Yeah~ There are no conflicts between us because every project we want to create has received sufficient financial support~"
"Ohhhhh—"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Clap, clap, clap—"
"…"
Their perfectly coordinated exchange caused the atmosphere throughout the enormous venue to soar!
This was not merely because everyone understood what they were talking about—
Who in the gaming industry did not know that Take-Two had suffered a mysterious fire the previous year?
After that disaster struck Take-Two's headquarters, the company had been forced to lay off many employees and suspend numerous projects just to survive!
A lack of money had been the main cause of Take-Two's internal conflict!
And now they had money?
Then what possible conflict could they still have?
More importantly, everyone understood that Take-Two would not mention its owner for no reason—
And unlike the other companies, Take-Two had yet to introduce its plans for the following year. So?
"Okay! Your applause is very enthusiastic, so I believe you have all guessed what is coming!"
"That's right! The reason we mentioned our owner is that, like all our colleagues, we will also use the VGA stage to present our schedule for next year. And at the beginning of next year, we have a major project!"
"It is a game adapted from the film our owner released this year, God of Cookery—"
"Overcooked!"
The moment Take-Two's president finished speaking, the lights inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas instantly went dark. The next second, the enormous electronic screen at the ceremony suddenly lit up, and Take-Two's logo appeared!
The sight caused the audience below the stage to whistle loudly—
After Isabella officially acquired Take-Two, anyone with common sense knew that she intended to make games.
And now, the game had already arrived?
Wow~ That was unbelievably fast!
The revelation also allowed Kristen Bell to breathe a sigh of relief and applaud even harder. Since there was no internal conflict at Take-Two, and they had already begun making a game for their owner—the most powerful and mysterious figure in the global media and entertainment industry—then there was no reason to hold back from clinging to such a powerful connection.
The revelation also allowed Isaac Perlmutter, who was watching the live broadcast from his television, to finally relax. Honestly, during the previous two hours, Isaac Perlmutter had felt as though he were sitting on pins and needles!
His primary reason for watching the VGA ceremony was to discover whether Isabella would advertise her company's game there, just as he had predicted. If she did, it meant he had successfully anticipated Isabella's actions. If she did not, then the situation would become far more entertaining.
And now—
He folded his arms and stared intently at the television.
Immediately afterward, low and tense music entered his ears—
In a city filled with towering skyscrapers, countless meteors fell from the sky.
Perhaps because each meteor trailed flames behind it—
They dyed the sky blood-red through some strange optical "Daliyuan effect"?
Or perhaps the Burning Legion had arrived early, and Sargeras wanted to conquer Azeroth ahead of schedule.
Whatever the case, the dark-red sky illuminated the entire world like hell.
That shot alone plainly told the audience that disaster had arrived.
The next second, the image changed.
The previous long-distance shot disappeared.
In its place was a close-up of the rooftop of a skyscraper.
A crowned king stood there, gazing toward the distant world.
What he did not understand was why disaster had suddenly struck his kingdom.
As the camera moved closer, the crowned king slowly turned around to the sound of tense music.
Several seconds later, his piercing eyes seemed capable of breaking through the fourth wall and staring directly at everyone watching him.
Judging from his expression, he appeared to be telling the person behind the screen, "You—"
"Are the chosen child!"
The stylish close-up lasted half a second.
Then, an effect resembling the blink of an eye suddenly appeared.
The camera turned around.
A gigantic monster holding a knife in its right hand and a fork in its left was desperately climbing the steel canopy where the king stood.
It roared at the top of its lungs, "Awoooooooo!"
The thunderous roar, like a tiger shaking the mountains, displayed the savagery of its true nature!
It also revealed the actual game interface—
The image flashed, and four cartoon characters wearing chef hats appeared, standing side by side inside the palace.
No, they had been entrusted with a desperate mission!
From left to right were the capybara, the marmot, the Beaver, and the God of Cookery himself, all of whom had appeared in God of Cookery.
There was no dialogue.
Only silent stares.
At the sound of a whistle, the characters seemed to receive an order from the king and began frantically working inside a beautiful kitchen. Some gathered ingredients, others chopped them, cooked meals, or served dishes. They prepared food with great concentration while simultaneously descending into complete chaos.
After working briefly in a traditional kitchen, the image on the television changed again.
A transition resembling the vehicle-travel animation from a three-dimensional version of Monopoly suddenly appeared.
Immediately afterward—
The little characters began working again in the ice-covered Arctic, deep underground among rivers of lava, and in outer space far from Earth.
To be completely honest, Isaac Perlmutter did not understand video games at all!
Or rather, if you asked him to kill or dismember someone, he could explain the process step by step. But if you asked him to hold a controller and play a video game, you might as well have asked for his life!
But—
Even so!
At that moment—
He could still recognize the excellence of Overcooked!
It was not that he believed Overcooked had particularly impressive graphics! Nor was it that he immediately recognized how faithfully every model recreated elements from God of Cookery!
With Isabella's fanbase being virtually invincible, that detail alone would be enough to make her fans buy the game in enormous numbers!
Rather—
After watching only a few moments of the trailer, he already felt that the design of Overcooked was extremely interesting!
Even though he knew nothing about games, he could still tell that Isabella wanted to create a cooperative multiplayer game!
Even though he knew nothing about games, he could still tell that Isabella's game was extremely intense!
Even though he knew nothing about games, he could still tell that Isabella's game contained plenty of competitive elements!
Even though he knew nothing about games, he could still tell that the gameplay Isabella had created was incredibly simple. If he had to describe it, the game merely asked players to cook using the same basic methods humans used in real life!
On the surface, Isaac Perlmutter's impressions seemed rather—
Obvious.
After all, any normal person who watched the promotional trailer for Overcooked would probably reach the same conclusions.
But "obvious" was not a derogatory term in the video game industry.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the god of video games, had once said—
The controls of a video game should not be designed to be overly difficult.
Video games had existed from the beginning to bring people happiness!
Therefore, using simple controls to create the greatest possible enjoyment was what every game developer should strive to accomplish!
Of course, that was far easier to say than to achieve!
And now—
Had Isabella actually achieved it?
"So—"
"Could this Overcooked become another massive hit?"
As the trailer disappeared, Isaac Perlmutter, who had been staring at the television screen, began murmuring to himself.
And while he looked shocked, struggling to believe his own eyes and judgment—
Outside—
The gamers watching the VGA ceremony—
Had already gone insane.