This introduction made Lu Xiaoping feel somewhat awed and perplexed.
He felt that judging from this introduction alone, Qiao Laoshi didn’t seem able to fundamentally refute the two criticisms he had raised. However, such a high-minded approach did seem imposing and profound, and it definitely emphasized the video’s professionalism.
So Lu Xiaoping wasn’t ready to make a judgment yet, and could only continue watching patiently.
…
“Let’s talk about the gameplay first.”
“Actually, the gameplay is quite simple, just a shooter with some special combat abilities added.”
“Players will experience one battle after another, and during each battle, all they need to do is shoot and complete the specified mission objectives. In this process, players can continuously modify their bodies through body modification surgeons to gain new combat abilities.”
“When first experiencing these abilities, the feeling is quite exciting. That first time climbing walls, the first time soaring through the air, the first time using a modified large-caliber weapon to deal devastating blows to multiple enemies…”
“These special abilities unlocking one after another, combined with the various intense battlefield scenes, achieve an excellent combat effect, making it feel like a blood-pumping action game that doesn’t require much thought.”
“But this feeling can only be experienced in the first playthrough. The more you replay, the more frustrated you feel.”
“That’s because to replay, you must abandon all the special abilities you previously gained, and the entire process of body modifications must start again from scratch. For players who already know the ending, the entire process seems meaningless and dull, so multiple playthroughs actually offer little enjoyment.”
“On the surface, this seems like a failure of game design. After all, in most people’s impression, the richer and more long-lasting the gameplay, the better the design.”
“But do you remember the design theory I mentioned earlier about Mr. Pei?”
“In Mr. Pei’s design, all settings and gameplay are designed to help the game break through circles. Through the emotions that gameplay gives to players, the dimensions are broken, allowing players to immerse themselves more deeply in the protagonist’s emotions. This approach is more sophisticated than simply using the storyline to create immersion.”
“So how can this simplistic gameplay, which only focuses on a single playthrough and not on replayability, break the fourth wall? Let me hold back the answer for a moment and first discuss my understanding of this game’s plot.”
At this point, Lu Xiaoping noticed that the video had already addressed the first criticism most people had about the game: its seemingly monotonous gameplay.
What stood out was how Qiao Laoshi approached this criticism from a completely different angle than most players.
Qiao Laoshi was an experienced content creator who knew how to create suspense to maximize viewers’ attention and keep them watching.
He then began to analyze the game’s plot.
“Do you remember what I said earlier? The second cornerstone of Mr. Pei’s games is to express a specific philosophy through various metaphors, worldbuilding, and easily overlooked plot elements.”
“For this game, that philosophy is about a specific understanding of cyberpunk.”
“As you may have noticed, this game actually has a circular structure. Mr. Pei actually took the final scene and placed it at the beginning, then cut to the real start, ten years earlier.”
“This technique feels a bit like magical realism. It reminds me of that famous quote: ‘Many years later, facing the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía would remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.'”
“Sartre once said: ‘The novelist’s technique lies in which time he chooses as the present. From this starting point, he narrates the past.'”
“For most writers, a traditional novel can describe the environment, dialogues, or simply chat with readers. This is all a very stable opening. But this beginning stands at an uncertain present, simultaneously encompassing both past and future.”
“It’s not simply marking out a piece of land, setting a starting point, finding some characters, and telling them what to do. Instead, it’s like merging into the free ocean, where past and future and everything around are completely unfamiliar and fresh.”
“In my view, ‘The Future You Chose’ also uses such an opening, because the rebel leader Captain Lu is not actually at the final point in time, because we are still waiting for what happens after the door is knocked on. At the same time, he’s not standing at a point in the past because, even ten years ago, he had already begun his resistance activities.”
“The moment when Captain Lu stands on the rooftop overlooking the entire city is a pivotal moment in his life. This is not a linear time structure but a cyclical time structure.”
“Linear time creates a sense of pressure because you can clearly see the beginning and the end. But cyclical time relieves this pressure and brings about a sense of inevitable fate. Because you don’t know when this cycle and reincarnation will end, and you don’t know if what you think is an ending might actually be a new beginning.”
“So from this opening, we can see that this game is full of metaphors. And similar metaphors are repeatedly presented in the plot ahead.”
“Let’s look at the game’s ending, since the entire process is building toward the ending, and understanding the ending naturally helps us understand all the clues planted along the way.”
“There are actually three parties in the game’s ending.”
“The first is the apparent winner, Captain Lu, as the leader of the resistance. In the overthrow of Tenda Group, he played a crucial role and gained everyone’s support and admiration. In the final battle, he was at the forefront, being the first to charge into Tenda Group’s headquarters.”
“But he didn’t achieve his purpose. The reason he resisted Tenda Group was because he believed there was an embodiment of evil in the world: Tenda Group’s CEO. He wanted to find this highest criminal, bring him to justice, judge him with justice and truth, and thus free the entire world from Tenda Group’s shadow.”
“But he found nothing. The person in charge, whose surname was Wu, told him that Tenda Group had never had a real CEO. Tenda Group was a collective decision-making system formed by all of its executives and an artificial intelligence system, based on corporate interests.”
“The reason Captain Lu was confused and standing on the rooftop at the end was because a tangible person can be killed and judged, but how can an intangible system be killed or judged? He gradually realized that, precisely because this was an intangible system, it would definitely resurrect itself in some way.”
“Captain Lu, on the surface the biggest winner, was actually the biggest loser.”
“The second party is the entrepreneur who ultimately occupied Tenda Group’s underground control room and seized all of the data and AI systems that Tenda Group possessed.”
“On the surface, he seems to be the true winner, because he inherited Tenda Group’s most valuable assets. With these data and intelligence systems, along with recruiting Tenda Group’s former executives, he could quickly develop and replace Tenda Group as the next monopoly.”
“The game doesn’t specify his name or company name because, from the designer’s perspective, this doesn’t matter. He could be anyone, or any company.”
“The game even deliberately expresses through this entrepreneur that things are getting worse. He says that Tenda Group didn’t put corporate security as its top priority, which gave the resistance and other corporations an opportunity to overthrow Tenda Group.”
“He claims he won’t make the same mistake, which gives the impression that he will replace Tenda Group and become a permanent monopoly.”
“But will the future really be as he wishes?”
“This is a relatively open ending, and the designer didn’t give a definitive answer. But I believe that, after deep analysis, the answer must be negative.”
“He’s the biggest winner behind the scenes, but I think he still can’t be considered a true winner.”
“The third party is Tenda Group. On the surface, Tenda Group is the biggest loser. It originally had a monopoly position across the world, but because it didn’t put corporate security as its top priority in its decision-making system, it gave the resistance and other corporations an opportunity to overthrow it.”
“Tenda Group’s headquarters was occupied, and its executives either betrayed it, fled, or committed suicide. The entire company fell apart, and its assets were divided up. The data and decision-making system it possessed will be taken by other companies.”
“If Tenda Group were a person, its current situation would be like being dismembered and sliced into pieces.”
“But is Tenda Group really just a concrete person or an ordinary company in the story? I don’t think so.”
“The reason is simple. The executive whose surname was Wu said that Tenda Group never had a CEO, and all decisions were made collectively by all executives and the intelligence system. What does this represent? Is it everyone’s opinion? No. It represents the will of corporate development, the optimal solution for the entire enterprise.”
“So the real Tenda Group has an intangible will. And the opinions of executives and the AEEIS decision-making system, including the data and systems in the underground control room, are just the medium of this intangible will in reality.”
“Think about it: employees are part of a company, but if a company fires employees, does the company cease to exist? Can this be called a failure? Of course not.”
“Similarly, whether it’s executives, employees, headquarters, or data in the control room, these are just like employees for Tenda Group. Losing these doesn’t affect the fundamental intangible will.”
“And this intangible will has already entered a new enterprise along with the transferred data and executives, replacing the original will of that enterprise.”
“So the apparent biggest loser is actually the biggest winner.”
“Because in this game, what Tenda Group represents was never certain people, a certain company, or a certain entity. It’s an intangible will and pattern, which only moves from one carrier to another, constantly experiencing the process of rapid development, monopoly, and decline.”
“This is what the opening tells us: that desperate cycle where one cannot see the beginning or the end, can only stand at a point and look down on the entire city, becoming more and more confused.”
“In this cycle, that intangible will continuously resurrects itself from the dead and is reborn from the ashes. Whether it’s Captain Lu, other resistance fighters, or those corporations who think they’ve won, they’re all just passing visitors on this stage.”