"Undead Realm：Ego" has been officially released today.
To be honest, I'm having very mixed feelings right now, and mostly it's embarrassment. Because in this horror FMV of mine, I myself feel that there are many parts that are particularly awkward.
Some of you may ask, since you feel it's awkward yourself, why didn't you make changes?
It's not that I didn't want to change it. I wanted to change it more than anyone else. But it's not like fixing a bug in the program or adding a picture by an artist.
I have to mention the particularity of FMVs. Once the shooting is done, the crew, the actors and so on will disband. It's basically impossible to go back and do reshoots (except for extremely wealthy companies).
Then some of you may ask again, if you felt it was awkward when reading the script, then don't shoot it. Just change the script.
Here's another thing I have to say. As someone who originally made traditional games and crossed over to make FMVs, my grasp and anticipation of the script were indeed insufficient. Essentially, it's a matter of lacking ability, and this is also the main aspect where I need to improve myself in my future FMVs.
On the other hand, the same script, with different actors, different on-site arrangements, and different post-production treatments, will all affect the final performance. Truly, different trades are separated as by mountains. It's not necessarily entirely the problem of the script itself. Otherwise, why could James Wan become a great director of horror films in Hollywood? He's really amazing.
To be honest, at some moments in these past few days, I really thought about just releasing this work for free.
Mainly because I've received a lot of emails from you guys, and the emails are full of encouragement for me and expectations for the game.I really feel that I've let you all down. It would be embarrassing to ask you to pay while presenting you with something not so good. But if I release it for free, then there will be no funds at all to make better horror FMVs in the future. So I can only put on a brave face and release it. I hope you can see more attempts and ideas in this work than in the previous one, "Back".
I was particularly impressed by a letter from one of you, because it was very similar to what I thought. He especially liked that the actor Wen Jun, who starred in "Back", also participated in "Undead Realm：Ego". He felt that it was with his support that there was a second work and that it led to Wen Jun's second appearance. Actually, that's quite right. The feeling is that players, developers, and actors grow up together and become better little by little. To put it more realistically, you are the ones who support me, and I'll strive to make more and better FMVs for you.
While writing, I just realized that I've gone off topic. "Undead Realm：Ego" welcomes all your criticisms. For the aspects where the game is indeed not done well, I'll try my best to optimize them in the next product, "Back 2".
Finally, if there's any young actor in the game that you hope can participate in the next horror FMV, you can also leave a message. I'll collect them and strive to accumulate from small actors and small works to become big actors and big works with your help.Especially for our young actresses, they shivered with cold during the shooting of this work in the mountains where the temperature dropped suddenly. They really worked hard through several sleepless nights. I hope their efforts can be seen by everyone. (Actually, you can notice some continuity errors. The cameraman was wearing a down jacket, while classmate Wen Jun was wearing a skirt and short sleeves, so she often hugged her arms because of the cold. I was also on the scene all the time, sitting in a wheelchair, feeling extremely embarrassed because I broke my foot playing basketball a week before the shooting.)

Actually, it seems that there's something very important that I haven't said yet. But there are so many things to deal with these days, and there are just a few of us. I'll talk about it when I remember. Wish you all a pleasant (horrifying) gaming experience.

Thank you, bro who have been following my horror FMV. Since some bro have been constantly sending emails to inquire about the Free-KEY event, I'm making this announcement again to align the information:

-Regarding the Free-KEY event -
The Free-KEY event actually started with my first FMV. Because I didn't think it was done well, I held the Free-KEY event for the bro who purchased and were willing to play the second FMV.
Similarly, for the previous FMV "Back", I also didn't think it was done well. So before the release of "Undead Realm:Ego", I organized the Free-KEY event again.
(I still don't think "Undead Realm:Ego" is done well, so for the next horror FMV event, I will still hold this event.)
Originally, the rule for participating in the event was that those who sent the purchase record to the official email before the Steam store page was made public could obtain the KEY for the new one.
However, considering that the previous two FMVs really didn't reach the level that satisfied me, in order to make it up to everyone, I will extend the event time until before the game's release, that is, the event will be valid until January 10th.

- A missing person notice -
Since there are only three of us in total, we were a bit in a rush when doing a lot of work. Bro who sent emails to participate in the event before January 3rd should have received the Key today.
However, when sorting out the emails, I accidentally deleted one bro's email by mistake, resulting in one less key being sent. But I don't know which bro it is. If you see this announcement, sent an email to participate in the event before January 3rd, but didn't receive the KEY email, please send me an email again, and I will reissue it to you. Sorry, it was a slip of the hand.

-Regarding the friendly reminders from some brothers -
After the game information was announced, some bro who followed my FMV were very enthusiastic to remind me that a major FMV would be launched on January 10th and suggested that I postpone the launch. This includes brothers with WeChat nicknames like "Jueyuan & Yuanmie", "Lone Walker"; including Brother Shuaitao, the anchor; and including Boss Huang of the major FMV work that will be launched on the 15th. Thank you all for your suggestions.
However, as a small-budget, niche horror FMV, in fact, my expectations were not high from the beginning. As I said myself, since I rate my work at 6.5 points, I really won't consider the impact of the major work on me. In other words, I'm not qualified to think that the launch of the major FMV work will have any impact on my small workshop work. After all, although the target players may overlap, as horror FMVs, our appeals are quite different.
Just as I've always believed, different games are actually designed with the original intention of providing different emotional values, such as those for romance, criminal investigation, and horror, etc., which are completely different. You can enjoy delicacies in a big restaurant, and it doesn't affect you having a casual meal at the roadside stall at the entrance. Moreover, I'm not a professional game publishing company. Since it's been decided, let it be. I believe that bro who like horror FMVs won't stop playing mine just because they played another type of major FMV work. Unless it's a bro who is really in financial difficulties, then there's nothing to say. As long as you send an email to the official email and you really need it but don't have the budget, just take it.

-Regarding the emotional value of horror -
This issue was actually discussed when "Back" was released. Horror has different levels, and different people have different tolerances. The editor of "Back" was a young girl who didn't dare to edit unless there were three people together. The editor of "Undead Realm:Ego" is a rough guy, but he didn't dare to edit at night either. But for me, these two FMVs are really at a horror level of 1 star (out of 5 stars). So whether it's scary or not really depends on different people's opinions. I'm still exploring, hoping to bring works that everyone thinks are scary but not too frightening. It seems like a contradictory topic, but currently there is a preliminary conclusion. For the next FMV, I hope there will be no jump scares at all, and all horror will be achieved through psychological hints, similar to the approach of some infinite flow novels, aiming to achieve the effect of being terrifying upon reflection. Currently, I have some ideas and am sorting out the script of "Back 2", hoping to reflect this in the next FMV. "Undead Realm:Ego" itself still has a lot of jump scares, which was actually introduced in the previous announcement. It was determined by the initial script, and the quality of the initial script was limited by the understanding at that time. I can only say that through one work after another, my understanding is also changing. So, bro who don't like jump scares, please bear with me. I'll strive to have no jump scares in the next FMV.

2024 is coming to an end soon. I think people still need a sense of ceremony. Here, I'd like to wish all the guys who have come across my FMV that whatever unpleasant things happened in the past year, just let them go. Being able to live happily and still have games to play, I think, is already an extremely lucky thing. What's more, I hope that the lucky things and lucky people you encountered in 2024 can also continue into 2025 and that you'll remain lucky.
2024 is my first year of making FMV. Although it's been bumpy, I had no money and was cheated by others in various ways, I'm still very grateful. Because I'm grateful that I could shift from the research and development of traditional pay-to-win games to the development of indie games. To be honest, I'm really fed up with making pay-to-win games. Traditional games, especially mobile games, have long deviated from my original intention when I first entered the industry. How many people in the whole industry can still stick to their original intentions? The industry has no choice either. Everyone has to support their families. Driven by various traffic, with the so-called user acquisition costs, they keep digging holes, digging holes, and digging holes. And what's the result? They end up exhausting themselves, harming players, and fattening up feed platform. So, I still have to be thankful to Steam, one of the few relatively pure lands left for people like me who still have certain pursuits and dreams for games. As for why I'm making FMV, it's mainly out of personal interest. I think life is limited and if you want to experience a different life, the best way used to be reading books, reading martial arts novels or cultivation novels and imagining yourself in those stories to feel different kinds of happiness. However, FMV is something quite special. After all, apart from movies, in the form of FMV nowadays, it further enables us to have an impact on the whole process. I believe that given time, the form of FMV will be further improved and the sense of immersion will be further strengthened. That day will surely come.
Haha, I've gone a bit off topic. For the upcoming 2025, I hope that with everyone's attention and support, I can continue to make horror FMV and improve my abilities in scripts, shooting, and games. Success doesn't come overnight. Although I started making FMV under the influence of "Love is all around" and stupidly made the first copycat FMV, when I quickly realized my mistake, I still found the right direction and returned to the essence of FMV, improving the product's capabilities, using good scripts, good performances, and good interactions to tell good stories.
Many FMV projects have invested huge production costs. The cost of hiring just one actor is enough for me to make two games. They've also done a lot of promotional work to boost sales. To be honest, I'm really envious. But I have a rather stubborn idea. Does it mean that small studios with low costs are not worthy of making FMV? Mainly because my current abilities are still not enough and I haven't even achieved a score of 70 for the products I've already made. So I can only talk tough. But on this special occasion, I'd like to make a wish. I hope that in 2025, my small studio can make an FMV that can give you all high emotional value feedback at a low cost. If one doesn't work out, I'll keep working hard on the next one.
Finally, I hope that the world will be at peace and that game enthusiasts in war-torn areas can get out of the abyss as soon as possible and return to normal lives. Nightmares should only happen in my horror FMV.

Thanks to all the buddies who have been constantly following my FMV. My new FMV "Undead Realm:Ego" has passed the review and will be on sale soon. Please keep on the announcements for the release date. To give back to the buddies who have supported me for a long time, the CD key activity will continue until before the game release date. That is to say, once the game is released, the CD key activity will end at the same time. Those buddies who haven't participated in the CD key activity yet, hurry up. And for those who have already participated, the CD keys will be sent to you via email before the release. Also, please trouble you guys to use your little fingers and add the game to your wish list in advance. Thank you all again for your long-term support.

Thanks, guys, for continuously following my new horror FMV "Undead Realm:Ego".
Game was completed and submitted for review last week. However, due to the sensitive theme, the review process might involve some repetitions and modifications.
Since Christmas is coming soon and there will be no reviews during the Christmas period, it's less likely to be released before Christmas and more likely to be released in January.
Regarding the information of the new game, you'll be able to see it once the store information of the game passes the review. In the words of the developer of the game, a lot of the mental journey about the game has been reported to you all.
Thanks again for your attention. Meanwhile, I'd like to remind those guys who haven't got the CD key event of the new game yet to hurry up.

i expect to give out the product info during October and November. Right now, the available info is that the name is "Undead Realm:Ego", This new game is the first one in a three-part series. (Of course, our old guy "Ren Xing" is still the main character.) Based on the feedback from my previous products, i've made some new improvements in the script, the shooting and the gameplay. i really hope you'll like it.

Whether you know my products or not, i want to share some info with every. My first game, "Try and love", bad game. With your strict supervision, i launched the second one, "Back", after some self-reflection. i hope you can see my progress step by step. At the same time, i hope to get more of your opinions. i'll keep providing you with more and different FMV. i'm serious about FMV.

Finally, just like my previous two games, anyone who sends a screenshot of their purchase of my second game, "Back", to my email before the store info of the new game is released, will get a free CD key before the game test. (To make the activity fair, those who bought but have already refunded can't take part in this activity.)

Thank you again to all the players who have read this announcement. By reading it, you show that you still care about me. For those who keep care me, I'll show my biggest gratitude and do my best to pay you back. Though, like the previous two games, we have a limited budget or even less this time. (Because "Try and love" wasn't good and didn't sold well, and "Back" was too short and had a high refund rate. These are all the problems of my games and they also drive me to keep optimizing myself.) But I believe that when you see the product, you'll definitely feel my sincerity.

All above. Thank you all again. Thank you so much.

(Players who want to get Undead Realm: Ego for free can send the purchase screenshot of "Back" to the following sole official email: liuyizhou@yiweigame.com)

Update notice
1) Optimized some performance

Our new game, 《Back》, was announced on the steam store on July 17th and will be available on August 1st. Players who have purchased 《Try and love》 and sent related screenshots to liuyizhou@yiweigame.com before 0:00, July 19th, will receive a free key of 《Back》before the game goes live to thank you for your support.
In particular, the new product 《Back》is a real interactive horror game, if you do not like this kind of game, have heart disease and other can not be stimulated and frightened of the user please do not activate.

Increase save protection to avoid save errors that may cause the game to malfunction

About update:
1) Added support for French

There are brothers in the forum who want to increase French, limited by the ability, I can only provide machine translation, if there is a misunderstanding of reading, please understand.
At the same time, our new interactive video game has officially started shooting, and it is expected to be launched in June. We will honor our promise to give all brothers who have purchased the "Dating" product free cdkey of the new product.
At present, we have received some purchase records from our brothers, which have been recorded. Those of you who haven't yet, please hold on tight.