Time quickly came to the end of the month.
The final list of the Hope Cup competition was also announced on the official website as scheduled.
According to the practice of previous competitions, this kind of national programming competition usually attracts follow-up reports from major media.
As one of the most influential newspapers among Xia University students, Times Youth Daily will naturally not miss reporting on this event.
Therefore, the office of the editor-in-chief of Times Youth Daily directly assigned the task to specific departments and asked them to write a column on the front page of the newspaper to comment on the finalists of the "Hope Cup".
After receiving this honorable and arduous task from his boss, Zhang Wei and his colleagues in the office spent a whole night downloading all 270 entries published on the official website of the competition organizer.
Looking through the information in his hand, Wang Yong said with emotion.
"There are a lot of imaginative works in this competition..."
"Normal," Zhang Wei said casually while staring at the computer screen meticulously, "After all, this year's test questions are quite imaginative."
"The test questions in that year's competition weren't very thoughtful?"
"After all, I hope that the competition will select not just programmers, but programmers with both programming abilities and design creativity."
"Are you creative? Hey, I have a buddy here who is very interesting. He actually invented a virus." Wang Yong turned over the information in his hand and joked with a smile. "Here's the rumor, the organizer discovered the computer after running the program. If you are infected, no matter you press any key or touch the mouse, it will trigger the computer to automatically restart."
Liu Sicheng asked with interest: "What happened next?"
Wang Yong smiled and said: "What else can happen next? Look at the list of cooperative units. There are experts in the security field from Xia Ke Academy in the main examination committee. What kind of trouble can this little trick cause?"
Liu Sicheng said with emotion: "It's incredible that this kind of work has been shortlisted."
"After all, it is undeniable that this is indeed a work worthy of making people doubt their lives," Wang Yong shrugged and continued, "If you are a novice who doesn't understand computers, this virus is enough to make you doubt your life."
"Doubting life is not thinking about life... I always feel that I am still off topic."
"Off topic? In contrast, I am more curious about this big guy's performance in the finals. It will definitely be very exciting!"
There have been many such cases in previous years.
Because the performance of the contestants was so genius, they received offers from large companies on the spot or were invited to study in world-class research institutions such as Xia Ke Academy to study topics related to the future of all mankind.
Since the organizer approved this work to be shortlisted, it must have taken a fancy to some aspect of the contestants' qualities before making such a decision.
He had never heard any communication in the office. Liu Sicheng suddenly noticed that their boss, Zhang Wei, seemed to have not participated in the topic since he said a word at the beginning.
A trace of curiosity arose in his heart, and he couldn't help but speak.
"Speaking of which, why is Brother Wei so silent today?"
Hearing someone turn the topic to him, Zhang Wei looked away from the screen, leaned back on his chair, picked up the cold coffee on the table and took a sip.
"I saw a very interesting work."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the office became interested.
"What the hell? A work that even Brother Wei finds interesting?" Wang Yong pushed up his glasses and walked to his colleague's desk curiously, "Let me take a look."
Zhang Wei moved away the office chair and mouse, allowing Wang Yong to take his place.
"game?"
"Yes, it's quite weird. I've played it several times."
"Oh? Then I have to study it even more."
With a hint of curiosity in his heart, Wang Yong held the mouse and clicked the button to start the game.
Soon the game begins.
The entire game process is very short, so short that you only need to sit down on a bench in the center of the cemetery and listen to a 30-second piece of music to complete the game.
However, as a senior game player, Wang Yong always felt that something was not quite right.
"I can't tell you why it's strange, but for a game, this process is too... short."
He originally wanted to use the word perfunctory, but then he thought that the music played at the end of the game was quite interesting, not like free material he had heard elsewhere.
Regardless of how the game itself was, at least in terms of the soundtrack, he could feel that the producer had put a little thought into it, so he temporarily changed his tune.
With that said, Wang Yong fired again.
This time, he did not follow the prompts and go straight to the bench in the center of the cemetery. Instead, he walked around the cemetery, trying to find other ways to clear the level.
However, Zhang Wei's words gave him away from this idea.
"If you want to find a way to leave the cemetery, I advise you not to bother. There are stickers outside. As for other ways to pass the level... I have tried them all."
"Do I have to die?" Wang Yong said with a wry smile.
"Yes," Zhang Wei nodded, "There is only one ending."
When Wang Yong played the second round just now, Liu Sicheng walked up and stood behind the two of them. After watching the entire game process from beginning to end, a thoughtful look suddenly appeared in his eyes and he spoke.
"Could it be... that the producer did it intentionally?"
Wang Yong was stunned for a moment while watching the cutscene at the end of the game.
"Intentional?"
Liu Sicheng nodded and continued.
"On the surface, this is just a simple game, but it contains a very profound philosophy of life. What Brother Wei said just now reminded me that the only ending is inevitable, and this...isn't it exactly like the destination of all of us? ?"
The office fell silent.
Not only the three people gathered in front of the computer, but also other people who were busy with the things at hand, also stopped talking.
After a while, Zhang Wei, as the editor-in-chief, coughed slightly, breaking the solemn atmosphere.
"Let's not think about such heavy things."
Wang Yong, who came back to his senses, also laughed twice and said.
"Yeah, yeah, it's still too early for us."
"But... I'm telling you, Xiao Liu, that the deep meaning of this game may be here," Zhang Wei continued after thinking for a moment, "different from those popular fast-paced games on the market that pursue graphics and refreshing, The developer of this game focused on a dying old man... This is very unnatural. But now I suddenly feel that this is the finishing touch of this game."
"It's not like a simple game, nor like a simple program or animation, but more like a moving work of art. Old lives continue to disappear, new lives come one after another, and the game plays over and over again. Come back again, but the world will always repeat itself again and again.”
"I think the reason why the organizer allowed such a work to be shortlisted must be because of the philosophy contained in it."
After listening to Zhang Wei's words, everyone in the office nodded in agreement.
Especially Wang Yong, who was holding the mouse and firing again. At this moment, the expression on his face no longer had the slightest contempt, but a touch of pensive solemnity.
Yes, as Zhang Wei and Liu Sicheng feel in this game, it is like a moving work of art.
Player death seems to have no meaning in this game.
Whether it's the tombstones, the birds flying in the forest, or the music that flows quietly like a stream at the end, nothing here will change because of the player's death.
The understatement of the choice of whether to come back makes the heavy concept of death abstracted into something as light as a feather. His life experience is still shallow and he cannot write much to describe this feeling, but that feeling does exist because he can clearly feel it from this game.
Gradually, a hint of enlightenment appeared in Wang Yong's eyes.
There are no easter eggs here at all.
There is no hidden ending either.
What he saw before his eyes was everything the game producer wanted to express.
There is no doubt that this is a thought-provoking game!
Just like the line the producer wrote in the file attachment!