NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97
[[Comprehensive] “Astonishing Upset”… ‘Reverse Arcadia’ Wins GOTY in Mobile Game History for the First Time]
Enson GT’s ‘Reverse Arcadia’ won the “Still Playing Game” award at the prestigious Golden Joystick Awards (hereinafter GJA).
On the 19th, local time, the GJA Awards Ceremony, organized by Games Radar, took place.
The GJA, alongside the GDC Awards and The Game Awards, is one of the world’s five most prestigious Game of the Year (GOTY) award ceremonies.
…
Similarly, Jihojin, Department Head and Director of Reverse Arcadia, expressed his feelings on receiving the award, stating that this was not the end and that they would aim for GOTY once again with determination, sharing his joy.
Comments (523) [Registration Order]
– Holy cow! GG WP OP OP OP
– I didn’t think mobile games would snatch GOTY from PC games like this lol
– It’s a bit disappointing it wasn’t the Grand Prize, but it’s still something we can hype about!
– Someone: Definitely.
Reverse Arcadia’s GOTY win.
This shocking news flipped the entire community upside down.
Truly, no one expected such a result.
Even within Reverse Arcadia’s fanbase, there had been an air of skepticism and disbelief.
No matter how enthusiastically we held challenges to encourage votes, GOTY is after all, GOTY.
Even within the fandom, there was a prevailing notion that it was going to be difficult for a mobile game like Reverse Arcadia to win GOTY.
Nevertheless, despite this pessimistic outlook, when Reverse Arcadia’s victory was confirmed, a festival erupted across mobile gaming communities, especially those closely associated with Reverse Arcadia.
To think a Korean-made mobile game, one that players actually engage with, took home the GOTY – something that Korean games have never achieved before.
At the moment Reverse Arcadia users had thought would never come – the news of a GOTY win filled everyone with joy.
However, at that very moment, I was experiencing pure hell.
***
The GOTY trophy, shining in gold.
The achievement of a mobile game securing the first-ever GOTY award in history.
Anyone should be overjoyed at an accomplishment no one has ever achieved.
Yet, here I was, reflecting in real-time on my past decisions with regret.
Why didn’t I strongly argue for a different promise?
Why didn’t I firmly resist the idea of cross-dressing?
Why—.
But even with these repeated regrets, the reality remained unchanged.
For instance, the soft touch of the puff against my face could still be felt.
“Senior! Please don’t move your face! Your makeup will smudge!”
The scolding voice of Yerin.
Upon closer observation, Yerin was gritting her teeth to avoid smiling, contrary to her words.
‘How did I end up in this situation…?’
This place was the Live Studio located in Enson Korea.
It was the same place where I frequently visited for live broadcasts, but it was today to fulfill the GOTY award promise.
Famous stylists had been invited to create artwork right on my face in real-time.
They kept applying something, touching it with a sponge-like object, and then drawing with a brush-like cosmetic tool, repeating this process over and over again.
While I was an average Korean man and thus didn’t fully understand what they were doing, it was evident that the results were gradually appearing as time passed by.
This was clear from how the reactions of my teammates had changed in comparison to the beginning.
“Wow… incredible… Your Senior’s appearance has transformed so much…”
Yerin’s murmuring voice and Chae-young clicking her tongue in disappointment were heard.
“To be honest, I initially agreed because I thought it would be funny, but this level of transformation might surprise the users who tune in to the broadcast.”
Judging by their reactions, it didn’t seem like the strange or comedic feel associated with male drag performers on comedy shows.
‘Just what does this transformation look like…?’
I wanted to check midway, but the stylists’ insistence that I keep my eyes closed left me no choice.
As an eternity-like period of time passed…
Finally, following the stylists’ approval, I opened my eyes.
And there, in the mirror, I saw my reflection.
Henrietta’s characteristic mix of black and red secret two-tone hair combined with sharp eyes.
The sharp eyes themselves were undoubtedly still my original features, but the overall aura had changed drastically because of the makeup.
Even though there was no mistaking my masculinity, Henrietta’s image overlaid it like a mask.
Indeed, it was unmistakably clear that I was male, but rather than the usual discomfort associated with male cosplay drag, there was a sense of naturalness.
At the very least, users who tuned into the live broadcast wouldn’t be turning away in disgust thinking they stumbled upon some grotesque content.
‘These professionals really are something…’
After expressing my gratitude to the stylist professionals for their impeccable work, I moved on to initiate the live broadcast preparations.
Or rather, I was about to.
Until I saw Yerin and Chae-young approaching with Henrietta’s costumes in hand.
***
The broadcast began.
As I adjusted my posture in front of the now-familiar large camera, the countdown to the broadcast started.
As the countdown from five seconds reached zero,
The waiting screen transitioned to one displaying my appearance, starting the broadcast.
“Hello everyone! This is Jihojin, the Director of Reverse Arcadia!”
In the instant following this greeting, a flood of chat messages surged upward.
– No way dude lmao
– Holy crap, made me jump lol
– Is this really the Henrietta cosplay promise?
– Thought I was in the wrong stream lol
– This guy’s cute lol
– Kill the haters lmao
Indeed, as expected, the reactions were fiery.
“Of course, everyone knows by now, but just in case, before participating in the award ceremony, we made a promise regarding the GOTY. And thus, I am fulfilling that cosplay promise.”
– Didn’t think you’d actually do it bro lmao
– Ho-jin’s such a GOAT to risk cross-dressing for his game
– Wow, the quality’s unexpectedly not bad lol
– Quality insane lol
– Director (female cosplay)
“First, I’d like to thank everyone as we prepare to start the broadcast. Thanks to your steadfast support, we have been blessed with this GOTY award.”
Upon completing my speech, I bowed toward the camera.
A couple of strands of the wig slid down and tickled my cheek, but I gave no outward reaction.
“Now as we start the broadcast, I have something to show everyone first.”
I picked up a box from the side of my chair and placed it on the desk.
After opening it, what emerged was a golden trophy.
The GOTY trophy from the GJA.
“It’s the GOTY trophy we received.”
– Wow, that’s the GOTY trophy wow wow wow
– The only GOTY trophy in South Korea
– Seeing the trophy in real life, it really hits home lol
– OMG
“Apparently, I only recently learned that these physical trophies have only been awarded for the past two years. Before that, they would only offer prize money.”
– This was really divine intervention lol
– Hozin is the GOAT
– Prize money-only awards would’ve been lame as f***
– Wow, this is insane wow wow wow
Thus commenced the promise-fulfillment broadcast with the unveiling of the trophy.
Although it was a broadcast solely conducted to fulfill the promise without any particular theme,
It featured anecdotes from participating in the GJA Awards and previously undiscussed stories regarding the regulation of chance-based items.
After answering numerous questions users were curious about,
Before we knew it, the expected two hours had passed, and we were nearing the three-hour mark.
“Having communicated with all of you, it slipped into more than the planned two hours.”
Comments filled the chat with a mix of regret and anticipation.
I glanced at the chat window and continued with a smile.
“So, if I were to say ‘let’s end today’s broadcast here’—you’d all feel disappointed, right?”
– Is he dropping the big one? wow wow wow wow wow
– Ho-jin wouldn’t end it here that easily lol
– Newbies who thought the stream was over are ghost-camping back in lol
– Let’s go!
“Thanks to all of you, we’ve achieved the GOTY. Ending it here just wouldn’t make sense. However, unfortunately, no roulette was prepared for this broadcast.”
As this surprise announcement rolled out, messages demanding a rescue of the roulette erupted, but I continued unfazed,
“To be honest, the roulette is getting a little outdated, no? That’s why I have prepared something else. What I’ve prepared is…”
At the same time, I pulled out several cards and a dice from my pocket.
“Cards and dice. The rule is very simple. You pick a card with goods illustrated on it, then roll the dice, and I will multiply the result by the rolled number to award the prizes.”
– The number of cards suggests a higher benefit than roulette if ‘ALL’ comes out; it’s quite advantageous compared to roulette, I guess.
– Kind of disappointing that the roulette is gone though
– I really hope it’s not all materials
“What, then let’s pull the first card?”
Let’s go, let’s go lol
– Please let it be 10-ticket lottery lol
– Anything but just materials please
Upon pulling one card from a shuffling machine, the result was a card with the picture of a gift.
A decent item that increases the connection level of the characters—though not a jackpot, it was a nice touch.
The chat echoed with a mix of regretful sighs.
“So, with the card picked, let’s move on to the next step, the dice roll. But before that…”
I cut the sentence short, then tossed the dice I’d received earlier to the corner of the shooting site.
– ?
– Seriously now ouch
– No way?
– Same as the last time? lol
Then, pulling out a new dice from my pocket.
“This dice… is a bit different from the earlier one because it has ‘ALL’ written on all sides. Shouldn’t such a day deserve something special?”
– Lmfao
– Everything activated
– This is epic lul
– This is perfect lul
– Lmfao go go go lmao
“So let’s roll the dice. Three, two, one!”
Tossing the dice at the count with the expected result: ALL.
Naturally, the table showed ‘ALL’ on the dice.
In line with the word ‘ALL’ written on the dice, the users were all thrilled.
***
[Nickname: Anonymous]
[Title: Highlights of Today’s Broadcast for the Ones Who Missed It…jpg]
[Photo of Jihojin appearing in Henrietta cosplay]
[Photo of Jihojin bowing in Henrietta cosplay]
[Photo of Jihojin confidently switching the dice]
I thought the cross-dressing cosplay would just be some wig or something thrown on casually but was surprised at how serious it was.
The quality was better than expected lol.
Honestly, I went in bracing for visual horror but was not disappointed at all.
Those who missed the broadcast should go check the video on YouTube lol.
The broadcast wasn’t just the cross-dressing; the content was also more substantial than I expected.
+ The item rewards this time are epic, and newcomers should not miss the event period and claim them.
If you miss the claim period, you’ll regret it for months.
[Comment Section][Registration Order]
– lol GGWP dude, you actually captured that
– This aside, the real star of the show was the rewards lol
– Agree, looks like they’ve bundled everything into this GOTY commemorative reward package
– Understandable
– What’s understandable?
– Yup yep
– Gay gay lul…