Genius’s Godlike Game Broadcast-Chapter 56 : Rising Popularity (2)

Rising Popularity (2)
Trending Videos.
For anyone who uploaded videos on Q-tube, this was the section they all hoped for.
Basically, q-tube automatically recommends videos to users according to its algorithm. However, not all recommended videos are to each user's taste.
If someone had something in mind, they'd search for it using keywords, but when nothing specific came to mind, users often found themselves thinking, "Isn't there something good to watch?"
And where such users headed was the "Trending Videos" section.
'Someone who only watched mukbang broadcasts could suddenly be drawn to a music broadcast.'
Choi Byeonghun refreshed the Q-tube channel frequently as he mused. If a video appeared in that section, it could bypass the Q-tube algorithm and pull in new audiences.
'For now, the views are rising smoothly.'
There were, of course, criteria for ranking trending videos. Q-tube did not give a detailed breakdown, but they gave a general outline.
'But views are just the basics. The increase rate and external traffic matter more.'
Things like the speed at which views rose and the number of times externally shared links brought in viewers—those too were included in the criteria.
From that perspective, the video of Purple versus NewtonLord was perfect to meet those conditions.
'Good, it's starting to climb up little by little.'
Choi Byeonghun checked the boards at various gaming communities.
[Breaking) NewtonLord's first loss!(999+)]
[NewtonLord completely destroyed lol (841)]
[NewtonLord's evaluation—1 million won, for real? (819)]
The news had already spread across community boards since the moment NewtonLord lost. They were posts with raw, unedited video clips, not edited videos.
So everyone already knew that Purple had defeated NewtonLord. In that situation, could an edited video still draw attention?
'Yes, it could.'
With the old style, it might not have garnered much attention. But this match was different.
That was clear just by looking at the comments under the trending posts.
[-Wait, why is this clip over 20 minutes? Damn]
[-Is this a newbie lecca? Lol]
[-People in a hurry, start watching from minute 19]
Unlike before, Lee Gyeongbok didn't finish his opponent off right away. He stalled for time, gauging NewtonLord's skill, and that made the video much longer.
Few community users watched the whole lengthy clip.
'Other posts just summarized the result.'
Other users, having seen that precedent, cut only the result from the clip and made it into trending posts.
[-What, they just say he won? That's it?]
[-How did he win, exactly?]
[-Why is this one so short, damn]
[-What's so great about this!]
[-NewtonLord betting ten million won is insane lol]
[-I'll just wait for Purple channel's upload.]
People knew the result but didn't know the process. In that situation, the edited video was like pouring gasoline onto smoldering embers.
[NewtonLord getting destroyed—Video Highlights! (447)]
A new post soared up as it started gathering rapid recommendations. Choi Byeonghun's cheeks wouldn't stop rising in a grin.
Every refresh, the comments multiplied as if cloning themselves.
[-Oh lol watching NewtonLord teamkill is wild]
[na Still, always does 1v1, that's pretty cool]
[na Yeah, but he's still a stream sniper]
[na For real lol, stop it, it's just a persona]
[-The chat's just going on and on lolol]
[na The deception is insane lol]
[na But it's not just for show either]
[na NewtonLord is so pissed lol]
The reactions at the start of the video were average. But from the start of the engagement, the chat window atmosphere totally shifted.
[-Wow lol, edited videos really hit different]
[na What's with this speed?]
[na This editing style feels like MadGunner?]
[na In the beginning, newtonLord did well]
Madman had decided there was nothing to cut from this video. However, from a viewer's perspective, compressing the footage was necessary.
That's why Madman decided to liven up the visuals with a focus on "speed" adjustment.
[-NewtonLord's skill is insane]
[na But how did Purple dodge that?]
[na For real, that was so close]
[na Whenever they go slow mo on the bullet cam, I flinch lol]
In the video, similar scenes were "sped up" to skip through quickly, while the tense moments were given "slow" effects to highlight them.
[-Crazy lol blocking bullets with a gun]
[na Is that even possible?]
[na Did he throw it on purpose?]
[na I watched it on live stream, he was totally aiming to block it lol]
[na Wow, you need to be this crazy to win.]
[-Lol suddenly the gun breaks]
[na Out of nowhere a knife fight!]
[na Lol what kind of people are these two?]
[na For real, told you, they're special forces veterans lol]
[na Suddenly, this is an action movie]
[na The slo-mo is so on point lol]
[na Just barely dodged, damn]
[-They edited out the rain sounds, it's so clean]
[na For real lol, this is why I wait for edited vids]
[na I watched the clip but felt I wasted my time lolol]
[na This is a must-watch in edited form]
Thanks to this, the video looked even more intense and there was no time to be bored.
That brought the highlight clip soaring up the trending charts.
'This flow is good. Lecca are coming in from other communities now.'
Now, not just in the GunnerGround community, but the highlight video was spreading to other game communities too.
The reason was simple.
Not everyone NewtonLord stream sniped was playing GunnerGround.
[NewtonLord gets a lesson!]
[NewtonLord who stream sniped our Soondubu, got destroyed lol]
[HumanCandy hyung! NewtonLord got wrecked!]
Not just the hot games of late, but even older games that streamers used to frequent, and fan pages of streamers who'd been stream sniped—those places too were getting the video posted.
'This is beyond what I imagined.'
Choi Byeonghun stopped monitoring communities and returned to the Q-tube page. He opened his eyes wide at the speed views were rising. The video's spread and view count increase were faster than he expected.
[Today's Trending Video #3]
At last, the label that was now attached under the video.
And with that, the momentum in view count soared even higher. Choi Byeonghun checked exposure on the section right away.
"Whew..."
Seeing the video sitting proudly among the top variety show broadcasts on public TV, he felt his chest swelling with excitement.
[-Huh? This was a game?]
[na I thought they were doing Fake Men again]
[na Whoa! Streamer training course!]
[-Feels like a movie trailer]
[na Yeah lol, amazing editing]
[na Are these gamers action actors or something?]
Perhaps thanks to the wider exposure, non-gamers' comments began showing up. As Choi Byeonghun perused the comments with satisfaction, one comment stood out.
[Muscle Gallery]
[-Seriously, did you actually receive specialized training? Did you just pick up those moves purely from gaming? It's incredible! Absolutely perfect as always!]
"Wow, now they're saying this too..."
Choi Byeonghun chuckled as he quickly pinned that comment at the top.
[na Lololol]
[na The real deal's shown up again lolol]
[na Muscle Gallery pops up again lol]
[na Wow, friends! It's the bald guy!]
[na Bald Mountain hyung! See him all the time now!]
[na 100% Godple appearance incoming lol]
[na Bald Mountain's Godple physical, just seeing it makes my mouth water]
[na For real lol, probably going to show up soon]
Proving just how much attention the video garnered, the comments flooded in instantly.
Views had already surpassed a million, and subscriptions to the channel were skyrocketing.
With the subscriber number passing 250,000 and heading for 300,000, Choi Byeonghun's eyes went wide, as if forgetting all fatigue.
'At this rate, we could really aim for two million!'
And it was still so early, before sunrise.
* * *
The next day, team Perfect's regular cafe.
"... So you're saying you couldn't sleep?"
At Park Juho's question, Choi Byeonghun nodded. His eyes had heavy dark circles, but his face was beaming with happiness.
"No, it's just, every time I tried to sleep, I couldn't. My heart kept pounding like crazy. Honestly, I don't get it. How did you guys fall asleep in that situation?"
"We drank a bit, so."
Lee Gyeongbok answered with a shrug. Next to him, Park Juho let out a short sigh.
"Honestly, it makes getting a backup editor pointless..."
"Oh, madman stayed up with me all night. He really loved it too. He said all the hard work was worth it."
At that, Park Juho's eyes twitched. Before he could say anything else, Lee Gyeongbok cut in, chuckling.
"We're grateful for that hard work, so make sure to thank him for us. I was amazed too when I saw the results this morning. Wasn't that right, juho?"
"... Yeah. The performance was definitely impressive."
Park Juho checked the current view count through smart link again.
"It's over 1.4 million now. At this rate, it'll hit 2 million before a day's even up."
"Exactly! And the subscriber count is over 400,000. That's all thanks to the exposure."
With a satisfied smile, Choi Byeonghun nodded. Purple channel's subscribers were now over 400,000.
The main digit had doubled overnight.
"Man, you wouldn't understand the feeling. Watching the number tick up with each refresh..."
"Let's get to the business proposals coming to the email first."
"I'm being ignored again, huh."
When Park Juho cut him off, Choi Byeonghun wrinkled his nose playfully.
"We're not here to play. Muscle Gallery sent another casting offer."
"Oh, I saw that comment. They're asking again?"
Lee Gyeongbok's eyes went round. There had been one offer before, which they'd turned down.
"This time, they said you don't even have to show your face—just wear a mask like Bald Mountain."
"A mask...?"
Lee Gyeongbok frowned a little at the glabella.
Bald Mountain was a Q-tuber who never revealed his face, using sunglasses and a mask for content instead.
"Hmm, honestly, I don't think that's a good choice."
Lee Gyeongbok replied after some thought.
"I don't plan to take on that character forever like Bald Mountain. For now, I don't want to reveal my face yet."
"Can you tell us why?"
At Park Juho's question, the other two turned to look at him.
"No, I'm not trying to push you. If you tell us the reason now, we'll know how to turn down similar offers next time without bothering you."
"Oh, asking for a guideline?"
Choi Byeonghun nodded as if understanding. But Lee Gyeongbok just scratched his head.
"It's just... I don't really like saying it to other people."
"Hm?"
"I'm worried if I show my face, someone who knows me among the viewers will approach me."
"And why is that?"
"You guys know I can read people well."
"Oh... is it because of 'that'?"
Lee Gyeongbok nodded at Choi Byeonghun's question.
"I still don't want to meet fans offline. If I found out a fan who liked me was an 'ominous' person, I'd have complicated feelings."
Through the chat window, he didn't feel anything. Fans he met in virtual reality only carried game-related feelings.
But meeting fans in real life was a different thing. Lee Gyeongbok would inevitably have to "judge" them.
The two friends nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, I mean... depending on 'that', things could get complicated if your reaction changes."
"Not only that, if your face gets known, people you know might start strawing you."
"Right, it was the same back in school. Remember the idiots who pretended to be friendly with you, then dissed you behind your back when things didn't go as planned?"
"They were so obvious, trying to use you to get close to girls and when it didn't work out, all they had was trash talk."
Park Juho agreed with the old stories Choi Byeonghun brought up. Lee Gyeongbok made a bitter smile.
"They were just immature back then."
"Immature? Those guys acted all innocent, but the second they found out your grandma was a shaman, they cut you off instantly. Still makes me sick when I think about it."
Remembering those times, Choi Byeonghun grimaced. Fellow students who tried to befriend Lee Gyeongbok changed immediately upon learning his grandmother was a shaman.
Not that he'd done anything wrong—but being the descendant of a shaman made people wary.
Lee Gyeongbok just gave a wry smile and shrugged.
"I never expected much from the start, so I didn't really care."
"Man, that mentality..."
Choi Byeonghun burned with more anger than Lee Gyeongbok but couldn't get angrier when the guy himself was unbothered.
"Anyway, back to the topic. All I mean is, right now, it's most important to just enjoy broadcasting purely."
"Right, muscle Gallery's great and big, but there's no need to overdo it when we don't really have any real connection yet."
At Choi Byeonghun's words, Lee Gyeongbok smiled lightly and looked to Park Juho.
"Juho, go ahead and turn that offer down."
"Got it. Means we should think more carefully about proposals from people we do have ties with."
"Hm?"
"It's an interview request."
Park Juho said that as he showed the two of them a mail.
"MetaGamer wants to run an interview article."
MetaGamer.
It was a request from Korea's number one game webzine.