[GamePea Exclusive, Reproduction Prohibited!] Image Source: Official First Week Thank-You Image
GamePea Report — In Zero Creation Game's previous title, Famine, producer Ji Ling once wrote a signature vision in the game's description: 'We hope to bring people a positive emotion and strength.' At that time, this attempt to find warmth in the cracks of brutal history earned the studio widespread resonance. When the new title, Mourning: Ten Days of Fall, was released, that familiar description still appeared. However, after its launch, the game's strong authorial voice sparked considerable controversy. Reopening the Steam store page for Mourning: Ten Days of Fall, GamePea found that the game's description had quietly changed: 'Ultimately, we hope to bring people an ultimate emotion and strength.'
After the game's release, first-week sales quickly surpassed 95,915 copies, proving the market's high expectations for the Zero Creation IP. However, the 'Mixed' reviews on Steam cannot be ignored, creating a rift between the game and player trust. The sharp divide between sales and word-of-mouth has made the original intention of conveying 'positivity' seem hollow.
Facing the wave of controversy, alongside the description change, Ji Ling published a long letter on April 10 titled 'A Thank You and an Apology,' attempting to find a path to reconciliation between authorial self-expression and player acceptance.
The Outbreak of Controversy
(The following contains some spoilers)
After the previous title Famine, set against the backdrop of the late Ming Dynasty famine, achieved both critical and commercial success, Zero Creation Game Studio and its producer Ji Ling were undoubtedly in the spotlight. After the game's release, market feedback showed an extremely divided sentiment. On one hand, players highly praised the studio's traditionally strong 'three pillars': art, voice acting, and music, even acknowledging the game's overall volume. However, when players tried to delve deeper into the game's core, they encountered a 'rude awakening' from the story design and writing.
The core of this controversy lies in the huge contradiction between the 'ultimate' narrative Ji Ling pursued and the 'emotional baseline' players could tolerate. In his letter, Ji Ling admitted that he tried to craft a dark enough story, but during the creative process, he 'did not build a reasonable emotional outlet for everyone.' This lack was not a technical oversight but an active choice of authorial expression. To pursue the 'ultimate' in dramatic tension, the game is filled with explicit descriptions and highly impactful tragic scenes. For players accustomed to finding emotional comfort or value identification in interactive storytelling, this blunt display of cruelty felt like an affront.
GamePea observed that in player feedback, 'oppressive' and 'uncomfortable' were frequent keywords. This discomfort did not stem solely from empathy for historical tragedy but from a sense of deprivation. Players, carrying expectations of 'positive emotion and strength,' entered the late Ming Jiangnan region constructed by Mourning: Ten Days of Fall. After enduring a long period of darkness, they received no matching emotional catharsis or positive feedback. As Ji Ling reflected, the 'positivity' he originally promised ultimately presented a suffocating, exitless tragic experience. This gap between promise and delivery made players feel deceived and drained, triggering a strong backlash.
The controversy did not stop within the game itself but quickly spilled over, evolving into a widespread public opinion storm. Due to the game's high popularity, the contentious content directly translated into public pressure, most directly engulfing producer Ji Ling himself. The incident gradually shifted from simple player complaints to a public discussion about creator responsibility and the boundaries of player experience.
A Thank You, and More So an Apology
Facing overwhelming public pressure, producer Ji Ling adopted a 'confessional' stance, publishing a long letter titled 'Mourning: Ten Days of Fall Producer's Personal Summary — A Thank You, and More So an Apology' on his personal accounts on Bilibili and Zhihu.
At the beginning of the letter, Ji Ling directly addressed the core pain point for players: the feeling of being offended. He did not avoid the oppression and discomfort brought by the game's story but honestly acknowledged the disconnect between his creative intent and player experience. He wrote that he 'focused on my stylized expression and creation, while some explicit descriptions and tragic scenes caused many players to feel genuinely offended, oppressed, or uncomfortable.' He admitted the problem: he had indeed crafted a dark enough story but 'failed to bring everyone enough positive emotion and strength.'
To clarify the source of this 'darkness,' Ji Ling revealed his mental journey during the creation of Mourning in the letter, which was the most informative part of the entire apology. He disclosed that the initial inspiration came from The Diary of the Ten Days in Yangzhou, and his original idea was simply 'to write a story of mutual redemption between a talented scholar and a beautiful woman.' However, as creation deepened, a more complex literary ambition began to take over.
Lin Pianpian
Ji Ling admitted that he tried to emulate the techniques of Dream of the Red Chamber, attempting to build a world with subtle foreshadowing and rich characters. In this process, Lin Pianpian, originally intended as a 'supporting' character, 'came to life' under his pen. This loss of control and awakening of the character ultimately led to a complete deviation in the story's direction. Ji Ling analyzed in the letter that this deviation eventually formed a sharp, ironic contrast: 'Lin Pianpian (a courtesan) possesses all the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness,' while 'Fang Zhiyou (a scholar) possesses none of them.'
Fang Zhiyou
Ji Ling acknowledged that the protagonist Fang Zhiyou was exactly the hypocritical image of 'a scholar good for nothing' that he wanted to criticize. He attempted to deconstruct the hypocrisy of the scholar-official class through this extreme contrast. However, in execution, while this 'oppressive creative intent' was achieved, it far exceeded players' tolerance. He realized he had overlooked players' basic need to seek emotional resonance in a game.
To bridge this rift, Ji Ling, on behalf of Zero Creation Game, proposed six specific remedial measures in the letter, hoping to repair player trust with concrete actions. The following is the original text:
- We promise to add a small biographical IF route to the game within the first month of release. We will regularly update everyone on the development progress of the IF route.
- We will continue to fix bugs and optimize the in-game experience. After players complete both true endings, the main menu will switch to two different dynamic 'looking back' CG images and change the main menu music to enhance the emotional experience after completing the true endings. This feature will be implemented simultaneously with the IF route.
- We will make more efforts to maintain a positive player community atmosphere. The producer will be more cautious with words and actions in the future and will respect player and community opinions more.
- We will update the second language dubbing within a year, ensuring the use of professional and well-known voice actors to bring a higher-quality experience to players who enjoy multilingual dubbing.
- We have prepared a first-week thank-you image (appended at the end) and will host a fan creation event, investing a special fund to support excellent fan works.
- We will accelerate the production of the Mourning: Ten Days of Fall original soundtrack and community items, making them available for all players to download and use as soon as possible.
Ji Ling also made commitments regarding himself: 'I will reflect seriously and continue to create with a more responsible attitude in the future. I will lead the team well to fulfill the six promises mentioned at the beginning of the summary letter. I will establish thorough speech review and creation review mechanisms within the team to supervise my behavior and restrain myself to be cautious in words and deeds. I will cultivate a second writer for Black Nest: Serpent's Covenant to replace my work. I will only be responsible for non-story content like world-building and character design, while the new writer will handle all the plot and details. I will take responsibility for Dragon Clan: The Last Journey, produce it with care, and promise everyone that this work is meant to make up for regrets and will convey enough positive feelings. I will be more humble, strict with myself, take responsibility for the studio, and create works that can bring you more positive feelings.'
Player Reactions
For some core players, the producer's response was seen as an attempt to 'cut losses.' They expressed a certain degree of approval for the promises of 'adding an IF route' and 'ending optimization.' In their view, this at least proved that the development team was willing to face the core pain point of 'lacking an emotional outlet' rather than arrogantly clinging to so-called 'artistic expression.' This pragmatic attitude somewhat eased the tense atmosphere in the community, giving the game a glimmer of hope for reputation recovery.
However, the rift in trust has not healed, and critical voices remain sharp. Some players pointed out that while the apology letter was sincere in tone, it did not address all pain points. For example, historical inaccuracies in the game and some writing considered 'overly explicit' were not clearly promised for correction in the remediation plan.
A deeper concern still points to Ji Ling's strong 'authorial voice.' Although he promised to be 'cautious in words and deeds' in the future, players remain wary that this personal style might continue to suppress player experience in future works.
Conclusion: Trust and Trial
Looking at the entire controversy surrounding Mourning: Ten Days of Fall since its release, the core conflict has always focused on the lack of 'positive emotion.' Producer Ji Ling's willingness to conduct deep self-analysis and publicly apologize is commendable. This attitude of facing controversy head-on also reflects a creator's reflection and growth after the imbalance between commercial feedback and artistic expression.
However, this incident also raises an industry-wide proposition: games are not only a manifestation of authorial voice but also a commodity for player emotional projection. This is true even for AVGs, a genre with an independent spirit within gaming. When a creator's pursuit of 'ultimateness' crosses the psychological boundaries of the general audience, the collapse of trust becomes inevitable.
The path forward depends on how Zero Creation Game translates reflection into action. In the subsequent project Black Nest: Serpent's Covenant, how will the planned division of labor—with a new writer handling the plot and Ji Ling stepping back to world-building—be implemented? Ultimately, the rift in player trust cannot be mended by a single apology letter or a few promises. Only by delivering on concrete remedial actions like the new IF route and genuinely improving the story experience in future works can Zero Creation Game truly repair its bond with players.
Tags: Zero Creation Game