Chapter 3: A Simple Game That Leaves a Deep Impression on Players
Some mathematical knowledge flashed through Chen Mo's mind, becoming part of his memory. Chen Mo could feel that his numerical abilities had indeed improved by a tiny bit.
"This is pretty good, huh. If I eat 100 books, won't my numerical abilities be maxed out? Not bad, 100 books only costs a million yuan, that's not expensive at all... Like hell it isn't! This is straight-up robbery, okay?"
"Ten thousand yuan for one attribute point? Do you take me for a sucker?"
"Calm down, calm down."
"This money isn't a big deal. If I can really make a blockbuster game with monthly revenue over a million, that'll be enough to keep me drawing lottery for a while."
Chen Mo comforted himself as he continued clicking the [Draw] button.
"Click," green.
"Click," green.
"Click," green.
...
Chen Mo almost wanted to curse.
He drew four times, spending 400,000 points, and got four green designer skill books.
That was forty thousand yuan in cash terms!
He had 190,000 points left, just enough for one more draw.
Of course, there was a very considerate [Top-Up] button next to the wheel. Chen Mo clicked it open, and closed it again after 0.5 seconds.
Cash exchange rate 1:10 for points, no discounts at all, not even a first-recharge double bonus.
"You're the stingiest of them all, even Penguin Games can't compare."
To make up the remaining points, Chen Mo would need to add 3,000 points, which was over 300 yuan. But Chen Mo could barely afford to eat right now, and he really didn't want to spend that 300 yuan. It hurt.
"Last try. If I don't get anything good, forget it. At worst, I won't participate in this game design competition. Next month, I'll design a game myself and still get the D-level designer qualification."
Chen Mo gritted his teeth and clicked the final [Draw].
His mouth said no, but his body was honest. Chen Mo felt his heart pounding and his hands trembling slightly.
At this moment, he could somewhat understand the mindset of those gambling addicts. If he got another green book, he'd really want to go up to the rooftop.
With a "click," the wheel stopped.
Purple area! [Special Item]!
Chen Mo jumped up. Ha, the heavens really don't abandon a man!
A treasure chest appeared on the screen. Chen Mo tried tapping it with his finger. The chest opened with a "crack" and emitted several golden rays.
Chen Mo looked closely: "Special Item: Super Focuser."
There was also an item description.
[Super Focuser: One-time item, duration 10 minutes. After use, it can focus the attention of 500 people on any location. Once the focus point is selected, it takes effect immediately and cannot be changed.]
Chen Mo scratched his head, not quite understanding, so he read the item description again.
He roughly understood, but this thing didn't seem to have anything to do with games?
Chen Mo pinched his chin and thought for a long time. The only use he could think of was during the game design competition, using this time to focus all the audience and judges' attention on his game.
But... what after the focus?
The duration was only 10 minutes. And it only made people notice his game; it couldn't change their opinion of it.
If the game wasn't fun and he forced people to play it, it might backfire.
"Think again. There must be some way."
Chen Mo refused to give up. After finally drawing a purple item, it would be ridiculous if he couldn't use it.
Chen Mo needed a game like this.
It couldn't be too complex.
Resource size within 6MB.
The audience would fall in love with it after playing for about 10 minutes.
Even if they didn't love it, it had to leave a deep impression.
It needed some gimmick to have a chance at winning the game design competition.
"It seems like an impossible task, but it can't stump me. After all, I've seen a lot in my past life. What kind of games haven't I seen?"
"Alright, let's get to work!"
With a goal in mind, Chen Mo sat back down in front of his laptop and opened the game editor.
It was originally an impossible task, but with the Super Focuser, the task had a tiny bit of possibility—actually, quite a big bit.
Of course, before designing, Chen Mo first consumed those green skill books. There were three numerical skill books and one level design skill book.
They weren't particularly useful, but something was better than nothing.
The game editor wasn't hard to use. Chen Mo got familiar with it quickly and started working.
After downloading the remaining 6MB of resources, Chen Mo began writing the design document. Since the game was small, the document was only a few hundred words.
The resources were also economical, all free shared assets from the editor, slightly modified for use.
The main game was completed by that evening. The next day, Chen Mo added a simple online + ranking feature, and it was done.
After finishing, Chen Mo tested it. The feel was pretty close to the original from his past life.
After creating the installation package, Chen Mo submitted the game to the game design competition officials. Whether the game would be recognized would only be determined on the day of the competition.
...
Competition Day.
Chen Mo put on his only suit and arrived at the game design competition venue on time.
August in the capital was hot as hell. Wearing his suit, Chen Mo felt like an idiot, but fortunately, the venue's air conditioning was strong. After a while, he finally cooled down.
Staff guided the judges, contestants, and audience to their seats in an orderly manner. All competition preparations were proceeding smoothly, waiting for the event to start.
To be honest, there were quite a few audience members, around six or seven hundred.
This game design competition was moderately scaled. Not only was there live broadcasting and full recording, but three veteran game designers were also invited as judges.
As for the competition rewards, they went all out. The first prize included 300,000 yuan in game development funds, D-level game designer qualification, and a personal exclusive game experience store.
The 300,000 yuan development funds were real money, but what attracted designers more was the last reward—the personal exclusive game experience store!
A game experience store could be seen as a designer's work exhibition area. Experience stores varied in size. For an SSS-level game designer, the experience store could be an entire building, even becoming a "pilgrimage" site for players.
In terms of layout, the experience store was somewhat like an internet cafe, but with different functions.
The experience store wasn't really for profit. First, it served as the designer's studio. Second, it was a platform for interacting with players.
Players could come to the experience store to talk face-to-face with the designer, offer suggestions, or try out the designer's latest games. When the designer felt the game was ready, they would release it for official operation.
Of course, if it was just for testing, designers could release beta versions online for players to try. But designers in this world preferred the experience store format because the players there were real people. Face-to-face communication was more beneficial for accumulating inspiration.
Thus, the experience store gradually became a symbol of a game designer's status. If a designer didn't have their own experience store, they would be looked down upon.
Chen Mo also knew how valuable the experience store was. If he had to open such a store himself, just the monthly rent would be a lot, not to mention purchasing various equipment. There was no way Chen Mo could afford it now.
So, Chen Mo had to seize this opportunity!