Chapter 18: The Next Game
Chen Mo was delighted. Perfect. He had been worrying about how to handle the game's music and sound effects, and this skill book was a godsend.
Originally, Chen Mo knew next to nothing about music. Game BGM and sound effects would have required hiring a specialist.
But for the BGM of some classic games, simply describing it verbally would result in something vastly different from the original. So, handling these things himself was the safest bet.
Chen Mo directly clicked to use it. The blue skill book transformed into specks of light and entered his fingertips.
Chen Mo dug out the electronic keyboard provided by the organizers from the studio. He had thought he wouldn't need it and was about to pack it away to gather dust.
He tried playing a few simple notes, then connected it to the computer and used the electronic keyboard synthesizer to create a simple BGM, about ten seconds long. Chen Mo listened to it and felt it wasn't bad. At least for simple BGMs for small games, he could handle them himself now.
"Not bad, a good start. Now let's see if the next two ten-pulls can yield anything good."
Chen Mo took a deep breath and clicked the [Ten-Pull] button.
"Click, click, click..."
The wheel spun and stopped rapidly. Within less than thirty seconds, ten consecutive draws were made. The items from these ten draws were all displayed in a row on the virtual screen.
[Designer Skill Book]: 3 for Values, 4 for Levels.
[Special Skill Book]: 1, Concept Art Skill +10.
[Special Skill Book]: 1, Art Animation Skill +10.
[Special Item]: Memory Recall Potion.
Chen Mo's spirits lifted. Awesome, a ten-pull really is different. It felt like the chance of getting blue and purple items was much higher than with single pulls.
Chen Mo quickly checked the function of the special item.
Memory Recall Potion: "After use, you can freely recall memories that have become blurry or forgotten. Duration: 4 hours."
Good stuff!
Chen Mo desperately needed this item right now.
He had almost completely forgotten many of the games he had played before. Although he still had some vague impressions, they were clearly not enough to support him in recreating all the game's details.
With the Memory Recall Potion, Chen Mo could search his own memories. As long as it was a game he had played and studied in depth, he could recall most of the details.
Without another word, Chen Mo first consumed those skill books.
Value ability +3, Level ability +4. Chen Mo estimated that his current real value ability was about 27 points, and his level ability was about 35 points. Combined with the Memory Recall Potion, he should be able to handle some more complex small games.
Then there were the two special skill books: one for concept art and one for art animation.
Obviously, in the bracelet's lottery system, art, music, and other skills not closely related to planning ability were all categorized as special skill books.
Concept Art Skill +10. Chen Mo's current concept art ability directly increased to 19 points, completely sufficient for handling games with relatively simple art styles.
Character animation went from zero knowledge to +10, a process from nothing to something. Chen Mo could now create simple 2D animations, which was crucial.
Draw again!
There was still one more ten-pull. Chen Mo clicked the virtual screen again.
"Click, click, click..."
The wheel spun rapidly once more, and another ten items were arranged in a row on the virtual screen.
[Designer Skill Book]: 7 for Story, 2 for Systems.
[Special Item]: Lucky Capsule.
Chen Mo almost spat out a mouthful of blood. What a huge difference!
This is such a rip-off!
Not only did he not get a single blue skill book, but the green skill books he got were for Story and Systems, his least needed areas. They were practically useless.
Chen Mo felt a pang of pain. Each ten-pull cost a hundred thousand yuan!
However, looking at the special item, Chen Mo felt a bit better.
Lucky Capsule: "After use, greatly increases luck value. Duration: 10 minutes."
What use is this? Finding five million yuan on the street?
The duration is only ten minutes. Obviously, this is meant to be used with ten-pulls! Save up ten million points, then do ten ten-pulls...
"Forget it, I'll save it for next time."
Chen Mo was a bit frustrated. He had used up all his points and only had a hundred thousand yuan left. He couldn't just dump it all in; it was too risky. Better to wait until after the first game is made and earn some money before drawing again.
Chen Mo also consumed the Story and System skill books he had drawn. Although these two areas were Chen Mo's strengths, they were still a certain distance from perfection, so it couldn't be said that these books were completely useless.
Chen Mo closed the virtual screen and calmed his mind.
He had recharged two hundred thousand, finished drawing the skill books, and obtained the special items. Now, Chen Mo needed to start planning his first real game.
Regarding what this game should be, Chen Mo was actually a bit hesitant.
If he were purely considering making money, choosing some mid-level domestic pay-to-win mobile games from his previous life would be the best option.
These games didn't require high game quality. They relied entirely on numerical stimulation to attract players, and their money-making ability was incredibly strong.
But Chen Mo was mainly worried about two issues.
One was his own value ability.
Domestic pay-to-win mobile games keep players spending money primarily through numerical stimulation. This is a technical skill. It's not just about having the nerve to sell combat power and expecting the game to make money.
Therefore, the value planner holds a very high position in the domestic game industry, often second only to the lead planner, responsible for controlling the game's pacing.
If the values are done well, it's like the game has a soul. No matter how bad the graphics or how cliché the gameplay, there's room for redemption. But if the values are messed up, the game dies instantly, without any buffer.
With Chen Mo's current value ability of less than 30 points, making this kind of game was risky. Even with the Memory Recall Potion, it wouldn't be easy.
The values in this type of game are semi-hidden, including battle formulas, growth attributes, counter relationships, economic systems, etc. Each is independently configured and maintained by a dedicated person. For the company, this is even a trade secret, inaccessible to ordinary people.
Because the value system is too important for this kind of game. Once the entire value system leaks, other companies can use it as a framework to create a reskinned game.
If Chen Mo wanted to make this kind of game, he would have to rebuild the entire value system himself. But with his current ability, he wasn't confident he could control the value system of such a game.
Another issue was player acceptance.
The mainstream profit model in this world was still based on sales, selling games by the copy.
Selling value-added services, especially selling combat power, was not mainstream. No one had tried blatantly selling combat power before.
If he released a mediocre pay-to-win mobile game and players found out it directly sold combat power, would they accept it?
Would it be universally condemned, negatively impacting himself and the company?
Could players even spontaneously boycott his subsequent games?
It was hard to say. Low-probability events don't mean they won't happen. This was Chen Mo's first game, and he didn't want to take that risk.
What the players in this world really liked, and whether pay-to-win games had a place to survive, had to be tested step by step. It would be bad if he messed it up.
So, Chen Mo decided to be more conservative with his first game. He would target single-player games and honestly sell them by the copy.
First, stabilize with this game, at least let more players know about Thunder Game Studio, and then slowly test the players' tolerance later.