Chapter 1065: Deep Sleep Mode
Arriving at the fifth layer, there were only two technology points this time.
The tech tree for artificial intelligence had skipped this layer entirely, extending down below, leaving only virtual reality technology and hardware technology with points on the fifth layer.
[Virtual Reality Technology] Deep Sleep Mode: Allows players to engage in the game while in sleep mode. The time ratio in sleep mode is 1:2. The recommended game time in sleep mode is 5 hours, with a maximum of 7 hours, after which the connection will be forcibly terminated. Game time in sleep mode does not affect sleep quality as long as it does not exceed two-thirds of the actual sleep duration.
Unlock Requirement: Total number of neural connection technology VR devices reaches 20 million.
[Hardware Technology] Sleep Wake System: Adds a wake-up module to the virtual reality device, allowing players to wake up at specific times or under specific conditions based on their needs. Additionally, this system will provide decent sleep aid effects.
Unlock Requirement: 500 lottery draws.
Here it comes!
Clearly, Chen Mo was well aware of the immense significance of the "Deep Sleep Mode" technology point.
Simply put, this technology point was the only way to solve the major problem of "game time."
For players, who is the biggest enemy when it comes to gaming?
Is it Professor Yang?
Is it a girlfriend?
Is it money?
Obviously, the biggest enemy is time.
Whether for the poor or the rich, time is an extremely precious resource.
Your time is very valuable... ahem, sorry, wrong scene.
The rich are busy making money multiply, while the poor are busy working 996 to support their families.
Modern society is fast-paced, like those office workers in big cities who are always in a hurry, even walking with a breeze.
People with free time, or those with plenty of time, are probably just a small portion of college students, the unemployed, and the wealthy who have truly achieved financial freedom.
This is also why mobile games thrive and fragmented gaming has become a major trend in the gaming industry.
Because people genuinely don't have time to play games anymore.
Many office workers work 996, getting home almost at 10 PM. Even if they sleep at 1 AM, converting at a 1:2 ratio, everyone gains an extra 10 hours in the virtual world.
Of course, under a normal tech tree, the first beneficiaries of such a technology point would absolutely not be the gaming field.
Many people might use those 10 hours to study, socialize, cultivate hobbies, or even work in the virtual world.
After all, time is too precious. Having an extra 10 hours every day is significant for everyone.
Strictly speaking, this technology point might even be bad news for the poor, because the rich can use that time to make more money or continue learning to improve themselves, while the poor lack those resources and can only use that time for entertainment, widening the gap between rich and poor.
Authors suddenly getting an extra 10 hours? They’d probably be able to churn out eight chapters a day with ease, right?
Fortunately, technology points like the Tech Tree Obscurer exist, ensuring that subsequent black technologies don’t veer off course and affect areas outside gaming.
Otherwise, the world would really be in chaos.
So, Chen Mo didn’t need to worry. Unlocking this technology point essentially meant gifting every Matrix game pod player worldwide an extra 10 hours of game time each day.
This time could only be used for gaming; you couldn’t do anything else, thanks to the Tech Tree Obscurer and the fact that the virtual world Chen Mo created didn’t offer any non-entertainment projects.
The real world is already exhausting enough. In the game, forget those responsibilities and play to your heart’s content, happily.
However, as good as this technology point was, it required Chen Mo to sell 20 million Matrix game pods to activate it.
The Sleep Wake System was clearly designed to support this new sleep mode.
This system would provide decent sleep aid effects, helping players fall asleep faster and enter the game world, while also offering a gentle wake-up service.
Players could set wake-up times or specific conditions, such as automatically waking up when logging out of the game, then rolling back into bed to continue sleeping.
Chen Mo stared at the new technology points, lost in thought.
To activate this crucial technology point, he needed to sell 20 million Matrix game pods. Before working on "Iron Man," the number of Matrix game pods had just reached 10 million.
This wasn’t an easy goal to achieve, considering that the truly wealthy had already bought them during that period.
Moreover, the new game should ideally make good use of this new technology point. If he made a fragmented-time game or a single-player game, it wouldn’t be very meaningful.
After all, giving all players several extra hours of game time, only for them to play separately, would be too boring.
As for sales, after further reducing the price of Matrix game pods, sales would definitely see a significant boost, but for Chen Mo, it was still a bit slow.
He still needed to inject a shot of adrenaline into players worldwide, making them continue to buy frantically, so that the global number of Matrix game pods would reach 20 million as soon as possible.
"In that case... I need to make a CG and figure out a way to trick them into spending money," Chen Mo said with a smile.
There were still plenty of players willing to spend big money on gaming devices for a specific game. After all, gaming hardware was just a platform; the real joy it brought to players depended on the content on that platform.
Price cuts for game pods + new black technology + super IP boost—these factors combined would inevitably push Matrix game pod sales to a new level.
Chen Mo had already thought it through. He would release the promotional CG and then shamelessly announce to everyone:
"As soon as global Matrix game pod sales break 20 million, I’ll release this game."
Yeah, no problem at all.