Chapter 501: VR Edition Farm!
While Su Jinyu and Qian Kun were all busy working on "Super Mario Odyssey," Chen Mo took the time to complete this new game on his own.
This game was very simple to make; the only slightly troublesome part was constructing the scenes. However, Chen Mo had already made several VR games by now. As an S-rank designer with a large library of art assets on hand, creating it was effortless.
After two days of work, the game was finished.
Once Chen Mo uploaded the game, the system automatically tested it and confirmed it could basically meet the requirements for the soothing connection mode.
When players played this game, most of the time they would be in a relatively relaxed and calm state of mind, which could effectively help soothe their nerves.
However, in certain situations, players might experience some minor emotional fluctuations. These were no big deal, as emotional fluctuations wouldn't make players more fatigued. As long as players spent the vast majority of their time in a relaxed state while playing, it was fine.
After completing it, Chen Mo directly uploaded the game to the Thunder Game Platform and simultaneously posted a Weibo update.
"A new game, 'Leisure Farm,' is now online. This is a VR game specifically designed for the soothing game mode. Everyone is welcome to try it out!"
As soon as this Weibo post was made, dozens of comments instantly appeared.
"Sofa."
"Bench."
"Huh? Shouldn't Chen Mo be busy making the handheld console lately? And he also has to give lectures. How does he have time to make a new game?"
"A game specifically for soothing mode? That's pretty good. There aren't really any decent games for this connection mode right now. Since Chen Mo made a game, I definitely have to give it a try!"
Many people were curious—what kind of game was "Leisure Farm"?
Judging by the name, was it a farming game in soothing mode?
It seemed like it should be good for relaxing, but what was there to actually do?
...
At Chen Mo's experience store, players also discovered this new game right away.
In soothing connection mode, the interface would automatically display the compatible games installed in the gaming pod. Since the experience store currently only had this one soothing-mode game, players spotted it immediately.
Zou Zhuo had just finished a round of "Overwatch" when the system prompted that he was approaching the four-hour mark. He needed to leave the gaming pod or enter soothing mode to rest.
Zou Zhuo chose to enter soothing mode.
He had already experienced it before. After entering soothing mode, his consciousness would enter a special scene.
In this scene, there were blue skies, white clouds, and grasslands. A gentle breeze blew, and occasionally birds flew overhead. It felt like he was truly in a vast prairie.
Moreover, players could walk around freely, even "run freely."
In soothing mode, players could also chat with friends freely. For many people, there wasn't much to do after exiting the VR gaming pod, so they might as well continue relaxing in soothing mode.
After entering soothing mode, Zou Zhuo noticed two different buttons on the interface. The first button would take him to the system's default scene, while the second button would take him into Chen Mo's new game, "Leisure Farm."
"Huh? The store owner's new game came out pretty fast. Two days ago, I didn't even know about this mode, and now, two days later, he's already made a game?"
Zou Zhuo was also amazed by Chen Mo's efficiency. It was way too fast. While many other designers were still figuring out the characteristics of this soothing mode, Chen Mo had already produced a game!
With a bit of curiosity, Zou Zhuo chose to enter "Leisure Farm" and take a look.
"Uh, this scene looks kind of similar to the official default scene."
Zou Zhuo looked at his current location. He was still on a green prairie, which seemed to be the official prairie, basically unchanged.
However, the prairie now had many more elements added.
First, a large area was enclosed by tall wooden fences. Clearly, this area was the player's farm. The farm had over twenty plots of land, each about two meters square. In other words, the entire farm wasn't very big—only about a hundred square meters or so.
Next to the farmland was a small thatched cottage and an empty space. It looked like players could do some construction on their own, but what exactly could be built was unclear for now.
Of the over twenty plots, only the first row of four plots was open; the rest were in an unopened state.
Beside the fields was a small pond, which was currently empty of water. It seemed like another element that would be unlocked later.
Next to the farmland was a rocking chair, with a sun umbrella beside it. On the small table under the umbrella sat a radio and a newspaper, giving off a thoroughly leisurely vibe.
"Not bad. This environment is really nice."
Zou Zhuo was quite surprised. The precision of these art assets was very high, and the style actually matched the original green landscape very well. In VR mode, Zou Zhuo even felt like he was truly in a real farm.
Oh, saying that might not be quite right. It wasn't a real farm; it was an environment even more elegant and soothing than a real farm. It should be called an ideal farm.
Real farms are so messy—vast stretches of farmland, all kinds of modern harvesting machinery, and even some livestock like cows and sheep. The fields inevitably have bugs and strange little animals. It's scorching hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. The time you can truly enjoy the beauty of rural life is actually just a brief period in spring and autumn.
For real farmers, farming is hard labor. Only the rich with money and leisure can truly appreciate the so-called "beauty of rural life."
But the farm Chen Mo built in this VR game was far more comfortable than any real farm.
The gentle breeze blowing in the face, the soothing and melodious background music, the endless green fields, and the seemingly simple but actually finely crafted thatched cottage all made people feel very comfortable.
Zou Zhuo couldn't help but sigh, "The store owner is really a master. Just by changing a few buildings, he instantly made the whole environment come alive."
Many designers were also thinking about how to create a better environment in soothing mode.
Some designers made an island where players could hear the sound of the tides. Some designers specially created a sunrise scene on a mountaintop so players could watch the sun rise and set.
But Chen Mo simply added a few fields and a thatched cottage to the original green grassland, creating a simple farm. Yet this farm felt far more relaxing and natural than scenes like islands or mountaintops.
Zou Zhuo sat in the rocking chair and turned the knob on the radio beside him.
The radio played melodious background music. Clearly, these songs were carefully selected by Chen Mo and were very helpful for relaxing the mind.
Zou Zhuo lay back contentedly, thinking that the scene the store owner made was much better than the original one.
At that moment, Zou Zhuo noticed the newspaper next to the radio.
"There's actually a newspaper?"
Zou Zhuo was a bit surprised. In real society, young people rarely read newspapers anymore. And since the newspaper was placed very naturally next to the radio, Zou Zhuo hadn't noticed it at first.
Zou Zhuo picked up the newspaper and started reading it.
Obviously, Chen Mo had embedded the relevant consciousness into the game. Players could freely flip through this newspaper, which was also part of the game's content.