Chapter 770: The Players' Voices
In November, "Beachfront Mansion" officially updated, allowing players' virtual avatars to be automatically carried over into the multiplayer online modes of "Dark Souls," "Uncharted," "The Last of Us," and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds."
Although this update posed no technical difficulty for Chen Mo and was effortless to implement, the response from the player community was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.
"Awesome, finally I don't have to spend half an hour customizing my face every time I enter a new game. I can just import my favorite customization data directly!"
"And I can use my own face too, how sweet!"
"Does that mean it's like my virtual self is traveling into these worlds?"
"But I'm still not entirely satisfied with the face I've customized now!"
"Enough talk, I'm going to 'Beachfront Mansion' right now to fine-tune my face properly!"
After this update, a craze for face customization suddenly swept across the internet and forums.
Previously, players hadn't been particularly enthusiastic about face customization in "Beachfront Mansion." After all, they'd already customized faces once in "Dark Souls," again in "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," and if they had to do it for "Uncharted" and "The Last of Us" too, it felt like a bit of a pointless hassle.
Many players, when playing "Beachfront Mansion," directly used their real-life appearance as a base. Of course, those with less photogenic looks couldn't resist making a few tweaks.
For example, using a heavily photoshopped photo, adjusting their body shape to a standard level, or refining their original features to look more attractive.
Now, this update to "Beachfront Mansion" clearly stated that all future online mode avatars would be linked to the avatar in "Beachfront Mansion." On one hand, it saved players the trouble of repeatedly customizing faces, and on the other, it helped them feel a sense of immersion, as if they were crossing over.
If players always used different "identities" when entering different games, it would be hard to develop any sense of connection. But what if, every time they entered a game's online mode, they used the same face? And that face closely resembled their real appearance?
In truth, people tend to have a bit of narcissism, especially regarding their own faces. It's rare to find someone who absolutely loathes their own face.
Because people see their own face in the mirror every day, over time it becomes familiar and comforting. Most people tend to overestimate their own attractiveness. So, after recreating their face in a virtual avatar, the vast majority of players easily develop a sense of immersion.
Even those who customize their avatars to be unrealistically beautiful will gradually feel a sense of familiarity and connection after seeing that face repeatedly.
Thus, after this update, a new business opportunity emerged online: face customization services.
These services were often cheap, but the market was vast. Some lazy players would use their own image or a celebrity's, but many who wanted something unique still hoped to create a face that looked like them but was also attractive.
But what if they couldn't do it well themselves? They'd have to turn to skilled face customizers online to do it for them.
At this stage, sharing or selling face customization data was already child's play. Those skilled customizers offered personalized data for players online, charging different fees based on the time required. And surprisingly, it sold quite well.
Many players thought, "How expensive is plastic surgery in real life? In the game, it's so cheap—what a deal!"
...
Additionally, "Beachfront Mansion" also introduced a friend-visiting feature.
This was a relatively basic function that would need further expansion. For now, players could choose to visit a friend on their Thunder Game pass. After selecting the option, they had to leave the house and take a taxi. Then, a direct scene transition occurred, with the taxi stopping at the friend's "Beachfront Mansion" entrance, allowing them to go inside.
It was essentially the same as how Nuan Nuan visited players' homes.
However, at this stage, all players' mansions looked identical, making it hard to tell if it was someone else's home or your own...
Moreover, each player's home could accommodate up to four friends, meaning a total of five people. After all, the house was only so big. If a dozen people crammed in, the scene would likely become a mess. The current setup didn't support players throwing such parties...
Still, it at least gave players a chance to hold online gatherings, showing off their clothes and faces to each other.
Imagine a group of fake friends gathering, each flaunting the clothes they just bought from "Nuan Nuan's Private Wardrobe" and their newly modified looks, insincerely complimenting each other while secretly vowing to buy the same items themselves later.
Hmm... just thinking about it, it seemed like another big loss of money.
Many players were saying, "Serent, you're slacking off again! When will you open the custom customization feature for 'Beachfront Mansion'?"
"Sure, the mansion is nice, but it's way too uniform! When will we get new mansions?"
"That place in 'Uncharted' where the auction was held would be great!"
"Or sell me the royal city from 'Dark Souls'?"
"Oh, and in 'Minecraft,' you've built so many amazing structures! There's Stormwind City, the Forbidden City, the Old Summer Palace! Give me the Forbidden City to live in—I won't complain!"
"The Forbidden City is a cultural relic. I'll just take the Lordaeron throne."
"Heh, aren't you worried about the bad influence on your son?"
Players' demands were endless. As "Beachfront Mansion" gained more features and became more polished, their requests grew increasingly diverse.
In truth, these needs could be met in "Minecraft," but that was a world built from blocks, vastly different from this high-precision modeled world that felt indistinguishable from reality.
Once players had a virtual character they were very satisfied with, they began wanting more scenes to socialize with other players. Otherwise, such beautiful clothes could only be admired alone—how frustrating.
Many players posted on forums: "It's almost the end of the year, Serent! You don't have any big games to keep you busy, so why not just make us a few new houses?"
Surprisingly, quite a few players shared this view. After all, this year had already been bombarded with "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," "The Last of Us," and "Uncharted." Players didn't have much demand for new games for now, and even if they did, their wallets couldn't take it anymore.
Instead, everyone hoped Chen Mo would continue improving "Beachfront Mansion's" features, at least giving them a chance to show off their freshly customized faces, right?