Chapter 919: A Hunting Game?
When it comes down to it, virtual pets are just a small feature attached to a larger system. On their own, their competitiveness is very limited.
Moreover, whether in terms of art resources or intelligence level, the virtual pets on Chen Mo's side are top-tier. Other designers simply can't create better virtual pets. With no clear gap to exploit in this area, the scale effect formed by *Oasis* has become an insurmountable chasm.
Many designers finally understood why Chen Mo had launched *Seaside Mansion* over a year ago. It was all for this moment!
When it first launched, many people thought *Seaside Mansion* was just a giveaway that would never take off. Players didn't even have time for serious games, so who would spend their time on a fake house?
But as the surrounding ecosystem continued to improve, *Seaside Mansion*, renamed *Oasis*, had become an indispensable login space for the vast majority of players.
*Oasis* had become a bridge, connecting players' real lives with the virtual world.
On the real-life side, there were Nuan Nuan, the private fitting room, and virtual pets. On the virtual world side, there were all kinds of high-quality games.
Players suddenly realized that they seemed to be firmly tied to *Oasis*. Without even noticing, they had spent a lot of money and time here. Trying to find a replacement for *Oasis*? Basically impossible.
This virtual pet incident was just a glimpse of the immense power *Oasis* possessed, backed by Thunder Game Platform's massive user base. In the future, this power would only grow stronger.
...
...
At Thunder Interactive Entertainment headquarters.
Qian Kun, Su Jinyu, and many others were wearing Matrix Glasses and interacting with the air, looking a bit like a chaotic dance.
But in the view of the Matrix Glasses, it was quite lively.
Around them were a large number of pets, along with various creatures from *Pokémon World*. Qian Kun was petting one, then another, his happiness practically overflowing.
"It's a shame there's no haptic feedback compared to the VR game pod, but it doesn't matter. The VR game pod's touch can't really simulate this fluffy feeling anyway."
"Speaking of which, I feel like we could add intelligence to the Pokémon in *Pokémon World* too, but the workload would be huge..."
Qian Kun muttered to himself while petting the Squirtle in front of him.
"Good idea. I'll leave that simple task to you," a voice said.
"Huh?" Qian Kun looked up and saw Chen Mo standing there, smiling at him, having arrived at some point.
Qian Kun was dumbfounded. "No way, boss. There are way too many Pokémon in *Pokémon World*! I was just joking!"
Chen Mo patted him on the shoulder. "It's fine. I believe in you."
Qian Kun: "..."
Chen Mo called out, "Alright, everyone, stop petting the cats and dogs. Meeting time. New project."
Everyone took off their Matrix Glasses and followed Chen Mo to the meeting room, leaving Qian Kun at the back, silently cursing his luck.
The VR game pod version of virtual pets had been well-received. The next goal was to port all these virtual pets to the Matrix Glasses.
Although there would be no touch feedback and the graphics quality would drop, the Matrix Glasses were more portable. Plus, with data synchronization, they could satisfy players' desire to pet cats and dogs anytime, anywhere. So there should still be some market demand.
The Pokémon from *Pokémon World* could also use this intelligence system, but strictly speaking, it wasn't a perfect fit. The intelligence of these creatures was clearly higher than that of ordinary animals. They were essentially non-speaking humans, and the current AI level was still a bit lacking.
Still, adding an intelligence system was always a good thing, so Chen Mo directly handed the task to Qian Kun.
...
In the meeting room, Chen Mo was setting up the projector while introducing the new project.
"For the new project, we'll make full use of the latest AI system. This time, it will be a game that feels fresh and new to the players..."
Qian Kun was stunned. "Boss, are you talking about *Pokémon World*?"
Chen Mo glanced at him. "That's your responsibility."
Qian Kun: "...Or are we making an *Animal World*?"
Chen Mo smiled. "Something like that."
Everyone present was still a bit puzzled. At the moment, it seemed like designers worldwide hadn't quite figured out how to best utilize the new AI system.
It was impressive, sure. A conscious AI sounded very intimidating.
But when you thought about it, what could you actually do with it?
Its key function was making animals feel more like animals. But in terms of data analysis, smart homes, and other areas, there wasn't much obvious progress.
Making a game about animals? No wonder Qian Kun's first thought was *Animal World*...
Although there were many movies and novels about animals, games closely related to animals?
...It seemed hard to think of any particularly good ideas.
At that moment, the title of the design concept draft appeared on the screen.
*Monster Hunter*.
Qian Kun scratched his head. "Monster... Hunter? A hunting game?"
Others had their own guesses.
"An FPS game? Hunting in the forest?"
"Hmm... A hunting game could make good use of the new AI system, as long as it doesn't end up as a walking simulator."
"But the title is 'Monster Hunter,' not 'Animal Hunter.' Could it be a Western fantasy theme?"
Chen Mo was a bit amused. He scrolled down the design concept draft.
"Saying it's a hunting game isn't wrong. But what the players hunt is this."
On the screen, a massive ancient dragon bared its fangs and claws, poised to strike. Its two enormous wings were covered in dense spikes, its colossal body encased in a hard shell, and the two huge horns on its head were chilling.
This was a true behemoth, even more terrifying than most ancient dragons in Western fantasy stories. Compared to it, the human figure in the bottom right corner of the screen looked pitifully small, forced to look up in awe.
The closest human in the frame was holding a giant sword over their own height with both hands, while another human beside them had a bow drawn, the thick arrow looking no different from a spear.
Qian Kun was shocked. "Melee combat? It feels a lot like *Dark Souls*! Are players going to relive the fear of being dominated by monsters?"
Indeed, in this parallel world, seeing such a scene, people's first reaction was *Dark Souls*. After all, *Dark Souls* also had many massive ancient dragons, and players wielded greatswords, giving a similar feel to this image.
Chen Mo thought for a moment. "Hmm... Actually, the difference is quite big."
"For example?" Qian Kun asked.
Chen Mo smiled and replied, "The boss fights in *Dark Souls* last about ten minutes. The boss fights in this game... half an hour."
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