Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 152: A Chaotic World! (Three more for monthly passes!)

Chapter 152: Chapter 152: A Chaotic World! (Three more for monthly passes!)

Reaching this part of the conversation, Gu Fan posed a soul-searching question to Lilith, "President Li, do you think you could withstand such a situation if it really occurred?"

Lilith was dumbstruck, and only after a long while did she give a thumbs-up, "I feel like you’re the real demon!"

"Come to Hell right away, we need someone like you there!"

Gu Fan coughed lightly, "Ahem, aren’t I already glowing and heating up for Hell as we speak?"

Lilith took a moment to carefully consider the scenario depicted by Gu Fan and indeed found it extremely tough to handle.

It seemed that in this respect, humans really had an advantage. While the torments of demons were still mainly at the physical level, human suffering had already escalated to the mental plane.

If such a situation really occurred, it was likely that angels would turn into Fallen Angels at the speed of light, while demons would probably head straight for Heaven.

"But... Gu Fan, are you sure you can achieve this level in the game?"

It was only natural for Lilith to have such doubts.

Gu Fan indeed provided an example that allowed Lilith to empathize with the situation, but there was an issue: Lilith had a strong sense of belonging to Hell, so it was painful for her when she couldn’t distinguish Hell from Heaven.

But what about players?

This is just a game, whether it’s the Immortal Cultivation World or a sci-fi world, neither is the real world for humans.

And even if the real world was used as the story’s background, players would also know very well that it’s just a game.

After all, games today have not yet evolved to be 100% lifelike.

If players don’t feel such a strong sense of belonging to the game world, can it still have such a good torturous effect?

Gu Fan explained, "This is actually not hard to achieve.

"What is the strongest aspect of games compared to other art mediums? It’s the interactivity and sense of immersion of games.

"Even a pixel art style simple game can evoke a sense of identification with the simple world through good storyline and game mechanics design, with players making choices over and over again.

"In the minds of most players, the mechanics of games are quite simple, pretty much coming down to two types: NPCs who help and enemies that need to be overcome.

"NPCs give players quests, help in fights, have story dialogues, guide player actions.

"Enemies are simple by default, marked as red, and there is almost no other option other than fighting on sight.

"For players, being killed by a strong enemy is certainly painful, but accidentally killing a useful NPC is even more distressing.

"If you blur the difference between these two...

Lilith’s eyes began to light up, "I get it! You mean to say...

"The worlds switch, useful NPCs become enemies, so players might accidentally kill the NPC?

"Sounds great, that makes one really look forward to it!

"However... why is the game named ’Ascension’?"

Gu Fan explained, "It’s simple, because the game’s ending can be seen as Flesh Ascension or as Mechanical Ascension.

"Both worlds are on the brink of collapse, both ’sick,’ and the player’s role is to act as the savior, overcoming powerful enemies, cutting off the root cause of the ailment in the whole world, and ultimately leading the world towards a better future."

Lilith clapped her hands, "So, Flesh Ascension and Mechanical Ascension are two completely divergent paths?

"The Immortal Cultivation World strives for Flesh Ascension while the sci-fi world strives for Mechanical Ascension?"

Gu Fan shook his head, "It’s not easy to define, it mainly depends on which one the player chooses to believe in."

Lilith was surprised, "How so?"

Gu Fan explained, "Let me give you a simple example.

"In the Immortal Cultivation World, players see that the creatures here possess immensely strong vitality. They might see a dismembered puppy on the ground, its flesh and intestines exposed, surrounded by flies.

"But this puppy hasn’t died; instead, it struggles desperately and even cries for help with barks at the player.

"Not far from it, there’s a terrifying Flesh Monster with countless tentacles.

"But if a player switches their perspective to the sci-fi world, they would find that what’s lying there is actually a disassembled mechanical puppy, with parts and wires scattered about, occasionally sparking with electricity."

"And that terrifying flesh monster with countless tentacles is just a large-scale recycling robot."

"In the sci-fi world, the player would fix the mechanical puppy, reconnect the wires, put the parts back in place, and get the robot up and running again."

"But in the Immortal Cultivation World, what the player is actually doing is knotting the puppy’s intestines and stuffing the flesh back into its body."

"The converse is also true."

"When a player enters a restaurant in the sci-fi world, they would drink gasoline and eat metal parts, while robots in the kitchen dismantle some old machinery for ingredients."

"But if it’s in the Immortal Cultivation World, it’s just a very normal restaurant."

"So... President Li, what do you think is the true ending that players should pursue in both the Immortal Cultivation World and the sci-fi world?"

Lilith thought for a moment, "If we deduce it logically..."

"Then humans should hope for the Immortal Cultivation World to return to normal, with no undying beings or terrifying flesh monsters."

"As for the sci-fi world... I can’t guess for the moment."

Gu Fan nodded, "That’s right, players will hope that the Immortal Cultivation World no longer has immortal beings and terrifying flesh monsters."

"But if a player is in the sci-fi world, they will see that the robots have developed self-awareness; they have awakened but are still enslaved."

"Therefore, the goal for players in the sci-fi world is to liberate these mechanical lives, allowing them to gain consciousness and evolve in the way they desire."

Lilith nodded, "That makes sense."

Gu Fan continued, "But the key is that these two worlds are one and the same, and if seen from a different perspective, it would appear quite horrifying."

"If the Immortal Cultivation World returns to normal, without immortal beings and flesh monsters, what does that mean? It means that in the sci-fi world, mechanical beings cannot procreate or reproduce, all machines would be unable to be repaired or produced, and everything would eventually head towards silence and extinction."

"If the sci-fi world eventually liberates the mechanical lives, allowing them to gain consciousness and evolve, then in the Immortal Cultivation World, terrible flesh creatures would dominate the world, incessantly devouring all life, plunging the entire world into a frightful abyss of flesh."

"When players in the Immortal Cultivation World choose to concentrate all flesh onto themselves, bearing the curse to restore the world to normality, from the perspective of the sci-fi world, it appears that the protagonist has seized all resources, depriving all mechanical lives of the possibility of evolution, becoming the ultimate big boss."

"The reverse is true as well."

Lilith frowned deeply, took a fierce sip of her instant noodle soup, clearly her brain was overheating, the more she thought about it, the more tangled she became.

But this confusion was precisely the effect that "Ascension" aimed to achieve.

Just hearing about it could give you a headache, let alone actually playing it!

"So that means there is no good ending to the game?" Lilith asked.

Gu Fan shook his head, "In my concept, there is still a good ending, although the conditions to trigger it are quite harsh."

"Players must complete both conventional endings before they could potentially unlock this hidden ending."

"This so-called hidden ending separates the two worlds, one becomes a normal Immortal Cultivation World, the other a normal sci-fi world."

Lilith immediately shook her head, "No! We have no reason to create such an ending, it would induce too many positive emotions in the players!"

Gu Fan coughed lightly, "President Li, I do think this ending is necessary."

"It’s not scary to create positive emotions, the key is how many negative emotions we can generate from these positive emotions."

"In fact, this ending is not exactly good, it simply returns what is abnormal back to normal."

"It only seems better because the other two endings are so distressing."

"Without this good ending, players would have nothing to strive for and give up more quickly."

"But with this good ending, if players want to see it, they’ll have to grit their teeth and first achieve the other two endings. In the process, we can still harvest plenty of negative emotions!"

Lilith’s brow was tightly knitted, and after thinking seriously for a moment, she nodded slightly, "Hmm... that does seem to make some sense."

She flipped through the design proposal, "Then what about this last part, the two-player mode?"