Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 183: So Similar to Prison Tycoon?

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: So Similar to Prison Tycoon?

Upon entering the game, what struck my eyes was a rather rudimentary style of graphics.

How should I describe it?

4399?

The visuals were undoubtedly 2D, and from a top-down perspective.

All the buildings lacked roofs, displaying the interior structure directly; simple lines delineated walls, classrooms, and playgrounds. Even items such as desks and podiums were essentially composed of three or four basic lines.

As for the characters within, they even more fully embraced a simplistic doodle style, predominantly featuring exaggerated chibi representations with only a handful of basic actions.

It was blatantly obvious that the students and teachers all followed fixed templates, with hair, facial shapes, and body types combined at random - crude beyond belief.

To exaggerate a bit, the style was so basic that many enthusiasts could recreate it with their computer’s built-in drawing tool.

However, the game’s color scheme was quite comfortable, and the proportions of the chibi characters to the various buildings had been adjusted. After getting used to this style, it wasn’t bad and it didn’t directly discourage players.

As for the gameplay, it featured traditional simulation management mechanics.

The player assumes the role of the principal of Henggang Middle School, mainly responsible for the school’s enrollment, construction, daily management, and teacher training, covering all aspects of administration.

But unlike those simulation games where you start from scratch, "Henggang Middle School Simulation" gives you a basic frame for the school, including predefined locations for facilities such as playgrounds, classrooms, and canteens.

Space has been left around every key building for expansion, and there are additional plots of land outside the school for further development.

Gu Fan spent an hour playing the game for a basic experience.

After that, he fell into deep thought.

Lilith was quite nervous, unconsciously rubbing her hands together, "How is it, Gu Fan? Have you thought of any good solutions?"

Gu Fan seriously said, "I have to admit, Azazel really came prepared this time. This task is a real challenge for me.

"Although this game uses a typical template for simulation management games, Azazel has done a lot of subtraction.

"He only directly copied over aspects of the simulation management genre that could be applied directly, such as having students in detention, cutting hair, or running laps on the playground - which seems obviously lifted from prison simulation games. But for features that couldn’t be directly transferred, he simply blocked them.

"This led to significant content cuts in the game. The operations available to the player are actually very limited, and the game has very poor replayability.

"Basically, this game has potential in terms of art, gameplay, and depth of thought...

"Other than the topic being quite buzzworthy, there’s hardly anything left.

"The most important point is... this game feels strangely familiar to me."

Lilith looked surprised, "Hmm? A sense of déjà vu? It’s normal for a game that uses templates to feel familiar, right?"

After thinking for a while, Gu Fan searched the official platform and quickly found a game called "Prison Tycoon."

"Now I know where that sense of déjà vu comes from."

He didn’t even download the game, just opened its promotional page, and Lilith felt a bit tense.

It was strikingly similar!

How could it be so alike?

The same 2D top-down view, the same rudimentary graphics.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same. "Prison Tycoon" was set in a foreign context, with a style more leaning towards that of international games, and the characters and structures within the game were smaller, with the prison being built from the ground up.

Whereas "Henggang Middle School Simulation" seemed more like it had some localized designs, with a style tending more towards domestic cartoons, looking fresher and more natural. Characters and buildings could be enlarged for closer inspection, and the school’s foundational structure was fixed; players couldn’t expand arbitrarily but only build within specific reserved squares.

Besides, "Henggang Middle School Simulation" seemed like a super cut-down version of "Prison Tycoon," with features that couldn’t be copied left out, and even copyable ones subject to whims. As for creating some original new features? It could not be said there were none at all, but they were barely significant.

Lilith seemed surprised, "Isn’t this plagiarism?"

Gu Fan shook his head, "No.

"The law doesn’t protect gameplay, and besides, these features are basically already part of the simulation management templates. Stitching these templates and features together with a new set of art resources carries no legal risk.

"However... it’ll certainly lose its appeal if players discover this."

Lilith’s expression grew serious, "I see. Could this be Azazel’s intention? Not only did he cripple the gameplay, but he also invoked the players’ painful memories through the subject matter, plus the sloppy graphics... the game is bound to be flooded with negative reviews!"

Gu Fan nodded, "Exactly. Azazel can use the name ’Henggang Middle School Simulation’ to create some buzz and lure players in, but it only takes a little over an hour for players to realize there isn’t much playable content in the game.

"Considering the game’s price and various miscellaneous investments, turning a profit is indeed quite challenging."

Lilith looked at Gu Fan, "So, do you have a solution?"

Gu Fan glanced at her, "If I say I don’t have a solution now, would you let me off the hook?"

Lilith glared, "No!"

Gu Fan sighed quietly, "Then why are you still asking? I’ll give it a try."

...

Meanwhile, in Wang Dawei’s live stream.

After a bout of effort and struggle, he had also successfully completed "Ascension".

Of course, this achievement was reached together with Heilong, as they both engaged in a frenzy of indiscriminate killing.

In the early stages, it was Heilong doing the rampaging, while Wang Dawei followed behind reading the plot text, in the later stages, Heilong continued to wreak havoc at the front while he sneaked up to unleash a martial skill with the BUG Sharira Sword.

But all that doesn’t matter, the main thing is, did he clear the game or not!

During this time, Wang Dawei also gradually released some analysis videos for "Ascension", and the live stream footage where he discovered the BUG had brought significant popularity to his channel.

The audience also wanted him to replay "Ascension", and insisted it be in solo mode.

On one hand, they wanted to watch him suffer; on the other, it would be fun to explore the multiple endings.

However, Wang Dawei was for the time being somewhat scared of "Ascension" and thought of playing it later.

But what excuse should he come up with?

Got it, switching to a new game would do the trick!

At that moment, he browsed through the official platform and happened to find a newly released game.

The name was: Henggang Middle School Simulation!

Seeing this name, Wang Dawei’s eyes lit up: "Hey? Friends in the audience, I’ve found a pretty good game! Henggang Middle School Simulation!

Isn’t this perfect for a top student like me to play?

So, let’s put aside the solo completion of "Ascension" for now, and first give this Henggang Middle School Simulation a try, to let everyone relive the wonderful life of the senior year of high school. Once we’ve experienced that, we’ll go back to playing "Ascension".

What? You’re worried that this game will be too easy for a top student like me?

Oh no, that won’t be the case. I wasn’t exactly a top student, you know. I got in through the Olympiad and got directly recommended, and our high school wasn’t exactly an exam factory either.

Besides, it seems like the game is about playing as a principal, right? Anyway, this is the one!"

The chat was not very convinced and still wanted to see "Ascension", but Wang Dawei had already quickly purchased and downloaded the game.

"Eh, that was fast?

"It must be a small game.

"A small game then, as long as the gameplay is interesting, that’s what matters."

Soon, Wang Dawei entered the game.

It must be said that the game was quite crudely made; it started without any CGs and went directly to an aerial view of a school, bringing up a dialogue box with an illustration of an old man.

This old man was the previous principal of the school, now retired. Before retiring, he earnestly instructed the new principal, who is the player, with a few heartfelt words.

Such as the importance of enhancing teacher quality, focusing on campus management, and implementing directives from higher authorities, among others.

However, these were merely to set the mood and didn’t provide much guidance for gameplay; Wang Dawei would soon realize this.

After the conversation ended, the game presented a very simple difficulty selection screen.

There were Simple Difficulty, Normal Difficulty, Hard Difficulty, and Ultimate Difficulty.

Each of these different difficulty options corresponded with a different picture.

Simple Difficulty: The classroom looks spacious and bright, with plenty of room for students, and various high-tech teaching equipment. The students are wearing neat uniforms, have tidy hairstyles, and all are studying diligently.

Normal Difficulty: The school’s environment is slightly worse, with less teaching hardware, cramped student seating, and desks piled with books. Many students aren’t wearing uniforms and have dyed and styled hair in odd ways; glimpses of students fighting and playing with their phones can be seen at the back of the classroom.

Hard Difficulty: The school’s environment is similar to that of the Normal Difficulty, but the number of underperforming students has visibly increased, and their behavior has become even more outrageous.

Ultimate Difficulty: The classroom is extremely crowded, the atmosphere is very oppressive, and there are more students wearing flashy clothes and sporting dyed and styled hair. At a glance, there are hardly a few normal people in the entire classroom.

Wang Dawei pondered for a moment: "Hmm... It seems that the difficulty of this game mainly focuses on two aspects, right?

One is the school’s funding and environment—the higher the difficulty, the worse the school’s condition and surely the less funding available.

And the other is the quality of the students—the higher the difficulty, the worse the student pool.

"Alright, let’s do this in one go and tackle the Ultimate Difficulty!"

After choosing the difficulty, the game officially started.

If this were any other simulation, like a prison or hospital theme, you could probably name your establishment, but in this game, the school was already named Henggang Middle School, so naturally, there was no option to name it.

Upon entering the game, the next thing he saw was the plain game interface and the primary goals for this phase of the game.

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