Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 206 - 205: A Bit of Reverse Thinking

Chapter 206: Chapter 205: A Bit of Reverse Thinking

Some hints?

Gu Fan glanced at the time, noting it was not yet 6 o’clock, so there was no need to worry about Lilith suddenly appearing and catching him off guard.

But even so, he still needed to be cautious. There were many things that he couldn’t discuss too explicitly, otherwise they might lead to future troubles.

Judging by Zhou Yang’s expression, he was truly puzzled and at a loss.

It seemed he had racked his brains for a long time without finding an answer, and therefore had no choice but to come and ask for help.

Gu Fan did not answer immediately. Instead, he cheerfully took out a can of cola from the fridge and handed it to Zhou Yang before pointing to the sofa, "Have a seat first."

Zhou Yang sat down somewhat bewildered, continuing to wait for the answer from Gu Fan.

Gu Fan sat on the sofa too, smiling as he said, "Zhou Yang, bugs appear naturally. I can’t predict the future, so how could I possibly know exactly what kind of bugs will appear?

"All I can say is, as a game designer, if you want to find the pattern of bug occurrences, there is only one way to do it, and that is... to think more.

"To analyze the mechanics and content of the game more, and then, to think more."

Zhou Yang was eager, "President Gu, I have thought about it, a lot!

"But ’Road Rage Simulator’ is different from all the games we’ve developed before!

"This game’s connection to reality is too close.

"Our previous games were of various genres including Western Fantasy, altered history, and Xianxia fantasy; they all had a great deal of flexibility. Even if they had game-breaking bugs, it wouldn’t seem too out of place.

"But in ’Road Rage Simulator’, everything is modeled after real-life situations, whether it’s vehicle performance, the rewards players earn in the game, or the traffic laws... These are all too close to reality. If there’s a bug, it would be very strange, very obvious.

"Thinking it over, the only possible place for bugs to appear would be with the AI.

"But this time, President Li has strictly forbidden the use of fake-AI, so the AI this time was made using conventional methods, which makes it hard to induce any major changes.

"These AI imitate uncivil driving behaviors in reality, repeatedly causing trouble for the players. But thinking about it, there’s just no way to change this behavior of the AI with a single bug and make them drive calmly and diligently..."

Zhou Yang seemed helpless, as he had clearly thought of some methods, but quickly dismissed them himself.

Gu Fan was silent for a moment, "Hmm... I think this overall direction is quite correct. Bugs occurring in vehicle performance, in-game rewards, or traffic rules indeed aren’t ideal.

"Compared to that, AI is a major area susceptible to bugs that we need to prevent.

"However, I think you’re still lacking a bit of reverse thinking.

"Why do we have to make these AI adhere to the rules and drive safely?

"Many times, people get angry over certain things; but when those things reach a certain extreme and become utterly absurd, people might not get angry anymore. That’s what we call... laughing off your anger.

"Do you think that’s a valid point?"

Zhou Yang’s spirits lifted, "Laughing off your anger? Can we do that?"

Clearly, President Gu’s words were like highlighting the key points for him right before a test. The bug should indeed be in the AI!

Because this was a simulation game, if a bug turned the player experience into a racing game or a money management game, it would indeed be too striking and not only easily caught by Lilith but also not in line with Nitiandang’s usual game design style.

But specifically, how should he change the AI?

Originally, Zhou Yang thought about whether a bug could make the AI behave and drive quietly, reducing the rate of accidents. That way, ’Road Rage Simulator’ might at least turn into ’Delivery Simulator’ or ’Taxi Simulator’.

But obviously, this approach wasn’t suitable either, because "triggering the player’s road rage" was the core idea set by Lilith for this game. Changing that would still be easily detectable.

Moreover, even if the game turned into ’Delivery Simulator’, ’Taxi Simulator’, or ’Truck Driver Simulator’, would it be fun? It didn’t seem to be that enjoyable, nor particularly innovative.

But now, had President Gu suggested another direction?

Zhou Yang pondered, "President Gu, I think I’ve got it! Thank you, I’ll go back and think it over carefully!"

His spark of inspiration seemed to have been activated, as he hurriedly left.

...

...

June 18th, Wednesday evening at 6 PM.

There were two more hours until the official launch of ’Road Rage Simulator’.

In Gu Fan’s villa, Lilith refreshed on time.

"Gu Fan! Long time no see, did you miss me?"

Lilith appeared to be in a good mood. She went to the fridge to grab a cola and took a few bags of chips from the snack shelf, then comfortably settled into the massage chair.

"President Li, it seems like you’ve been quite busy these past two months?" Gu Fan ventured cautiously.

Over the past two months, Lilith seemed to have vanished completely from the human world, never to appear again!

At first, Gu Fan was busy with the experience store and thought that Lilith was deliberately keeping her distance. Only upon his return to the company and inquiring did he find out that, after finalizing the design plan, Lilith hadn’t appeared either.

Gu Fan wondered if something had happened in Hell or if Lilith had some other arrangements.

"Oh my, it’s a long story!" Lilith said while gorging on potato chips like someone starving to death, then explained:

"I didn’t expect to encounter so many issues when I returned to Hell this time.

"On one hand, the collection of negative emotions was going well, so Old Lu arranged for me to go on a tour in Hell to lecture and share my successful experiences! Ah, since Hell is really vast, that also took up a lot of time.

"As Hell’s No.1 Game Creator, my lectures were, of course, completely sold out, and the effects were very impressive.

"And, as I mentioned before, the new technology for collecting negative emotions is also under experimentation.

"I’ve been keeping a close watch on the researchers, working overtime to ensure that we iron out the contractual details related to it before our new product launch!

"Speaking of which, how’s the development of the mini game controller steering wheel coming along? I can’t wait to see how much negative emotion it can gather!"

Expectation filled Lilith’s eyes.

Gu Fan picked up a sample from the side: "Oh, it’s already been mass-produced, and this time it’s being released simultaneously with the game.

"The first batch of pre-ordered players should have received their merchandise by now.

"The experience store is preparing for its grand opening tomorrow during the day."

Lilith reached out and took the sample, which was a neatly packaged box, square-shaped.

It was originally part of the "Explorer" series of Zhitong controllers, but this time, the mini steering wheel was added, making the box significantly larger than the original packaging.

Opening the box, inside were the controller body, a detachable module, a wireless charging base, and the centerpiece: the steering wheel attachment for the controller.

The controller featured a special edition linked with Road Rage Simulator, similar in appearance to special editions of many racing games, just more subdued in color.

"Great, it looks like everything has been progressing smoothly while I was away! You’ve done well, Gu Fan, I did not misjudge you!"

Lilith was very satisfied with the current situation.

Gu Fan was already accustomed to Lilith’s praise and replied casually: "Of course, President Li, it’s all part of my job."

Lilith opened the box, but before she could take a closer look, she suddenly jolted as though she remembered something very important.

"Oh! That’s right, Gu Fan, how did the ’Ascension’ national speedrun competition go?"

After Lilith, following the suggestion from her advisors, had arranged for Su Tong and others to handle the competition, she got busy in Hell, and all human world affairs were put to the side.

Only after rushing back just before the official launch of Road Rage Simulator did she suddenly remember the speedrun competition.

Gu Fan paused for a moment: "That... President Li, it depends on how you look at it."

Lilith had a bad feeling. She hastily checked the collection of negative emotions in her view and almost sprayed out her Coke.

"What’s going on!

"Why have so many of my negative emotions been deducted!!"

She was so angry she almost leaped three feet high off the massage chair, exuding an aura of someone about to explode.

The scene evoked in Gu Fan an unanticipated association with an emperor’s outraged cry from a historical drama: My money!!!

"What in the world is going on here!" Lilith flushed visibly, instinctively wanting to question Gu Fan.

Gu Fan was speechless: "President Li, I knew nothing about this from start to finish... You’re asking the wrong person here... "

Lilith realized she had blamed the wrong person but was still quite indignant, seemingly ready to immediately seek out the person who had given her this bad advice and settle the score.

However, after some thought, she sat back down on the massage chair.

Clearly, it was better to first understand exactly what had happened before seeking retribution!

"Gu Fan! Turn on the TV!"

Gu Fan picked up the remote control and turned on the TV without needing Lilith to explain further, directly tuning into Wang Dawei’s live broadcast.

"President Li, if you want to understand the ins and outs, you might want to watch his live broadcast," Gu Fan suggested.

Lilith frowned slightly: "Isn’t this the streamer who found the ’Ascension’ bug before? I remember he’s quite bad at the game, and he joined the ’Ascension’ national speedrun competition too?

"Alright, I’ll see exactly what’s going on!"

At that moment, Wang Dawei was unboxing the Road Rage Simulator edition controller while waiting for the game’s official launch.

On his computer screen, however, were his speedrun records of five ’Ascension’ tracks, displayed like a grand badge of honor, eager to show them off to the viewers in his live broadcast.

"Turns out my good brother Heilong wasn’t lying; speedrunning is indeed pretty fun!"