Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 254 - 263 President Li’s Amendment Proposal

Chapter 254: Chapter 263 President Li’s Amendment Proposal

Lilith did not pay attention to the surprised expressions on everyone’s faces, but simply signaled Gu Fan with her eyes.

Gu Fan distributed the printed documents to everyone and then launched the latest development version of "Demon Realm Conflict" on the projector.

So far, the game’s development progress was around 80%, meaning that about eighty percent of the basic functions were complete.

However, even if the game functions were to be 100% complete, there would still be a large amount of debugging and modification work to do, with the actual workload being at least another thirty percent.

In other words, at the moment, "Demon Realm Conflict" appeared to be playable, but in reality, it was far from truly playable.

Gu Fan’s character in the game was an ordinary Orc warrior.

He ran across the desolate Pingyuan, occasionally jumping a couple times.

Upon encountering a lion, he charged straight at it and swung his battle axe twice, instantly killing the lion.

This damage surprised Gu Fan himself. After a moment of silence, he said, "Hmm, the damage values are probably not adjusted yet, they seem a bit too high for now."

He continued to control the Orc warrior for a few more steps, and then happened to see a slightly larger and more imposing demon monster. So he charged again.

This time, the Orc warrior’s charge glitched and clipped through the model into the ground, and he started falling into the endless void.

Gu Fan was quick with his hands, he hit ESC at lightning speed and switched characters, pretending as if nothing had happened.

The others looked on with a blank expression, occasionally glancing down at the game introduction document in their hands and then back up at the live demo on the screen.

It could only be said, the more they watched, the more they felt it was an eyesore.

Wei Chengjie timidly raised his hand and asked, "Excuse me, where was this game purchased from? And how much did it cost?"

Lilith answered truthfully, "Oh, we bought it from a company called Tianlong Digital Entertainment Company. They originally asked for forty million, but I negotiated and got it down to thirty-seven million.

"How about that, it’s quite a bargain, right?

"They invested nearly one hundred million in the development of this game! We got it for less than half the price. Quite a deal, right?

"The paperwork isn’t completely finished yet, but it’s almost a done deal."

Wei Chengjie’s eyes widened with shock from Lilith’s revelation.

Each sentence was beyond his expectations.

At that moment, he really wanted to say, "President Li, you’re different from the others, don’t waste your time on game development!"

How could you calculate it like that? How much they spent on developing the game has nothing to do with us.

Even if they spent a billion or ten billion on this game, it’s still just an unplayable half-finished product, and from the standpoint of game quality, it’s not worth that much money.

A game that could truly make money, why wouldn’t the developers finish it themselves and leave the profitable opportunity to us?

If Wei Chengjie were to make the decision, he would consider it even if the game were selling for ten million. But, President Li actually spent thirty-seven million on such a half-finished product... one can only say that’s quite an idea.

How should this game be evaluated?

On the surface, it’s just a very ordinary Western Fantasy game with familiar races such as Humans, Orcs, Half-Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, Demons, and so on.

The classes are also common ones, like warriors, paladins, rogues, hunters, priests, mages, magicians, and more.

The game is set in a place called the Azerothia Continent, which is divided into various different regions, each with different levels and quests. There are also multiplayer dungeons, battlefields, and other gameplay options.

Wei Chengjie’s expression became slightly strained.

He looked at Lilith and said, "President Li, if I may be so blunt, the quality of this game is actually quite good, the content is created with care, and the gameplay mechanics are classic. If it launched normally, it could hope to make money.

"However, all of this hinges on a very important premise: the current year would be best if it were twenty years ago, that is, 2005..."

Wei Chengjie’s approach was rather tactful.

Clearly, as an MMORPG, the game was passable in terms of content; twenty years ago, it would have its player base.

But now, twenty years have passed, and the MMORPG genre is no longer thriving. Although countless game companies are still striving to design new gameplay mechanics for MMORPGs, most are merely minor tweaks and are unable to change the downward trend.

So, the MMORPGs that are still alive on the market today fall into two categories.

One category includes those very classic MMORPGs that have survived from around 2005 to the present, which can still attract a dedicated player base even just for the sake of nostalgia.

And then there’s the type that goes for a traditional Chinese style, conjuring up beautiful outfits to attract female players and then drawing in male players through the large female player base, primarily focusing on differentiating through the game’s social attribute.

As for "Demon World Conflict"...

Clearly, it doesn’t capitalize on either aspect!

Its gameplay is quite retro, basically mirroring the mainstream MMORPG gameplay from around 2005, with the quest system, profession settings, team dungeons, and so on—pretty much the standard fare.

The gameplay itself is rather cliché, and also lacks a sense of nostalgia, so there won’t be any old players coming back for the sake of reminiscing.

Its graphics are of realistic style, or to put it less kindly, it’s ugly.

Without a variety of fancy, beautiful outfits to attract female players, it obviously won’t have a strong social component.

Not to mention, the game is still half-baked, with all sorts of unpatched bugs still present in the game.

All in all, spending over thirty million to buy such a game can only be described as a brain fart.

How is this any different from simply throwing money down the drain?

Lilith smiled faintly, "The game isn’t just for show after we buy it. It’s still going to be modified!

"I believe that many of the game’s flaws can be remedied, especially in terms of graphics, where there’s much room for improvement.

"If we were to develop an MMORPG from scratch, it might cost us a hundred million, but now, if we spend ten million on little fixes here and there for this game, wouldn’t our overall costs be cut in half?

"Beyond that, of course, we’ll be making all sorts of changes to the game, aiming to turn the rotten into the miraculous!"

Wei Chengjie couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth, not believing a word.

Turn the rotten into the miraculous?

I’d believe it if President Gu said that, but coming from you, President Li, it really lacks conviction!

Lilith cleared her throat slightly, "At the moment, the changes I’ve planned for the game fall mainly into three categories.

"First, we’re going to focus subsequent development on team dungeons!

"We need to at least double the number of existing team dungeons and introduce all sorts of complex mechanics to make players feel like they’re in hell!

"After all, those who play MMORPGs nowadays are hardcore loyalists, a bunch of masochists who love it the harder it gets, so we’ll satisfy them with some real torment!

"Second, I think the current game’s stats are too conservative and need a significant boost! No need to add too much, just double them for now.

"Third, we definitely need a complete overhaul of the game’s art resources!

"We’ll continue with the previous art style, keeping to realistic visuals, to give the game a comprehensive makeover, and then we’ll market it well, so everyone will want to play.

"Yeah, that should solve the problems!"

After hearing all this, everyone found it hard to keep a straight face.

Wei Chengjie, especially, was shocked, his eyes wide open, thinking, is this what you call turning the rotten into the miraculous, President Li?

This is obviously making something rotten even worse!

The game was already struggling, and now you’re knocking it out cold with a blow and burying it in the ground?

Does "Demon World Conflict" suffer from difficulty issues?

True, there is a segment of hardcore loyalists who enjoy high-difficulty challenges, but that’s because they have nostalgia. They can only endure the complex mechanics and high difficulty, repeatedly trying, when they play nostalgic servers of old games.

What makes a new game expect these old players to willingly come and play, let alone willingly suffer?

It makes no sense!

Moreover, the Western fantasy theme is traditionally the domain of some established foreign developers. From any angle, "Demon World Conflict" would find it hard to compete with the nostalgic servers of those classic games.

Wei Chengjie quietly sighed, then turned to look at Gu Fan.

But Gu Fan remained as composed as ever, showing no emotional fluctuations whatsoever.

Wei Chengjie couldn’t help but wonder, Doctor, can you really cure a patient who’s been smashed to pieces like this?