Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 314 - 323: Special Element Ability

Chapter 314: Chapter 323: Special Element Ability

Instructor Ding then tested the other three abilities, which were water, wind, and time.

The water ability had three types, after pressing the button, a small crosshair would appear in the center of the player’s screen, and the game character would summon the Power of the Water Element, as if holding a water-made ribbon, connecting to the highlighted object after aiming.

The player could change the position of the crosshair by rotating the right analog stick, selecting the available elements in front of them.

Anything interactable would be highlighted, and depending on the type of the two objects selected consecutively, the feedback after using the ability would differ.

If the two selected objects were general items, such as branches, weapons, stones, or monster materials, they would automatically act as an "Adhesive," sticking them together.

Some items, when adhered, would trigger special effects, for instance, adhering branches to weapons would effectively increase the reach of attacks; adhering weapons to monster materials could enhance the weapon’s lethality.

However, some combinations seemed nonsensical and were likely some sort of universal effect.

If the two objects selected consecutively were a general item and a natural body of water, then the "Enlargement" ability would automatically come into play, wrapping the object in a large volume of water while maintaining its shape.

Instructor Ding threw a branch on the ground and then connected the branch and a river in front using the Power of the Water Element, and in an instant a large amount of water was drawn out and clung to the branch, turning it into a giant water branch.

He picked up the branch as usual, to find that the game character could still lift and swing the branch as before, except the impact of hitting with it had changed.

Originally, hitting a creature with the branch would cause direct damage, but now, although the branch had become giant, the attack force when hitting enemies had actually decreased, inflicting only minimal damage, merely soaking the enemies completely.

Nevertheless, this Enlargement ability obviously had more than just one use.

Instructor Ding also tried enlarging his Wooden Shield in hand, and this time a large Water Shield appeared.

In this game, all shields had the "Shield Surfing" operation, where the method was to jump with the Y button while holding the shield and then press B, at which point the game character would automatically start surfing on the shield underfoot.

After the Wooden Shield was enlarged with water, surfing on the shield on land would result in a fall, and the large Water Shield would burst.

But if one were to shield surf at the river’s edge, then the giant Water Shield would become like a small boat, allowing one to surf all the way to the opposite bank of the river.

Furthermore, other enlarged items might also have different uses, but Instructor Ding had limited items at the moment and couldn’t try them all.

In addition, if the player selected two bodies of natural water consecutively, then a water bridge could be created between the two bodies of water.

Players could freely enter this bridge to easily traverse the two water bodies without being limited by the stamina bar or the direction of the water flow, unlike normal swimming.

The wind ability had two types, pressing the button would similarly bring up a crosshair on the screen, used to aim at various objects.

For general items, one could press the right trigger to grab them directly.

After grabbing, the game character could use the Power of Wind to bind the object, allowing dragging, moving, lifting, and so on. However, the heavier the grabbed item, the slower and more effortful the movement would be.

Moreover, if players pressed the ABXY buttons directly, it wouldn’t be a grab but rather a fierce wind blowing from below, behind, from the front, or from above. Players could also adjust their body’s orientation and field of view through the analog stick, to prepare the specific direction of the incoming wind beforehand.

The fierce wind could blow the player up, moving them a long distance.

Coupled with the Glider Wings in the game, it made free movement and speeding through the air possible.

The Time Element currently seems to have a relatively singular ability, which is the creation of a Time Stop.

There are two types of Time Stop, one is to select a specific Element for Time Stopping, then strike that object, releasing all the accumulated power at once when the Time Stop ends.

The other is to bring everything surrounding to a halt, with only the player-controlled character being able to move.

However, during this Time Stop state, players are unable to manipulate or attack any Time Stop elements and naturally cannot accumulate power by continuously striking.

Players can only use this kind of Time Stop to swiftly reach their desired location, avoid monsters they do not wish to fight, or sneak up behind a monster for a surprise attack.

The first type of Time Stop will attract the attention of monsters, automatically entering combat.

The latter Time Stop, however, will not attract the attention of monsters and can even clear the monsters’ aggro if used after combat has started.

Currently, the game character has all five abilities activated, but Instructor Ding guesses that in the official game, these abilities are likely to be unlocked gradually throughout the game progression.

After all, there is a certain threshold to mastering these special abilities, and players need to be guided step by step to learn them.

What surprised Instructor Ding even more was that these five abilities do not interfere with each other and can be used in conjunction!

For example, players can first use the Water Element to create a huge Water Shield to cross a river, and then while crossing the river, switch to the Power of Wind to create a gust behind them, pushing themselves to the opposite bank even faster.

During that process, players can even create several Flame Bombs to throw around at whim.

Of course, mixing different Element abilities might result in some unexpected effects, such as a Flame Bomb exploding nearby, disrupting the flow of the shield, and capsizing the player.

But overall, these skills can be mixed and matched as desired, and theoretically, as long as the player has fast enough hands, they can pull off all sorts of fancy moves.

Instructor Ding isn’t there yet, after all, the operation system for the Power of the Elements in Legend of Infinity Fantasy is brand new, and it would take a lot of practice and time to form muscle memory.

It’s not something that can be mastered in just half an hour.

However, during the half-hour trial play, Instructor Ding at least fully understood the specific functions of the Power of the Elements and tried several ways of playing, filled with anticipation for it.

"Hey, guys, seriously, you really have to hear this!

"This Legend of Infinity Fantasy really has something going for it, the application of these special abilities is quite interesting, nothing at all like your previous games in Heaven!

"It’s a whole new game mode!

"Although I’ve had some laughable moments because I’m not yet accustomed, once I get the hang of it, I’ll definitely show you all kinds of cool, high-flying moves!

"But President Gu kept saying before, this game is to try out a smooth early game followed by a constipated later stage? Don’t tell me it will be constipated later on; how can such fun features be retracted later?

"Forget it, forget it, President Gu must have been joking.

"Alright, the trial play time is almost up, today’s visit to the Nintendo booth has been very fruitful! I’ll go check out other game developers’ booths too, and please everyone look forward with me to the day when the new version of Shadow World and the official release of Legend of Infinity Fantasy go on sale!"