Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 33 Mini Game Design Competition

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Mini Game Design Competition

May 11, Saturday, 7 p.m.

Gu Fan grabbed a can of cola from the fridge and then lay down comfortably on the newly purchased massage chair.

The old projector had been replaced with the latest model, coupled with a 120-inch Fresnel anti-light screen, elevating the overall viewing experience by more than just a notch.

There was no helping it, the wallet had gotten thicker!

Up to now, sales of "Infernal Trajectory" had reached 890,000 units, with the first month nearly hitting the peak at around 470,000, after which it rapidly declined and settled at a more stable figure.

This was inevitable, given that most single-player game sales were concentrated in the feverish first couple of months after release. For a small company’s independent game, these numbers were quite good already.

If "Infernal Trajectory" could have included in-app purchases, it would have been a killer, but alas, it couldn’t.

"Sisyphus" had been on sale for over half a month, and current sales stood at 220,000.

Although it was extremely popular online, the sales of "Sisyphus" were not explosive, mainly due to its pricing strategy.

Since "Sisyphus" was priced higher than "Infernal Trajectory," there was a significant reduction in players impulsively buying it. Plus, the strategy of offering an unconditional two-hour trial led most players to step back after a simple tryout, opting to clear the game through online platforms instead.

While every player dreamed of performing the "Five Dragon Wing Flap" operation, which, if executed successfully, would allow them to boast online, the vast majority were well aware that its difficulty level was beyond their reach.

Thus, both "Infernal Trajectory" and "Sisyphus" had a popularity that far exceeded their sales.

Nonetheless, "Sisyphus" still brought a considerable income to Transcendent Heaven Gaming Company; naturally, with a higher unit price came higher profits.

The accounts of Transcendent Heaven Gaming Company now showed a balance of 11.36 million!

Among this, "Infernal Trajectory" earned slightly more, about 6.3 million, while the peak sales period for "Sisyphus" had not yet arrived, with further growth expected.

This was still without counting some of the smaller platforms where revenue had not yet been tallied.

It was just the way of gaming companies—once a game catches fire, the money scales up like a minting machine, unstoppable.

Of course, if a game fails, the loss can be equally comprehensive.

Out of these 11 million plus, Gu Fan could steadily claim a 5% bonus, which he did not hesitate to immediately award to himself.

However, now the bonuses Gu Fan awarded himself had apparently hit the top rate of personal income tax, a straight 45%, meaning that out of a 550,000 bonus, he only got to keep 300,000 in hand.

To say it didn’t hurt would be a lie, but after all, it felt honorable as it was for paying taxes to the country.

Together with the money Gu Fan had gradually awarded himself before, his personal assets had now reached 410,000.

That amount of money wasn’t a lot, but wasn’t a little either.

Thinking about buying a house in Capital City? That was wishful thinking—not even enough for a restroom.

How about buying a car? Sorry, you can’t get a license number.

However, this amount was more than enough for eating, drinking, and adding some furniture.

That’s why Gu Fan upgraded his projection equipment and bought a massage chair, making the previously empty living room seem a lot more substantial.

Actually, the display quality of the projector wasn’t as good as that of a TV, but since the house was rented, it wouldn’t be convenient to move if a large TV was purchased, so in the end, he chose a projector.

Earn a bit more money, and perhaps he could consider moving.

Of the company’s money, 70% would be used for the development and promotion of the next game, which amounted to nearly 8 million; 25% was for the company’s operating expenses, which also reached more than 2.8 million.

Clearly, the development budget for the next game after Against Heaven Blocks was unprecedentedly ample!

...

The whole process of this small game design competition was conducted online and live-streamed.

The specific schedule was: from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight, the first round took place, with several judges trying out the games and giving individual feedback.

Online viewers, of course, could also find and play these games on the official platform.

This was followed by a one-day voting period.

The official restrictions on voting are quite strict; the platform accounts will determine voting eligibility based on user profiles, in an effort to minimize the possibility of vote rigging as much as possible.

At 7 p.m. tomorrow evening, the host and the panel of judges will officially announce various awards for this small game design competition and arrange special recommendation spots for the winning works.

The grand prize comes with a 300,000 yuan cash award, which isn’t a significant amount for game companies. Most independent game developers or small game companies aren’t joining this competition for the money, but rather to gain face in front of the officials and leave a good impression.

If they can secure an award and the exclusive recommendation spot, it can drive a lot of traffic to their other games, which is something money can’t buy.

Gu Fan lay in the massage chair, drinking cola and leisurely waiting for the competition to officially start.

He had thought Lilith wouldn’t come tonight, but no sooner had the massage chair started up than he felt a wave of chill emanating from behind him.

Turning his head, sure enough, Lilith was there, face stern, looking at the massage chair.

Clearly, Lilith was speechless; the upgrades kept coming!

At first, there was only a lazy sofa in the living room; after Lilith had taken over the lazy sofa, Gu Fan bought a single-seater sofa; after Lilith took over the single-seater as well, Gu Fan went and got a massage chair!

The crux of the matter is that this guy doesn’t have a clue, doesn’t he know who should get the good stuff? He always has to come over and poke around before realizing he needs to move over!

Gu Fan stood up somewhat helplessly, once again relinquishing this prime spot to Lilith.

Lilith laid down very satisfied, but then she sat up like she’d been electrocuted, clearly caught off guard by the massage function of the chair and subconsciously a little panicky.

However, she soon lay down comfortably, even though her little legs didn’t quite fit the leg region of the chair and she seemed to be sinking into it, she still appeared to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

Indeed, this was much more comfortable than the single-seater sofa!

Well then, in light of Gu Fan’s sensible behavior, that single-seater sofa can be his.

As Lilith thought this, she turned her head, only to discover that Gu Fan had removed the cover from the other sofa to reveal another massage chair beneath it.

"Ah?"

Lilith was a bit stunned; this massage chair was a size smaller, almost as if it was specifically reserved for her.

As for the original single-seater sofa, Gu Fan had already moved it to the study.

Gu Fan pointed at the slightly smaller massage chair, the message clear without words.

Lilith silently stood up and lay down on the new massage chair, "At least you have some conscience."

Clearly, she hadn’t expected Gu Fan to actually buy two massage chairs this time.

Gu Fan sighed, reclined back on his massage chair, thinking to himself that he had no choice but to buy two chairs, or else he would never get his turn!

Once he was comfortably settled, the small game design competition also officially began.

...

The host gave a brief introduction to the content and rules of the competition before starting to introduce the judges.

After all, it was an official competition, and it was quite professional.

There were four judges in total, and from their positions and titles, it seemed they had been carefully selected.

The first judge was Cheng Anhua, a professional game reviewer on the official platform and also a guest at some well-known game review organizations and websites.

The second judge was Liang Chun, an excellent independent game developer and the champion of the last small game design competition.

The third judge was Li Wenhao, known online as "Mouse," a quite famous live-stream host. Although his popularity wasn’t on par with top hosts like Instructor Ding, he specialized in small and independent games and was very popular in that niche.

The fourth judge was really interesting, a foreigner named Jonas. He was recognized as the number one player of "Rotating Blocks," a five-time consecutive world champion of the championship tournaments.

Of course, the popularity of "Rotating Blocks" in this world was almost half that of "Tetris" in Gu Fan’s previous life, so naturally, the value of this so-called "world champion" was somewhat diminished.

But regardless, Jonas was considered one of the strongest top players in the world of "Rotating Blocks."

The choice of these four judges was quite interesting; they represented the four different perspectives of: reviewer, designer, casual player, and professional competitor.

Obviously, the officials also wanted to provide the players with four different perspectives to evaluate the contesting works more comprehensively, objectively, and fairly.