Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 382 - 391: An Old Man Doesn’t Speak Much

Chapter 382: Chapter 391: An Old Man Doesn’t Speak Much

"Hello there, I’m Zhang Qifeng, editor from the Play Less Games Network."

"Hello, I’m Zhou Yang. We’ve had a brief chat online before."

At a coffee shop near Nitian Paradise Company, Zhang Qifeng and Zhou Yang met as scheduled.

Zhang Qifeng looked Zhou Yang up and down with a hint of curiosity, quickly realizing that he seemed familiar.

When he had gone to that small coffee shop to interview President Gu, he had caught a glimpse of the first batch of employees at Nitian Paradise Company, and it was then he actually had a brief encounter with Zhou Yang.

But back then, Zhou Yang was just an ordinary executive planner, not yet at the level of handling a project on his own, so Zhang Qifeng’s impression of him was somewhat vague and not profound.

Yet, meeting him today, Zhang Qifeng felt that compared to the young man he had met for the first time, there was something additional about Zhou Yang.

What was it?

Well...

Perhaps a sense of relaxation? After all, while Nitian Paradise’s efficiency was high, the work pressure was relatively low compared to others in the industry, mainly because no other company had such a high success rate when it came to making games.

When someone frequently succeeds at something, they naturally develop a sense of relaxation, subconsciously feeling that everything is under control.

However, behind this sense of relaxation, Zhang Qifeng could also vaguely sense some kind of struggle or tension. Could it be because "Heartbeat Dream," this new game, was still putting some special pressure on this talented young producer?

Excellent, today’s interview should unearth some juicy stories!

Zhang Qifeng was, after all, a seasoned media professional, naturally sensitive in this area. He was acutely aware that there must be many secrets behind "Heartbeat Dream," worth exploring!

As long as he could dig well, this report was sure to be hot!

With this in mind, after some simple pleasantries, Zhang Qifeng couldn’t wait to get down to business.

"Hmm... What should the first question be?

"Got it.

"Let’s ask about whether there are any epoch-making innovations in gameplay for ’Heartbeat Dream,’ given that it’s a romance simulation game."

Zhang Qifeng quickly reviewed the questions he had prepared beforehand in his mind and soon carefully selected a suitable one to start with.

This question was like throwing a stone to ask the way.

Nitian Paradise’s games would certainly be innovative. Even if not majorly innovative, there would surely be small innovations—there was no doubt about that.

This question was 100% fail-safe to ask any game company.

A producer couldn’t possibly say "We just copied," right? As long as the producer briefly mentioned the innovative aspects of the game, Zhang Qifeng would be able to use this as a breakthrough to continue asking more.

"Alright, then our interview officially begins, President Zhou.

"Firstly, I’d like to ask, we all know that ’Heartbeat Dream’ is Nitian Paradise’s first romance simulation game. So, compared to previous romance simulation games, what kinds of epoch-making innovations does it have in its gameplay?"

After posing the question, Zhang Qifeng earnestly prepared his notebook and pen to take shorthand notes.

Zhou Yang had stressed before coming not to shoot any footage, for he didn’t want to be filmed, so Zhang Qifeng didn’t bring a camera.

Although he found it somewhat puzzling why people at Nitian Paradise were more socially anxious than others, preferring not to show their faces, Zhang Qifeng didn’t mind too much; after all, he had interviewed many people and nothing particularly surprised him anymore.

He did bring a voice recorder, but using paper and pen for note-taking was a long-standing professional habit.

However, as soon as Zhou Yang opened his mouth, he left Zhang Qifeng dumbfounded, his hand holding the pen and paper not moving an inch.

"What epoch-making innovations does ’Heartbeat Dream’ have compared to other love simulation games?"

"I think your question is problematic, how can you assume its game genre like that?"

Zhang Qifeng was stunned, "Huh?"

Zhou Yang continued, "What I mean is, Nitian Paradise Company has never said that it’s a love simulation game."

Zhang Qifeng scratched his head, his brain temporarily crashing.

It was as if he had asked his interview guest to choose between "A or B," and the guest chose "or."

How could he have not realized that the premise of his question was wrong from the start?

"Isn’t it a love simulation game?" Zhang Qifeng was shocked, even feeling like all the years he had spent in the gaming media had been in vain. From the demo, it clearly looked like a standard love simulation!

It seemed that indeed, the game’s official detail page did not specify the genre tag?

But surely any gamer with eyes could see it for what it was!

Zhou Yang didn’t flatly deny it, only saying, "This... game genres are very complex and can’t be generalized. After all, we at Heavenly Games always like to add different mechanics and gameplay within the same game system..."

Zhang Qifeng was somewhat speechless, feeling as if Zhou Yang was just nitpicking words.

Which company doesn’t integrate various elements when making games?

Like incorporating RPG elements into action games, or adding cultivation or management elements into RPGs—this is all quite normal and not worth mentioning specifically.

"Alright, perhaps my wording wasn’t precise enough. So, as a game that includes elements of love simulation, in terms of its love simulation gameplay, what are its innovative features?"

Zhou Yang nodded slightly, "Hmm, that’s a much more apt question.

"Overall, ’Heartbeat Dream,’ just as the game title suggests, will bring players a dream-like gaming experience. In this lengthy dream, players will feel their hearts race, a sensation that will be very intense and memorable for a long time.

"Of course, although this game is not purely a love simulation game, it will incorporate as much of the love simulation elements as possible, letting players experience a love that transcends dimensions, a very special kind of love that does not exist in the real world."

Zhang Qifeng blinked, jotting down a few keywords in his notes.

A dream-like gaming experience?

Feeling the heart race intensely, memorably so?

Experiencing a special, transcendent love that doesn’t exist in reality?

All these statements were somewhat evasive, and also, aren’t they a bit exaggerated for describing a love simulation game?

Was Nitian Paradise redefining love simulation games?

But from what could be seen in the current demo, the most original feature seemed to be just that the female characters pursue the player, turning a love game into a sci-fi game, right?

Hmm...

Zhang Qifeng couldn’t help but have a small grievance with Zhou Yang. He originally thought from his appearance that this young man was honest and reserved, but it now seemed that he was just old, with not many honest words.

Nevertheless, Zhang Qifeng had seen his fair share of ups and downs, and he continued methodically with his questions:

"So, in your opinion, what qualities should a player have to excel at this game?"