Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 434 - 422: The Cover-Up of Plot Mode

Chapter 434: Chapter 422: The Cover-Up of Plot Mode

Lilith thought seriously for a moment and felt that Qin Fengliang’s idea was indeed feasible.

Of course, there were still many details that needed to be perfected.

Even though a ready-made mechanism had been conceived, to speak frankly, it was still very unfriendly to players. To increase its deceptiveness as much as possible, appropriate plot guidance and difficulty design were necessary, so that players would accept it from the start.

The later the players realized something was wrong, the more negative emotions the game could continuously generate.

However, for such detailed design, Qin Fengliang was definitely not up to the task.

He wasn’t a dedicated game designer; coming up with ideas was one thing, but to expect him to develop a complete design document was wishful thinking.

Lilith decided on the spot to complete the design framework herself, that is, the concept draft, and then hand it over to Nitiandang to fill in the detailed settings.

Especially the story part, which would require a lot of effort.

"Okay, if this new game succeeds, I’ll give you great credit for it!"

"I’m heading back to work now, and if there’s any good news later on, I’ll share it with you the moment I get it!"

After finishing her speech, Lilith disappeared happily, evidently eager to get the game’s concept draft done immediately and then toss it to Nitiandang to start development!

...

...

Two days later.

At 7 p.m., Lilith, Gu Fan, Zhou Yang, and Wei Chengjie were in a small conference room for a meeting.

Lilith confidently distributed her completed design concept draft to the three of them.

Although she looked at them skeptically, Lilith had to admit that these three people were the only ones in Nitiandang currently capable of leading projects.

Lilith would have liked to promote a new producer from scratch, but the stakes were high, and any issue could severely affect the new game’s development progress, so a longer-term plan was needed.

The three were brought together this time to speculate and decide on the most suitable project lead based on their input.

And this producer could potentially be one of the three.

Gu Fan accepted the concept draft expressionlessly and browsed through it briefly.

Strictly speaking, this couldn’t be considered a standard concept draft because it was missing a lot of content.

There was no specific storyline, no detailed level design, and the game’s title hadn’t even been finalized.

The only two parts that were more detailed were "Dynamic Difficulty Mechanism" and "Worldview and Story Background Setting."

Clearly, this was another instance of Lilith’s reading comprehension.

At least on the surface, Gu Fan and the others had to understand the deeper meanings behind the "Dynamic Difficulty Mechanism" and "Worldview Background Setting," and improve the related combat system, story, and level design, to give the game an attractive coating and deceive the players.

As for how the game’s bugs would be planted... that was a matter to consider later.

Wei Chengjie was somewhat surprised, "A Cthulhu style? That’s quite niche."

"Though our company handles Western Fantasy with ease, we’ve indeed never done Cthulhu."

Zhou Yang coughed lightly and corrected, "What do you mean, never done? ’Ascension’ is Cthulhu, just in a Chinese style."

"Our company excels at Western Fantasy art themes and has the successful experience of ’Ascension.’ Creating a game with a standard Cthulhu theme should be quite secure."

Wei Chengjie had an epiphany, "Oh right."

Cthulhu was a niche theme, but in recent years, due to the emergence of various excellent works, its popularity had been increasing in the country, so making a game with a Cthulhu theme now wasn’t taking too much of a risk.

Moreover, Nitiandang had the successful experience of "Ascension."

Up to now, many players still considered "Ascension" as the best Chinese-style Cthulhu game, without equal. The madness of the two worlds transforming was said to perfectly capture the core spirit of the Cthulhu theme.

The only issue was...

With "Ascension" as a predecessor, could Nitiandang make any new breakthroughs in this theme?

If they made an orthodox Cthulhu game using their more adept Western Fantasy art style and the final result was not as good as "Ascension," that would be somewhat embarrassing.

And with "Ascension" as an excellent benchmark, not being able to surpass it was a likely scenario.

Lilith cleared her throat and said seriously, "You’ve all finished reading the concept draft, right? In any case, the two foundational settings in the concept draft, including ’Dynamic Difficulty Mechanism’ and ’Lying Mechanism’, must be carefully considered and strictly adhered to!"

"With these two mechanisms in place, you are free to express your ideas, open your minds, and improve this game."

"Now is the time for brainstorming, everyone share your thoughts on this game and your general design approach."

Lilith’s eyes shone, scanning over everyone like a spotlight.

Clearly, the previous setback with "Heartbeat Dream" had been cast aside by her, and she was filled with 120% expectation to develop this new game.

Brainstorming was the name of the game, but it was also a way to catch the traitor.

Lilith wanted to see through their intentions as much as possible in this way, and alongside that, find a more suitable development model for the game and determine the best producer.

Gu Fan, Zhou Yang, and Wei Chengjie looked at each other, already well aware of the unspoken understanding.