Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 609 - 592: The Players Become Masochistic

Chapter 609: Chapter 592: The Players Become Masochistic

Lilith took a closer look at the video and realized that it was indeed blowing smoke, not just click bait.

This set Lilith’s brain on fire.

Again?

Is there something wrong with this Zhuge Jun?

What is this? A blowing constitution? How come you can hype up every single toxic point I think of...

Looking at the comments section again, everyone actually... agrees quite a bit with this viewpoint?

Of course, many comments are reserved, as it is still not certain whether the storyline direction inferred in the video is consistent with the actual storyline direction in future versions of the game.

But judging from the current trend, once it’s confirmed, this video will inevitably go viral, becoming a super prophet and accepted by most players.

Lilith patiently continued to watch.

...

At the beginning of the video, Zhuge Jun briefly reviewed the controversial storyline of "Endless Fantasy Legend 2."

Then, he boldly speculated that the following storyline would be:

Li Huanzhen delves into the Golden Country, causing chaos;

The Hero and Xi Yun, leading the Da Liang Alliance Army, seize the opportunity to counter-attack the Golden Country, winning victory after victory;

Execute a decapitation plan on Vision·Lee, leaving the mechanical dragon swarm leaderless, fighting to the last until extinction;

Following that, the Da Liang Alliance Army continues to attack the Water Country, successfully slaughtering the god Yimela;

Humans in the Water Country finally eradicate the Blood of Lies, and with the Hero’s help, establish a free federation like the Thunder Country, restoring peace.

Lilith got a bit restless at this point.

"Gu Fan!

"Catch the Traitor! Catch the Traitor!

"There must be a Traitor in our company, I’m sure of it!

"There has to be someone who leaked the future plot arrangements to him! Otherwise, how could he guess so accurately? I simply can’t believe it!"

However, immediately after, the video continued, and Zhuge Jun added another sentence.

"All of the above judgments are purely subjective speculations, which may luckily be correct or might be wildly off the mark.

"The reason for making such judgments is mainly based on ’how to cause long-lasting and implicit psychological trauma to players’.

"From what can be seen, this seems to indeed be the main standard for Nitiandang when writing their storylines."

Upon hearing this, Lilith’s enthusiasm deflated instantly.

This is so bizarre, way too bizarre!

Gu Fan was carefully watching from the side, and when Lilith yelled "catch the Traitor," he did feel a little nervous.

But seeing Lilith’s spirit die down, Gu Fan felt a lot more at ease.

Obviously, Zhuge Jun had guessed the subsequent storyline development completely right!

Although there might be discrepancies in some details, the overall trend was completely aligned.

Indeed, Lilith had arranged for players to counter-attack the Golden Country and the Water Country in this version, decisively getting rid of Vision·Lee and Yimela without a hint of hesitation.

The reason, as stated by Zhuge Jun.

Vision·Lee and Yimela are former protagonists of "Ascension" and "Blood of Lies," embodying the love of many veteran players. How could negative emotions arise if they kept living?

Suppose the Golden Country and the Water Country wiped out Great Liang instead, and the Hero was exiled; players would also develop some negative emotions, but not much, because it’s normal for protagonists to live in exile; players are used to it.

As for the commoners of Great Liang, they usually don’t make much of an impression on most players.

But to have a double assassination in one version, cleanly wiping out these two former protagonists, it’s easy to catch players off guard and leave them increasingly defensive as they ponder.

Especially for Yimela, who goes directly from a god to a clown.

For Vision·Lee and Li Huanzhen, it’s a tough fate from start to finish.

This kind of storyline might not seem much at first, but it’s bound to have a strong effect later on.

But now, this plot arrangement has been exposed by Zhuge Jun. Is that reasonable?

So Lilith’s first reaction was that there had been a leak, that someone from inside the company had spoiled the plot arrangement to Zhuge Jun.

But for one thing, Nitiandang’s security measures have always been good, making such a leak unlikely.

Secondly, and more importantly, that line from Zhuge Jun’s video.

He outright said, "The creation is based on the standard of causing long-lasting and implicit psychological trauma to players."

This not only revealed secrets but also struck at the heart of Lilith’s concerns.

This standard, let alone ordinary Nitiandang internal staff, even executives might not be able to assert it so decisively.

They might suspect it, but they wouldn’t state it with such certainty.

Looking at it from this perspective...

Could it be that Zhuge Jun really predicted this with sheer strength?

Lilith frowned, suppressing her irritable mood for the moment, and continued reading.

...

"So, many people feel that the plot of ’Endless Fantasy Legend 2’ is toxic, which is quite normal.

"As I said before, when Nitiandang crafted these stories, they were always working to the standard of ’hurting the player.’

"It may sound ridiculous, how could a mature commercial company like Nitiandang intentionally disgust players? Is that reasonable?

"In fact, we should use a different word, to be precise, ’torturous’ plots are also a form of narrative expression.

"And the stories of ’Ascension’, ’Blood of Lies’, and related plots of ’Endless Fantasy Legend 2’ are exactly suitable for this form of expression.

"If we don’t write it this way, it would be a step down, a cliché.

"Previously, many players wishfully considered the hidden endings of ’Ascension’ and ’Blood of Lies’ as the official true endings.

"’Ascension’ has the ’Sunrise Awakening’ ending, and ’Blood of Lies’ has the ’Ascend to Godhood’ ending.

"But now, the official stance is clear.

"Does an ending that looks beautiful and fits the criteria of a perfect happy ending really the true ending?

"I don’t think so.

"The true ending should be unexpected yet reasonable, aligning with the fundamental logic of the entire world, and it should achieve a breakthrough on a spiritual level and elevate the portrayal of the character.

"If it can do this, even if it’s a tragedy, it should be regarded as the true ending; otherwise, no matter how perfectly happy it is, it’s just a false sham.

"And under the world-building logic of ’Ascension’ and ’Blood of Lies’, what would be the more reasonable endings?

"I believe that the true ending of ’Ascension’ should be ’Return to Nature’, and ’Blood of Lies’’s true ending should be ’Slaughter of God.’

"And the story of ’Endless Fantasy Legend 2’ depicts the world of ’Ascension’ and ’Blood of Lies’ after it’s gone astray.

"In a world dominated by humans, intelligent machines with intelligence similar to humans will inevitably be exterminated by humans at all costs.

"To eliminate intelligent machines, humans from different nations can come together, including enemies and hereditary foes. This is no longer a war between people, but a war between humans and another species, so humans will invariably go to extremes.

"And the character Li Huanzhen, from the beginning, has a very strong tragic color.

"He is compassionate, with a miserable life story, controlled by illusions, often inadvertently hurting himself or those around him. For such a person, sacrificing himself to improve the world is a form of relief.

"And what about ’Blood of Lies’? In this world, becoming a god has never been a good thing. Deep down, we all understand that the Ancient Gods are not gods in the traditional sense; they are more like a group of indescribable entities beyond comprehension.

"And a person becoming an Ancient God means they will become something incomprehensible to others; if they continue to act according to human logic, then they are not truly an Ancient God.

"Human will overcoming the will of Ancient Gods? Sounds like wish-fulfillment plot, but unfortunately, it’s simply not possible in this world.

"So, the deaths of Li Huanzhen and Yimela, at first glance, seem like the screenwriters shamelessly killed off the protagonists from a previous work, a betrayal, but upon closer consideration, in this world, it’s normal they die, abnormal if they don’t.

"Like a certain foreign game company that promotes a series of games about morals and rule of law, where each new game kills off the protagonist of the last one. However, players don’t criticize this; they find it logical, normal, even a feature of the game.

"Contrast this with certain narrative games where killing off a previous protagonist is quickly rejected, even ruining the entire IP.

"Why is there such a distinction? Ultimately, it’s because of different worldviews, different underlying logics, and the development of the story and character construction will naturally also be different.

"So, I believe that this part of the story is intentionally written in a torturous way, which perfectly fits the spiritual core of ’Ascension’ and ’Blood of Lies.’

"You feel upset, which is very normal; it’s like a classic tragedy that’s not meant to make you happy. But such stories have their own significance. At least, this sequel’s plot development completes another possibility for ’Ascension’ and ’Blood of Lies’, and further perfects their world."

...

Lilith was stunned.

Zhuge Jun’s words were so confident, so difficult to refute.

And judging from the feedback in the comments, indeed many people have accepted this reasoning!

Why? Why was this happening?

Lilith was puzzled too. She had racked her brains to torment the players, so why did it turn into a highlight?

The answer is, focusing on the head without considering the tail!

The root of all this is that ’Ascension’ and ’Blood of Lies’ originally have a torturous worldview, and players have accepted and embraced it.

Lilith simply thought that by ripping the book and maltreating characters from previous works, she could elicit negative reactions from players, which was clearly a mistake.

So, what should she do?

Should she just let the protagonists of previous works continue to senselessly slaughter?

The answer is, that won’t work either.

Because although that kind of wish-fulfillment plot is hackneyed and brutishly simple, it can evoke some positive emotions among most players who don’t care about the plot.

Therefore, with regards to handling the sequel of ’Ascension’ and ’Blood of Lies’, it truly is a situation where either way is not possible!

It’s like the players have been trained to be masochists, so now whether you’re exceptionally kind or harsh to them, they’ll enjoy it.

Of course, more accurately at this point, players have been trained to be masochistic without realizing it, so when Lilith tortures them, their first reaction is anger. But with the release of Zhuge Jun’s video, they suddenly realized their masochistic nature and instantly stopped getting angry, even finding it somewhat reasonable.

Lilith, infuriated, slammed the desk again: "This is preposterous!!"

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