Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 65: Survival and Construction Games Without Survival and Building Elements

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Survival and Construction Games Without Survival and Building Elements

Lilith’s speech was filled with so many holes that Gu Fan didn’t even know where to begin his critique.

Can such a thing even involve job rotation?

Gu Fan had been hoping for a deity from the East to come to his rescue and free him from the demon’s clutches!

But instead, had the deity from the East moved to a different house?

Well, although it was nonsensical, Lilith’s appearance and the entire situation from the start was nonsensical, in an obviously abnormal world, so why bother pondering over it...

However, Gu Fan was certain that he had one more goal to strive for.

That was to work hard to expand Nitian Paradise Company’s influence, aspire to make the game world-famous, and gain the opportunity to work abroad!

Maybe then, he could get in touch with the Eastern deities rotating positions in the West and have them save him?

As for the fact that he could actually go abroad now?

No way, Gu Fan’s current workload was immense; Lilith’s new games were being released one after another without much rest in between.

If Gu Fan suddenly requested a vacation to go abroad, that would be too strange and would surely arouse Lilith’s suspicions.

In the end, the focus inevitably returned to the game.

After some thought, Gu Fan said, "The terrifying punishment isn’t something I can come up with at the moment, but don’t you think, President Li, that you should broaden your perspective?

"Stop thinking about these one-off deals all the time.

"If a game could be operated for a long time and continue to harvest negative emotions, wouldn’t that be sustainable development?

"Such as competitive MOBA games, FPS games, suffering games, horror games, or those frustrating pay-to-win games—surely there are some where the negative emotions exceed the positive ones, right?

"Why don’t we prioritize developing these kinds of games?"

Gu Fan had wanted to ask this question from the very beginning, but at that time Lilith didn’t trust him at all, so he never found the right opportunity to speak up.

Now, he had to express himself to feel relieved.

He had thought his suggestion would open the doors to a new world for Lilith, but she seemed entirely indifferent.

"Why would you think that? Of course not!

"In fact, if we produce such games, we demons are bound to come up empty-handed!"

Gu Fan was very puzzled, "But many players feel that in MOBA games, the negative emotions experienced exceed the positive ones, right?"

"NONONO," Lilith waved her finger, "Do you think I, as the most knowledgeable demon about games in Hell, haven’t done my research?

"If these kinds of games really induced more negative than positive emotions, why would I bother designing my own games? I could just copy them directly!

"But harvesting negative emotions is far from as simple as you think!"

Lilith raised two fingers.

"First, the negative and positive emotions of you humans are like the two sides of a coin and cannot be separated. If a player feels positive emotions because of a game, that subtracts from the collected negative emotions.

"Secondly, as for games generating negative emotions, we demons have a ’gold standard’. Any game that players can play for a long time is definitely one where ’positive emotions exceed negative emotions’!

"It’s a simple concept. If players truly experience more negative than positive emotions when playing certain games, would they continue to play? Absolutely not!

"Even those players among you humans who enjoy suffering games are not actually fond of the suffering, but of the thrill that comes after defeating powerful enemies.

"In their eyes, suffering games are actually ’thrilling games’.

"Anyone who can persist and complete a suffering game must find enjoyment in it.

"Humans are very emotional creatures. You tend to easily forget about the joys in life, but can remember regrets and unhappiness for a long time.

"So when you humans feel that a certain type of game has ’more negative than positive emotions’, it’s actually an illusion. By our demon standards, it’s very subjective.

"My design philosophy is already the optimal solution for harvesting negative emotions!"

Gu Fan suddenly understood.

So that was it!

No wonder Lilith has always liked one-off deals, the root of the problem lies here!

Previously, Gu Fan had been thinking if MOBA games or suffering games could really continue to contribute negative emotions, he might be able to collaborate with Lilith to some extent.

She earns negative emotions, Gu Fan earns money, which sounds pretty good too.

But clearly, that’s not the case at all!

Just as Lilith said, even if it’s a suffering game, as long as it can keep players engaged, the positive emotions are bound to outweigh the negative ones.

That’s because players don’t truly enjoy suffering, but rather the joy of conquering formidable opponents in the game.

The same goes for horror games, MOBA games, or gacha games that require spending.

Players feel that the negative emotions in these games outweigh the positives, but that’s merely a subjective feeling.

Indeed, take those infuriating gacha games, for instance; failing to get a specific card can indeed generate a lot of negative emotions, but once a Whale gets that card early, it can trigger an extremely exaggerated burst of positive emotions.

And some MOBA games might make you lose repeatedly, but they generally force players’ win rate to stay around 50%. Add to that the small thrills of last-hitting minions, jungling, buying equipment, killing enemies, and the accumulation of positive emotions is not insignificant!

It’s just that players have become so accustomed to these aspects, they subconsciously overlook them.

In other words, according to the demons’ rules for calculating negative emotions, any game that can keep players engaged over the long term will have more positive than negative emotions!

It’s no wonder Lilith always likes one-off deals.

Creating a 100% annoying game, then burning money on a massive marketing campaign to lure players in, making a quick buck off their negative emotions, and then bailing without considering long-term game sustainability – this is the optimal strategy under the rules.

In contrast, meticulously making MOBA or gacha games could end up collecting more positive emotions, resulting in a complete loss.

Gu Fan originally thought Lilith was at one level, but it turns out she was way up in the stratosphere.

Indeed, as the most game-savvy demon in all of Hell, she wouldn’t make such a simple mistake.

Lilith concluded, "So, the word ’sustainable development’ doesn’t even exist in the dictionary of games made by us demons. You might as well give up on that idea right now."

Gu Fan sighed, "I see, that’s a pity."

Lilith didn’t want to waste too much time on this topic and went back to discussing the new game’s creative issues.

"Alright, if you really can’t come up with any terrifying punishments, let’s change our perspective.

"How about something that can generate a lot of positive emotions for you humans? Preferably something common and sustainable."

Gu Fan was a bit puzzled by Lilith’s intention for a moment; what, was she giving up? Or was she planning to defect to Heaven?

However, he didn’t ask further and continued along this line of thought, "Things that make humans happy? There are plenty of those.

"Something common and sustainable... That’s easy, ’creativity’ would do."

Lilith looked at him, "Creativity?"

Gu Fan nodded, "Right! Humans have many other ways to get happiness, but generally, they’re quite temporary.

"Like delicacies, fine wines, beautiful women... Indulging material desires can bring positive emotions, but indeed, one can easily grow tired of them.

"But ’creativity’ is different. It can be considered a human instinct. Once in the flow state of ’creativity’, humans can unknowingly persist for a long time. So it meets the criteria of being ’common and sustainable’."

Lilith clapped her hands, "Great! That’s settled then!

"Your Human World must have many such games, right? Like life-simulation games, survival-building games, sandbox games, etc."

Gu Fan was somewhat surprised, "You know quite a lot!"

Lilith proudly put her hands on her hips, "Of course, I’m the most game-savvy demon in all of Hell! So let’s make that kind of game! A survival-building game!"

Gu Fan paused for a moment, then said, "President Li, are you planning to defect to Heaven? If possible, could you take me with you?" Gu Fan ventured.

Lilith gave him a look, "What are you thinking! I am an absolute loyalist of Hell!

"You misunderstood.

"The survival-building game I’m going to make is also for collecting negative emotions!"

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