Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Repent and be Saved’s demo was ready.

The so-called demo was the ‘demonstration’, ‘display’, and ‘sampling’ of the game and could be called the beta version of it.

For a game like Repent and be Saved, as long as the character modeling, actions, and fighting systems, etc. were or more or less complete; just adding a few scenes to it would result in the creation of a beta version.

Normally, tweaking the beta version and continuing the art resource development would happen in tandem. While the new scenes, monsters, and settings were being created and beautified; characters’ movements, battling, and other details could be enhanced as well. This way, the development of the game could be sped up.

Boss Pei’s office…

Li Yada was tweaking the game on Pei Qian’s computer. Once he confirmed that the system design specifications were accurate and the modifications were complete, he was going to let Boss Pei have a go at the game.

Pei Qian was standing at a side, watching Li Yada modify the game’s specifications.

Action-based games’ production threshold was extremely high.

Why were some domestically-produced games’ battling actions pathetic and unbearable to players while some foreign AAA major blockbusters could make people feel immersed and pleased to play?

This all depended on one thing: details.

For example, if a character was holding a dagger, a straight sword, a huge hammer, or other types of weapons; the movements and actions would definitely be different. Much attention needed to be placed on every single frame of movement.

Of course, seizing onto the specific actions would help; however, this also required some modifications.

Once a single frame was slightly off, crooked, too fast or slow; players would not get a sense of satisfaction from the game.

Besides this, using different weapons to attack an enemy would result in a different response from the enemy. The damage caused to the surroundings also had to be taken into account.

For example, a huge difference would be present between using a dagger or a huge hammer to attack an enemy. The impact of the attack and the opponent’s minute response would be very different. If a huge hammer smashed onto a monster and it did not flinch, players would feel that the ‘impact was very unrealistic and poor’.

Hence, adjusting the appropriate impact was an artistic flair and a physical exercise.

However, all these problems could be solved using money.

Repent and be Saved had used the best action template and schematics; the best 3D arts on the website for resources had also been used and slightly modified. Hence, the actions within the game were very smooth and were distinctly better and different from ordinary domestically-produced games.

To put it plainly, it all came down to money.

Naturally, as adjusting movements and motions was an artistic matter, Li Yada had not intervened. However, when it came to modifying the system design and specifications, that was Li Yada’s time to shine.

For example: when players used different weapons to hack at a monster, how much blood should it lose? How many hacks would kill the monster? Different types of attacks would result in different impacts on monsters; how much blood should each one cost? How much exactly?

These were all issues pertaining to the system design.

Although similar AAA productions that had immersive gameplays would also use all sorts of UI to represent one’s health bar, these similarly also needed specific system designs behind them. These pieces of information had all been hidden during gameplay by system design.

Li Yada took one final look at all the system designs and specifications as she was prepared to stand up and let Boss Pei have a go at the game.

Pei Qian stopped her. “Wait a moment; tweak the settings more and elevate the stats of the monsters.”

Li Yada was stunned. “Some more? It is already very high.”

Pei Qian nodded, “Higher. I want to double its attacking power. No, wait. Triple it.”

Li Yada, “?”

Previously, Boss Pei had already said that Repent and be Saved had to be an extremely difficult game. Everyone in the project team had to try their very best to think of ways to make players lose.

Forcing players to quit playing had been the number-one mission of the project team.

Lu Mingliang had really been obedient and had followed Boss Pei’s requirements strictly. Bao Xu had also given his constructive feedback.

In the end, Boss Pei was still not satisfied?

Pei Qian also didn’t explain much. He was very clear that even if Lu Mingliang had done according to his wishes, their imagination was still lacking. Increasing the attacking strength of the monsters in the game would definitely be the right move to make.

Li Yada adjusted her glasses as she did according to Pei Qian’s instructions and tripled the attack strength of the monsters in the game.

This way, the originally low margin for error was decreased even more.

After making the alterations, Li Yada stood up and handed the controller to Pei Qian as she stood aside.

She wanted to see how Boss Pei was going to play this game!

Boss Pei was so confident when he asked me to triple the attack strength of the monsters in the game. Could it be he felt that the difficulty level of the game wasn’t challenging enough for him?

Perhaps, Boss Pei was a game god like Bao Xu; he could only find joy in playing games with higher levels of difficulty?

Li Yada pushed her spectacles as she focused all her attention and watched.

Pei Qian took the game controller, sat in his chair, and started playing.

The initial setting was in a small village. This had been a peaceful small village, but many people had lost their souls and spirits and became wandering souls. These people’s clothes were tattered, and their faces were very sullen. They held some strange weapons in their hands. Some held choppers, hoes, sickles, hayforks, and other farming equipment. Others were bare-handed while some held onto rocks.

The monsters were scattered all around the village and were acting rather strangely.

Some with axes were hacking at woodpiles; however, there wasn’t any wood on them. They kept on raising and lowering their axes repeatedly. Others were squatting at the corner of walls, facing the falls and continuously muttering incoherently.

Even more were walking towards the walls of buildings. They had lost all rationality but would still subconsciously walk towards the Road to the Underworld. However, they could not make out that they were facing a wall.

A few were floating about aimlessly in the village and would cry out and scream like madmen when they saw people who were still in possession of their mental faculties.

The protagonist was similar to them. He was also wearing torn and tattered clothing while he was holding a clumsy weapon in his hands.

In the yard of the house that the player had been born in, some basic weapons such as choppers, axes, sticks, and hayforks, etc. were present. During the gameplay, players would obtain other weapons as well. All of them could be used as and when he liked-as long as his stats were high enough.

Pei Qian chose a relatively handier weapon for a beginner – a chopper as he rushed towards the first monster he saw.

This small monster was holding a hayfork and immediately sensed Pei Qian nearing it. Its long hayfork pierced forth even before Pei Qian’s chopper had hacked at it!

With a ‘tsk’ sound, Pei Qian saw that his health bar had diminished by more than half.

Pei Qian hurriedly pressed a button to dodge as the hayfork-holding monster once again attacked when Pei Qian dodged. One more attack pierced Pei Qian, and his health bar was emptied.

“Hahahaha…”

The monster emitted eerier laughter as it turned and left.

All that was left was a black screen.

Pei Qian, “…”

Li Yada, “…”

It was a little awkward.