I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 160 - 77: Torture-type Games!_2

Chapter 160: Chapter 77: Torture-type Games!_2

With all this plotting, it’s not hard to realize.

The old man is not easy to deal with; in fact, he’s quite a handful!

"Brother Tong Zi, are you there? I want to discuss something with you."

"What if I give up the profits from two games, and then you give me some special props, so that old man working in the shadows will never see the games I make, just give him a selective block!"

Regrettably, the system remained aloof and didn’t respond to Ke Jin.

"Fine, you guys are forcing my hand!" Ke Jin began to mutter to himself.

I wanted to get along with you as an ordinary designer, but I forgot about that later on.

Anyway, next, I just need to make a game that even the old man behind the scenes can’t influence, a game that the players can’t influence either.

Then it would be impossible for anyone to stop me from completing my ultimate mission, right?

"Good job! You really did a great job!"

"To reward your bravery,"

"I’ve decided to make a tormenting game to let you all feel my agony!!"

————

March brings flying flowers; April showers.

In the blink of an eye, Pubg has already been out for a full month.

The system’s task settlement arrived belatedly.

A diamond blind box, 10,000 experience points.

That’s it.

The system is now level 7, and reaching level 8 requires 50,000 experience points.

But it seems the rewards for completing tasks have hit a ceiling, offering only 10,000 points each time.

In other words, to get to level eight, I need to make four more games.

The greedy Ke Jin instantly felt dissatisfied.

But then he thought about how much Brother Tong Zi had contributed to this home.

He could only take note in silence for now.

Diary.

April 16th, weather, overcast.

The rewards from the system were a bit meager this time, next time they give so little, I might consider playing them at their own game.

...

After receiving the blind box, Ke Jin didn’t choose to open it right away.

There are many types of torment games, and which one to pick in order to better complete the ultimate mission will have to be decided based on the market situation.

First, let’s have a regular meeting back at the company.

I briefly shared the type of game I had in mind with the employees, listening to their opinions, encouraging them to speak freely—that I wouldn’t get angry no matter what they said; it was most important not to suppress themselves.

Many good ideas are sometimes not expressed due to one’s position or status, which would defeat the purpose of holding discussions in the first place.

As soon as Mr. Ke said to speak freely,

the employees no longer held back.

The meeting instantly turned into a free-for-all, with everyone discussing excitedly.

Ke Jin sat off to the side with his legs crossed, holding a notebook and jotting down notes while listening to the discussion, checking if they could provide any inspiration.

"Another torment game? I remember the early torment game Iwanna the company made; it seems like it barely has any players now... instead, more people enjoy watching it. This shows that players actually prefer to enjoy this type of game as spectators rather than personally trying it out, so we should probably avoid these extreme types, right?"

Alright, let’s go with an extreme type like Iwanna, because Blue Star players actually don’t have a high tolerance for torment games. Ke Jin wrote in his notebook.

"But on the other hand, the early popularity of our company was built on Iwanna. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to call it the cornerstone game that laid the foundation for our company’s development. Maybe players do have a special fondness for this tormenting style?"

"Stop joking—no need to say more, aside from Iwanna, do you see any other similar competing products on the market? A type that other companies don’t even bother to copy, if we make it, wouldn’t that be a death wish? What will we do if the players are unwilling to spend money and we can’t make a return? I’m sure no one wants their hard work to go unrewarded."

OK, then it’s settled, we’re doing a torment style. Ke Jin added to his notes.

However, even if we’ve settled on a torment game, how should we handle the in-game purchases and revenue?

Buyout system?

In-app purchases?

If we go with a buyout, the advantage is clear: it can keep some players out, reducing the overall pay rate from the get-go.

But there are disadvantages as well.

"Feng Lu" and "Pubg" are both buy-to-play games, yet ironically, they have garnered immense popularity at Blue Star.

As for in-app purchases.

The advantage is that players can get in without spending a penny, which means there’s no entry barrier to stress them out.

The disadvantage couldn’t be more obvious.

You just fear that some over-enthusiastic spenders will drop tens or even hundreds of thousands without even flinching.

"Arknights" set its pricing so low that there’s always a tycoon who smashes tens of thousands into it every now and then.

While Ke Jin was pondering,

another employee stood up and said,

"Let’s not argue, guys. Mr. Ke said we could speak our minds, so let me share my thoughts. Toughest games aren’t necessarily a no-go, but the key issue is how do we make them more prevalent among the player base?"

Seeing everyone’s attention on him, the employee paused before continuing: "I’ll share my thoughts."

"’I wanna’ became a hit not because people enjoy being tormented, but because they like watching others suffer through it. It’s an interesting process. If we continue to develop tough games according to this logic, players’ willingness to pay would definitely be ridiculously low."

"So we need a different approach. Let’s think about it, can we create a game where pain and microtransactions coexist?"

"Can we make players experience pleasure while they’re also suffering?"

"Only by continuously delivering this pleasure can we make players willing to pay."

"To put it simply, we can make the game a bit, or even much harder, then add in-app purchases so that every time players spend money, they get a sense of improvement. This way, the non-paying players are tormented, while the paying players have fun. We get the best of both worlds."

No sooner had he finished speaking,

the meeting room fell deathly silent.

Many employees looked up in disbelief at the speaker.

Non-paying players suffer while payers have fun?

What the hell kind of twisted, capitalistic idea is that...

If Tengjing Netcom heard you, they’d probably get on their knees begging you to join their team...

It was at this moment that Ke Jin slowly closed his notebook, assumed a relaxed pose, looked up at the employee with an unreadable expression, and asked in a very calm tone,

"What’s your name, and which department are you from?"

Upon hearing this,

everyone’s heart skipped a beat.

Nervously trembling.

Even though Mr. Ke said we could speak freely, your statement was startlingly bold, my god!

How the Number One Player Company has reached its success today, with "Pubg" even making a comeback and thriving,

is all thanks to the support of our hardcore fans.

And now you have the gall to bite the hand that feeds us — players have just brought "Pubg" back to life, and you’re ready to start harvesting them like leeks?

Mr. Ke would be the first one to disagree!

"Oh... I, uh... Mr. Ke, my name is... Yu Fuqi... and I’m the new guy... in the planning team..." the employee had just finished saying.

The other planners lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

Fearing Mr. Ke would turn this into a game of ’punishing the whole clan.’

But in the next instant,

Ke Jin got up, walked over to Yu Fuqi, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile.

"If I remember correctly, the planning team doesn’t have a team leader yet, right? Director Gou has been juggling multiple roles, and it’s time for him to lighten the load."

"I hereby announce the promotion of Yu Fuqi to the head of the planning team!"

"Next week, I’ll send you the plans for the new game. You guys can have a light touch and relax this week. Alright, meeting adjourned."

With that, Ke Jin turned and strode out of the room, giving no explanations, leaving only a dashing silhouette behind.

The entire staff of the meeting room turned to stone,

staring at each other with eyes wide and jaws dropped.

If it weren’t inappropriate for the occasion, the room would probably be filled with a chorus of "What?"

Even Yu Fuqi himself was stunned.

What... what’s going on here?

Did my idea really strike a chord with Mr. Ke?