I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 161 - 78: Forced to Top-Up? Avoid it! Outrageous New Game Recharge Plan!_1

Chapter 161: Chapter 78: Forced to Top-Up? Avoid it! Outrageous New Game Recharge Plan!_1

Yu Fuqi’s proposal didn’t strike a chord with Ke Jin.

Letting non-paying players suffer while paying players enjoy themselves?

Even a giant like Tengjing Netcom would balk at the thought.

Even the most outrageous pay-to-win games on Blue Star know to cater to some non-payers; they wouldn’t dare make the game experience too unbearable, or else where would the big spenders get their bragging rights?

Not to mention the idea of torturing non-paying players?

If they wanted my game dead, they should’ve just said so!

The reason he promoted that guy was because Ke Jin had another level of inspiration from his words.

What if I do the opposite?

What if I let the big spenders be the ones to suffer?

And let the non-paying players get the normal game experience, could that work?

So-called—pay-to-suffer!

The more you top up, the harder your game becomes.

Just think about it.

In a world where everyone spends money for fun.

My game would make people pay just to suffer.

Who would top up then?

If nobody topped up...

Then wouldn’t that be ideal for me?

Yes, ideal once again.

But this time, the stability was different.

It’s like the four mighty pillars carrying a sedan chair with the provincial Madame Liu entering the Grand View Garden, the very definition of ultimate stability!

Even from the logical perspective of player behavior, it’s impeccable!

"This method is genius!" As the idea surfaced in his mind, Ke Jin’s eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement.

Our company actually harbors hidden dragons and crouching tigers? Number One Player really doesn’t keep idlers around!

If it weren’t for the fear of other employees getting jealous, Ke Jin would have greatly desired to promote Yu Fuqi to deputy director on the spot.

It’s true that the staff at Number One Player Company have contributed.

But for him personally...

Yu Fuqi was practically the only employee who had provided positive value to him since the company was founded over half a year ago.

After announcing the end of the meeting, Ke Jin hurried back to his office.

He closed his door and poured himself a drink from ’82!

This time it wouldn’t be coke, something more refined.

A glass of Pepsi!

Ke Jin swirled the bubbling carbonated water in his glass as he took out the blind box that had been sitting quietly in his inventory.

However, he hesitated for a moment when it came to choosing the game.

The quintessential masochistic games naturally belong to the notorious Bloodborne and Dark Souls series, also known as "Souls-like."

But sadly.

He didn’t currently have the funds to support the development of these series.

Although the development costs for a Souls-like game aren’t particularly high compared to other 3D games.

Even the Elden Ring, which combines the strengths of many, creating a large open-world map, wouldn’t cost two hundred million to make.

He was almost able to pay that amount upfront.

But one must remember, that two hundred million in development spending was accumulated over five years of work by others.

If one wished to drastically cut down the time, the budget would instantly skyrocket.

After much deliberation.

Ke Jin considered another game that also had torturous elements and could even be produced within a month to be rendered to the vast number of players.

And when it comes to level of torture, it could probably give Souls-like a run for its money.

Rather than calling it Souls-like, though.

It’s better known by its other name.

Like Galaxy Castlevania.

He quickly input the specific terms he wanted into the blind box.

"Like Galaxy Castlevania" + "Insect Race"

Soon, the game he envisioned appeared before him.

"Congratulations, you’ve obtained an SS-grade Like Galaxy Castlevania game design plan—Hollow Knight!"

One of the pinnacle works in 2D sidescrolling action games.

Also a nightmare for gamers with less dexterous hands.

The myriad of difficult elements within unquestionably grinds technically inept players into the ground.

Let’s not even talk about challenges like the Path of Pain, Steel Heart Radiance, or 0R4-Lock-5-Doors, which make even hardcore players feel their brains buzz.

For less skilled players...

Just throwing in a Fanta or a Mantis Leader could torture players all day long.

Pairing it with this brilliant plan I have in mind couldn’t be more perfect!

And an even more important point is...

It’s cheap.

The small team at Cherry Studio took five full years from conception to finished product, with production costs of around two or three million.

The main difficulties in producing "Hollow" were centered around art and motion design.

The numerous bosses each had their unique attack patterns.

The workload for the graphics was also staggering.

If the release was to be rushed within a month, engaging two large external art teams and a major motion design and coding company should do the trick.

The costs could be kept under thirty million.

Now with the thick game proposal in hand, Ke Jin began to ponder over the pricing strategy for this game.

Going with a one-time purchase model would definitely not work, as the "pay to grow weaker" tactic couldn’t be effectively conveyed.

A more suitable approach would be in-app purchases.

After several days of research and comparison of the in-game purchase systems of action games on Blue Star, he even consulted Wen Zhiyin for her psychological insights regarding pricing strategies.

In the end, Ke Jin came up with a plan.

The standard difficulty at the start would remain the same.

Then, ditch the usual first top-up of six yuan.

If it was too low, he was worried that even the die-hard fans of Number One Player might top up just to support the game out of loyalty.

That would be shooting myself in the foot.

Moreover, for "Hollow," it was already perfect in itself; too complex a pricing system wouldn’t fit.

And a too simplistic tier system wouldn’t deter spending.