I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 256 - 106: The sense of oppression is maxed out! As fast as the players run, so does the ghost!_2

Chapter 256: Chapter 106: The sense of oppression is maxed out! As fast as the players run, so does the ghost!_2

And, based on Ke Jin’s feelings from his previous life’s experience with the game,

it indeed keeps the sense of fear maxed out throughout.

It’s akin to a 3D version of Pac-Man mixed with "Temples Escape".

But the main element lies in the fact that

monsters don’t just chase you from behind, they’re randomly assigned routes, and might even burst out from around a corner in front of you.

It emphasizes the unpredictability.

While it also uses the cliché jump scares of horror games (which can be roughly understood as a sudden face popping scare)

it’s different.

Unlike the cheap ’you never know when something will jump out at you’,

in "Dark Trickery", players are constantly on guard, but they still get startled.

And the scariest part isn’t even the image that pops up when you’re startled.

It’s the constant pressure of being hunted, without even a chance to rest!

Although he didn’t draw classic IPs like "Escape" or "Layers of Fear" and had a small regret on behalf of the Blue Star players,

what a pity it is, they were almost able to experience what a real top-notch surprise is like.

But the positioning of "Dark Trickery" can still make the Blue Star players, who like to spend money, feel the intense love from the top player.

"You’re the chosen one!"

After finalizing the game, Ke Jin thought about the monetization interface.

Perhaps considering the size of "Dark Trickery" itself, the system automatically set a target revenue of less than 10 million.

Ke Jin used two mission refresh cards and, with some good luck, refreshed to a target of 20 million.

Even so, he couldn’t set the price too high.

Over the past two days, Ke Jin had tried out the horror games available on Blue Star and found they were still based on the most fundamental jump scare style, where something suddenly jumps out at players without any warning.

However, after flipping through a few interviews, he realized

that these Blue Star horror game designers, unlike traditional card-drawing game designers, do not lack the desire to improve their games.

Even adaptations of supernatural novels could have been better if they had the opportunity.

But Blue Star players generally don’t have a high tolerance for horror.

To improve, that would mean burning a lot of money, and if the players don’t buy in, the companies would just crack open.

They naturally can’t afford to have the same mentality as him, who’d rather players not spend money at all.

Which means, this kind of pursuit-focused constant fear style would probably be considered innovative gameplay on Blue Star.

"Then the price needs to be lowered a bit, just to be safe," Ke Jin flipped through the game plan in his hand.

He quickly came to a conclusion.

First off, a complete buyout was definitely not feasible.

The top player currently has at least two to three hundred thousand loyal hardcore fans. Even if the horror genre filters out sixty to seventy percent of players, there would still be roughly one hundred thousand people left.

Even if you set a buyout price of one hundred and eighty yuan, you could still potentially overflow with sales.

And a buyout price of one or two yuan would be too low and could shock the market, easily driving others out of business.

If it were a heavy-spending card-drawing type of game, then it would be fine since the pie is big, and even if he offered it completely for free, it wouldn’t impact the big companies much.

But for those less popular developers who still want to produce good games but are hindered by the lack of a budget for trial and error, Ke Jin didn’t wish to push them to a dead end.

That would only make the whole genre die out faster.

From beginning to end, even with the system in hand, Ke Jin never got so arrogant to think he alone could support the entire gaming market.

If he wanted players to continuously have access to good games, relying solely on himself was not enough.

Those Blue Star companies inspired to try making good games were the future backbone and the collective strength that could shake the well-entrenched gaming capital.

After thinking about it, in-app purchases were more appropriate.

However, the content for monetization needed to be handled delicately.

Monetizing weapons to increase firepower simply ruins the horror game genre.

That would make it no different from traditional monster-slaying, leveling-up FPS games.

Direct pass.

"This game currently has eight levels."

"Then, let’s just design it into another brand-new payment model."

Charge players based on unlocking levels!

This model wasn’t novel in his past world but throwing it into Blue Star still had its appeal.

It was somewhere between buyout and in-app purchases.

Ke Jin’s thinking was,

Make the first level completely free.

Let them experience the fear and then run away with their tails between their legs, shielding himself from the first wave of impact.

From the second level onwards, unlocking each level would cost 5 yuan.

A total of 7 paid levels, 35 yuan for a small game.

In terms of pricing, it wouldn’t throw the horror market into chaos; many small workshops have similar pricing.

And to reach 20 million, at least six to seven hundred thousand players would have to pay!

Six to seven hundred thousand people spending money on a horror game?

Impossible!

Currently, the best-selling horror game on the market is "Thrilling Party," which released in 2005. Nearly twenty years have passed, and it has barely reached sales of over a million copies.

It goes to show that horror games are truly niche.

Then,

to be safe,

Ke Jin had a trump card!

He planned to make some small adjustments to the payment interface.

Think about it, what is a player’s normal reaction when encountering a monster in a horror game?

Run!

As fast as they can, just to get away!

So, what if, when players open the payment interface,

the QR code for scanning and payment automatically shifts to the monster that’s relentlessly chasing them from behind... what would the players do then?