Translated by Coldtaco
Edited by Aelryinth
A few numbers flickered inside Chen Mo's mind, becoming part of his memory. He could feel that his coding skills did improve a tiny bit.
"That's not so bad! Wouldn't consuming a hundred of these books mean that my coding skills would be maxed out? A hundred of those just adds up to a hundred thousand RMB, what a great deal... of rubbish! That's just plain robbery!
"Ten thousand to buy one point of Attribute! What am I, stupid?
"Relax, relax...
"It's just small money. If I make a hot trendy game, it could be raking in millions a month. Enough for me to be spinning this wheel for a while.
Chen Mo consoled himself, continuously pressing the "spin" button at the same time.
Clack, green.
Clack, green!
Clack, green!!
Chen Mo was ready to throw a fit.
Four spins, four hundred thousand credits, 4 Designer Skill Books!
That was equivalent to four hundred thousand cash!
With only a hundred and ninety thousand credits left, he had enough for one last spin.
Of course, next to the wheel was a thoughtful "top up" web portal. Chen Mo opened it and closed it after looking at it for half a second.
Cash to credit ratio was 1:10. There weren't any discounts, not even a first time double credit bonus!
"Just my luck, huh. Even QQ games[1] have better luck."
If Chen Mo wanted to spend all his points, he'd have to top-up another three thousand points, meaning three hundred RMB. Currently, he was struggling to fill his stomach for another few days. Chen Mo was struggling to justify the three hundred RMB.
"Last time, I'm giving up if nothing comes up. Worst case scenario, I'll just opt out of this competition, and design another one next month. I'll still get my D-grade certification..."
Gritting his teeth, Chen Mo hit 'spin' one last time.
Though he kept saying no, his body behaved otherwise. He could feel his heart jumping out of his chest and his hands trembling.
At this moment he understood what went through the hearts of men with gambling addictions. If it happened to be another green book, he was ready to jump off the balcony.
Clack, the wheel had stopped once again.
Purple area! Special Equipment!
Chen Mo was shocked. Finally, he'd been given a lifeline!
A chest had appeared on the screen. Chen Mo tried tapping it with his finger. The chest opened with a click, rays of golden light coming out of it.
Chen Mo glanced at the screen, which read Special Equipment: Super Focuser.
It even had a description!
"Super Focuser, one time use. Duration: 10 minutes. After using, gather the attention of 500 people to any local. The effect starts immediately after use and cannot be moved."
Chen Mo scratched his head, not quite understanding the current circumstances, reading the description again.
-I kind of understand, but this thing doesn't seem to have anything to do with video games?-
Chen Mo thought for half a day, scratching his chin. The only use he had for this was during the competition, attracting the audience and the judge's attention to his game.
But... then what?
The effect only lasts for ten minutes. Furthermore, it only attracted attention, it didn't change their opinions on his game.
Forcing others to play his game, especially when it's not good, might make the situation worse!
"Keep thinking, there has to be some way."
Chen Mo wasn't giving up. Wouldn't it be a great prank if he couldn't use his purple equipment after trying so hard to get it?
Chen Mo now required a game like this:
Not too complicated.
Resources are within 6MB.
The audience will love it after playing it for ten minutes.
Even if they don't love it, it should at least make a long-lasting impression.
There has to be something special to get people to talk about. It was the only way to win first place in the video game design competition!
"It seems like this impossible task wasn't so impossible for me after all. Luckily, I've had a lot of experience in my previous life, and seen all types of games.
"Alright, let's get to work!"
------
With a new target in mind, Chen Mo once again sat in front of his laptop and launched the video game engine.
Originally an impossible task, but now with the "Super Focuser", this task now had a sliver of hope. Furthermore, it was a rather big sliver.
Of course, before starting, Chen Mo consumed the rest of the green tech books first: three Coding books and one Level Design book.
It probably wasn't doing much, but better have it than not!
The video game engine wasn't hard to use at all. It took Chen Mo no time to get used to it.
After downloading the remaining 6MB of resources, Chen Mo started writing the design document. As the game wasn't big, the document only required a few hundred words.
Resource usage was minimal, mostly utilizing the free shared resources on the engine, which were usable after a few small tweaks.
The foundation of the game was finished within the night. The next day, after he woke up, Chen Mo added some simple networking and leaderboards to the game, and considered it done.
After finishing, Chen Mo did some testing. The game felt similar to his work in his previous life.
After making an installation package, Chen Mo submitted the game to the competition officials. As to whether the game would gain any recognition, he'd only find out on the day of the competition.
------
On the day of the competition...
Chen Mo put on his only suit, readying himself to attend the video game design competition
The Imperial Capital was usually quite hot in August. Chen Mo felt stupid in formal wear. Fortunately the venue was air-conditioned, cooling him down after a short time.
Under the guidance of the officials, the judges, competitors, and audience were led to their seats in an orderly manner. The preparations for the competition were underway, all that was left was for the competition to start.
It wasn't a small audience, with at least six hundred people.
This competition was no ordinary competition: not only was there a live broadcast and full recording of the event, but they had also managed to invite three fairly famous video game designers as the judges.
The prizes for the competition weren't small, either. The first place would receive three hundred thousand RMB for video game research and development, a D-grade video game designer certificate, and a personal video game experience store.
Not much needed to be said about the three hundred thousand RMB. The most attractive part was the last prize, a personal video game experience store!
Video game experience stores were places where video game designers displayed their works: a gallery. Video game experience stores came in various sizes; SSS-grade video game designers had entire towers for their video game experience store. Sometimes it became a Mecca of gamers, somewhere they must visit once in their lives.
In terms of layout, video game experience stores were like internet cafes, but served a different function.
Experience stores weren't for profit. First, they mainly served as a workplace for designers. Second, they were a platform for the game designers to interact with the gamers..
Gamers who come to experience stores have opportunities to speak with the designers, to give suggestions and test out their latest creations. Once the designer thinks the game is about done, the game will then be released.
Of course, testing can be done online in the form of alphas, but the designers in this world preferred using experience stores. As everyone in their store was a tangible, personable human, it filled the designers with ideas.
As such, experience stores had slowly become the symbols of a video game designer. A video game designer without their own experience store was a designer that was looked down on.
Chen Mo also knew the value of an experience store. If he wanted to open a store on his own, the money he would spend on rent wouldn't be small, not to mention equipment, none of which he could afford as of now.
Therefore, Chen Mo had to grab hold of the opportunity when it came!
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[1] QQ games are known for freemium, pay to win, or gacha heavy games.