After assigning his father an "inspiration torrent" status, Jiang Qiao didn't bother with the matter anymore...
Jiang Qiao's father had been researching this project for five years.
During these five years, rumors had it that his father had already created a 3D projector, though the machine was large enough to hold an entire cruise ship. If the rumors were true, then his father's current project should be focused on downsizing the 3D projector.
This developmental trajectory was quite similar to that of computers and steam engines. When computers were first invented, a host computer would require several rooms to house it.
At the moment, Hai Lan was still munching on crawfish at the low table in front of the sofa, while Jiang Qiao began testing the game rules in the inner world.
Jiang Qiao spent roughly 500 Creation Energy points to transform the space on the table into a test version of the Blue Star inner world.
On the surface, nothing changed. The shrimp shells Hai Lan was chewing on piled up in one corner of the table, and Jiang Qiao summoned a mini version of "Not Updating Today," which was his Sacred Spirit character, on the table.
In the inner world's game dimension, the Not Updating Today character was only thumb-sized, consuming far less energy.
"What do you want to do?" Hai Lan asked, pausing her crawfish munching.
Jiang Qiao's test seemed like it would consume a particularly, particularly large amount of energy.
"I want to give the construction rights of the inner world to the players."
As Jiang Qiao spoke, a piece of stone brick appeared in his Elemental Summoner's hand. He stacked the stone bricks one by one, forming a house resembling a coffin plank.
"Give it to the players? You mean letting them control Sacred Spirit characters to build houses in the real world?" Hai Lan glanced out the tall buildings outside the window. "You're not thinking of demolishing those, are you?"
"Players are just 3D projections; they can't touch real-world objects, they can only see them. So, in the players' eyes, they can see everything in the real world, but essentially the inner world is just a super-flat world—perfect for… house building."
Jiang Qiao made his Elemental Summoner reach out to grab a small crawfish beside Hai Lan.
With a speed the naked eye couldn't catch, Hai Lan snatched up her small crawfish and held it high above her head.
Jiang Qiao sighed in resignation and had his Elemental Summoner grab the pile of shrimp shells instead.
As a result, the Elemental Summoner's hand passed through the shrimp shells since, according to the theoretical setting, this Elemental Summoner was just a 3D projection. Jiang Qiao was simulating this effect with the Creation State.
"If all players have the ability to build houses, won't the inner world of Blue Star be full of these… coffin planks?" Hai Lan put down her small crawfish and pointed at the coffin plank-like house Jiang Qiao had just assembled.
"This is where the manor system from Sacred Spirit comes in."
Jiang Qiao made his tiny Elemental Summoner walk to the lunchbox containing the shrimp shells by Hai Lan's side. Hai Lan hugged the lunchbox with both hands, instantly going into alert mode.
It was like a lazy, chubby orange cat entering combat mode instantly upon discovering another cat would steal its small dried fish.
The Elemental Summoner didn't do anything to Hai Lan's lunchbox. Instead, a small window popped up before him, displaying a line of data.
"Manor·Sea Blue Goddess's Lunchbox
Land Area: 530 square centimeters.
Purchase Requirement: 100 Magic Stones."
The Magic Stones purchase requirement was just something Jiang Qiao made up on the spot. In the future, if players truly wanted to buy real estate in the "real world" and build Sacred Spirit houses, the requirements would definitely be different.
"Players can buy houses in the locations I set. These locations can be purchased repeatedly, but only the most excellently constructed manor will be displayed." Jiang Qiao explained.
"That sounds like it's turning into another game? Everyone collects materials in Sacred Spirit, then heads to the real world to… build houses?"
Hai Lan's comprehension was incredibly strong, only slightly dipping when it came to topics related to eating.
"Not another game, but a new version." Jiang Qiao stated his idea.
"After you recover that Divine Fragment, I'll update the game version, synchronizing the existence and level cap increase of the inner world. This is also a method to save Creation Energy. After all, moving buildings directly from Sacred Spirit to the inner world also consumes a lot of energy. Players building it brick by brick themselves aligns more with the real world setting."
"I remember that girl boiling water, what's her name again..."
"Black-haired Chang Qing?" Jiang Qiao mentioned the player who left a deep impression on him. "She's currently at level twenty-five, still striving to save up a hundred gold. However, she's indeed an extremely creative player. I believe she'll shine in the inner world in the future."
"There aren't any main cities in the inner world. Aren't those invaders from the invasive dimensions going to demolish the players' manors?"
Hai Lan was quite protective of the players, like a new mother unsure of how to take care of her baby, clumsily but diligently guarding her child—the players.
"Won't players build cannons, defensive towers, or prism towers in their manors to blow the enemies to hell?" Jiang Qiao revealed his ambition to Hai Lan. "Never underestimate our creativity..."
Maybe a game designer's creativity is limited, but the creativity of the player community is boundless, as seen in a game called "Besiege." Originally a medieval construction game, it was transformed by players into games like StarCraft, Gundam fighting, Tank World, and more.
In Sacred Spirit's original world, for the sake of NPCs and other players' game experiences, Jiang Qiao restricted the constructionist players' play experience.
But the inner world was entirely different. It was a super-flat world where constructionists could do whatever they wanted, as long as they had enough money to buy houses.
"It sounds interesting, like… tower defense." Hai Lan recalled a term Jiang Qiao mentioned before.
"It's normal to construct defensive lines for enemy invasions, isn't it?" Jiang Qiao didn't care about the gameplay experience of invaders from invasive dimensions.
The construction system in Sacred Spirit was extremely complex—complex in its freedom. But essentially, it was still a game. Building a cannon in Sacred Spirit didn't require high academic qualifications, just a corresponding profession in the life professions. Sacred Spirit's system would guide players to create what they wanted, and all creations operated based on the manor's main structure known as the "Saint Crystal."
"Isn't it a bit early to talk about this now?" Hai Lan had finished her crawfish. "Whether I can get that Divine Fragment is still a problem. And… will 3D projections really become widespread so quickly?"
"They will. I have a premonition. Although it will take time, we… or rather, all Sacred Spirit players, must work together. The first step is to level up." Jiang Qiao was absolutely confident in his players.
But this confidence didn't last long. After testing the inner world's basic operation mode, Jiang Qiao took a moment to glance at the Sacred Spirit section in the player community, where a post caught his attention.
The post was titled: "A new NPC arena has appeared outside the Tower of Trial, and the NPCs there are strong! I've suffered four times! Any PK pros to help? Urgent!"