Inside Chen Xu's rented house, he made do with a pack of instant noodles cooked with an egg.
He had no choice but to eat like this recently, as he was really running low on cash.
He's practically swimming in debt with all the credit cards and loans he's taken out.
On top of that, he had to borrow 1,000 yuan from Ruan Ningxue, and he hasn't even paid her yet. But there's no way around it, he's invested most of what he has into making the game.
There isn't much left for food.
Of course, the main reason for this is the 20,000 yuan he set aside. He can't touch these funds, because he needs it to buy 'Mirror' some wings.
As for the quality of the game, Chen Xu is confident.
For research purposes, he had obtained an in-depth understanding of the Gal games and Otome games in this world. Including visual novels, dating sims and erotic games.
For these, Chen Xu can only say: they are simply too crude.
Are Gal games not games too?
The standard is outrageously low!
But again, he recalls his mantra, fragrant wine does not fear deep alleys. Quality will speak for itself.
And an 18R game of this quality, will absolutely make an impact once it takes off on the gaming platforms.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Even for masterpieces like 'Minecraft' and 'The Binding of Isaac', they might not have made a splash if not for some luck in their early days.
So, for a game, publicity is a must.
Even if it's an 18R game!
Of course, this might require some special methods.
......
In the dormitory of a certain university.
Yawning, Jiang Ping climbed down the ladder from the top bunk and opened the laptop on the table.
"There aren't any exciting new things to read lately."
Muttering, Jiang Ping opened one of the more popular overseas forums.
Of course, he was talking about comics, not just normal ones, but erotic ones too.
For example, some of them had suffocating plots that filled people with frustration; for example, killing off a popular female side character, or the female lead in a stallion comic died and became driving force for the male lead.
Honestly it felt like eating shit, but the artwork is usually really good, and that makes it more annoying somehow.
That's where the erotic versions and doujins come in, so of course it's not uncommon to scientifically explore these fascinating specimens from time to time.
But they were generally few and far between, stifled by strict copyright laws.
Of course, there were also original pieces. But they tend to go into more, indescribable territory, not fit for normal humans with normal tastes.
Jiang Ping now entered one of the more famous overseas forums to see if there were any new doujins.
After all, many of the artists who drew these did so out of interest and passion.
It's normal for doujin artists to work in fits and starts, so you'd be considered lucky if one gets updated consistently for a week straight, let alone be a completed piece.
Even when one strikes gold and gets popular, it's usually never serialized successfully.
It was only today that Jiang Ping found something unusual when he entered the forum.
It was the posts on the front page, which were somehow a little eye-catching.
[It's so fucking late, but my housemates' bed keeps shaking, what kind of degenerate am I dealing with?]
[This is the best match-3 game I've ever played!]
[It seems like a very simple game, but the story behind it is heartwarming.]
[What kind of game is this? I bought a simple match-3 game for my little brother, but he's all shrivelled up now!]
[Such courage, fight on! Uohhhhhh 😭]
??????
The hell's going on here?
Looking at the series of posts, Jiang Ping was intrigued.
After clicking on one of the posts, Jiang Ping spent half a day reading before he awoke from his daze.
'The story behind it is heartwarming, my housemates' bed keeps shaking...'
So, these perverted apes going full tilt were actually talking about a Gal game. But a Gal game is a Gal game, what the hell are these reactions?
[My thoughts after half an hour of playtime. My friends, we have peered into the mirror and found it was a looking glass. Before us lies the pain and suffering of reality, and as we witness the beautiful things in life, we are filled with hope for the future; whenever life leaves you battered and bruised, take some time to relax, and remember those pure and simple moments.]
[I have borne witness to the darkness of humanity. Redemption, depravity, and the torment of morality seeps deep into my bones. I am shaken, and my thoughts remain in the game long after closing it. 10/10 would recommend.]
[A game with actual depth, giving players a glimpse into the wastelands of despair, a lost soul wandering in empty ruins, but it carries more meaning than temple scriptures. It is a game in which the different stories shine like glittering stars, dragging us into their miniature worlds. Of course, its not a perfect game, it has its flaws, but the storytelling is first class: simple, powerful, heart-stopping. Chef's kiss.]
[Playing 'Mirror', I was vaguely reminded of the novel: Dream of the Red Chamber. Through this magic mirror, the destinies of these women unfolded before me. Their stories play out in different eras and settings, and they are subjected to all kinds of forces like desire, love and fear… As for my feelings as a spectator to all of this, I can only describe it as a sigh of relief after turning off the game. Or perhaps the urge to ramble at someone for hours.]
[A great man once said: "There will always be people who change their colors when they shouldn't, but there will also be people who explore philosophy when they should; explore the meaning of life and morality, and obviously 'Mirror' is one such example. It presents itself in a licentious form, but reveals profound meaning in the end.]
[When a Gal game makes me feel, it doesn't matter if I jack off or not, it's a good game.]
[I clicked in, and the game got me right in the kokoro, 10 minutes flat. It's hard for me to describe this game in words, It's like a lighthouse on a dark, stormy sea. This game is gonna change the Gal game genre, bet.]
What the hell!?
What on earth are you people on about?
Reading through the whole thing, Jiang Ping felt like his entire being was cringing, and at the same time, what was born was a strong curiosity.
Looking at these post comments within the forum, he discovered that the name of the game was 'Mirror'.
Jiang Ping opened the official game platform and entered to search for it.
It had a very conspicuous sprite on the cover of the game, and the label was marked as 18R.
Hmmmmmm~!
This is an erotic game without the slightest doubt.
But are you guys really not reviewing the wrong game?
Jiang Ping, who already liked erotic games, was even more interested now.
What exactly was this game like?
With a retail price of 10 yuan, it was pretty cheap.
The price of a single breakfast. There was no need to overthink it, Jiang Ping added the game to his cart and checked out.
Now, he would finally get to see what all the fuss was about.