Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 456: Third Video Of Masterpiece Showcase
March 16, Wednesday.
After a routine update to the GOG mobile game, a brand-new event appeared.
Battle at the Peak of the Gods!
The event announcement clearly stated that GOG's ranked mode would adopt a seasonal system. This year would be Season 1, and the Spring Season would end on March 29, with rankings finalized on March 31.
At settlement, rewards totaling as much as 9.5 million yuan would be distributed based on player rankings!
And these were cash prizes, not in-game currency!
The number one Supreme King player on both the PC and mobile versions would each receive a massive 100,000 yuan reward!
Even players ranked all the way down to 500th place would still receive prizes, with the minimum being 5,000 yuan.
The craziest part was that the PC version of GOG had not even officially launched yet.
It was scheduled to release next Monday.
From Monday the 21st until midnight on the 29th, players would have just eight days of nonstop grinding for a chance to win 100,000 yuan!
The moment the announcement came out, players were stunned. Some even suspected it was fake.
"Insane, absolutely insane! They're throwing nearly ten million yuan at the game in less than half a month?"
"And not just now—they're planning to spend ten million every three months! That's forty million a year!"
"The monetization model is already super consumer-friendly. I seriously doubt they can sustain this kind of spending."
"Tengda Group has always kept its word. Their credibility is solid."
"I'm not worried about their credibility. I'm worried about their money…"
"Looks like Tengda Group is going all in this time. The higher-ups must really believe in GOG if they're willing to burn this much cash just to crush IOI and Divine Revelation."
"To be fair, Tengda Group's executives are the boldest I've ever seen. Every decision makes people think, 'Have they gone crazy?' But every single time, their business explodes afterward!"
"That's Tengda Group's superpower. Maybe they don't make the most money, but they sure dare to spend it! Companies richer than them don't have this kind of courage!"
"Forget everything else, I'm downloading GOG right now. Even grinding for a week to earn 5,000 yuan would be totally worth it!"
"I just pre-ordered the OTTO E1 phone too, but I still don't know when it'll arrive. Of course it goes out of stock at a critical moment—classic artificial scarcity marketing!"
"Can't you play on any phone?"
"You can, but OTTO phones have an exclusive high-frame-rate mode. If you want to conquer the Peak of the Gods, how can you let hardware hold you back? Obviously you need a dedicated gaming phone—and all the skins too!"
"There are too many people on mobile, so that's hopeless. I'm buying a new PC and waiting for the PC version instead. There are 500 reward spots on both platforms anyway. I just need to barely squeeze into Master tier on PC."
"A few of my buddies are veterans from Divine Revelation and IOI. I'm dragging all of them over to GOG right now!"
"After playing GOG for a day, I feel like its success isn't accidental at all. The mechanics are rich, the pace is fast, the heroes are easy to use, the servers are stable and lag-free, there are almost no bugs, and you can log in directly with a Tengda Group account to invite friends instantly… Compared to those two foreign games, it's just way more convenient!"
Discussions like these could be seen everywhere online.
In just a single day, the game seemed to have exploded in popularity.
Of course, GOG's popularity was still mostly limited to a relatively niche circle.
At the moment, MMORPGs were still the undisputed kings of the gaming market. Although Divine Revelation, IOI, and GOG each had their own player bases, the audiences of the three games heavily overlapped.
In other words, the three games were mostly fighting over the same MOBA players—or more precisely, IOI was stealing veteran players from Divine Revelation, while GOG was stealing players from both Divine Revelation and IOI.
As for fresh blood, it was still only trickling in slowly.
However, GOG's "lavish spending spree" had undeniably achieved its intended effect. Not only had it attracted a huge number of veteran IOI and Divine Revelation players over to GOG, it had also convinced many newcomers—people who had never touched this type of game before—to choose GOG as their very first MOBA experience.
…
Inside the office, Pei Qian looked at the online discussions with mixed feelings.
The good news was that the money had indeed been spent.
The bad news was that the money he originally intended to throw away had created an unexpectedly gigantic splash!
People's reactions seemed a little too enthusiastic…
But thinking about it again, it made sense. A newly launched game crazily handing out cash like this was an incredibly rare phenomenon.
More importantly, the game had only just launched, so most people still harbored unrealistic hopes.
If this had been a game that had already been out for three or four years, most players would already have a pretty accurate understanding of their own skill levels. They would know perfectly well that they were Bronze or Silver-tier players and wouldn't entertain absurd fantasies like "I can reach Grandmaster." They also wouldn't bother joining the chaos.
But now things are different.
Everyone was starting from zero. Everyone believed they might be one of the thousand lucky winners. And all it took was a little more than a week of grinding to find out.
Driven by that gambler's mentality, players were rushing headfirst into GOG, fighting desperately for a spot.
Pei Qian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Even he had no idea what things would look like by the next settlement cycle. The situation might become completely impossible to control.
Still, no matter what, being able to delay disaster until the next cycle was always a good thing.
At the moment, the only piece of good news seemed to be that BE QUIET's sales were pretty awful. Recovering the development costs still looked like a distant dream.
"For now, things should stay peaceful for a couple of days… right?"
Pei Qian let out a long sigh and opened Aili Island, planning to watch a few dumb comedy videos to relax a little.
But the moment he refreshed the homepage, he immediately saw Qiao Liang's newest upload.
Masterpiece Showcase, Episode 3: BE QUIET—The Effort and Pride of a Top-Tier Game Producer!
With a loud smack, Pei Qian flung his phone far across the room.
Supporting his forehead with one hand and squeezing his eyes shut, he felt despair wash over him.
It was over.
The nightmare had returned!
Pei Qian still vividly remembered the terror of being dominated by Qiao Liang's Masterpiece Showcase video series during the releases of Game Producer and Turn Back Before It's Too Late.
Originally, he had assumed GOG would be the target this time. After all, GOG was already exploding in popularity—it didn't need another spark from Qiao Liang's videos.
But to his utter disbelief, Qiao Liang had skipped over Tengda Group's games and chosen Shangyang Games instead!
Pei Qian was speechless.
Could this guy really be this good at picking targets?
"BE QUIET is the only fragile little seedling I have left, and you still won't let it go?"
"And what's with this so-called 'Masterpiece Showcase' series anyway? This is already the third episode, and every single one is about me!"
"Have you ever heard of the same person making a 'masterpiece' three times in a row?"
"Does that even make sense?!"
"Even if you're obsessed with my games, at least switch to another company once in a while! You can't keep shearing the same sheep over and over!"
Pei Qian ranted furiously in his mind.
But after calming down a little, he still silently picked the phone back up.
As unwilling as he was, he still had to watch the video. Avoiding reality like an ostrich wouldn't solve anything. He needed to know exactly what Qiao Liang was praising this time so he could quietly correct it in the future and avoid making the same mistake again.
"Even though I know better than anyone that you're talking complete nonsense… I'll reluctantly watch it anyway…"
With deep resentment in his heart, Pei Qian pressed the play button.
…
"Hello, esteemed viewers and audience. It is once again your beloved Teacher Qiao."
"From the title, everyone already knows today's topic: BE QUIET."
"Recently, this game has sparked considerable controversy online because of its unusual purchase requirements. Many fans have been messaging me privately, hoping I would share my thoughts on it."
"As everyone already knows, ever since the ARG puzzle for this game was released, I've been extremely excited to participate in it. And honestly speaking, the first player to solve all the puzzles and gain access to the game… was yours truly. Ah~ how embarrassing."
"After experiencing this game intensively, I feel that the Masterpiece Showcase series can finally welcome a brand-new episode!"
"So, everyone, please join Qiao Liang as we unveil the mysterious veil covering this game. Are you ready?"
…
After watching this opening segment, Pei Qian felt only one thing:
Exhaustion.
This Qiao Liang guy had definitely misunderstood his intentions again because of some random setting Pei Qian had improvised on a whim!
Having already been through this twice before, Pei Qian was now painfully familiar with Qiao Liang's usual pattern of interpretation.
But knowing the pattern didn't help, because although the structure was always the same, the actual content was different every single time…
And the fans absolutely loved watching Qiao Liang come up with increasingly creative interpretations of games. What could he even do about that?
Pei Qian felt helpless. He could already foresee exactly what was about to happen next, yet he could only grit his teeth and keep watching.
…
"Before we begin analyzing this incredibly unique online horror game, I first want to awaken some memories in everyone's minds."
"Please think back to the anger you felt when you first played Turn Back Before It's Too Late."
"Yes, exactly. Recall that anger, and then compare it to how you feel now. Don't they share a certain similarity?"
"Some people may argue that the two situations are different, but I must honestly tell you: no, they are the same."
"That anger can essentially be summarized in one sentence: 'The world did not develop the way I expected it to, and therefore I am angry.'"
"In Turn Back Before It's Too Late, we expected to play a hack-and-slash game. We wanted to pick an easy difficulty like in other games, wield an awesome weapon, and bulldoze our way through everything. But instead, the very first tiny monster beside a grave taught us a harsh lesson, and so we became angry."
"It's the same in BE QUIET. We expected to simply buy the game and jump right in without any preparation. Yet the developer required us to complete prerequisite puzzles and even pass an eye-tracking mini-game before obtaining purchase qualifications, so we became angry."
"And regarding this, I want to say: the key lies in how we choose to view the situation."
"You can see it as an obstacle, or you can see it as guidance and teaching."
"Let me give two simple examples."
"In many competitive games, players are forced to complete tutorials before entering the game. They cannot skip them, and novice players are not allowed to play together with experts."
"And in real life, if we want to drive a car, we must first pass a very complicated driving test."
"Many people will say these situations are different. Driving can endanger other people's lives, while games cannot harm anyone else."
"But I want to ask: are you sure?"
"Are you absolutely certain that games cannot cause harm to others?"
"There's a saying we often hear: 'A godlike enemy is less frightening than piglike teammates.'"
"Think about all those experiences where terrible teammates ruined your matches. Isn't mental damage still damage?"
"If you spent money on a game and invested a huge amount of time into it, only to have your experience destroyed by players who neither understand the game nor are willing to learn, wouldn't you feel angry? Wouldn't you feel that your money and time had been wasted?"
"What BE QUIET does is guide and train players before they enter the game. And unlike games that only provide tutorials after purchase, this game doesn't take a single cent from you during that process."
"Why do ranked games have so many restrictions?"
"Because their gameplay is complex. Only when every player in the match fully understands the rules can the game deliver a perfect competitive experience and guarantee enjoyment for everyone involved."
"The moment even one weak link appears, the balance of the match instantly collapses, and all nine other players lose their enjoyment entirely."
"And BE QUIET happens to be exactly this kind of game. For beginners, it is not friendly at all. But once everyone fully understands the rules, it can provide a truly perfect gameplay experience!"
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Tn: I updated the story once a day, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 536: Still Going with the "Bare Walls" Style[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284
[2] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284