Chapter 12

 Chapter Twelve: Activation of the Official Version!

"Ah?"

The students in the lecture hall exclaimed uniformly.

A design concept proposal for a game?

Professor, are you kidding us?

These students majoring in game design knew exactly what a design concept proposal was.

It could be seen as the initial draft of a game's design, framing the entire game's framework in relatively concise language. It could also be understood as the introductory part of a thesis.

The problem was that its content was much longer than a thesis's introduction!

While a design concept proposal didn't need to detail every single aspect of the game like a specific design document, it still had to determine important components such as the game's theme, gameplay, core features, storyline flow, and more.

In other words, completing a design concept proposal would give a general direction for designing a game, and the next step would be to refine the details.

Professor He Cheng was asking everyone to independently design an entire game from scratch!

For first-year freshmen, was this level of difficulty a bit too much?

Although these students had played many games, up to this point, many of them hadn't even seen a proper game design document, let alone written one.

It was like arriving at the starting village and immediately receiving a quest to defeat the final boss?

Outrageous!

Of course, Professor He Cheng didn't see anything wrong with this, and he even seemed to enjoy the complex expressions on the students' faces.

"I didn't ask you to make a game that would definitely make money. Why so flustered?"

But that didn't console the students at all.

Many students were thinking, "Nonsense! If it were that simple for us to create a game that could make money, why would we be here taking this course?"

Professor He Cheng continued, "This is just a regular test. Since you all have zero experience, this kind of test can better showcase your talents and real abilities.

If you don't do well on this assignment, there won't be any serious consequences, at most, it will make me have a slightly worse impression of you."

The students collectively thought to themselves: "Isn't that serious enough?"

Professor He Cheng changed the subject, "However...

If any of you can complete this assignment outstandingly, there will be extremely generous rewards.

In a week, I will randomly select a few students to check their assignments briefly. Two weeks later, I will conduct the first comprehensive assignment review and select one-third of the outstanding proposals to advance.

Afterward, the advanced students can freely form groups with the non-advanced students to continue refining the design and develop a complete design document.

In mid-next month, I will check the design documents of each group again, and then select the top three.

So, what are the benefits of being in the top three?

I will have my graduate students assist in developing these three games and publish them on game stores. All the income generated will be evenly distributed among you, the creators!"

As soon as they heard this, everyone suddenly perked up.

Who knew there could be such a good thing?

Clearly, while the assignment was challenging, the rewards were far beyond expectations.

Professor He had some graduate students under him, and their abilities were quite strong, even surpassing some junior planners in small companies.

With Professor He's guidance, assistance from these graduate students, and the various channels and resources at his disposal, they could certainly create these games.

When these games were eventually published in game stores, even if they weren't particularly popular, everyone could still earn a considerable amount of money.

More importantly, this would be a significant addition to their personal resumes. If they wanted to apply for positions at major game companies in the future, it would be a substantial advantage.

Thinking about this, the initially disheartened students became eager and determined.

Although everyone knew that only a few would eventually be in the top three, it was still early in the school year, and most people felt that if they worked hard, they had a good chance.

Professor He was quite satisfied with the students' response, but it seemed he had more to say.

"In addition, there's also a mysterious reward! I won't reveal the contents of this mysterious reward for now, but I can guarantee that none of you can guess it.

"All right, class dismissed!"

...

In the cafeteria, the four members of Dorm 404 discussed today's class while eating.

Lü Yixiao was curious, "What do you think Professor He's mysterious reward could be?"

Zhao Haoyan chewed on a steamed bun vigorously, "I guess it must be some extra money!"

Liu Bo thought for a moment, "Could it be an official recommendation or something? With Professor He's connections, arranging a special event shouldn't be difficult."

Lu Zhixing shook his head slightly, "It probably isn't either of those. Professor He said it's a reward that none of us can guess. What kind of reward can no one guess? Well, something we don't even know about yet."

Liu Bo was momentarily speechless, "Lu Ge, you're being cryptic..." (Tl Note: Ge means bro. Ge sounds better than bro so...I changed it.)

Lu Zhixing smiled, "What I mean is, there's no need to guess. Instead of spending time guessing, we should think about how to write the design concept proposal and strive for a top-three position."

Lü Yixiao suddenly remembered something, "By the way, Lu Ge, weren't you helping out at the internet café over the weekend and playing that frustrating game? Yet you answered the questions so well."

Lu Zhixing replied, "Well... I played it a bit."

Zhao Haoyan had already finished his meal in record time, and upon hearing this, he quickly took out his phone, "Zen, right? I need to find a video walkthrough of this game right now, so I don't get called on by Professor He again in the next class."

Liu Bo waved his hand, "Ah, no need, he already asked questions in this class. Why would he ask again? If you have the time, you might as well look for other recently popular games."

Lü Yixiao remained silent for a moment, "Not necessarily. Liu Bo, haven't you noticed? Professor He is clearly someone who doesn't follow the rules. In the next class, he might just call you up again to answer questions, and then he'll find out that you still haven't played the game, making it even worse."

Liu Bo was momentarily stunned, and after a rapid mental calculation, he quickly pulled out his phone.

"General Lu, you make so much sense! I'm going to catch up on this game with Lao Zhao…" (Tl Note: Lao means old. A prefix before someone's name or title to show respect or familiarity. )

"Hey, there's a new meme in this game? 'Official Platform Four Great Classics'? What's that?"

During this period, the heat surrounding Zen was still rapidly escalating, and online discussions about this game were becoming more frequent.

Initially, players' discussions were clearly divided into two camps: one believed that this game was simply rubbish, while the other thought that it had a true Zen quality and could be considered a work of art.

At this point, the latter camp had clearly gained the upper hand...

Of course, it was impossible to determine how many of these players genuinely felt the Zen qualities of the game and how many were simply joining in the fun.

However, one fact could not be denied: memes about Zen were rapidly emerging and spreading widely.

"I believe that this game can be called one of the 'Four Great Classics' on the official platform. It subverts traditional game design concepts, encompasses everything, is constantly updated, and is rich in philosophy!"

"Huh? Why is it 'Four Great Classics'? Shouldn't it be 'One Great Classic'?!"

"No, on the official platform, the Four Great Classics refer to 'Prison, Tree, Mountain, Bridge'."

"That's amazing."

Seeing players' discussions, Lu Zhixing couldn't help but smile.

Indeed, whether it was in his previous life or in this world, gamers seemed to be quite similar in many ways.

In his previous life, there was also a similar concept of "Steam's Four Great Classics," which included "Mountain, Goat, Bridge, Ball," corresponding to games like "Mountain Simulator," "Goat Simulator," "Bridge," and "Sakura Spirit." (Tl Note: I don't know what game this bridge is. But I think it could be a game of developing bridges.)

"Tree Simulator" actually had the potential to become a "classic" as well, but unfortunately, it came a bit late and had some overlap with "Mountain Simulator" in terms of content, so it only received "overwhelmingly positive" reviews and high popularity, but it didn't make it into the "Four Great Classics."

Lu Zhixing successfully combined the features of the games "Tree" and "Mountain," combined with another game created by the original author of "Tree," "Sit in Jail Until You Become the Warden," and created the final "Stone Bridge" chapter, merging these four "masterpieces" into one game.  (Tl Note: I don't know any game mentioned above. So take it as a fictional game.)

Adding the top-notch artistic assets he received from the life simulation game gave rise to the success of this game.

Of course, why this game was successful remained a mystery that no one in the world could fully explain. Many people found it boring and couldn't get into it, yet it received overwhelmingly positive reviews, much like the absurdity of real life.

From the beginning, Lu Zhixing knew that this game wasn't guaranteed to be a hit. It had a certain probability of success, and now it seemed that luck was on his side in this world, as the taste of the players here wasn't too different from the players in his previous life.

However, Lu Zhixing also understood that such success in the gaming industry couldn't be taken for granted. Luck wouldn't always be on his side.

In the future, he would have to rely on his true abilities.

...

Three days later.

【The player has successfully achieved the first stage goal through their efforts, earning one hundred thousand yuan. The Life Simulation Game Official Version feature is now activated!】

【In the Official Version feature, you will experience:】

【1. More challenging role-playing tasks】

【2. Advanced skills that match the role-playing objectives, as well as high-quality assets】

【3. Continuously updated product content and a diverse points-based marketplace】

The Official Version was successfully activated!

Lu Zhixing was delighted. He didn't immediately check the new role-playing tasks but went to look at the points-based marketplace.

However, when he saw an empty marketplace with only one item, Lu Zhixing fell into silence.

【Role-playing skill - I am a Tree (Enhanced Version): Clear your mind, eliminate all thoughts; remain still, cease all actions. (Enhanced Effect: Significantly reduces your presence.)】

【Price: 50 points】

Lu Zhixing felt somewhat exasperated. "Haven't I already acquired this skill?"

【The role-playing skills provided in the game are only available during the role-playing process and will be revoked after completion. Enhanced version skills will enter the points store, and players can purchase them as needed.】

"Alright."

Lu Zhixing felt like he had been outsmarted. The points store did indeed offer a wide range of items, but the game didn't specify that all items would be activated right from the start...

Moreover, role-playing skills were not permanent. Once a role-playing task was completed, the corresponding role-playing skill would be taken back.

If Lu Zhixing found this skill to be useful, he could spend points to purchase it from the store. If he deemed it unnecessary, then he wouldn't waste his points.

"A skill like this only costs 50 points."

Lu Zhixing exited the store page and checked the new role-playing tasks instead.

However, in the next moment, he was dumbfounded.

"A new role-playing task... Why are there three of them?"