ROSGT Chapter 18: Sis, You’ve Been Exposed, Stop Pretending
Volume One
Chapter 18: Sis, You’ve Been Exposed, Stop Pretending
Fang Xi’s chubby fingers were short and stubby, but they moved across the keyboard with remarkable speed, the screen flashing with lines of code. He was excited, fully immersed in the task.
Ye Cui sat in his wheelchair, a confident smile on his face and joy in his eyes: yes, this was exactly the kind of talent he needed. Only people like this could help him develop various games.
Fang Nan stood to the side, her face still a bit flushed. Although the world had something akin to Weibo, taking selfies wasn’t as popular. A girl getting her photo taken could still feel a bit shy.
Of course, Fang Nan’s main curiosity now was about what kind of game Ye Cui intended to make. Ye Cui had only spoken a few words to Fang Xi, who then understood immediately. It seemed this game was quite simple, but what exactly was it?
“What trick does he have up his sleeve?” Jian Fan, sitting at his own desk with a seemingly indifferent expression, was also thinking quickly. Seeing Fang Nan standing shyly next to Ye Cui made Jian Fan even angrier: “I’ve known Fang Nan for over a year, and she’s never shown such an expression towards me. How can she be so concerned about a cripple?”
Jian Fan was filled with jealousy and determination to drive Ye Cui out of the studio. Meanwhile, he couldn’t imagine how a single photo could be turned into something interesting.
Time flew by, and soon ten minutes had passed.
“Done!”
With a final keystroke, Fang Xi turned excitedly to Ye Cui, his chubby face beaming. “Brother X, is this okay?”
Ye Cui wheeled over and looked at the screen for a moment, satisfied with Fang Xi’s work. “Good, just like that. Of course, adding some sound effects and music would make it even better, but this is enough for now.”
With Ye Cui’s approval, Fang Nan hurried over. She was both shy and curious about how her photo could be turned into a game.
“How could something finished so quickly be any good?” Jian Fan also approached, looking at Fang Xi’s screen with a skeptical expression.
On the screen were two side-by-side photos of Fang Nan, and nothing else. Jian Fan sneered internally. Putting two photos together—what kind of game is that?
“This game can be called Spot the Difference,” Ye Cui began explaining with a smile. “At first glance, the two photos look the same, but I had Fang Xi modify one of them so that there are five differences between the two. The player needs to find these five differences within a certain time limit, or they lose.”
Spot the Difference was a popular type of mini-game, one that never went out of style. Upon hearing Ye Cui’s explanation, Fang Nan was immediately intrigued and eagerly said, “Let me try first. I want to play it.”
Jian Fan was also surprised. His job in the studio was to come up with creative ideas, and he prided himself on having one of the best minds in the industry. But finding differences between two photos… This simple idea stunned him.
The thought came to him unbidden: I could never have thought of this.
He quickly snapped out of it, determined not to show approval. Jian Fan sneered, “Is that all? Hmph, a game like this is fun only once. After finding the differences, what’s the point of playing again?”
“This is just a sample of the game,” Ye Cui said, turning to Jian Fan with a smile. “If we were to actually launch this game, we could use multiple photos and set different difficulty levels. For example, the first level might have five differences, the second level six, and so on, with the time limit decreasing. We could also implement an expansion pack system, uploading new photo sets periodically to keep the game fresh.”
Fang Xi’s eyes widened. He had a knack for games; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so inspired by Ye Cui’s words earlier. Now, Ye Cui’s explanation opened his eyes to new possibilities.
Typically, after a software release, interest wanes over time. Developers need to upgrade the software to rekindle interest, much like upgrading Cat’s Adventure to Cat’s Adventure 2.0. But upgrading isn’t easy.
The expansion pack concept, however, solved this problem. Creating new photo sets for expansion packs was simple. Periodic uploads would keep the game exciting and generate revenue from downloads.
Jian Fan also saw the commercial potential of this idea, his eyes lighting up. If he had developed this game, it would surely be a big hit…
But seeing Ye Cui’s smiling face, Jian Fan gritted his teeth and persisted, “The expansion pack idea is interesting, but players might not go for it.”
He was being deliberately difficult now.
Ye Cui, however, remained unfazed and smiled, “That’s easy to solve. When we release expansion packs, we can have themed sets. For example, on Valentine’s Day, we could release a Valentine’s Day theme pack, with all photos related to love. This would definitely attract many players.”
Jian Fan was once again astonished. Themed packs? Wow, that idea is brilliant…
As a seasoned veteran in the industry, Jian Fan couldn’t deny the brilliance of these concepts. Seeing Jian Fan’s stunned expression, Ye Cui smirked internally, thinking, “These ideas are a dime a dozen for me. Concepts honed over decades in another world are revolutionary here.”
Jian Fan was at a loss for words.
At that moment, Fang Nan suddenly exclaimed, “Oh my God!”
She was playing the game on the computer and had failed to find the five differences within the allotted minute. In her frustration, she cried out.
Realizing what she had done, Fang Nan quickly glanced at Ye Cui with a shy smile, covering her mouth as she said, “This game is so fun, I got a bit carried away, hehe…”
Fang Xi, sweating beside her, muttered, “Sis, you’ve been exposed, stop pretending.”
Ye Cui: “…”
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