Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Chapter 38: A Good Hand Played Poorly

Chapter 38: A Good Hand Played Poorly

"Do you remember how you could fly in 'Traveler of the Wind'?"

Lincoln's question made Randall pause, as he suddenly realized that he had never thought about it before.

When playing "Traveler of the Wind" with Little Chun, after touching the rune and obtaining the scarf, without any prompting, he naturally understood how to fly.

So, he figured it out, "Is it some kind of hint?"

Without mincing his words, Lincoln gave him the answer: "It's the function of the neural modulator-demodulator, which can translate binary digital signals into neural signals recognized by the brain. With this technology, information can be directly transmitted to players. You can call it a hint, but it's more direct and intense than that."

"Saying too much might not give you a concrete idea, so why don't you try it out!"

After saying this, Lincoln got up and led them to the street outside.

Their conversation had taken place in the virtual cafe earlier, and in order to accommodate Little Chun's situation, they tried to do most of their work in the virtual world, with this time being no exception.

"First, the guns." Lincoln pulled up the development panel, brought out two Glocks, and threw them to Randall and Little Chun.

Little Chun looked at him in surprise: "Do I need one too?"

"Of course, who says girls can't shoot? You probably haven't experienced it in reality, so it would be a pity if you were also restricted in the virtual world."

While speaking, Lincoln secretly created a "Shooting Mastery Lv.1" skill package in Mavis, to help them out quickly.

Randall and Little Chun held the guns in their hands cautiously, feeling the weight, while also feeling a sense of unfamiliarity and apprehension.

That's the normal reaction for ordinary people when they first hold a gun.

Lincoln had the same reaction the first time he touched a gun, but he quickly got past the novice stage with the help of his Nobita Nobi-esque abilities.

He reassured the two of them with a smile: "Don't be afraid, this is the virtual world, and we haven't loaded any pain sensation. Even if you accidentally shoot, you won't feel a thing. Just try shooting a few times."

The two looked at each other and cautiously aimed their guns at a lamppost, pulling the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"Oh, safety and chambering." Randall remembered, of course he knew this. However, since making games doesn't usually have these troublesome features for players, he didn't immediately adjust his mindset.

He looked around on the gun, carefully unlocked the safety, then chambered a round, and pulled the trigger again while aiming at the lamppost.

"Bang!" The loud noise startled both of them, and the recoil caused the muzzle to lift slightly. The bullet grazed the edge of the lamppost and hit the wall.

Little Chun patted her chest gently, then followed suit in unlocking the safety and chambering a round before pulling the trigger.

With Randall's example in mind, she deliberately gripped the gun tightly and pulled the trigger. The bullet accurately hit the lamppost three meters away.

She was overjoyed and clenched her fist tightly, "I hit it!"

"Awesome!" Lincoln and Randall both applauded for her.

Then, Lincoln loaded the "Shooting Mastery Lv.1" skill package for them, which was about one-tenth of his own proficiency with a pistol.

Immediately, both of them felt the difference. They were no longer unfamiliar with the weapons in their hands but felt very comfortable with them, as if they had practiced with the guns for a long time and fired hundreds or thousands of bullets.

Lifting their hands, raising their guns, aiming, and pulling the trigger.

"Bang!" The lightbulb in the overhead streetlight shattered.

Once again, they raised their guns, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!" The lightbulb of the streetlight eighteen meters away shattered again.

The two people stared at their hands holding the guns in surprise. Had they become sharpshooters in an instant?

"Do you understand now?" Lincoln asked with a smile.

"It's incredible," Little Chun said, looking at him in amazement.

"Yes, it's like magic technology," Randall also exclaimed in awe. "Just because of this, players will be intoxicated."

"So you can rest assured about the technology. Arc shooting will be somewhat troublesome, but it just requires some time. I can solve it without worrying. What we need to focus on is making the game as fun as possible."

After that, the three of them returned to the cafe to continue discussing the game's plot and levels. What could be determined, what needed to be changed, and which problems they couldn't find a solution for immediately were temporarily put on hold.

At the same time that Dream Cloud Studio was discussing their next game, a meeting was taking place at NetDragon as well.

Richard sat in the first seat and spoke first, "The marketing department had an unexpected discovery yesterday. Let's tell everyone about it."

The Marketing Department Director nodded and continued, "Yesterday at noon, we received news that Dream Cloud Studio is in talks with several unmanned factories, probably for the production of virtual reality devices.

Last night, we found out the specific factory, but the boss of that factory was unwilling to reveal any detailed information. However, we can confirm that Dream Cloud Studio's virtual reality devices have already begun large-scale mass production. Although we don't know the exact scale, the production speed is very fast, and there's a high chance that it will collide with the release time of "Blaze 3."

"What do you think?" Richard asked the senior executives present, "Will this threaten our sales plan?"

"Of course there is no threat!"

Before Gary could speak, Henry jumped in, eager to show off his achievements, "Although there is still a lot of discussion on the Internet, we have already conducted a survey. Players who have a record of purchasing games clearly prefer "Blaze 3." Those discussing "Traveler of the Wind" are mainly people who haven't purchased games previously. Games are sold to people who will buy them, so we have already won!"

These conclusions were all based on the investigations and summaries done by Gary and his team, who had looked at numerous data.

But the result was hijacked by Henry, presenting it as his own analysis.

Gary was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

Richard nodded with satisfaction but still reminded them, "We still need to pay attention and not be careless. It's not time to celebrate yet."

Having said that, he was relieved inside.

He didn't understand games, but he understood business.

NetDragon's VR equipment, the latest Flying Dragon, had sold nearly 3.5 million units, and the previous equipment had a stock of nearly 6 million units; these were all potential customers for the game.

Good game sales could also promote the sale of more equipment, a process of mutual promotion.

As for Dream Cloud Studio, the virtual reality devices were indeed powerful, but how much money could a poor college student start with? How many devices could be produced?

He knew very well that countless investors had been waving huge amounts of cash, wanting to invest in Dream Cloud Studio. If Lincoln had accepted the investment, then it could indeed become a significant rival.

However, all investors could not locate Lincoln. Going to his residence, they discovered that he had already moved; their calls were blocked by a whitelist, and their emails sank into the ocean.

Not a single investor successfully put money into Lincoln's pocket.

So how much market share could they grab with just a few virtual reality devices and an unpopular desert travel simulator?

Foolish!

This was Richard's evaluation of Lincoln, a great hand played poorly!