Pong World
Today's game is all about beating animals to a pulp… and catching them with monster balls to turn them into slaves. It was the perfect fit for me. Plus, it looked fun. Like, just pounding monsters into the ground… it looked fun. If they don't listen, they get smacked. Yeah… yeah.
After all, I'm a Pukemon (Pokémon) anime Season 1 veteran—I even paid 500 won per VOD episode since I couldn't catch the original broadcast. I got so mad whenever that electric mouse refused to listen. How dare that little rat ignore its master's orders? Back then, I was furious. Defying its owner? A mere Pukemon? Every time that electric mouse acted up, I'd demand Professor Oak take it back and bring me something else. Then Mom would scold me… asking why I was getting angry at the TV. But I really was mad. Ungrateful little thing… That anime was pure evil. There was that water-squirting one too—its owner fed it and loved it, and the moment someone mentioned it could become a civil servant, it flipped out, ditched its master, and became a firefighter. And that butterfly… I still remember it. The bug kid that the protagonist raised without spraying any bug spray, helped it evolve into a butterfly, and then it immediately went off chasing love and stabbed the protagonist in the back. That fire lizard… what was its name again? Was it Rajimong? That one… the fire lizard before it evolved… I still remember. The protagonist found it in the rain, picked it up, fed it, and gave it love. It should've known its place. Why else would its previous owner have abandoned it? Probably because its ability and moves were trash. If someone picks you up in that situation, you should do your absolute best for your new master!! But no, it evolves and suddenly starts ignoring its owner to take naps!! Is that okay? What a rotten little monster!!
After watching that anime, I begged and begged Mom until she bought me a DS. I immediately went for Giratina. I ditched every weak one and filled my team with only the strongest-looking ones… It was so fun. Suddenly, nostalgia hit me. I really used to enjoy it back then. I wonder if it's still around? At some point, I just stopped playing. Anyway, that's not important right now.
“This looks fun. This is gonna be fun!!”
Of course, prep work was essential. I'd already studied all the basics. So many people had uploaded videos that it was easy to learn. In this game, monsters get beaten. But the wording felt off. I'll just call them Pongs. I deliberately avoided watching any Pong footage. I wanted to experience it fresh in the game… Viewers like that. I only watched the controls, item crafting recipes, and tutorial three times. Once I had it all down, I started the stream.
“Hello everyone. Can you see me? Today we're playing Pong World!!”
Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The chat window bloomed with smiles.
“Let's just jump straight into the game.”
“This… has been milked dry?”
No, I saw it—Meron and Raming played it yesterday. I thought this was my original content? No! It's not my content!! Milked dry? That can't be right. Watch. I'll prove it. I opened YouTube and showed the replay I'd watched yesterday.
“Look at this. This is a copy. Meron did it, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
What? I copied it. Don't doubt me. I brought verified content. Even if you don't trust me, trust the copy. I only brought something already proven!!
“Ing? 6 months ago? No… it just popped up in my algorithm yesterday.”
Yesterday it randomly showed up in my recommendations… Ooh!! This looks fun. So I brought it over. But it was from 6 months ago? No. That can't be. I didn't check the date, but… wasn't it recent? I wanted to ask back.
“It really… was, huh?”
No, it really was a game from 6 months ago. I brought it without knowing? But I already bought it. I said I'd play it, so backing out now would feel weird. It's my fault. But… I still can't not play it.
“No. I'm still gonna play it!!”
I copied it, but it was the wrong copy… Since I copied wrong, I won't play it… That would be too lame. I'll just keep going. That way it'll feel less lame.
“No low chat. We're doing Pong.”
Low chat is really scary. If I keep looking at the chat, the game I prepared starts feeling unfun. No matter how fun it seems, if everyone says it's boring… I unconsciously lose motivation. Even the people who would enjoy it if I just played… they insist it's bad and boring. It kills my enthusiasm right from the start. I've dropped quite a few games like that.
“Let's go. Let's go…”
Fun or not, once I've started it, I have to keep going. That way I can see the real public opinion. I immediately created a new world. Uh… it asked for a name? Seon-a Land… That should be fine, right? I glanced over.
“Uh… Seon-a Land…”
“Ahem…”
They're really making this hard for me. Seon-a Land is fine… At least give me that much. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed it. The chat was brutal, but I had no choice. Next was difficulty… Easy felt like it would hurt my pride, so I went with Normal. Character nickname: Seon-a. I picked a female preset.
“Game!!! Start!!”
As it began… three dumb-looking Pongs went running off. How dare them mock their master and run away? These guys are done for.
“How dare you run? You're all getting slaughtered.”
Of course, I'd studied the systems too. The one I liked most was the “Slaughter” system. It was a kind act that let disobedient Pongs be reborn. A warm, merciful system that let them feel their master's benevolence.
Can't be helped. It's not real. It's fake. If this makes people cry, what happens when they play FPS? Games are just games. Just enjoy it.
“It's just a game, everyone. I… I love animals. But I don't love weak Pongs. My mission is to let them be reborn.”
Weak Pongs stay weak forever. Raising them won't change anything. So? They need to be reborn. In other words… they have to be erased first, then reborn. Isn't that mercy for weak Pongs? Ehehe. I followed the tutorial and played… then just opened up.
“I already prepped for this.”
I knew how to make crafting tables and set up bases. If I pretended to figure it out here… the chat would explode. Better to be honest and boldly set up the base—that way they'll at least tolerate it.
“No… I looked up how to build bases… how to make balls… item recipes. I don't want to grind early on…”
Being honest actually helped the viewers understand. Far more of them preferred me bringing pre-studied knowledge over grinding live. I set up a base on the nearby flat ground, made a crafting table, and speedran pickaxes and axes. Once I was fully geared with the best early-game stuff… I glanced at the chat.
Hah… I felt like crying. I grinded it 10 minutes ago. Not even that—it was a speedrun, so I did it super fast. Why is the chat like this? They all look like old people talking to walls…
“No… everyone. I finished it with a speedrun… Now I'm going to catch some Pongs.”
Yeah. Yeah. Don't look at the chat. If it's fun, it'll change on its own. Just focus on me. I just have to do well. Yeah. Just me… Ugh. I picked up the club. Then…
“Why am I yawning!!”
I smacked the chicken Pong over and over.
“Why are you searching for Koja in my room!! Use YouTube Premium!! Then!!”
It died… but it wasn't enough. My anger wasn't gone.
“Normalize YouTube? Normalize the chat first!! Smack smack. When's the low chat? I'll do it tomorrow!! I'll do it tomorrow!! If you're gonna sleep, I'll make you sleep forever!! What, you're scared? Then stop being scared!! You say I'm vicious? Where? Come here, you little shits!! Let's smack some more!! Ah~ It's not a bad thing. It's playtime. Smack-smack playtime!! I'm just giving you a nice massage with the club~ Not coming? You little bastard.”
It died again. This time it was a red cat Pong.
“How dare you dirty the chat, you little shit? You need to be punished, right? Yeah? You're scared? You say I'm vicious? The more you do that, the more Pongs die!! Die again!!”
After catching about ten, I felt refreshed. They paid the price for making me angry, didn't they? I'm a really scary person!! When I'm mad, I'm super scary. Are you shaking? Scared? I'm super scary. Right, scary? Scary?!
Why are they laughing?