Chapter 155: A Certain Homemade Game
Chapter 155: A Certain Homemade Game
However, not everyone focused only on this magic system. The market system included in it also soothed, to some extent, the thirst of those waiting for a sequel to Sea King.
<No, if you think of it as land-based trade, it has a different flavor.>
Unfortunately, players could not use cool ships, but the game had such high freedom and realism that they could even make and use things like carriages, giving it the feeling of a caravan.
And since there was also a weight system, players who liked the trading system would deliberately hire only companions with high strength stats, equip them with only the bare minimum, load them up entirely with trade goods, and travel around making money.
<What are you going to do after earning money like that?>
<Well, there’s plenty to do. You don’t spend money because you don’t have it, not because there’s nowhere to spend it, right?>
Simply put, they could buy ridiculously expensive equipment that appeared in the black-market auction. Even aside from that, if they had a large sum of money, they could also buy a noble title with it.
Because this was a game that valued freedom, there were so many systems prepared here and there that there was plenty to dig into. Of course, becoming a noble did not mean players could collect taxes, order residents around, or cause chaos, but there were still several hidden stories and quests, so obtaining a title with great effort would be worthwhile.
“This is seriously amazing...”
Anabl, a hardcore MUD Game player, threw the story aside and roamed around the world as he pleased. Learning magic, doing quests, going to hidden places to find treasure, and so on. Even without the story, there was truly a lot to enjoy.
This was because of the freedom, but it was also part of the developer’s intent.
Back when Land of Adventure 1 was first released, there had already been players who finished the story and then wandered around the world out of lingering regret. Because of that, Ras had deliberately added several pieces of this kind of content in the second game, and the evaluation had been good.
And in the third game, they inherited that point and greatly expanded the so-called post-clear content.
For Anabl, who loved the freedom of MUD Games, this was a welcome gift. In truth, he liked freeform play so much that he was negative toward ordinary RPGs.
However, there was so much talk about Land of Adventure 3 that he tried it once. At first, he tried hard to belittle it by saying that MUD Games were still freer and allowed communication with other users, but in the end, he had no choice but to admit defeat.
In particular, the fact that it had graphics was something MUD Games could never beat. No matter how much one let their imagination spread its wings in a MUD, this refreshing feeling of seeing it with one’s own eyes was on a different level.
Still, he felt a little regretful. He thought that if the MUD Game he liked had graphics like this, it would truly be the completion of games.
No, but even then, would MUD Games still be too lacking in content?
Like that, while Anabl enjoyed Land of Adventure, he began imagining something that combined MUD Games and this Land of Adventure.
Land of Adventure 3 also received a good response overseas. Of course, overseas players had to enjoy it in graphics downgrade mode, so they had to give up on the beautiful world, characters, and flashy battles, but even excluding those, it was still fun enough.
Especially because the core content, magic, was mostly unrelated to graphics if one excluded the presentation.
Of course, the few overseas players who somehow obtained a Hammer Computer were savoring the original graphics and feeling a sense of relative enjoyment as well.
“It looks like a complete success, doesn’t it?”
Ras was resting after returning home. Unlike Ras, who was sprawled across the bed, Ella sat in front of him, slowly swaying her tail while using the computer.
“What does?”
“You know, the game you released this time. Land of Adventure 3. The reaction seems incredibly good.”
He wondered what she was doing, and it seemed she was using Spirit Space. When Ras heard the words Land of Adventure 3, a smile naturally formed on his face.
“Yeah. The reaction is beyond what I expected.”
This success was meaningful to Ras as well. After all, he had only discussed a few ideas later on, while the development team created the work on their own.
In truth, after creating the IP Management Team and entrusting sequels to them, he had not been without anxiety. He had wondered whether this might end up ruining his own IP. But now, he felt he could relax a little more.
Of course, he could not completely take his hands off it, and like this time, he would at least have to check it minimally.
And because he had not touched it much himself, there were many parts he did not know, so he liked being able to learn and enjoy it together with other players. Ras got up and headed to the computer to play Land of Adventure 3.
After that, the two chatted as they enjoyed the game. Even Ella, who disliked magic, did not show much resistance to using magic in a game. Well, games and reality were different, so perhaps that was only natural.
However, while Land of Adventure 3 was being released and creating a sensation, there was another game that had quietly been developed and was spreading among gamers.
After playing Land of Adventure 3 for a long while, Ras used magic to turn the giant zombie mid-boss into an ant and stomped it to death. Then, leaving the rest of the adventure for tomorrow, he turned on Spirit Space.
He had now become one of those people who felt uneasy if he did not check Spirit Space every day. It was a PC communication service he had created himself, but countless people endlessly communicated and produced data there, so it always felt new. Since it reminded him of the internet back on Earth, it might have been even more addictive to him.
First, he stopped by the Land of Adventure 3 board and checked the reactions once.
It might have been a little childish, but seeing so many people enjoy it always made him feel proud. The board was still filled mostly with positive reviews today. Among them was also a post by someone like him, saying they had gathered magic materials like mad and satisfyingly defeated a boss, specifically the giant zombie, which made him feel a sense of kinship and laugh softly in amusement.
However, while reading through those posts, he saw talk about a homemade game that had been uploaded to Spirit Space.
<This is seriously a masterpiece.>
<What kind of game is it?>
<Uh... It’s kind of hard to explain in words, but anyway, it’s a masterpiece. Try it.>
<What is it?>
Spirit Space was a place where users created content. And that content was not limited to ordinary posts. Along with novels, which Ras had encouraged, simple comics and games were also being uploaded these days.
It was thanks to the release of the Magical Connector, which had dramatically increased transmission speed.
Because of that, Ras had to greatly expand the servers. But this was not such a bad thing either. Demand for network equipment, including servers, was still not that high, so there were many times when the production lines were idle.
In any case, Ras went to the game board and searched to see if the game he had just heard about, Springtime of Life, was there.
There it is.
He first checked the file size, and it was quite small. Since transmission speed in this world was extremely poor, downloading anything was burdensome. Unlike Earth, where most things could be used almost immediately after clicking them, it was common here for downloading a single game to take all day.
Ras clicked download. Judging from the size, it was probably either an extremely simple game or a text-focused game, which had recently become popular.
After MUD Games became a hit, people learned that games without graphics could be plenty fun, and this trend emerged together with Spirit Space’s low transmission and reception speed.
But what kind of game is it?
Looking at the title, he thought it might be some kind of simulation game. Something like The Sims. Or perhaps it could be something simpler, like a life-board game. Ras had never played one himself, but in Japanese manga and such, games where players rolled dice, got jobs, earned money, and progressed through life appeared often.
A short while later, the download finished, and Ras launched it.
It really is a text game.
He had wondered whether it might have some cool illustrations, but from the very beginning, the words “Springtime of Life” were written in enlarged text on a black screen, so he dropped that expectation.
The creator was someone named Elsak. Ordinary gamers might not pay attention to the creator’s name, but Ras, who ran a game development company, was different. If this game turned out to be a god-tier game as the recommender said, he might recruit the creator, and even if not, the name of someone who made an interesting game was worth remembering.
[Please tell me your name.]
When he entered the game, it began by asking him to choose a name. Judging by the way it displayed a message like this instead of calling it a character name, it seemed to value immersion.
After thinking for a moment, Ras entered the name Cheolsu. He was not the type to put his own name into a game, and since he did not know what kind of game this was, he felt slightly uneasy.
[You are a seventeen-year-old boy in your second year of high school.]
Once he entered the name, the game began immediately. It was called Springtime of Life, and the character’s age was exactly the kind of period that could be called spring.
[It is a dazzling time that will never return.]
Up to this point, Ras nodded and read the text with a calm feeling. However, something became strange from the next line.
[You must burn through that dazzling time without regret.]
Huh?
[To leave behind beautiful memories, do your utmost to spend dreamlike times with as many women as possible!]
At that point, Ras immediately grasped what kind of game this was. In other words, it was what one would call a dating simulation.
He had thought one would come out someday, and that thought had become even stronger when the graphics-enhanced Hammer Computer appeared. But he truly had not expected one to appear as a text game.
Well, now that I think about it, romance novels are also entirely text, so images aren’t absolutely necessary.
He now knew what kind of game it was, but that did not make his interest disappear. No, the fact that it had received recommendations from players with only text actually piqued his interest.
At the very beginning, a childhood friend appeared. To Ras, who had played some visual novels in the past and had also read quite a bit of Japanese manga, it was a familiar setup, but seeing it in this world felt strangely fascinating.
However, considering the game’s objective of romancing as many women as possible, it would have to introduce as many women as possible, so perhaps this was only natural. It was still more convincing than targeting random women passing by on the street.
And as the game progressed, various women appeared. A classmate, a junior in his club, a student council officer, a female teacher, an older waitress at a restaurant he often visited, and so on. It all felt very familiar.
<Hold Daisy’s hand.>
<You held Daisy’s hand.>
In truth, Ras had thought it might be a little boring since it was a text game. However, perhaps because it was based on a MUG Game, there were more actions he could take than he expected.
[Ah... Why are you suddenly holding my hand?]
<Daisy tried to pull her hand away with a prim expression. However, the force with which she pulled away was not strong, and a blush colored the face she had turned slightly aside.>
The reactions to actions were also decent. No, perhaps because it left room for imagination, it actually felt better, like reading a romance novel.
Like that, Ras became absorbed in the game, diligently two-timing on the computer. No, since he had met about six people so far, it was six-timing. As he did so, he occasionally looked back at the door to the lounge. Ella had happened to leave her seat, saying she would cook.
It was just a game, but it still felt somewhat embarrassing to show his girlfriend, so he unconsciously became wary.
However, after progressing to a certain point, Ras realized this was not just something he needed to be cautious about. This was a game he absolutely could not be caught playing.
Uh... This is an erotic game.
After becoming quite close with a female character and going on a date, erotic descriptions suddenly began appearing. Ras was flustered, yet he could not take his eyes off it. He had thought the writing was not bad until now, but from this point on, he could feel an extraordinary passion in it.
Footnotes:
Translator’s Notes:
The Sims — Life simulation game series first released by Maxis and Electronic Arts in 2000, centered on controlling characters’ daily lives, relationships, careers, and homes.
Dating simulation — Game genre focused on developing romantic relationships with characters through choices, stats, routes, and event progression.
Visual novel — Game format that presents story primarily through text, character dialogue, choices, and often illustrations; commonly associated with Japanese PC and console games.
Erotic game — Adult-oriented game genre containing sexual or erotic content. The Korean slang used here, 야겜, is a shortened colloquial form of 야한게임, meaning “erotic game” or “adult game.”