The Unquenchable Thirst
People stranded at sea must never drink seawater to quench their thirst. While it might seem fine at first, it only leads to even more severe dehydration later. The same held true for the gallery members.
[Hiro Maker is already on its 30th loop and the game still isn’t over.]
Once you finish all the content, there’s literally nothing left to do. So there really isn’t a next one?
“So everyone’s the same.”
Seeing other users no different from himself, Daniel quietly stared into the air.
‘As expected, I wasn’t the one who was wrong.’
A sense of emptiness he had never felt in his life washed over him. It was inevitable. Once you’ve tasted the dopamine rush that games provide, ordinary pleasures can no longer satisfy you. It was a condition known as “game corruption.”
Being able to roam freely as you wished and feeling a sense of accomplishment upon clearing stages—after playing even this new cultural phenomenon dozens of times, boredom had set in. Simply posting random threads on the gallery could no longer fill that void.
Just as most gallery users who had tasted the true flavor of games began feeling bored—
—Ding!
Along with a crisp notification sound, a new post appeared on the gallery.
“No way…”
There were only two types of posts Daniel had set notifications for: one from Ju-ttak, the gallery owner, and the other from GM, the person responsible for their dopamine supply.
With trembling hands, Daniel clicked on the post.
Hello, everyone? This is GM, Game Maker and Master.
Today, I bring you the news you’ve all been waiting for.
“Oh…”
As expected from the person who created something like this, there had to be something different. Even after reading just the first paragraph, Daniel felt his heart pounding as he slowly scrolled down.
Yes, it’s the new game you’ve all been waiting and waiting for.
“…!!”
The moment he had only half-expected had become official reality. Overwhelmed by excessive excitement, Daniel couldn’t even voice his admiration. Then came GM’s next words.
This game will be released as a paid title…
“…Huh?”
Daniel’s hand stopped at that line.
Paid? You have to pay money?
As expected, the flood of new comments made it clear how much the gallery was buzzing over that single statement. Daniel clicked on one of them.
“Now that I think about it, that might be true…”
Afterward, Daniel returned to GM’s post once more.
Legend of the Swordsman
Price: 5,800 Credits
Perhaps because he had just read the post, the price didn’t seem that expensive anymore. Suddenly, the game looked even cheaper.
“Well… this much is perfectly reasonable.”
Paying a small amount of money in exchange for playing an interesting new game with an appealing title felt like a fairly rational purchase. Daniel quickly pressed the purchase button.
> Purchase complete
> Would you like to install the file?
“Confirm.”
At the same time, the game file began installing. Daniel pressed the confirmation button with a trembling heart.
> Launching file
***
After releasing the new roguelike game as a paid title on the gallery, public opinion among the users was far from positive.
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
No matter how mismatched the upbringing, habits learned from childhood remain for life. Just as the saying goes, “A habit formed at three lasts until eighty.”
While this cyberpunk world followed the laws of capitalism, it also possessed quite a few communistic(?) aspects. Most technologies necessary for daily life were publicly available, and in theory, all corporations could produce identical products based on those technologies. Differences in quality arose depending on each company’s capabilities, and consumers primarily used products from the few superior companies. Even Mutants had been educated from childhood to accept this as natural, so their reaction was understandable.
‘Still…’
Personally, I believe developers deserve fair compensation. I can’t live on passion pay like in my previous life. Besides, it’s not even that expensive, right? Honestly, with the money to buy one Deus device, you could buy dozens of these games. Is it really that wasteful? Deus devices are nice, but I’m confident this isn’t inferior to them either.
“And there’s no need to pay attention to those complaints.”
[The Constellation, Celestial Art God, expresses doubt]
After all, listening to those words wouldn’t let me make it free. If it were just a simple hobby, maybe, but this was tied to my future livelihood. Our former president had given a rather generous severance package, but it wasn’t infinite. While I wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while, that severance would eventually run out. More importantly, there were already people who had purchased the game. People who bought it because they believed my game was worth that amount of money. If I canceled it now after they spent their hard-earned money, what would happen to those buyers? I couldn’t do that to them.
“And this is something that can be proven with results later.”
It wasn’t just about money—it also carried a personal conviction of mine. That in this world, games as a culture would no longer be overshadowed by movies or dramas. That it was a culture worth spending that kind of money on.
Some time later.
Among the consumers who had mustered the courage to purchase the game first, genuine review posts began appearing in earnest.