Chapter 19: The Next Game

Alex Parker was delighted. Initially, he was worried about handling the game's music and sound effects, but this skill book was a godsend.

Alex had little knowledge of music, so game BGM and sound effects had to be outsourced. Describing classic game BGM orally would likely result in subpar outcomes compared to the originals, so it was best to handle these elements personally.

Alex immediately clicked to use the skill book, which dissolved into light and entered his fingertips.

He pulled out the electronic keyboard provided by the organizers, which he had planned to store away, thinking he wouldn't need it.

Testing a few simple notes, he connected the keyboard to his computer and created a short 10-second BGM. Listening to it, Alex felt it was pretty good, and he was confident he could handle simple BGMs for small games himself.

"Great, this is a good start. Let's see if the next two ten draws bring in some good items."

Alex took a deep breath and clicked the [Ten Consecutive Draws] button.

"Click, click, click…"

The wheel spun rapidly, and ten items appeared on the virtual screen within thirty seconds.

[Designer Skill Book]: 3 for Value, 4 for Level Design.

[Special Skill Book]: 1 for Original Art Skills +10.

[Special Skill Book]: 1 for Art Animation Skills +10.

[Special Item]: Memory Replay Potion.

Alex perked up. The ten draws were indeed different, and the probability of drawing blue and purple items seemed higher than single draws.

He quickly checked the particular item's function.

Memory Replay Potion: "Allows the user to recall blurred or forgotten memories freely, lasting for 4 hours."

What a valuable item!

Alex desperately needed this. Many of the games he played were becoming blurred, and although he remembered fragments, they weren't enough to recreate the entire game accurately.

With the Memory Replay Potion, Alex could search his memories, recalling most details of any game he had deeply studied or played.

Without hesitation, Alex used the skill books.

Value ability +3, Level Design ability +4. Alex estimated his actual Value ability to be around 27 points and Level Design at about 35 points. With the Memory Replay Potion, he should be able to handle complex mini-games.

Additionally, there were two Special Skill Books, one for Original Art and one for Art Animation.

In the bracelet's lottery system, art and music skills were classified as special skills.

With Original Art Skills +10, Alex's original art ability increased to 19 points, sufficient for simple art-styled games.

His character animation skills went from non-existent to +10, allowing him to create simple 2D animations—an essential capability.

Time for another ten-draw!

Alex clicked the virtual screen for another ten-draw.

"Click, click, click…"

The wheel spun again, and ten items appeared on the screen.

[Designer Skill Book]: 7 for Story, 2 for System.

[Special Item]: Luck Capsule.

Alex nearly spat out blood. The disparity was too much!

What a scam!

Not only did he not get a single blue skill book, but the green skill books were also for Story and System—categories he least needed.

Alex felt a pang of regret. Each ten-draw costs $10,000!

However, seeing the Special Item made him feel slightly better.

Luck Capsule: "Significantly increases luck for 10 minutes."

What's this for? Winning the lottery?

With only a 10-minute duration, it was clearly intended for use with ten draws. Save up a million points, then do ten consecutive ten draws.

"Forget it; save it for next time."

Alex felt a bit frustrated. His points were exhausted, with only $10,000 left. He couldn't risk spending it all. Better to wait until the first game earned some revenue before drawing again.

Alex used the Story and System skill books. Although these were his strengths, there was still room for improvement, so the books weren't entirely useless.

He turned off the virtual screen and calmed himself.

With $20,000 spent, all the skill books and unique items were acquired. Now, Alex needed to plan his first substantial game.

He hesitated about which game to choose.

If purely for profit, selecting mid-level Chinese pay-to-win mobile games from his previous life would be best.

These games didn't require high-quality production and relied heavily on value stimulation to attract players, making them incredibly profitable.

However, Alex had two concerns.

One was his Value ability.

Chinese pay-to-win mobile games primarily relied on value stimulation to keep players spending, which required high technical skill. Simply selling power wasn't enough; the game had to be well-designed.

Value planners, second only to chief planners in the domestic game industry, held high positions and were responsible for controlling game pace.

Good value design gives a game its soul. Poor visuals and old gameplay could be saved, but wrong values meant instant failure.

With less than 30 points in Value ability, developing such a game was risky, even with the Memory Replay Potion.

These games often had semi-hidden values, including combat formulas, growth attributes, counter relationships, and economic systems, each managed separately by specialists. These values were company secrets, often inaccessible to outsiders.

Because values were crucial, revealing the entire value system would allow other companies to create reskinned versions.

Alex would need to rebuild the entire value system himself, but his current abilities made him uncertain of managing such a game.

The second concern was player acceptance.

The mainstream profit model in this world was still based on sales, with games sold per unit.

Selling value-added services, especially power, wasn't mainstream, and no one had tried blatantly power of sale.

Would players accept a mediocre pay-to-win mobile game that sold power?

Would there be backlash, harming his reputation and company?

Players might even boycott his future games.

Such outcomes were unpredictable. As this was Alex's first game, he didn't want to take that risk.

The player tastes, and viability of pay-to-win games in this world need to be tested step by step. One mistake could be costly.

Thus, Alex decided to go with the safe route with his first game, focusing on a single-player game sold per unit.

This approach would establish a stable foundation, making more players aware of Thunder Games. He could then gradually test the players' tolerance levels.