The VR Game No One Could Touch

"You're saying he wants to make a VR game?"

Haicheng, Infinite Network Entertainment's General Manager's Office.

Manager Liang looked taken aback after hearing the report.

"Yes. I said we'd need to discuss it and get back to him later. Manager Liang, what do you think—should we go ahead with this?"

Standing before the desk was a tall, slender woman in a white blouse and short skirt.

As the supervisor, she adjusted her silver-rimmed glasses, her initial surprise now giving way to a sense of whimsy.

Manager Liang glanced at her, frowning slightly.

"Did you explain the current state of VR to him?"

The woman nodded.

"I made it clear to him. VR games, from a technical standpoint, can't achieve real-time immersive gameplay. It's not like film, where you just slap on a 360° video. Those are two completely different concepts."

"And what did he say?"

"He said he knows that perfectly well, and that's exactly why he wants to do it."

Manager Liang was momentarily speechless, then spoke with displeasure after a pause.

"I think he doesn't understand a thing! If VR games were that easy to make, wouldn't the big foreign studios have done it already? And it's not like they haven't tried—look at how much of a trainwreck VR StarCraft was. Doesn't he, as an industry professional, know that?"

The tall woman didn't respond, clearly sharing the sentiment that making VR games was impractical.

Manager Liang leaned back in his chair, shaking his head.

"It's fine for a young person to have ideas, but ideas aren't delusions. You can't just open your mouth and act on a whim. Making Dark Forest on his own just proves he's technically skilled and a well-rounded talent—it doesn't mean he can reach for the moon. People need to face reality!"

He paused, then looked at the woman before him.

"Supervisor Lian, reply to him. Tell him that VR games have never performed well worldwide, not even a single decent title. If he wants to use the support fund's budget for VR, ask him first if he has any convincing cases to show."

Manager Liang straightened up slightly, lit a cigarette, and took a drag.

"We happen to have a partnership with Tongxin Technology. Use their VR platform. Tell Mr. Shuo Guang that we'll provide the VR development tools and ask him to produce a case study for us to see."

"The support fund is meant for investment, and investment goes into projects with potential and profitability—not money thrown down the drain. VR's prospects are still unclear. Without a compelling case, even if I'm willing, the shareholders won't agree. So Mr. Shuo Guang's case study isn't just to convince me—it's to convince the shareholders, and more importantly, the market. Only then can we justify the money."

"Got it?"

"So, what your boss means is that he wants to see if I have the capability to make VR games, right?"

Meng Shu held his phone, sipping his soda, summarizing the gist of the call.

[I'm really sorry, Teacher Shuo Guang. We're in a tough spot too. VR games really aren't easy to make right now—it's not just a technical hurdle, but also a massive cost issue.]

[Foreign studios have tried VR games before. Not only were they poor quality, but they were riddled with bugs, and the launch prices were absurdly high. Players didn't buy in, and the games had to be pulled. Looking at the manufacturers' financial reports afterward, you could see they lost a ton.]

[Since then, no company—domestic or international—has touched VR games. Players are also used to PC and console. VR might not be something they're ready to accept yet. Teacher Shuo Guang, please think it over carefully.]

Meng Shu waited for the woman's voice on the phone to finish, then fell silent for a moment. But when he saw the development engine in front of him—so simple even a monkey could use it—he broke into a confident, absolute smile.

"Thanks for the heads-up. I actually know all that already. Let me ask—if I really do produce a case study, roughly how much would your support fund be?"

There was a pause on the other end, followed by a sigh.

[It depends on the quality of your VR. If it's genuinely impressive, it won't be less than 10 million.]

10 million?

Meng Shu frowned.

Honestly, that was too little.

But then he thought about how he didn't develop games like other companies—meticulously grinding away step by step. He relied on the system, so it didn't matter.

"One month. I'll release the case study. But 10 million is too low. Wait until you see my case, then decide how much to support."

A sharp intake of breath came from the other end.

[One... one month? That's... well, we'll wait for your good news.]

He could tell from her voice that she clearly didn't believe him, but she held back the urge to question it, making her words come out haltingly.

Meng Shu chatted a bit more, learning that they had a partnership with a VR company, which saved him the trouble of reaching out himself.

Then he explained that he needed the VR development tools and asked them to send them over as soon as possible.

After hanging up, he received the electronic version of the Dark Forest publishing contract.

Glancing at the two PDF files in WeChat, Meng Shu shrugged and didn't open them right away.

He picked up his phone, set down his chair, lay back, and stared at the peeling ceiling, lost in thought.

This world had VR widely available, yet VR games were shoddy and untouched. The root cause was likely—

The development engine couldn't keep up!

This problem had also appeared in his original world.

Many people thought that developing VR games wasn't much different from PC or console on a technical level, so they tried porting classic games to VR to cash in. Every single one flopped.

Whether it was The Elder Scrolls V VR, Fallout 4 VR, or L.A. Noire VR—all of them bombed without exception.

But that's not to say there were no VR titles worth recognizing.

For example, Resident Evil 7 VR was a high-quality work.

And looking across all VR games, the one at the very top of the pyramid was probably Half-Life: Alyx.

With incredibly realistic graphics, highly freeform controls, smooth movement mechanics, detail-rich textures, and industry-leading physics and collision feedback.

It truly brought players into the game's world, letting them enjoy everything to the fullest.

And such an outstanding work was built on an engine that took nearly a decade of refinement to develop.

So a good VR game relies heavily on its development engine.

The engines in this world clearly couldn't achieve that.

Otherwise, VR games wouldn't be so shoddy.

Though this world's game engines were lacking, the system's monkey-friendly development engine could do it!

And it was even stronger and more comprehensive than the engine that developed Half-Life: Alyx in the original world.

In this world where VR was widespread, yet no one was making VR games, it was essentially a blank market.

If he didn't take good advantage of that, how could he live up to his identity as a transmigrator and the system's capabilities?

Thinking this, Meng Shu smiled.

"Playing games through a screen is like watching a movie—spend too long at it, and plenty of people probably end up with gaming burnout."

"It's time for something fresh. Now's the moment to bring you all into the grand stage of the gaming world!"